Page 15 of One Pucking Life

“I still can’t believe you married Cade.”

“Why not? You know I’ve loved him since we were ten.”

“I know,” I say slowly, “but before we left for college, we promised each other we wouldn’t fall for jocks, womanizers, or guys who are too full of themselves. His nickname on the team isHeartbreaker, Iris.”

She releases a dreamy sigh. “Cade is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me. Seriously. Besides, I only said all that stuff in high school because I was heartbroken that Cade was gone. And that nickname? It's not what it seems. Plus, if you had met the douche of a lawyer I was dating before Cade, you would’ve actually died. That guy was everything we promised to avoid. Cade is just perfect.”

I give her a look. “Oh yeah? How’sHeartbreakernot what it seems?”

She leans in closer and lowers her voice. “I was his first.”

I raise a brow. “As in…”

“His first,” she repeats with a shrug. “He was a virgin before me.”

“Get out!” I laugh, shaking my head. “There’s no way.”

“It’s true,” she insists. “He’s only ever wanted me. He waited.”

I blink at her, still skeptical. “I find that hard to believe.”

“Why?” she challenges. “Because he’s beautiful and a jock? You’ve always had these pre-conceived ideas about men, Laney,and they’re not always true. There are a lot of amazing men out there. You just have to find them.”

“Well, I’m clearly looking in the wrong places because I’ve yet to find a decent one.”

Her expression softens. “You’re still not speaking to your dad?”

I shake my head. “Nope. The last time I saw him was… the year after we graduated. I think that was his last trip up here. He was with wife number four at the time—who, by the way, was only six months older than me but acted like she was sixteen.”

“Aw, I feel bad for her,” Iris says with a frown.

“Tell me about it. Hopefully, she’s come to her senses and has moved on by now. I wouldn’t know, though. We’ve had zero contact.”

Iris studies me for a moment, then says gently, “Look, I get that your dad is awful, but you can’t think he’s the norm.”

I lean back into the sofa with a long sigh. “It’s not just him, Iris. I’m not lying when I say I haven’t met a decent guy. I’ve looked. I mean, I’m seriously about ready to give up hope that I’ll ever find one.”

She crosses her legs and turns toward me. “Maybe it’s the law of attraction,” she says. “You expect to find jerks, so that’s all you find. The universe brings you what your energy focuses on.”

I scrunch up my face. “You’ve gotten way more woo-woo than you used to be. This isn’t Harvard Law Iris talking.”

She smiles softly. “Harvard Law me wasn’t happy.”

“Hmm.” I nod slowly, letting that sink in.

Iris taps my knee. “Okay, change of subject. How’s work? How are the boys?”

The mention of them makes my chest ache. It’s been a week since I’ve seen them, and I miss them terribly. If Iris hadn’t texted me about getting together, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t havegotten out of my pajamas at all this week. Losing them has been the greatest heartbreak of my life.

I swallow hard, my voice catching. “I… I don’t know. I was fired.”

Her eyes widen. “What? When? Why?”

I let out a slow, heavy sigh. “Last week. Speaking of asshole men,” I add with a bitter scoff. “The dad came on to me. His wife caught him and assumed there was more going on than there was—or ever would’ve been. She fired me on the spot. I wasn’t even allowed to say goodbye.”

My voice cracks on the last word, the image of those babies in their little eye patches and plastic pirate hooks flashing through my mind. They were waiting for me to join them, and I never even got to explain why I didn’t.

“No,” Iris breathes, her hand flying to her mouth. “You’re kidding.”

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