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“And considering you’re about to marry him,” Shea said, pointing the neck of her beer bottle at Grady, “I’d say you need all the luck you can get.”
“Guess we can cancel the wedding DJ and have this comedian provide our entertainment instead.”
“Oh, please.” Shea put her palms together in front of her in a prayer position. “I beg you. I’ll come prepared with so many photos and stories about you.”
Grady scoffed. “Nothin’ to tell, I came out kicking ass.”
“I need to grab a drink for the toast. Who needs one?” I asked.
“I’ll take a water,” Shea said.
“Pussy,” Grady coughed into his hand.
“I’m not exaggerating when I tell you I’m still hungover,” Shea said. “I don’t think I’ve ever had that much alcohol in one weekend.”
“Water for me, too,” Avon said.
Shea stared at her brother. “Just waiting for you to try calling her a pussy,” she said.
Grady pressed his lips together, then said, “I’ll get that water for you, my love.”
Drinks in hand, we all walked out of The Hideout, Grady and Avon walking hand in hand and Shea and I trailing behind them.
“Are the kids with your parents?” she asked.
“Yeah, my parents are having a campout in their backyard for them. Roasted hot dogs, s’mores, ghost stories...I think my parents might be more excited about it than the kids.”
She smiled. “That sounds like fun.”
“Sorry about your work stress,” I said.
She shrugged. “It’s just the nature of the job.”
“They’re very lucky to have you. They should be bending over backward to keep you happy.”
“Holt, finally!”
The hair on the back of my neck stood up at the sound of the voice that called my name. It was like hearing a ghost talking to me.
I stopped walking, shocked to see Andrea walking toward me. Her hair was darker and she wasn’t pregnant anymore. I just stood there, too shocked to form words.
“Hey,” she said softly, smiling as she stopped a couple of feet from me. “It’s so good to see you.”
“What the hell are you doing here?”
My ex-wife. In Sven’s Beard. I’d never imagined her and this place coexisting this way, and it was unnerving.
“You won’t take my calls, and I just...we need to talk.”
I looked at Shea, whose expression told me she wanted to be anywhere but here. Of all the shitty luck, Andrea had to show up when I was with Shea.
“Shea, this is my ex-wife,” I said tightly. “Andrea, this is Shea Grady.”
“Nice to meet you,” Andrea said, giving Shea a little wave.
“I’m going to catch up with Grady and Avon,” Shea said. “I’ll see you later.”
I hesitated, wanting to tell her not to go, but she practically ran away. I shook my head, feeling like a fucking idiot for thinking Andrea had already done all the damage she could do to my life.
