Page 106 of Wild Then Wed
“Okay,” I say, resting my elbows on the edge of the table. “One—I once accidentally joined a yoga class because I thought it was a self-defense workshop. Two—I’ve never seenThe Notebook.Three—I got stuck in an elevator with a bachelorette party on the Vegas strip for an hour and they made me wear a pink sash that said ‘Bride’s Bitch.’”
Hudson snorts into his water. “Okay, no way that last one’s real.”
Boone raises a brow. “Honestly, the yoga one sounds too normal.”
Sage points at me. “There’s no chance you’ve never seenThe Notebook.You’re a liar if you say you haven’t.”
Ridge leans forward, grinning. “I’m gonna say the elevator one’s true. It’s way too specific to be a lie.”
Wren crosses her arms and gives me a look. “The yoga class is the lie.”
I glance at her. “You sure?”
Her mouth quirks up like she knows something the rest of them don’t. “You have a sister. And a mother. You’ve definitely seenThe Notebook.And you’re way too polite to tell a group of drunk women no. The yoga class is the lie.”
I smile. “She’s right.”
Laughter erupts around the table—some groaning in mock outrage, others already trying to pry more details out of me about the bachelorette party story. It’s a loud, familiar chaos that fills every corner of the room and doesn’t leave space for anything too serious.
Boone jabs a finger in Wren’s direction, grinning. “Of course she got it. She’s secretly terrifying.”
Wren just lifts one shoulder in a shrug, the edge of her mouth curving like she knows exactly what she’s doing. And maybe she does.
The moment lands harder than I expect it to. Sharp, quiet. A breath caught in my ribs.
It’s just a game. Nothing more. But somehow, she always manages to look a little too closely. To see through me in ways I haven’t quite figured out how to guard against.
And part of me wonders if she knows it.
Boone leans back, stretching one arm behind Lark’s chair as he nods toward the far end of the table. “All right, Miller. Your turn.”
Miller taps her nails against her wineglass, her mouth pulled into that half-smile she’s had all night.
“Fine,” she says. “Let’s see.” She takes a slow sip, then sets the glass down with a soft clink. “One—I once broke into my ex’s house and put glitter on all his ceiling fans. Two—I got mistaken for a celebrity at a bar and signed a guy’s neck. Three—I went home with a guy once and left after we hooked up because his dog wouldn’t stop humping my leg.”
Everyone starts laughing before she even finishes the third one.
Hudson wheezes. “They’re all too good to be true.”
Before anyone else can guess, Lark leans forward with a grin that tells me she’s not guessing at all. “The neck signing is the lie. I helped break into your ex’s house, remember? Glitter bombed the fans. We had to climb through his insanely high window to get in. It was beautiful.”
Miller doesn’t deny it. Just starts cracking up, covering her mouth like she’s re-living the moment in real time.
“And Chase,” Lark adds, laughing harder now. “The guy with the weirdly human dog who also stared at you the whole time? She texted him the next day and said, ‘I just feel like your dog was judging us.’”
Miller loses it, full-on laughing now, nodding. “That dog wasnotokay. Like, full eye contact. The entire time. I had to leave.”
Boone just shakes his head like this is nothing new. “You two are feral.”
No one disagrees.
Across the table, Ridge’s hand is curled tight around his beer, jaw flexing in that quiet, tell-tale way guys do when they’re trying not to react. He doesn’t say anything. Doesn’t look at her. But he also hasn’t blinked since she said the wordshooked up.
Even Sage is laughing now, her head resting on her hand, eyes wide. “Okay but seriously—glitter on the fans?”
“Ceilingfans,” Miller corrects, regaining composure. “Strategically timed for maximum damage.”
Wren is laughing softly beside me, her hand brushing her mouth, her body warm with the ease that only comes when she forgets to guard it.
