Page 103 of The Fiancée Farce
“Let’s get the fuck out of here!” Teddy shouted, voice echoing inside the stairwell as he hopped the handrail.
“Quiet!” Gemma chuckled. “We’re not in the clear yet, you dunce! Get to the getaway car!”
“This is so exciting!” Teddy laughed. “I feel like I’m living in a Taylor Swift song!”
Tansy’s chest burned and her lungs screamed, wind whipping past the sides of her face as she ran like someone was chasing her, just in case someone was. An awful stitch formed in her side, but screw it.
Maybe it was the adrenaline coursing through her veins or the oxygen deprivation that left her whole chest stinging, or heck, maybe it was the elusive runner’s high she’d heard about but secretly thought was baloney, but it was all too easy to add a burst of speed to her steps, running faster, laughing harder, Gemma’s fingers laced with hers.
She careened into the side of Max’s Range Rover, catching herself with her hands against the window. Gemma gripped her hips, burying her face in the crook of Tansy’s shoulder.
Teddy wrapped his arms around them both, squeezing tight. “We did it! We fucking did it. I feel like I could bench-press a—a—fuck if I know, something heavy!” He turned, smackinga kiss against each of their cheeks. “Tansy, tell me you don’t feel so alive right now!”
“Alive.” She laughed, trying to catch her breath. She was certainly aware of her mortality, that was for sure. “That’s a good word for it.”
The air was electric, humming with shared sense of achievement. Camaraderie. It was heady, the kind of thing Tansy could get hooked on.
Gemma shoved her hair out of her face, cheeks flushed cherry. “Unlock the door, Max!”
“Hold your horses, hold your—” He patted his pockets and frowned. “You guys, I can’t find my keys.”
“Maximillian,” Gemma gasped. “Youdidn’t.”
He cringed. “I think I did. Guys, I think I fucked up.”
Beep, beep.
A horn honked behind them.
Rochelle stuck her head outside the window of the passenger side of her best friend’s ride. “Are you coming or what?”
“I can’t find my keys.” Max tugged on his hair.
“Did you drop them?” Rochelle asked.
“I think I left them in the valet booth.” Max winced. “Along with the rest of the keys.”
Teddy kicked a tire. “Max! You moron! This would never happen in a Taylor Swift song! You’re fucking harshing my vibe, my man!”
“Oh, I’m harshing yourvibe?” Max scoffed. “How the fuck are we supposed to get out of here?”
Yvonne stretched across the seat. Lucy was in the passenger seat and Rochelle in the back. “I can fit two more of you in the back seat if you scrunch. Three, if someone stretches out acrosslaps.” She looked over her shoulder. “Four, if someone is willing to ride in the trunk.”
That sounded... cozy.
Gemma wrapped her hand around Tansy’s elbow, dragging her back a step. “You guys go ahead. Tansy and I’ll take a Lyft.”
“No!” Teddy looked crestfallen. “No man—or woman—left behind.”
Gemma laughed. “We’ll be fine. Trust me. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
“Tomorrow?” Yvonne frowned.
Gemma’s eyes dipped briefly to Tansy’s mouth. “Tansy and I are spending the night at her place.”
Chapter Seventeen
A bright peal of laughter escaped Tansy’s lips as her back hit her front door with a thud.
