Page 7 of Bad Boy for Hire

“Or more. Most people take eons to get married.” Lou winked, obviously poking fun at herself.

Elliott entered their tight twosome, three cups of beer clamped between her fingers. “I brought refills. This stuff is good.”

“I don’t want to puke on the lawn,” May said.

“You are made of tougher stuff than that,” Elli said.

“See? You are brave and tough.” Lou took a cup from Elli.

While May didn’t feel cowardly or weak, she could admit that she wasn’t armored up like she’d been before Prescott. Before her mother died.

“Here. I’ll trade you.” Elliott swapped the invitation for a red cup. “Thick, premium envelope. Someone went all out.”

May downed her other beer and then dropped the fresh cup into the empty one. A hiccup sounded from her throat, but she managed to keep it ladylike. Which was more than she could say for Elli, who held her cup between her teeth while unceremoniously ripping open the invitation.

May snatched the envelope and clasped it against her chest. “I can’t believe you did that.”

Cup in hand again, Elli shrugged. “I’m a new bride! I love wedding invitations!”

May didn’t buy that excuse for a second. She had been at Elliott’s November wedding, and while she had made a beautiful bride, she wasn’t necessarily a “new” bride.

“Fine,” Elli said. “Lisa told me to make sure it was opened tonight. She said you’re avoiding the inevitable.”

“Lisa needs to mind her business.”

“Okay.” Elli snorted. “I’ll also ask the sun to turn down the heat.”

Elliott and Lou both rerouted their attention to the envelope that May clutched against her chest.

“Can I at least see if it’s embossed with flowers?” Elli asked. “Inspiration for my T-shirt designs comes from everywhere, you know. What if I get inspired?”

“Then you owe me a free T-shirt.” May pegged her with a look.

“Deal.”

May set her cup on the small table next to her chair and tugged the invitation from its home. There, glowing in the flickering firelight, curly script announced Posy’s marriage to Marcus Waterford.

“His last name is Waterford? Like the crystal?” Lou asked.

“No flowers,” Elli remarked of the contemporary embossed line edging the invitation. “Classy.”

But May wasn’t paying attention to the design, the weight of the card stock, or the names elegantly written on it. She’d homed in on the date.

“Shit. The wedding is next weekend?”

“And here in the Cove! Hey, you won’t have to travel.” Elliott promptly lost her smile when May slid her a dismayed look.

“Posy is her ex-boyfriend’s sister,” Lou explained. “Which means the entire family will be descending on the Cove like a fleet of fire-breathing dragons.”

“Protect your peace.” Elliott’s tone shifted to serious. “You don’t have to be in the same room as your ex or his family. Want me to throw it in the fire?”

“It’s not like that.” But May understood the reaction. Elli’s ex was a narcissistic asshole. “Prescott’s mom and sisters are family to me. Since we broke up, it’s been…difficult to adjust. I want them in my life, but I’ve had to accept that they’re not my mom and sisters. They never will be.”

“Sorry, hon.” Elli rubbed May’s back.

“They try to include me in family holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. I don’t go for reasons you might suspect.”

“Too intimate,” Lou muttered, hitting the nail on the head.