Page 34 of The Love Playbook

ATLAS:

Listen to her. If she’s going through something hard, be there for her and help her through it without trying to solve the problem for her.

ME:

This is some good shit. Keep it coming, boys.

“Hang on,” Jace says, setting his phone down on the bed to face me. “Dude, I think you need to think this through.”

“Thinking is overrated,” I say, blowing him off.

“What happens when it ends in disaster? Think long-term. If your parents do get married, then you’re tied to this girl forever. Not to mention, if it blows up in your face prior to them getting married, then she’ll hate your guts even more than she already does, making her even more jaded. Then she’ll really be against your parents getting married.”

“He has a point.” Brynn grimaces.

“Not gonna happen.”

Jace crosses his arms over his chest. “And you know this, how?”

“Because I’m Chris fucking Collins, and I’ll have the Love Playbook,” I say, waving my phone out in front of him. “How could I possibly fail?”

Chapter 9

CHARLOTTE

Itake another bite of my Twizzlers as I stare down at my phone with a scowl.

DAD:

Hey, I was hoping maybe we could meet for lunch. I’d like to talk about the wedding.

DAD:

I know you’re super busy at school, but Barb would really love it if you could spare some time to go dress shopping.

DAD:

I ran into Tim the other day and know your car broke down when you were home. He told me you had it towed to his shop. If you go dress shopping with Barb, I’ll fix your car. Just say the word. I’m sure you miss having a vehicle.

DAD:

Charlotte, come on. You’ve gotta talk to me about this sometime.

Apparently, someone can’t take a hint.

I pull another candy rope from the package and take a bite before I debate on a response. If I continue to ignore him, he’ll just keep texting, but if I text what I really want to, he’ll only get angry.

With a sigh, I start to type, knowing there’s no way around it.

ME:

I already told you where I stand.

When I see the little text bubbles dancing, I shut my phone off. I can’t deal with this today.

“How long do you think my dad’s going to bug me about the wedding thing?” I ask, glancing over at the girls. Brynn is giving Samantha a pedicure while Elizabeth sits cross-legged on her bed, studying for a Psych exam.

“Until you either cave or they finally get hitched,” Brynn says, concentrating on Samantha’s toes.