Page 62 of My Last Dance

“Look, Mark warned me that you wouldn’t be happy,” she said, cutting me off in a teary voice. “I had to fight to invite you and JP, so please just…just be happy for me, Piper.”

“Okay, say no more.” I squeezed my eyes shut as I gripped the phone, because I knew she was potentially making a huge mistake, but I had no clue how to get her out of this. “I’ll be there to supportyou, okay? Withanythingyou need.” I hoped she knew that included driving the getaway car.

“Thank you,” she breathed out, and I could hear the relief in her voice.

Later that day, I received a text from Richard asking if I was going to the wedding. I smiled down at my phone as I typed back myyes.

It’d been too long since I last saw him in person. The past year was busy for both of us. Patrick and I were now competing for Team USA, meaning we were on the international competition circuit, flying somewhere different each month. Kappy was traded to a higher team, and now he was only a step away from the NHL.

We were so close to our goals.

It wasalmostour time.

________

The night before the wedding, we went out together as a group.

I found myself sitting at a high-top table between JP and Colt while Kappy, Mer, and Ali were all at the bar ordering more drinks.

Colt, who’d really bulked up in the past year and now sported a shorter haircut making him look more professional, stared at his girlfriend at the bar and tapped the table with an impatient finger. “If Mer was getting married to a total douchebag instead of me, I’d probably…” He blew out a strangled breath. “I don’t even know what I’d do. I just know that I wouldn’t let it happen. I’ddosomething. I’d fuck up the wedding,” he solemnly swore.

My eyebrows flew up. “Are you serious?” That sounded a little controlling.

“Yes.” He said it to me, but he was staring daggers at JP. “No fucking way would I let an asshole swoop in and marry my woman.”

My eyes darted between them, sensing a huge amount of tension. JP’s eyes looked red and swollen. He shoved his chair back with a small, “Fuck off, Colt,” before stalking away.

Colt dropped his head and rubbed his eyes.

“Okay, what did I miss?” Kappy asked, coming up to hand a beer to Colt.

“JP’s being a little bitch,” Colt spat.

I sucked in a shocked breath, making both boys look at me. I’d never heard Colt so mad before.

“He needs to get his shit together,” Colt continued. “I have a bad feeling.” His eyes flitted to Mer and Ali at the bar.

“About Ali and Mark?” I asked.

A wary look crossed his face as he nodded. “I just…” He sucked in his top lip and played with the wrapper of his beer. “I have a bad feeling about everything right now. Something just doesn’t feel right.”

“Weird,” Kappy said, clapping him on the back. “Maybe you need some water, bud.”

Colt ignored him and looked at me. “Is Mer okay?” he whispered, leveling me with his intense gaze. “Has she said anything to you?”

My face softened. “It’s a stressful time. It’s been a long year, but we’re at the end, okay? She just has Nationals, then the Olympics, then it’s done. It’s make it or break it right now.”

His nose flared with a breath. “You don’t think she’ll try for another four years after this?”

“No.”

He eyed me hesitantly. “She told you that?”

I nodded. “She wants to retire after this. This is her shot, she’s almost there.”

His shoulders sagged with relief. “I can’t fucking wait. This stress isn’t good for her. And her partner…” His hand balled into a fist. “I hate that guy.”

I didn’t know her partner, Andy, all too well, but Patrick thought he was bad news.

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