Page 55 of One Time Player

I make a show of checking him out and then return my gaze to Evan. Just staring into his dark orbs sets me on fire.

“Not my type.” I shrug.

“There you are,” Quinn huffs as she leans on the bar beside us. “Sorry, was I interrupting something?”

“Not at all,” I reply. I’m pretty sure Evan was going to say something else.

“Sorry, Evan, I need to borrow your date for a minute,” Quinn cuts in. “Family emergency.”

“Oh my gosh, what happened?” I ask. I have the wine glass in my hand as Quinn takes my other hand and pulls me away to the other side of the hall. “What has gotten into you?”

She finally turns and I see the livid look on her face. “I think Amy is cheating on my brother,” she blurts.

“What?” I ask, feeling confused.

“I was in the ladies’ room in a stall and she was talking to someone on the phone. She told the person she loved them and missed them,” she explains.

“Maybe she was talking to her granny,” I suggest.

Quinn gives me a get-real look. “Patty, this is serious. Amy is. . .”

“I know what you’re going to say, but Hunter loves her. He’s happy. Don’t yuck his yum.”

“Dude, that doesn’t apply here,” Quinn says. “What if it was Kevin and someone was trying to screw him over?”

“Quinn, Amy is carrying his baby. Hunter is committed to both of them. I think it’s endearing. You may not like her, but he does. You will need to learn to accept her.”

“Gah, I know you’re right. I just have this horrible feeling in my gut,” she pouts. Pretty sure Aunt Sloane is feeling the same way.

“We need to support Hunter, no matter what. If shit hits the roof, then we’ll be here to support him too, but this is his big day. Let him be happy.”

“Fine, but I think the saying is if shit hits the fan,” she laughs.

“Whatever,” I laugh too.

“Let’s get drunk,” she cheers. “Oh, and by the way, Andrew isn’t invited tonight. He’ll be here tomorrow though. For brunch and the wedding.”

The sound of his name causes familiar knots to return to my stomach.

“Thanks for the heads-up. I’m going to go back to Evan. Do you want to come and grab a drink with us?”

“I definitely need one,” she agrees.

We all get seated at tables for a meal. I’m not very hungry though and only pick on my food. I’m nervous about seeing Andrew after all this time. I wonder if he will even acknowledge me. It shouldn’t matter, but on some level, I would like an apology from him for his shitty behavior. He was, after all, supposed to be the mature adult. I was just a kid.

The rehearsal finally begins and I’m walking down the aisle with one of Hunter’s friends. Quinn is walking with another one of his friends. The guy grins at her and cheers like he’s won the lottery, and Hunter punches him in the arm and tells him to behave. I was sure I would be walking with Kevin, but they put him with one of the bridesmaids. I don’t say anything about the weird setup. I figure it wasn’t Hunter who has planned this shindig and I don’t want to be the Debbie Downer at his parade. I suck it up and walk with the college boy. After the rehearsal there are some speeches. Amy says thank you to everyone for coming on such short notice and then makes a joke about it being a shotgun wedding. Aunt Sloane and Quinn don’t find her humor to be funny though, and Mom gives me a worried look.

Hunter gives a speech about how much he loves Amy and is looking forward to the baby, and his kindness and support does something to my insides. I sure didn’t get that kind of support from Andrew, who I will be seeing tomorrow. A part of me fears I will want to throat punch him, but I can’t exactly do that with my dad around because why would I do that to his old teammate?

After dinner there is some dancing.

“Would you like to dance?” Evan asks.

“As long as we keep it PG,” I whisper. I’ve probably had too many glasses of white wine is the truth.

Evan smiles and he blushes a little. He offers me his hand and I take it.

“Are you referring to Focus?” he asks once we are on the dance floor.

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