Page 22 of Mr. Swoony

“They don’t know.”

She nods slowly. “That makes more sense.” Ruby pushes her chair back and stands. “My advice is that you sit in this room all night. I’m sorry, but you lost out. Maybe you’ll find out she canceled the wedding. But if she marries that guy, you move on. It means she wasn’t meant for you.” She pats me on the shoulder.

“Rubes, do you believe in soul mates?”

She laughs, her hand resting on the door. “I wouldn’t own this bar if I believed in soul mates. What kind of shot do you want? On the house.”

“So I can drink now?”

“I always serve broken hearts.” She walks out, and I assume she’ll pick the shot for me. “Oh, great, you three can cheer this guy up,” I hear her say.

The three rookies who think of this room as theirs walk in.

“Hey, chipmunks,” I say.

“Water? What is this? We’re not even in season.” The guy we call Alvin sits down next to me.

The other two, Simon and Theodore, follow suit. These three are more attached than Rowan, Henry, Tweetie, and I are. But it’s good to have close friends in the league.

None of my friends are around. In fact, two of them are attending Eloise’s wedding today. So, I’m going to seek the advice of these younger, fresh-faced players.

A half hour later, Ruby hasn’t just brought me one shot, but four—with the encouragement of the chipmunks—and now I’m babbling about Eloise as if she was mine at some point, when, in reality, it was only one night that we shared.

“Where is this wedding?” Simon asks.

I saw the invitation on Henry and Jade’s fridge when we helped them move furniture around earlier this week. Talk about a punch to the fucking gut. “It’s up in Winnetka.”

“And Henry’s there?” Simon asks.

“Yeah. And Rowan.”

“We should go to the wedding,” Alvin says.

“Hell yeah, we should,” Theodore adds.

“I’ll call an Uber.” Simon picks up his phone off the table.

“Nah, guys, she’s obviously happy with the asshole. Let her marry him.”

“Are you sure?” Simon asks, holding up his phone.

“Yeah, but I’ll take another shot,” I say.

“You got it.” Theodore stands and heads out of the room.

I lean back in my chair. “She was fucking beautiful though…” I shake my head, reliving that night for the umpteenth time.

“We saw her. She was.” Alvin pats me on the back.

“Not helping.” I lift the drink one of them got me at some point. I think it’s my second. Maybe it’s my third. “But this will help me forget.” I down it in one gulp.

Theodore comes in with another tray of shots, then Simon gets the next round ten minutes later.

“You’re getting him up to his place,” Ruby says, delivering another round of drinks a half hour later.

“I’m just upstairs,” I say, feeling buzzed but not completely smashed.

I pick up my phone at some point and see that Jade has posted a pic on her social of her and Henry dressed for the wedding. At the wedding where she’ll walk down the aisle before Eloise.

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