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“What is he talking about?” Beck’s wife asks, taking a step closer to us.
Finally, Winnie looks away from me and looks to her friends. She gives them a timid smile. “We’ve got some things to catch up on.”
Beck’s wife loops her arm through the arm of someone I don’t recognize. Whoever it is must be someone new to New York because she doesn’t seem to have any idea what’s going on. “I need to go to the ladies’ room,” Beck’s wife interjects. Without any questions, she grabs Winnie and yanks her away from me. “You’re coming, too, Win.”
I wait for Winnie to respond, but she stays quiet. All she does is toss a nervous look over her shoulder as her friends pull her away from me and across the ballroom. I miss her presence the moment she’s gone, a realization that doesn’t sit well with me as I turn to face Camden and Beck again.
“It appears congratulations are in order,” Camden comments, lifting his drink in a half attempt to cheers.
My eyes scan the room for Winnie, but she’s been pulled out of view. I tuck my hands into my pockets, straightening my spine. “Thanks, Hunter.”
“Did we miss the invite?” Beck muses. There’s a hint of humor to his voice, like he finds Winnie and me showing up together tonight amusing.
“She wanted something small.” I swallow, trying to hide the lie. She didn’t want any kind of wedding at all, but they don’t need to know that.
Camden’s eyes seem to catch on something across the room because before anyone else can say anything, he’s stepping awayfrom me. “I’ll be back,” he announces, already walking away with his eyes pinned on someone blocked from my view.
“I’m not going to lie, I thought you’d stay single forever. I sure as hell didn’t expect you to show up married toWinnie. Don’t your families hate one another?” Beck takes a drink of his champagne, his eyes watching me closely. He seems genuinely curious about how Winnie and I ended up together. I guess it makes sense if his wife is one of her best friends. I don’t like that there’s a good chance he knows more about Winnie than I do because of the closeness of his wife and mine.
My eyes scan the room for a waiter. A drink would be fucking great right about now. Unfortunately, I don’t see anyone. With a sigh, I look back to Beck. “Didn’t your wife used to date your brother? Or am I making that up?”
Beck scowls, his blond eyebrows pulling in on his face. “A long time ago, yeah. Prefer to not talk about him, though. I’m not his biggest fan.” Beck adds the last sentence with a harsh tone before taking a long sip of his drink.
It’s quiet between us before he speaks up again. “So are you and Winnie really married? She never struck me as the type of person to be so…spontaneous.”
My nostrils flare. I’m tired of people having so many opinions of her when they really don’t know her at all. “It’s been building up for a year, so I wouldn’t exactly call it spontaneous.”
He nods. “Got it.” He drags out the two words, the tone of his voice indicating he still has so many questions but he isn’t going to ask them. “Well, it seems like we might be spending more time together, then. Margo keeps telling me how we should get our friends together for a big, elaborate dinner party soon.”
“Can’t wait,” I lie, not interested in the slightest of attending any more parties than I need to. No matter my opinion on events, I can see Winnie being interested in being able to spend time with her friends, so I fake interest. There are worse guys in our life to spend timewith than Beck.
“Great,” Beck responds, his eyes searching the room. “Let’s find you a drink so we can celebrate your marriage. I need something stronger than this champagne.”
Maybe I’ll end up liking him more than I thought. “That sounds like the perfect idea,” I agree, following him to one of the bars.
CHAPTER 21
WINNIE
Margo doesn’t even havethe door all the way shut before Emma is turning to me with an expectant look on her face. “Talk. Now.” Her voice is demanding and a bit higher than I’m used to hearing from her. It’s obvious she’s trying to keep it together after Archer just casually told her we were married.
“Uhhh…” I begin, wondering where to even start. How do you tell your best friends that you not only had a relationship you hid from them, but you also had an engagement and wedding without telling them any of it? “What do you want to know?”
Margo laughs, looking over at a girl I recognize from Margo’s wedding. Wasn’t she the one Camden kept yelling at? The baker? If they weren’t giving me the third degree, I’d ask if she’s now Camden’s girlfriend. I keep my questions to myself, knowing that as soon as Emma forgives me for keeping my wedding from her, she’ll give me all the details on what’s happening there.
A shocked, strangled sound comes from Emma’s throat. “I don’t know, Winnie, how about you start with when the hell did you get married? What happened to that Blake guy? Doesn’t your familyhatethe Moores?”
I’m thinking about which one of Emma’s questions I’m going to answer first when Margo chimesin. “Who is Blake?”
Emma crosses her arms over her chest. “The last time we talked, hewasWinnie’s boyfriend.”
“He wasnevermy boyfriend.” My body shudders at the thought. Blake and I had been casually flirting for well over a year. But the relationship was never defined—apparently because he wasn’t in it the way I thought he was.
I try not to let my face show a reaction. I’m not hurt to lose him; he wasn’t who I thought he was. What stings is that I didn’t see any of the red flags and that I blindly went into having feelings for him because I liked the attention.
Emma rolls her eyes and lets out an annoyed sigh. “Winnie Bishop, he was at your apartment all the time. Whatever you want to call it, you never once mentioned Archer. How long have you two been together?”
I can’t tell her it’s only been two days. I also can’t tell her the same story we’ve told everyone else. She can typically read me like an open book; I don’t know if she’ll believe me.
