Page 90 of Perfectly Grumpy

Lucian

I’ve got big news. I’m officially moving to Maple Falls later this year.

Brax

For good?

Lucian

For one season. They’re starting a new NHL team, and I got an offer last night.

Leo

Maple Falls better be ready. You’re bringing all 6’4” of hockey captain energy to Washington. Just promise us one thing.

Lucian

Yeah?

Leo

Never take a shirtless beach photo holding a dog or it will become the contact pic in this chat.

Me

I hate you all.

THIRTY

Tate

A big banner outside the lodge reads “Williamson Family Prom,” and from the way it sags in the middle, I can tell it’s been reused a few too many times. Gold balloons hang from the corners, with gold streamers swaying in the breeze.

Lauren didn’t give me a dress code, but I figured showing up in my usual T-shirt and jeans might get me disowned by her aunts, so I made a stop at home to grab a suit—the navy tailored one I wear to hockey galas when they want us to look like we belong on magazine covers instead of the ice rink.

By the time I arrive back at the lodge, music blares from the game room, and everyone is dressed like they’re a few decades too late for their high school prom.Sequins and layers of tulle and satin from every era line the makeshift dance floor. Aunt Karen’s Christmas lights blink to the beat of the music, while a disco ball—that I’m almost certain came from Bobby and Tammy’s attic circa 1978—spins lazily overhead, scattering silver confetti light across the room. The whole scene looks like prom night collided with a small-town wedding reception.

My gaze circles the room before it lands on Lauren, and everything else blurs into the background. She’s wearing a silver gown that catches the light with every subtle movement, hugging abody I’ve tried not to notice all week. She must have hidden the dress at the lodge earlier. There’s no way I would have missed seeing something this stunning in our tiny cabin. For a guy who prides himself on a decent vocabulary, I’ve suddenly forgotten all my words.

I’ve seen her soaking wet after falling into a pond and half-asleep in pajamas that should be illegal. But this version of Lauren, with her hair falling in soft waves around bare shoulders, the silver fabric making her glow—this version of her destroys all my logic completely.

Hockey players are supposed to have good recovery time, but I might need a minute. Or ten. Because the woman who’s been sleeping a few feet away from me all week looks like she stepped out of a dream—mine.

Falling for Lauren might just be the most illogical thing I’ve ever done. And for a guy who questions everything, who needs facts and statistics to make decisions, I don’t even question this. Not for a second.

I’m just about to walk over, when Granny approaches me in a sparkling mother-of-the-bride gown. “Tate! I was wondering where you were.” She looks like thelong-lost sister ofThe Golden Girls. “Poor Lauren. She’s just had the worst night. I’m so glad you came.”

“What happened?” I ask, my stomach knotting.

“Bart is monopolizing all her time since he and Abby broke up.”

“They broke up?”

She sighs. “He got into a fight with Abby during the volleyball game, and she ended things with him. I’m sure they’ll work things out, but ever since Lauren arrived, he’s been following her around.”

I look back at Lauren. Bart waylays her, leaning into her space like he has any right to be there. He’s standing way too close, flashing that stupid smirk.

Something hot and unfamiliar flames in my chest.This was supposed to be pretend, a favor between colleagues. But watching Bart lean in, his fingers brushing her arm, something stirs inside me that has nothing to do with our arrangement.

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