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“Ha ha.” She sticks her tongue out at him.
I sit back down to look over the scrapbook once more. Josephine watches over my shoulder, cooing at how adorable it is. The whole thing is a timeline of our lives, from when we met as little kids all the way to now. I take Holden’s advice and leave a few spare pages in the back. Her and I will finish it together.
EMILY ARRIVES A LITTLE after five. I hug her tightly and wish her a happy birthday. The four of us are going to Seaside Boardwalk. Walking around and having a few drinks sounds like the perfect night. Once we’re all ready to go, we climb into Brandon’s car and head out.
The environment in this place is electric. The lights shine brightly as people of all ages fill the boardwalk. Little kids run around, excited to go on the rides or play in the sand. A young girl follows her first boyfriend, watching in awe as he wins her a stuffed bear. It’s heartwarming.
We’re walking along when suddenly Bianca appears in front of us. I roll my eyes immediately as Brandon scoffs.
“Holden! Hey.” She greets him, attempting to give him a hug.
He lightly returns it and then backs away as soon as possible. “Hi.”
“I heard you signed a contract with the Bruins! Congratulations!”
I’ve never seen him look so uncomfortable as he glances at me and then back to her. “Yeah, thanks.”
She turns her attention to me and fakes a smile. “Oh, Kylee. How are you?”
“I’m great Becca, and you?” I reply, not at all masking the bitchiness from my tone.
Brandon snorts while Holden smiles at me proudly. Emily watches us, utterly confused but amused none the less.
“Super.” Bianca bites back, then returns to focusing on Holden. “Well, I’ve got to go. I have rezies at Pear. Kisses.” She blows two rapid kisses toward my fiancé and then walks away, making sure to push herself between him and I as she does. Rolling my eyes, I wait for her to disappear.
“Okay.” Emily finally speaks. “Who the hell was that, and what crawled up her ass and died?”
“Bianca.” I answer coldly, running my fingers through my hair.
Holden’s instantly in front of me, putting his hand on my waist. “I’m sorry, babe. What do you want me to do? I can ignore her if you want.”
I shake my head. “No, it’s fine. She just gets on my nerves, that’s all. I’m not mad at you.”
He sighs, leaning forward and kissing my forehead. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
A little while later, I’m sitting with Emily while H and Brandon see who can score higher on different arcade games. It’s the first time we’ve been alone since she got here. I take a sip of my milkshake, watching as the waves crash against the shore.
“So, Bianca is the girl from last summer?” She asks me.
“Yeah, though she goes back a lot further than that.”
“Aw, don’t sound so bitter. She seems like such a dream.”
I chuckle. “Oh, she’s something alright.”
Emily rests her head against my shoulder. “You do know you have nothing to worry about, don’t you?” I shrug. “No, seriously.” She grabs my hand and shows me the ring on my finger. “You have nothing to worry about.”
Lying my head on hers, I don’t respond, though I don’t really need to. She’s right. Bianca may be in Holden’s past, but I’m his future. He could have had her, but he chose me over and over. There are a million things I could obsess about when it comes to that girl, but none of them are worth it.
THE FOLLOWING MORNING, EMILY and I are sitting on the beach. She’s looking through the scrapbook I made her, wiping her tears each time she flips the page. I need to look away or I’ll end up crying too.
“Well don’t you two look cute.” Brandon quips, sitting next to Em and wrapping his arm around her.
Holden kisses me hello before taking a seat in front of me, leaning back so his head is in my lap. “We have a surprise.”
“Dude!” Brandon barks. “You couldn’t wait five minutes?”
