Page 113 of If You Need Me

A few days after Rix and Tristan’s engagement, we plan a girls’ afternoon. Rix is super excited about planning her wedding, and I wish I was in the same place emotionally. It sucks that she’s so over the moon and I’m still over here, wishing it didn’t feel like an anvil swinging.

“Where are we going?” I ask as I climb into the back of Rix’s Mercedes SUV. Tristan bought it for her birthday like the giant, sappy, lovesick fool he is.

“It’s a surprise!” Rix is practically bouncing in her seat.

Essie is in the front seat, and Tally, Shilpa, and I are tucked in the back. Dred is meeting us wherever we’re going with Hammer, which is good because I don’t think we could cram two more bodies back here unless they wanted to ride in the trunk.

“Any hints?”

“Nope, you’ll see when we get there,” Shilpa replies.

Half an hour and some harrowing Toronto traffic later, we’re standing outside Just Desserts. “We’re cake testing!” Rix announces.

“And then looking at bridesmaids’ dresses,” Tally adds. Her eyes go wide. “For Rix, since we’re all in her wedding party.”

“You’ll all be in my wedding party, too.” If I ever get married. I turn to Shilpa. “And you’ll be my matron of honor.”

She smiles and squeezes my arm.

Dred and Hammer meet us on the sidewalk. Hammer had a meeting off-site, and Dred is using her lunch break to join us.

We follow an excited Rix, Essie, Hammer, and Tally into the shop and spend the next half hour testing cakes. “I can’t decide which one I love the most,” Rix groans while rubbing her stomach.

“You don’t have to pick just one. You’ll have tiers, right? So each tier is a different flavor,” Hammer says.

“That’s expensive, though.” Rix sinks her fork into her cake, despite already having said she’s full.

Essie gives her an understanding smile. “You’re marrying a professional hockey player who adores you. He’ll want to order a ten-layer cake to make sure you get all your favorites.”

“This is accurate,” Shilpa says.

“I seriously love the way he loves you,” Dred says with a smile.

“This,” I agree.

“My top three are the banana cream, double chocolate fudge, and the lemon curd. How about you, Hemi?” Hammer asks.

“Probably the double vanilla, the German chocolate, and the peach custard. But I think Dallas would go for the carrot cake.”

“Have you talked about dates yet? I think we’re looking at early June next year, but I want to make sure we don’t conflict with yours,” Rix says.

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that. We’ll probably wait until the summer after.” I hate how easy the lies come these days. I want to love this the way she does. I want to share her excitement. But the fear that I’ll never catch up to Dallas sits heavy on my shoulders, and so does the worry that one day, he’ll change his mind. And then where will we be?

CHAPTER 38

DALLAS

Wills is tucked into my side, legs crossed, with her foot hooked behind my calf. My arm is slung over her shoulder, and I rub my thumb back and forth along the exposed skin of her arm. Her hand rests on my thigh, and every so often she digs her nails into my skin through my pants. Because she knows I love it. I press a kiss to her temple, and she smiles, side-eyeing me. Next week training camp starts, and our schedules are about to get busy as hell.

We both have a soft spot for The Hip. I have several playlists with their music, so she bought us tickets when they announced a date at an intimate outdoor venue and invited Ash and Shilpa to join us. I’m a huge fan of double dates with our best friends. The Practically Hip, a Tragically Hip cover band, finishes their first set, and we clap and cheer.

“Why don’t we grab another round before they start the second set?” I say to Ash. “You want the same thing, Wills?” I tap her empty glass.

She tips her head up. “Please.”

Her lips are too tempting to resist, so I bend to kiss her before Ash andI head to the bar.

“You and Hemi seem good,” Ash says.

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