Page 31 of Kiss the Bride

I pressedsendand regret it immediately, until I receive the reply.

Liv (Mum): You were always good together. Can you please text her father. This has triggered things for us, and I can’t deal with him right now. Thx Rachel.

Hunter to Liv (Dad): Sir, your daughter is safe. I’m with her.

Liv (Dad):You on her honeymoon with her? W

Hunter:Separate rooms. She needed a friend.

Why does everyone suspect the worst? Probably because I would, too.

Liv (Dad):Man to man, is my daughter going to take him back?

Liv (Dad):He’s acting like a groveling monkey looking for scraps. I’m ignoring his calls. W

Hunter: Doubtful but it wouldn’t be the first time your daughter has shocked me.

Liv (Dad):If you hurt her or take advantage of her, hell will seem like a cushy vacation for what I will do to you. W

Guess he’s not rolling out the red carpet for me, yet. But at least he isn’t booking flights to come and kick my ass. This time, I draft and redraft a longer text that I hope will keep my body parts intact.

Hunter: I’ll always love your daughter.

Hunter: I promise to do whatever is in her best interests.

Hunter: Right now, she needs a friend. Right now, she needs someone to talk to everyone back home because she can’t.

Liv (Dad): Can’t or doesn’t want to.

Hunter: Doesn’t know what to say. It hasn’t even been 24 hours. Give her time.

Liv (Dad): As long as you do the same.

Really? Does the whole world think I’m an asshole?

Mitch: You fucking her?

Okay, even assholes think they can recognize one of their own.

Pete: Your friend could use an eye patch.

I can’t help smiling at the imagery of Mr. Perfect Teeth and Face sporting a black eye. I’d give serious money to watch Pete throw that punch—hell, I’d have even held Mitch to keep him steady.

Hunter: He stopped being a friend the minute he screwed around on Olivia

Hunter: But the dude likes symmetry. Wanna go two from two or wait until I get back?

Pete: Can’t believe you let him off without touching him up.

Hunter: First priority was to get Olivia out of there. Protect the innocent.

Pete: Then fuck over the assholes.

I can ignore most of the texts coming through, but Pete was the least deserving of a cheating girlfriend and all this bullshit. He’d been a player right up until the night he met Lina. From that moment, he’d become the definition of pussy-whipped; a man so in love with his woman, he made the rest of us look bad. Has Lina realized what she threw away—and for what? Mitch isn’t gonna love her. She’ll never be able to trust him.

Pete: Did you see them together?

I’m so not going to answer that. Olivia’s video can speak for itself. No man needs to know the details.

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