Page 68 of Jilted

“I doubt it was the company.”

“What do you mean?”

“Wilder’s been intervening on all the plans the company made and upgrading them—my flight here, my hotel. I’m sure the car service that was supposed to pick us up for the wedding tonight was a Volkswagen Rabbit before he quietly stepped in.”

Elijah pulled the cork from the champagne with a loud pop, then put his mouth over the top to catch the foam bubbling out.

“Classy.” I laughed.

“No judging.” He swallowed a mouthful of champagne and used the back of his hand to wipe his cheek. “Or I’ll stick my tongue inthe hole before I give you your bottle, and you donotwant to know where this tongue was last weekend.”

My nose scrunched up as I plucked the other bottle from his hand. “No, I definitely do not.”

The wedding tonight was at Hedsor House, a country estate forty-five minutes outside of London. So I slipped off my gorgeous but extremely high-heeled sparkly new shoes.

“Wow. Jimmy Choos.” Elijah gestured to the floor with his champagne bottle. “Someone didn’t get the same shitty three percent raise as me at Christmas.”

“They were a gift from Wilder. As was this dress. I don’t even want to know what they cost.”

“So you’re like Cinderella going to the ball? Except your fairy godmother is a hot rugby player.” He wiggled his brows. “Tell me, is he big and brawny all over? God couldn’t be so cruel as to give a man with those shoulders and that face a tiny dick.”

I sighed. “I wouldn’t know.”

“You didn’t go all the way yet?”

“We haven’t goneanyof the way yet. Wilder hasn’t even kissed me since I landed in London.”

Elijah’s jaw dropped as he covered his heart. “Oh my God. Is he gay?Please, pleasetell me he’s gay?”

I laughed. “He’s not gay, but he has been a gentleman.”

My friend wrinkled his nose like he’d smelled something sour. “Yuck. Why?”

“It’s my fault. The guy scares the crap out of me.”

“You’ve seen the outline and it’s that big?”

I chuckled. “No! I meant he makes me feel things.”

“Well, clearly not the good kind of things if he hasn’t touched you.”

“I’m serious.”

Elijah lifted his knee onto the seat and turned to face me. “You fell off the horse—or in Josh’s case, the jackass—and now you’re afraid to get back on. I understand that. I really do. But, honey, this isn’t another donkey. This is a fucking unicorn we’re talking about. They don’t come around very often.”

“I know. But the fact that heisa unicorn makes it even scarier. I mean, if I couldn’t hold on to the donkey, how the hell can I expect to saddle the unicorn?”

Elijah frowned. “What Josh did is not about you. It’s about him. You can’t be afraid to take chances because you got hurt. Life is all about taking chances. Sometimes we jump off the cliff and splatter to the ground. But sometimes we jump off and fly.”

“Wilder and I are just so different. I’m a serial-relationship person; he’s a serial dater. He’s first class to Europe. I sit in the middle seat on my flight to Florida because I’m too cheap to pay for seat assignment. I live in New York in a house with most of my family, and he lives in London and has been on his own since he was eighteen. This month, he got approval to start his own professional rugby expansion team. He’s been traveling around the world signing players for weeks. I read three self-help books and went to therapy.”

“You know what that sounds like to me?”

“What?”

“A bunch of excuses because you’re a chicken shit.”

My shoulders slumped. “I hate you.”

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