The thought slides under my skin. I take her hand and spin her slowly, letting the light from the kitchen catch every shimmering inch of that dress. Her ass curves perfectly beneath the silk in a way I shouldn’t notice, and when she turns back to me, I pull her closer without thinking, her perfume brushing over me like the faintest hint of honeysuckle on a warm breeze—sweet but a little wild too.
I brush a strand of hair from her cheek and tilt her chin, more rehearsed than spontaneous, reminding myself this is practice. This is fake. So when I lean down, my words are smooth as I whisper in her ear. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, and I still can’t believe I get to call you mine.”
For a second neither of us moves, and it feels like the air crackles with something, but then Serena throws her head backand laughs and whatever was in that pause disappears, or maybe it wasn’t even there at all. “Wow, Chase. Very smooth.”
“What can I say? I’m a good boyfriend. You should’ve seen me in kindergarten—I shared my crayons and everything. Real commitment material.”
Serena grabs her clutch from the counter, still smiling. “Come on. We’ve got a world to convince.”
I open the door of my truck for her, and she slides in, careful of her dress. It’s only a short drive to the ranch house where the others are meeting us. Serena tells me another fact about mountain lions, I call her out about being a nerd, and like always it feels like the easiest damn thing in the world to sit beside her in my truck.
EIGHT
SERENA
ELLE:How are you feeling about fake-kissing Chase? Call me tomorrow to tell me everything!
SERENA:It’s going to be weird!
ELLE:If I can survive three kids’ birthday parties this weekend, you can survive a kiss with a gorgeous football player.
SERENA:When you put it like that…
LIV:Have fun tonight! Hope you know what you’re doing!
MIA:Good luck tonight! Remember—make it look real!
SERENA:I have no idea what that means.
MIA:It means no pecks on the cheek.
HARPER:It means full tongue and looking at him like you want to rip his clothes off.
RYAN:Can’t wait to see you tonight!
“I am so excited to see you two pull this off,” Harper says, adjusting the strap of her sapphire A-line dress as she takes a seat on the bench of the long oak table in the ranch house kitchen.
The place hasn’t changed much in the years since I was the one sitting there doing homework sessions with Chase or grabbing a midnight snack during sleepovers. The space is warm wooden cabinets, stone countertops, and a massive stove big enough to cook for a dozen hungry football players.
“Or watch you epic fail,” Jake adds from across the kitchen. He wears his tux well—but not quite as well as Chase, I think, sneaking a glance at my best friend. Chase fills out that tux like it was custom-made. It probably was.
Dylan strides in next. His thick dark hair is freshly washed and styled but he’s tugging at the collar of his dress shirt like it’s trying to strangle him. “Five minutes into the ball before this bow tie comes off. Calling it now.”
Right behind him is Madison, skidding in with Buck, Jake’s yellow retriever, at her heels. She’s wearing a red Stormhawks jersey and denim cutoffs, blonde curls wild and bouncing. “Grandpa Joe says we can make ice cream sundaes when you go,” she announces, mentioning her paternal grandfather.
“Grandpa Joe clearly doesn’t want any peace tonight,” Izzy says, following behind. She looks stunning in an off-the-shoulder blue dress. I smile at her, but my eyes slip to her stomach. Even though there’s barely the start of a bump yet, a little ache stirs in my chest.
“I feel ridiculous,” Izzy mutters, fiddling with the ends of her hair.
Dylan is by her side in a few strides and wrapping her in his arms. “You’re the most beautiful person in the world.”
“No offense taken,” Chase says with a mock-pout, and of course, we all laugh.
Then Mama sweeps through the back door like a queen, carrying a bottle of champagne in her hands. Her gown is floor-length black velvet, simple and stunning.
“Wow, Mama,” Chase says, whistling as he takes the champagne from her. “You look gorgeous.”
His compliment is chorused by the rest of us.