Page 28 of The Wedding Engagement

“Fine, thanks,” he said slowly, with a spike of concern.Is she okay?“How’s the party?”

She laughed, and he relaxed. “Awesome. Rory’s pals are mental.”

“Okay…” Was that a good thing? “Sounds great.”

“I’m really sorry for asking you to have him again. Rory just didn’t want us to miss this one, you know?”

For some reason, his heart didn’t perform its usual sinking at the sound of Rory’s name. “It’s no problem. I love having himand”—he gave Liv a nudge—“I’ve got my trusty sidekick here to help me.”

Liv flashed him a grin from where she was scrolling through her Insta. “Actually,” she replied in a low voice. “I think you’ll find you’remysidekick.”

He chuckled. “No way, José. I’m Batman and you’re Robin.”

She kept her eyes on her phone screen, a smile still playing at the corner of her mouth. “Piss off.”

“Arran?” Shit, he’d almost forgotten Jess was still on the line. “Who did you say was there with you?”

He watched Liv as she continued to scroll through her feed, the waves of her hair falling onto her forehead. “Liv. My trusty sidekick.”

Liv dug him in the ribs. “Nota sidekick. I’m the frickin’ superhero, baby.”

Jess was silent for a moment. “Liv’s there again?”

Arran shot Liv a grin. “Yeah. Why?”

“You guys are spending a lot of time together.”

He startled. Her tone sounded a little accusatory for someone who’d dumped him and was off partying with her new boyfriend. “Yeah, I know. We’re mates.” Liv looked up to shoot him a questioning glance. He shook his head as if to say, “It’s nothing.”

“Is something going on between you two?”

His pulse picked up.What’s it got to do with you?He hesitated, trying not to let his thoughts become his words. “Like I said, we’refriends. Not that it’s any of your business.” Liv was giving him a wide-eyed look now, so he patted her arm in a reassuring manner then mimed swigging from a bottle to indicate that Jess was just drunk. Liv smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“It is my business.” Jess’s tone was sharp. “If she’s helping to care for my son.”

“Okay,” he said, his patience having run well and truly dry.“You’re drunk and belligerent. Liv’s a nursery school teacher, soon to be Jayce’s nursery school teacher. So who better to help? Bye, Jess. Have a great time.”

He ended the call. “Sheesh. That woman isnota happy drunk.” He threw Liv a smile, but she didn’t return it, fiercely scrolling through her feed, wearing a stressed-out expression. “Hey,” he said gently. “You okay?”

She cleared her throat, shooting him a glance. “I don’t want to cause any trouble.”

He laughed. “There’s no trouble. She’s just had one too many Bacardis, that’s all.”

Liv pushed her glasses up her nose. “Is she normally the jealous type?”

Arran was about to say no, when he paused to ponder. “Not since we broke up. But she did used to be a bit jealous when we were together.” He frowned. “Since then, I suppose she’s had nothing to be jealous about. Because I’ve not been involved with anyone, but moreover, because she dumped me at the frickin’ altar. So, ya know…” He shrugged, making a “yikes” expression in the hope of bringing a smile to Liv’s face.

It worked, and she laughed. “It wasn’t at the altar. It was two weeks before, so think yourself lucky you weren’t standing there like Adam Sandler inThe Wedding Singer.”

Laughing with her, he gave her a gentle shove. “Think myself lucky? Never mindThe Wedding Singer; it felt more like that scene fromIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doomwhere the guy had his heart pulled out of his chest.”

She returned his shove, grinning widely. “Crybaby.”

“For fuck’s sake,” he replied, still laughing. “Can’t even get any sympathy from my best mate.”

Liv gave him a soft smile that conveyed she was pleased hethought of her that way. But did she think of him as her best friend? He hoped so. He studied her, wishing she’d reveal some of her secrets. “Anyway. Once Jess sleeps off her hangover tomorrow, she’ll be as right as rain, I’m sure. And probably won’t even remember that conversation.”

She nodded, putting her phone down. “Yeah. Alcohol does weird things to our brains. One time when I was pissed, I stole a potted plant from the pub.”

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