Page 77 of Runaway Bride and Prejudice

“The clock is ticking on your free pass of questions.”

“Oh, he’s got itsobad,” Grey says. “It’s adorable. I love seeing you like this.”

“You can’t actuallyseeme, Grey.”

“I called it,” Lex says. “Didn’t I say thisyearsago—when Robbie falls, he’s going to fall hard.”

“You totally did. Callie was the one who didn’t believe it.”

“I can’t wait to tell her.”

“Wait—we have to tell her together. Should we call now?” Grey asks.

“No,” Lex and I say at the same time.

“Tick tock,” I add. “I can’t believe you’re not taking advantage of your free pass.”

“How long has this been going on?” Lex asks.

“Not very.”

“You can’t answer everything vaguely,” Grey says.

“Fine. It’s not even officially going on. We sort of … reconnected,” I say, though what happened at her wedding is likely not what my sisters will picture with this description.

“Is it likeweddingserious?” Grey whispers, like she thinks Amelia is in earshot. Or maybe like this is such a serious question it must be whispered.

“I … don’t know.”

“That’s a yes.” Lex sounds shocked.

Grey says, “No, that’s the sound of a man who’s terrified because he only just realized he’s in deep.”

She’s not wrong.

“Aw, poor baby brother,” Lex says.

“You know I’m older than you both, right?”

“How can we help?” asks Grey. “Because if there’s one thing you don’t know how to do, it’s maintain a serious relationship.”

“Maintain?” Lex laughs. “I’m shocked he knew how tostartone.”

“Amen.”

“Hey,” I protest even though, once again, they’re not wrong. It’s refreshing to hear their voices, even to hear their assumptions and their statements about me.

As well as the guys on my team know me, there are large parts I’ve kept hidden from them. Or maybe it’s more that I’ve only chosen to show them one side of myself, using trick mirrorsto stay two-dimensional in their eyes. To them, I’m a caricature. Exactly like Amelia said earlier: Mr. Casual Fun.

But then she called me more.

Eli might be one of the few who sees more. When he was just starting to date his now-wife, he called me—not any of the other guys, butme—when he wanted help. I ended up being the one who walked Bailey down the aisle when they got married.

By now, my role with the guys personally is about as cemented as my role as center on the ice. Breaking out, being different than how I’ve always been, is hard.

“For real, though,” Grey says, “How can we help? We’ll butt out if you want but?—”

“Don’t butt out.” The words are hard to form. Probably because I’m not used to asking for—or needing—help. But with this? With Amelia? I absolutely do. “I mean, I don’t know what I need or how you can help, but I … I don’t want to screw this up.”

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