Page 335 of Boots, Bucket Lists & Bad Ideas
My mind starts whirling.
I’m not giving up the life I’ve built for myself overnight because we suddenly realize we want to be with each other.
“Mrs. Hart Wilde,” Hannah adds in a singsong voice, as if I were one of her twins.
I never said I was changing my last name. Hell, I never said I was getting married.
“Rolls off the tongue real easy.” Hannah’s still singing.
She laughs.
My sisters laugh.
I’m not laughing.
The comment hits me square in the chest. My stomach twists.
Not hard or sharp.
More like a slow, deep pull. A root being yanked. I hold my smile like it’s my armor and take another sip of sweet tea, tasting nothing.
“Guess we won’t be seeing you around The Hive as much once you’re living with him.” Natalie leans back in her chair, tapping the edge of her beer, watching the stage.
“Are you going to have a big wedding?” Josie sucks in a deep breath, as if trying to cool her mouth down. “Or elope?” Her sticky fingers pick up another wing. “Like, at Christmas, are we gonna discover you’ve been married the entire year?”
“Ya’ll, I never said anything about marriage.”
“She’s gonna elope.” Josie dives into her wing.
“I’m going to have to plan your bridal shower ASAP.”
I make a face at the excrement in Hannah’s tone. Doesn’t see the horror on my face at the idea of her planning a huge bash where I’m the center of attention?
My gaze drifts across the tent, where Hart is talking to the mayor and pointing at the banner.
He smiles at something Mayor Thomas says, then his eyes catch mine, as if they’ve been fixed on me all night.
But this time, all I feel is the way the conversation has boxed me in like a neat little package with a future already printed on the label: Wilde Property. Handle with Care.
A house on land I didn’t choose. A name that doesn’t come with my own. A history I didn’t get to rewrite, but only to marry into.
My heart thuds once, low and uncertain.
My sisters don’t mean anything by it.
But I hear it anyway. Not the teasing, but the truth behind it.
I’m not just falling in love with Hart Wilde. I’m falling into the enemy’s lap. The legacy. The bloodline.
It’s all too much. Too fast. I gotta get out of here.
“Excuse me.” I stand and leave before they can say another word.
My mind spins with thoughts as I push my way through the crowds. The tents exit can’t come soon enough. The fresh air hits me, and I’d hoped it would calm my racing mind.
It doesn’t.
It does the opposite.
