Page 71 of Raine Out (Grand Slam 2)

“It’s definitely lust, but I like him, too. We’ve gotten to know each other a little bit. He seems sweet and smart. And he has a really cute sense of humor.”

“He’s all of that,” Sophie says, patting my leg. “And really, it sounds like you just described yourself, so a perfect match.”

I smile at her as I take her hand. “Don’t get too excited, Soph. It’s probably just for the weekend. He’s in Miami and I’ll be in San Diego soon. That doesn’t work too well for dating. You know?”

“I know,” she says, putting her arm around me. “Just have fun while you’re down here and get to know him better. You never know.”

“Can we talk about you now?” I say, laying my head on her shoulder. “Let’s start with why you’re lying about already being married.”

“What?” Sophie says as Maisie sinks down as low into the flamingo as she can. “We’re getting married tomorrow.”

“Shut up, Sophie. I don’t even have to look at you to know you’re lying. You’re worse at it than I am—and that’s saying something.”

Maisie starts giggling underneath her hat.

“Mae! Did you tell her?”

Maisie jerks her hat up. “No! You know I’m a vault.”

Sophie pushes me off her shoulder. “Who told you?”

“No one told me. Come on, Soph. I know you way better than to think this is the kind of wedding you’d have. It would stress you out. And even if Seb wanted a big wedding, there’s no way he’d deny you anything. Did you get married up in Michigan?”

She sighs and lowers herself back onto the side of the raft. “Yeah, over All Star break. Don’t tell anyone.”

“I already told Seb’s agent. He was being a dick and I wanted to fuck with him.”

“Yeah, Seb told me he’s trying to get me to sign a prenup—”

“What?” Maisie sits up. “Too late for that, asshole. Did Seb ask you to sign one before the wedding?”

“No, but I would have if he wanted me to. I don’t need his money. I just want to be with him.”

“And he just wants to be with you,” Maisie says, holding her hand. “You’re going to have a great life together if you can ignore all of the nonsense from some of the people around him. Just concentrate on each other and block out everything else.”

“Agree,” I say. “I can’t imagine why you even invited a lot of these people down here. I’m not even sure some of them want you and Seb together.”

“Exactly,” Maisie says, pointing at Sophie. “Like Ricky and Savannah and now probably the dick agent.”

Sophie sighs. “Yeah, Seb and I talked about that last night. We should have kept this trip a little tighter, but nothing we can do about it now.”

“So,” I say, trying to sound nonchalant, “is there anyone in particular that you think is trying to cause trouble?”

“Ricky—”

“Mae, I told you to lighten up on him. He’s important to Seb.”

“He’s a pain in the ass, but yeah, I don’t think he’d try to do any real harm. He wouldn’t risk being cut off from Seb’s fame.” She sits straight up. “Oh! I forgot to tell you. At the party last night, I overheard that bitch Caroline talking some smack about you to Jack’s wife. I forget her name.”

“Casey.” Sophie rolls her eyes. “Those two are the meanest little women I’ve ever met. They’re crazier than Savannah. Did you say anything to them?”

“Of course I said something,” Maisie laughs. “I told them to shut their bitch mouths or I’d shut them for them.”

I spit out a little of my drink. “Yeah, that’s pretty much what I told Savannah last night, too. Just tell me that the actual wedding had better energy than this shit show.”

“It was so perfect.” Sophie smiles and takes a deep breath. “Just our families, Maisie and Ryan, and Stone and his wife. We got married at sunset on the deck of Seb’s lake house. It was beautiful.”

“So beautiful,” Maisie says. “It was quiet and intimate—just perfect. We stayed there for a few hours to celebrate, and then left them alone for the rest of the week—a perfect Sophie wedding.”

“It sounds lovely. Do you have pictures?”

Maisie pulls out her phone and hands it to me. The picture’s taken from behind Seb and Sophie as they look at the minister—with an orange and pink sunset framing the lake behind him. Sophie’s wearing a long, white sundress with her hair flowing in curls down her back. Seb’s wearing khaki shorts, flip-flops, and an untucked white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. They’re holding hands. Her head’s resting on his arm and he’s kissing the top of her head.

“It’s so perfect,” I say as tears start falling from my eyes.

Sophie lays her head on my shoulder and looks at the picture. “Yeah, it was. I found my soulmate. Mae found hers. Now, we have to find yours. And I think we might have a good start on that already.”

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