She bites her lip and shrugs as she pulls into Cocko Taco and parks beneath the sign and next to the giant rooster made of red, blue, and yellow metal welded together like yard art.
“Cricket ...”
She turns toward me as my unspoken threat trails off.
“You had to face him sometime. When I saw them on the sidewalk, I thought it would be like ripping off a Band-Aid. Now it’s over and done with, and you don’t have to spend time worrying about him anymore. Your anxiety was messing with your energy. You’ve been a hot mess ever since you got in the van. I could feel it rolling off you. I’m trying to help you find some Zen, Whit.”
I cover my face with both hands and drop my head back against the headrest. “I know what you’re trying to do, but I was perfectly content with my plan to avoid him for the rest of my natural life. It was a great plan. Fucking amazing.”
“It was a terrible plan.”
“And why’s that?” I peek through my fingers to see my cousin looking at me like I’m an idiot.
“The wedding? We have a bunch of wedding festivities planned, and he’ll be there. Plus ... Hunter’s mom insisted it all be at The Gables.”
My fingers snap closed and I stop looking at my cousin because I don’t want her to see my look of horror.
The Gables.Great. Only one of the fanciest mountainside resortsin the world, andowned by the Riscoffs.
“Are you sure you don’t want Karma to be your maid of honor?” I ask the windshield.
Cricket lays a hand on my arm. “No, Whit. I want you. If you truly can’t handle it, I’ll understand. But ... I will hold it against you forever.”
“Whore,” I mumble under my breath.
“No, that’s Karma. I’ve got zero kids, and she hastwowith no baby-daddy in sight.”
I draw in a deep breath and try to find the strength to tell my cousin it’s fine. I can do this. I won’t flake out on her like I basically have for the last ten years.
“I’m picking out my own dress, and I get to throw you whatever kind of bachelorette party I want.”
Her squeal fills the van. “Fuck yes!” She lunges across the center console and wraps her arms around me. “Thank you, Whit. You’re the best, and I love you so much. It’ll be great. I promise. You won’t even notice he exists.”
And that’s where Cricket is dead wrong. Pretending Lincoln Riscoff doesn’t exist is impossible.
I already tried it once, and I remember exactly how that turned out ...
7
Whitney
The past
“I’ve gotsomething you might want.”
His voice.
My head jerked up and I looked around, thinking I must have been hallucinating, but no. I wasn’t.
Lincoln Riscoff was standing in the doorway of the Havalins’ bathroom, holding my abandoned boot, while I was on my hands and knees scrubbing grout.
Awesome. Why don’t we just take a scene right out of Cinderella? The prince bringing around a shoe to fit the maid.
I tore my gaze away from my favorite boot dangling in front of my face and forced my attention back to the grout.
I will not acknowledge him. I will not give him the satisfaction.
I also wouldn’t think about how my lips tingled when I remembered what it felt like to kiss him.