Page 8 of Ice Cold Rival

She clapped her hands together. “Oh, I remember my time as an older sister in the house. You’re going to love the bonds you form.”

“I know, Mom. I’ve been a Chi Omega for three years. I don’t imagine year four will be much different.” My assurance was a straight up lie. I knew exactly how different this year was going to be.

She huffed. “No need to get snippy. I know you’re in a new place with new girls. I’m only trying to help.”

“I know, Mom, thanks.” I wasn’t really thankful, but I’d been trained from a young age to be the peacemaker in the family. Despite recent events, I couldn’t seem to shake the habit.

Mom ignored me and launched into a story of her sorority years I’d heard enough times I could quote it. Don’t get me wrong, I was glad she had such fantastic memories, but it would be nice if she listened to whatIhad to say once in a while. Since I had at least ten minutes to finish getting ready before she required a response, I hit speaker and held the dress up in front of the mirror.

I frowned at the amount of figure showing around the material. It had fit me perfectly last year when I’d hosted at my old school with my old sorority sisters. It would probably still fit now, albeit a little tight.

My hips had widened a smidge, and my boobs spilled over my lacy bra cups a little more than usual. Whatever, guys liked cleavage, and I liked food. I was done watching what I ate for appearance’s sake.

Brighton wouldn’t like it since her bridesmaid dresses were special-ordered, and it would probably need to be adjusted again. Hence the call.

Too bad. Her perfect Christmas wedding would still be perfect if I popped a seam.

Without any input from me or consideration of my time, Mom segued into an account of Toby’s sister, who was working in the State Capitol now. At least she wasn’t talking about Toby directly this time. She’d been on a reconciliation mission the last few weeks, while I’d been trying to move on. No thanks to Toby. I hadn’t even had the chance to tell them we’d broken up before he’d run to his mom—my mom’s best friend—about my “overreaction” the night of the party.

According to him, I’d walked in on him playing a card game in his friend’s room with some friends who happened to be girls and lost my shit. The reason depended on who he was talking to—hormones, not adjusting to the new school, sabotaging his future. He was always innocent and always hurt that I didn’t just talk to him.

No mention of the drunken orgy I’d seen with my own eyes.

My stomach turned at the memory, and I flopped down on my bed careful not to land on my dress. One of the perils of dating within close family circles was you could never truly break up with someone. They’d still be in your life, no matter how much you wanted them to go away. Like glitter. Or herpes.

“Toby’s going to look so handsome in his suit,” Mom crooned.

I blinked and realized I’d tuned her out at some point. Crap, she was talking about Toby after all.

“We’re doing couple pictures before the ceremony, so be ready for 9 a.m. hair and makeup. The guys lucked out. Your dad is surprising them with an early tee time, but don’t say anything to Toby.”

“We’re not a couple,” I blurted out.

Mom sighed heavily. “There’s plenty of time before the wedding for you two to patch things up.”

The undertone clearly saidIhad plenty of time to apologize. I had to admire her sheer tenacity in believing whatever the hell she wanted. In her defense, I hadn’t explained anything about the breakup. I wasn’t ready to wreck Toby’s perfect reputation among the families with the truth.

Honestly, I wasn’t ready to deal with anything Toby-related. The hurt was too fresh, compounded by the continued reminder of everything I’d left behind for him.

“Mom, I really have to go or I’m going to be late.”

“Sure, sure. Have fun tonight, and maybe skip the appetizers. At least until the wedding.”

“Right,” I deadpanned. “Love you, Mom. Bye.”

As soon as I hung up, my phone buzzed again with a call from Brighton. I hit decline without a second thought. She could wait one more day for my measurements.

Several hours later,I regretted the pink dress. I’d ignored my mom’s advice to skip the appetizers, but my stomach was upset from the moment I walked out my door. Even if I wanted to eat, the dress squeezed my sides so tightly I couldn’t bend over.

Still, I’d helped decorate as requested, and I’d been mingling with a smile. Unlike some of the other Greek parties, ours weren’t crazy keggers, but the music was loud, the drinks were flowing, and I marked the night a success.

Until the pantry door slid mostly closed behind me as I was getting napkin refills, and I overheard two of my sisters talking about me in the kitchen.

“She looks like she’s going to bust a zipper.” The sniff that followed could only belong to Amanda, the self-proclaimed queen of the Chi Omegas. “I don’t understand what Tobias saw in her. I heard she hasn’t been to a single one of his games, even at Easton. She spends all her time in class or in her room. What does she even do in there all day?”

Read. Mostly. Hockey didn’t interest me, and Toby had told me I distracted him at games. In hindsight, my presence would have made it hard for him to pick up a puck bunny afterwards.

Kiki, Amanda’s bestie, chimed in with a laugh. “I know. It’s so weird. Why join a sorority if all you’re going to do is hermit?”

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