Page 10 of A Little Crush (The Little Things #6)

RORY

I do not want to be here. It’s selfish but true.

If this was anyone else’s bachelorette party, there isn’t a chance in Hell I would’ve come, but it’s Ophelia.

My future sister-in-law. Add in the fact my best friend is the maid-of-honor who organized the whole thing, and it’s not like I had much of a choice.

Maybe it’s a good thing. At least now I have distraction instead of being holed up in my room for the rest of the night.

“So what do you have planned?” I ask Tatum as she pulls up to the large cabin in the middle of the woods.

It belongs to my Aunt Kate and Uncle Macklin.

He built the place with his own two hands after a nasty divorce a few decades ago.

The place is as picturesque as ever with a big balcony, large glass windows, and mature trees surrounding all sides.

“And why did you make me bring Hades?” I add.

“That part’s a secret.” She winks. “First half is all of Lia’s favorite’s foods. Second half is a surprise.”

My eyes thin.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you’re nice and lubricated before you have to face Jax again. ”

“Tatum!” I smack her shoulder, and she laughs.

“I meant with alcohol!” She wipes at the corner of her eyes as another burst of amusement escapes her. “But that’s the best unintentional pun I might’ve ever made in my entire life.”

Sure it is. I fight the urge to smack her all over again, distracted by her Jaxon comment and what it entails.

“Does this mean we’re hanging out with the guys tonight?” I ask, searching the mountain road for any of the guys’ cars. “Because I’m pretty sure a bachelorette party is supposed to be girls only.”

“And in most circumstances, it would be. But this isn’t about you or me.

This is about Lia and Mav. And Lia and Mav?

” She gives me a knowing look while opening the driver’s side door.

“They can barely be away from each other for thirty minutes, let alone an entire evening. Might as well give the people what they want, right?”

My shoulders sag. Because, yeah. She makes a good point.

But also, the last thing I need is to be in the same room with Jaxon after how snappy I was after the rehearsal.

Hell, the last two times we’ve been around each other, I’ve been an absolute brat.

And for what? For my own ego? For my own shame?

I don’t even know anymore. All I know is that anytime I’m around him, my emotions are in overdrive. The good. The bad. And the ugly.

And boy, do I feel ugly lately.

Fighting the urge to curl into the backseat with Hades, I climb out of the car and open the back door, letting Hades explore the wooded area to his heart’s content. And honestly, I’m jealous. Of how easy-going he is. Without a care in the world.

“Hey.” Tatum grabs my forearm.

The simple touch is enough to snap me out of my funk.

I turn to her. “Yeah? ”

“You good?” Her gaze narrows. “What aren’t you telling me?” My expression must tell her everything she needs to know because her jaw drops. “Something happened. What is it?”

If only it was so easy. Where does she expect me to start?

“Rore?”

“Nothing really…” I lie. “Or at least not anything we didn’t already know was going to happen.”

“Rore,” she pushes.

Say it.

“Jax confronted me the other night.”

Her eyes widen. “And?”

“And instead of patching things up or…whatever,”—I shove my hair away from my face, starting toward the cabin—“I acted like a brat and told him how stupid I feel for falling in love with him all those years ago when everyone around us would agree how wrong it was.” I squeeze my eyes shut, refusing to cry.

“And then, at the rehearsal, I saw Jax petting Hades, which means I can’t even trust my own dog not to betray me, and… and it’s been a hard few days.”

“Oh, Squeaks.” Warm arms wrap around me, and she pulls me into a hug. “I’m so proud of you.”

Proud of me?

“What?” I ask.

“I said I’m proud of you.” She gives me one more squeeze before letting me go. “Even though your feelings weren’t wrong, just misplaced, you’re amazing. I know how hard that must’ve been to tell Jax how you feel, and I love the crap out of you.”

“Thanks,” I mutter. If only it was enough to get me out of tonight. “Also, who are you and what have you done with my best friend?”

She snorts. “What do you mean?”

“You’re like, the queen of shoving down your feelings and pretending like everything is absolutely perfect,” I point out. “Since when do you compliment me for expressing my feelings to the last person who needs to hear them?”

“Uh, since I learned shoving down your feelings is a terrible way to handle things,” she clarifies.

“And I think you’re wrong. Jax was the first person who needed to hear how you felt all those years ago, but I get why you might feel a little awkward now, even though you have no reason to be.

Do you want to go back to your parents’ house?

” she suggests. “You can take my car. I’ll tell them you’re sick or something.

I feel bad cancelling on the whole group bachelor-slash-bachelorette party, but?—”

“I’m a big girl, Tate,” I remind her. “I’ll be fine. Promise.”

“Good.” She squeezes my arm, tacking on a grimace. “Because I kind of need Hades for the second part of the night. Speaking of which…” She looks around the wooded grounds. “Where is he?”

“Hades!” I call.

Branches break to my left before he darts into the clearing. His tongue lolls out on one side like he’s on cloud nine.

Tatum smiles as she watches him. “That thing is a menace.”

“But like, a cute menace,” I retort.

“Sure, he is.” She snorts before arching her brow. “But seriously? Hades didn’t bite off his balls or anything?”

“The traitor was practically sleeping in his lap,” I grumble as we make our way up the steps to the front door.

“I hope you make him at least sleep on the floor for a week as punishment.”

My mouth lifts. “You forget who you’re talking to, but I definitely should.”

“Don’t worry, Boo-Boo.” She winks and tugs me closer to the front door. “We’ll find you a backbone.”

Sure, we will.

Tatum wasn’t wrong. The counter is littered with so many finger foods I feel like I won’t need to eat for a week.

Thanks to the warm weather, the massive fireplace stays unlit, and we wind up outside on the balcony.

An hour later, drinks are poured, and the stars twinkle above us as we lounge on the cushioned patio furniture while Ophelia fiddles with her tiara.

It’s one you’d use for a princess costume.

Tatum crowned her bride of the year as soon as she walked in.

It’s silly and ridiculous, and I’ve never been happier for her.

“To being engaged,” Finley cheers. She lifts her bottle of Diet Coke with lime into the air.

Glasses clink as well all join in.

Repeating the gesture, I say, “To having the best sister-in-law ever.”

“Amen to that!” Lia laughs.

Finley grins. “To losing the worst sister-in-law ever!”

“Here, here!” Dylan chimes in, holding her round belly as she cackles at their inside joke.

If only I could join in. My forehead scrunches, and I tilt my head. “Okay, what’d I miss? Because I’m pretty sure both your sisters-in-law are right here.” I motion to Raine, Finley’s brother’s wife, and Dylan, her husband’s baby sister.

When all eyes turn to me, I’m even more dumbfounded than before.

Seriously. What am I missing here?

“Iris?” Dylan offers. “Jaxon’s ex?”

Ex? What the hell is she talking about?

“What?” I ask.

Finley exchanges a curious glance with Raine and Dylan. “You don’t know?”

“Don’t know what?” Tatum chimes in. She tucks her feet under her butt on the couch, then leans forward, clearly invested in the gossip these girls are dangling in front of us like low hanging fruit.

“Jaxon’s divorced,” Raine explains.

Divorced. As in…not married. Wait, no. That can’t be right.

“What?” I repeat, as confused as ever. I mean, yeah. I noticed Jaxon was mysteriously by himself at the wedding rehearsal, but I figured his wife stayed home to watch their baby or something, not that she wouldn’t be coming to the wedding at all.

Why didn’t I scope out his left hand for a ring?

“He’s divorced,” Dylan repeats for me.

Jaxon isn’t married. Jaxon Thorne isn’t freaking married. Feeling like the ground’s opened beneath me, I clench the wine glass a little harder in my hand while trying not to lose my shit.

Finley nods. “And it was messy AF. She kept throwing fits about Jaxon coaching the women’s team at LAU, so he applied for the head coaching position for the Lions, and your dad offered him a job. Six months later, he comes home to find her in bed with another guy. What was his name, anyway?”

Raine taps her chin, searching her memory. “Starts with a C, I think?”

“Chris,” Dylan announces. “His name’s Chris, and he’s an ass.”

“Good memory,” Ophelia quips, adding, “Jaxon doesn’t exactly like talking about it, like, at all, so…”

Dylan grimaces. “Ollie’s overheard a conversation or two between Jax and his ex over the last few months. It’s the only reason I remember.”

“And of course your husband ran right to you to spill all the details,” Finley quips dryly .

Resting her forearms on her round, pregnant belly, Dylan doesn’t even bother denying it. “Exactly.”

Raine steals another sip of her beverage and scoots closer to me on the couch, dropping her voice low. “But the real drama is whether or not Poppy is Jaxon’s because the math is shady at best.”

My lips part as I digest her words. Poppy must be Jaxon’s daughter.

I’ve never met her, but I don’t need to, to know Jax treasures every tiny hair on her head.

The idea of him dealing with that kind of betrayal and how much it must affect the other areas of his life has to be a hard pill to swallow.

Hell, I can’t even imagine it. The idea of being happily married with a baby on the way, only to have the reality ripped away, replaced with a mess of timelines and technicalities.

“That has to kill him,” Tatum interjects.

“It does,” Ophelia returns. “But honestly, he’s been nothing but great about the whole thing.

The way he looks at it is that if his mom, Ash, could step in and love him as much as she does despite them not being blood, then what’s the point in finding out whether or not Poppy’s actually his after already falling for her?

He loves the crap out of that baby. He fell in love with her long before he found out he might not be the biological father, and it’s not like Iris is going to say anything.

Why would she? She’d lose all the child support. ”

My nose wrinkles in disgust despite knowing Ophelia makes a good point. What a greedy, selfish?—

“Griff was the same way when I found out I was pregnant with Drew’s baby,” Finley confides. She plays with the simple gold necklace around her throat. “And even though I miscarried, he still looks at my first as our first.”

I still remember hearing about it. Finley miscarrying at one of Griffin’s games.

She was a shell of a human for months after, though I don’t blame her.

My mom insists that without Griff, she would’ve never survived, and even though it’s been years, I can see the way it still hurts her.

The way she carries her baby’s absence. It’s similar to how I carry Archer’s.

My fingers itch, and I force them into a fist, murmuring, “I think that’s really sweet of Griff.”

“He’s kind of the best,” Finley says.

“Speaking of which, are you ready for the second half of this evening?” Tatum asks.

Shifting the tiara on her head, Ophelia gives her sister a suspicious look. “And what’s the second half of this evening?”

“Well,” Tatum licks her lips, not even bothering to hide her Cheshire grin. “A little bird told me it’s been a while since you’ve had a Game Night.”

The rest of the girls hoot their approval, clapping their hands and lifting their drinks into the air.

“Shut up! You have no idea how much I’ve missed Game Nights,” Ophelia gushes.

Raine shakes her head, peering around the shadowed forest beneath us. “And where are the boys?”

Pulling out her phone, Tatum checks the time, then grins. “They’ll be here in two.”