“She breaks up with guys all the time.Allthe time, Brax,” I remind him before he can finish his sentence. And then I clamp my jaw closed and silently curse myself for revealing that I know such information about his sister. I haven’t been home to Juniper Ridge in eight years, and I therefore shouldn’t know anything about Addison Kinsella’s dating life—yet I do. I know everything.
“Yeah, and I get that, but it seems this guy was different.”
Jasper—the loser who can’t hold down any job longer than six weeks because he can’t get his ass out of bed on time—was different? I swallow my incredulity and work to keep my voice calm. “Different how?”
“Well, I never thought he was any different from the rest when they were dating. They sure lasted a couple of months longer than her usual strays. But she never seemed all that into him to be honest…”
Good! He was a fuck-knuckle who didn’t deserve her. I smile and take another sip of my bourbon.
“But, well…” He blows out a breath. “Eva saw her in the bar a few nights back, and she was…she was really cut up about this guy dumping her.”
“Addie was dumped? And she was cut up about it?” I believe neither of those things, but I have no reason not to believe Eva—Braxton’s bride-to-be and the girl who used to puke her guts up whenever she told a lie back in high school and was therefore both one of the worst and best friends ever.
“I know. I would never believe it myself, but she was crying into her goddamn wine.”
“She was drinking wine?” Addie is a neat bourbon kind of woman, and she only drinks wine when…well, when she wants toget all in her feels.Another random fact I shouldn’t know about her.
“I know, buddy. I told you it was serious. She’s acting like she’s okay now, of course. Classic Addie. But now we have to go to Vermont and obviously she and that douche had a cabin of their own, so now Addie will be in a cabin in the middle of nowhere all by herself. There are no spare rooms in any of the shared ones. And for some reason she chose the one farthest away from the lake. I dunno what’s going on with her but I’m worried about her, Chase. And you’re the only person I trust to look after her.”
No, she chose the one farthest away fromme,not the lake. I am the one person he shouldn’t trust to look after her, and I am certain Addie would be in full agreement with that assessment. But of course, neither she nor I will ever tell her overprotectivebrother the reason why that is. She’s never forgiven me and I can’t say I blame her, but she’s never ratted me out either. “Surely, there’s someone else she can room with? A bridesmaid? A distant cousin?”
“She’s our maid of honor and only bridesmaid, as you know, buddy,” he reminds me. Eva was never one for making a lot of friends, neither male nor female. Brax and I were always her people, and then Addie too as she got older. And Brax has no female relatives he’s particularly close to other than his mom and sister, so of course there are no other bridesmaids. “And our cousins are all sharing with someone or in couples,” he adds.
I remain silent. Surely, there’s a better option than me?
“So, you’ll do it, yeah?” Brax asks.
What? Spend four whole days in a tiny cabin with the walking bundle of sass, fire and seduction that is Addie Kinsella? That will be torturous enough, but then there’ll be the nights too. Nights when she’ll be in the room next door to me…Fuck, she’ll kill me in my sleep. Or she’ll torture me instead. Put itching powder in my boxers. Sew shrimp into the lining of my tuxedo.
“Chase?” Brax snaps me out of those thoughts.
For the love of fuck! I one hundred percent cannot do this. “Of course, Brax. Anything you need.”
“Thanks, buddy. I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah.”
“Yeah.” We say goodbyes and end the call and I down the rest of my drink.
Tomorrow!
That means less than twenty-four more hours of freedom before I have my balls metaphorically, and quite possibly literally, skewered by Addie Kinsella. Although I haven’t seen her in person for eight years and maybe she won’t still hold a grudge. There have been some unavoidable video calls with Brax and Eva for wedding prep, or when she’s been at their place over the holidays, or when they’ve been visiting me in LA andhave called her. Those latter occasions, when I’ve said a quick hey, and then made a big thing about giving them space, while I secretly remained in earshot just so I could listen to them talk. Which inevitably reminded me of all the things I miss about Juniper Ridge. During all of those calls, she has been her usual bright and bubbly self. However, even in the heat of the LA sunshine, I could feel the ice in her tone whenever she directly addressed me. Or maybe I imagined all of that. Perhaps she’s mellowed since I left. Maybe she’s no longer the raven-haired firecracker who told me she’d drive a stiletto through my heart if I ever set foot in Juniper Ridge ever again. Perhaps she’s forgiven me?
And now I’m officially certifiably insane.
I signal for another drink and the same bartender serves me again. I’m only vaguely aware of her telling me what time she gets off and asking me if I have a room here in the hotel. I mumble an excuse about being on a flight in a few hours and then head to a quiet corner of the bar. Ordinarily, taking her up on her offer would be a no-brainer. But now Addie is in my head, and as usual, she refuses to fucking leave.
Chapter 3
Addison
# Never let your soon-to-be sister-in-law find you crying into your wine nine days before her wedding
Ihold the wild jasmine to my nose and take a deep inhale. It’s one of my favorite scents in the entire world and it never fails to make me smile. Then I carefully place it into the Wild Bloom arrangement I’m currently making for Edith Calhoun. Her husband, John, gets her a bouquet of flowers every other week without fail, and they almost always include wild jasmine.
My soon-to-be sister-in-law, Eva, is supposed to be selecting the final flourishes for her wedding flowers—they’ll be artificial flowers, of course, so they still look fresh in five days’ time and can be reused afterward. The latter being particularly important to Eva who likes to recycle everything. These particular flowers will be donated to Juniper Ridge’s nursing home to spruce up their Christmas décor, and I’ll add some extra holly and mistletoe to ensure they look as festive as possible once I’m back from Vermont. But instead of looking through the varioussamples of eucalyptus and ferns, Eva’s eyes are burning into the back of my skull. Her concern for me is mildly suffocating, not to mention entirely unnecessary.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asks again, her usual soothing tone only making my skin prickle today.
I screw my eyes closed, give myself a quick reminder that she’s only concerned because she’s like my big sister and she loves me, plaster a smile on my face and spin around.
