AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“So youhavebeen in love then?”
He shook his head, eyes widening. “No way. That shit’s for losers.”
Theo and Nate came up for air then, and Theo leveled Parker with a look. “Look, Park, I can still kick your ass off the kickball team if I need to.”
Parker sighed and crammed his hands into his pockets. “Fine.”
As we walked out of the hotel and into the bright Vegas sunshine, even I was feeling irritable and off-kilter. The more in love Theo and Nate seemed, the less fun I was having. I couldn’t stop thinking about Oliver. I really liked him. That was all there was to it. Clearly, though, he didn’t feel the same about me, or he wouldn’t have suggested ending our marriage so soon.Divorce. The word thudded through my skull the same way a dull, throbbing headache that was developing in my brain did.
“Right, Cam?” Levi chirped.
I looked over at him, shielding my eyes. “What?”
“I was just saying how cute Nate and Theo are together.”
Parker made his usual fake gagging sound. Annoyance flooded through me. I was tired—tired of Parker’s insistence that love was disgusting, tired of Theo and Nate’s mooning over one another, tired of the incessant Vegas overstimulation. “Could you not?” I snapped in Park’s direction. Levi’s eyebrows shot up and Theo unsuccessfully attempted to suppress a giggle. “And you two. Can you stop sucking face for three seconds?”
Nate scowled. “What crawled up your ass?”
I let out a long, slow breath. “Nothing.” The heat started to drain out of me. “Nothing at all. I’m sorry.”
“You’re pretty grouchy this morning.” Levi shrugged.
“Maybe you need to get laid,” Parker suggested.
“You offering?” I said in a biting tone.
“Careful,” Theo muttered. “Park will fuck just about anyone who consents.”
Parker flipped him off. “Don’t judge my slutty ways.”
I let out another sigh and scrubbed my hands over my face. The fight was completely gone from my chest. “Sorry guys. I don’t know what got into me. Let’s just go have a good time. It’s our next to last day in Vegas, and I don’t want to screw it up with my bad mood.”
Parker placed a hand on my shoulder. “All good, man, my offer stands though.” He nudged me in the ribs with his elbow and winked.
“You’re practically my brother. Hard pass.” I pulled out my phone and checked my notifications. Nothing from Oliver.
We made our way to the brunch restaurant we’d picked out and when we finally took our seats, I was crammed between Bennett and Levi. If I was being honest with myself, I was grateful it wasn’t Parker and the happy couple. At least Bennett was nice enough that he’d pick up on my mood and avoid provoking me and Levi was probably too clueless to notice. He was a good friend, but he wasn’t the most observant guy on the planet.
I enjoyed a crab eggs Benedict and tried to ignore Parker shoveling a week’s worth of breakfast meats into his mouth. I also tried to ignore Nate and Theo’s lovey-dovey behavior. The more I thought about it, the more unhappy I was that I couldn’t remember the wedding. Fragments were coming back to me, but nothing substantial. I was the one who wanted to get married, more than any of my friends had, and I’d even been the first in the group to tie the knot. The thing was, I was married to a guy who didn’t want to be with me, and I could barely remember a minute of it. I was done with the fairy tale of getting married and falling in love. Just completely done with it. It was stupid and I was stupid for believing in it for so long.
“This place is amazing,” Parker muttered through a mouthful of sausage.
I nodded. “Thanks. I’m glad I at least got the food right.”
Jared reached for the syrup to douse his next pancake. “Not as good as last night’s meal though. That place was outrageous.”
At the mention of Oliver again, my stomach twisted itself into knots. I let out a ragged breath and Bennett shot me a curious look. “Yeah,” I murmured. “That place was pretty special.”
Our next stop was a matinée of a Cirque show. We arrived early and tucked into our seats. Jared had selected this particular event, and he was grinning ear to ear.
“What’s got you so happy?” I asked, trying not to pout.
“I think thelovebirds are going tolovethis show.” He leaned over and murmured to me quietly with a wink.
A cold dread washed over me. “Oh God. We’re seeingLove, aren’t we?”
He nodded, beaming. “Yup.”
