Page 44 of Rebel Bride
I squinted, then stood so I could tower over her and tell her what was what.
“Ava’s not stalking anyone.” So she had been fairly aggressive in pursuing me last summer, but she understood the score now.
“She knew we were going to that restaurant, and then, hey, that’s where she got her take-out from. Are you still annoyed about the kiss?”
“I don’t care about the kiss. I’d just appreciate a heads-up next time you’re planning to dive into one of your many roles.”
She opened her mouth, but I was already gone, heading to the shed to look for a bike repair kit. She had started this business with the tire, but she didn’t even have the correct supplies? Annoyed at her effect on me, I rummaged around in the shed until I found what I was looking for. When I turned back, Summer was standing at the entrance. The morning light limned her figure, giving her a haloed silhouette. She might be thin, but she had shapely hips, and lovely legs, and I was sick of the sight of her.
“One of my many roles?”
“Forget it.” I moved forward but she blocked the exit.
“No, tell me. What roles have I been playing?”
I shrugged, though my shoulders were so stiff the movement made me wince.
“Tell me.”
“Summer, the adoring fiancée. Summer, the perfect assistant to the GM. Summer, the good friend. Summer, the gold digger. Summer, the nervous skeleton bride. And now we’ve got a whole other part of your repertoire as you move into summer stock. We’ve got Shelby Mae, the erotic novelist. And is it Summer or Shelby Mae who thinks it’s a whole lotta fun to lead a guy on with the best kiss of his life, the same guy whose teammate she just jilted? I guess you contain multitudes.”
She stared at me, dumbfounded. I only wish I’d lost my own ability to speak about twenty seconds ago. Had I really just told her that was the best kiss of my life?
“I-I’m sorry. I was only trying to help.”
“Well, don’t. I’ve got a bike tire to fix.”
After a moment, she stepped aside and I walked by her, ignoring the wide-eyed shock on her face. We certainly had enough of that to go around.
Chapter Fourteen
Summer
* * *
The best kiss of his life.
Sure, it had been good. Okay, amazing. But the best? Hatch must have kissed plenty of girls—Ava came to mind, unfortunately—but I couldn’t possibly have been at the top of his scale, could I?
It might have been a top-shelf kiss, but Hatch Kershaw was not happy about it. He thought I was pretending—and I was. At first. It started that way and developed into something else and now I was left wondering how to get me more of that amazing mouth.
Which was all wrong, of course. I had just crashed and burned my previous relationship, and now I was thinking about another man less than forty-eight hours later. Hatch was right: I did contain multitudes!
The part of me who was not a trophy wife wannabe or a bride on the lam needed to think about the future. This morning, I had texted Dash.
Could we talk?
It hadn’t been delivered. I appeared to have been blocked. I understood, but I had hoped he might have calmed down and would want to listen to what I had to say. Of course, he had every right to excise me for his mental health.
Still, I needed to talk to someone, and Hatch was clearly too angry to be a good sounding board. Both Adeline and Rosie had left messages. I suspected Adeline would be more sympathetic while Rosie would be all “fuck that guy” without even caring that I was at fault.
I texted them both on our group thread, Chirpy Chicks.
Is anyone up for a chat with the most hated person in the Midwest?
Rosie
If you’re talking about Conor, then it’s a pass from me. If you mean you, then of course!
