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sixteen

MIRA

What in the heck is with all this new monogrammed crap? Was it here last night, and I was too tired to notice, or did some snooty, rich-person fairy drop them off while we were sleeping? Like the tooth fairy, but in reverse—and if the tooth fairy had a weird obsession with embroidery.

Eyeing the fluffy white towel with M.W. emblazoned on the lower corner in a loopy, black script, like it may bite me on the ass, I take in the damp towel Griffin must have used this morning that says G.W. in the same spot. Then my eyes catch on the hand towels emblazoned with Mr. and Mrs.

What. The. Fuck?

I’m tempted to text Griffin to demand answers, but he’s at the arena, and I can’t risk my brother seeing any of our exchange.

Shaking my head, I dry off, wrap the towel around my damp body, and pad over to the linen closet inside the bathroom to see if I can find a towel that doesn’t have my initials monogrammed on it. The wrong initials.

Stacked neatly in crisp lines are more white bath towels, and I groan because I just know they’re all the same.

I pull a few out anyway and can’t help laughing at what I find.

Because, yes, all these ridiculous towels are monogrammed with our initials, but half have a W as the last initial and half of them have a G.

When Griffin said before that he would change his last name to Graves if I wanted, I thought he was joking.

Maybe he wasn’t.

Warmth floods my chest, and my cheeks hurt from smiling.

This idiot.

I can’t stop smiling the entire time I get ready for the day, and my lips are still curved when I sit down to finish the website I’ve been working on. And four hours later, when my phone buzzes with an incoming text message, I’m still grinning.

Sitting up straight and twisting my back to give it a crack, I open my messages to find one from Lexi.

Lexi

Hey, girl! Want to get lunch today? I need a break from these online classes. I swear, I’m going stir crazy.

My stomach chooses that moment to growl, making my answer an easy one.

My eyes are blurry and dry from staring at the computer screen, and I could use some fresh air.

Plus, it’s been so long since I’ve had girlfriends to hang out with, I’ll always jump at the opportunity to spend time with Lexi or Isla.

Me

Yes! That sounds great. I can leave right now if you want. Where should we meet?

Lexi

Halle-frickin-lujah. Meet at that little ramen place on Eat Street?

Eat Street has some of the best restaurants in downtown Minneapolis, and I’m obsessed with The Ramen Bowl. Honestly, you can’t go wrong at any of the restaurants on Nicollet Avenue.

Me

Yes! I’m in. I’ll leave in five.

Lexi

Yay! See you soon.

Humming, I put my computer to sleep, run a brush through my hair, throw on some mascara, slip into my Converse, then head down to the parking garage.

Artax, my old silver Toyota, looks sad and clunky compared to the sleek, expensive vehicles parked in the surrounding spots.

I feel a momentary pang of self-consciousness but brush it off.

Who cares what kind of car I drive, as long as it gets me from one place to another?

I give the hood a little pat before unlocking the door, sliding in, and putting the key in the ignition.

“Don’t let these fancy cars make you feel bad, boy. It’s what’s inside that counts.”

I turn the key, and Artax splutters.

“Come on,” I growl, turning the key again. The engine tries to turn over, makes an ominous clunking sound, then sputters before dying. Because of course. Of course this would happen. “Apparently, what’s inside you is crap, huh?”

Groaning, I bang my head on the steering wheel lightly before pulling my phone out and texting Lexi.

Me

My stupid car just died. Gonna call a rideshare, so I’ll be a little late. Sorry, girl.

Her response is almost instant.

Lexi

Don’t do that! You know I’m not that far away. I’ll come pick you up. Meet you out front of your building?

Me

You sure?

Duh. Don’t be ridiculous.

Okay. Thanks, Lexi. See you soon.

With a dirty look in Artax’s direction and a kick to the front tire, I don’t even bother locking the stupid thing before heading toward the front of the building. If I’m lucky, someone will steal it so I can get at least a few hundred dollars from my insurance.

But I won’t be that lucky.

My fingers itch to text Griffin so I can tell him what happened, but I restrain myself.

I don’t need to involve him in every little thing.

I can’t deny that I want to, though. Which is something I try not to look at too closely, because I’m scared of what it means that he’s the first person I think about going to with my problems.

I’m still mulling that over a few minutes later when Lexi pulls up. I don’t know why I’m relieved to see that she doesn’t have some fancy car either, but I am. Despite my annoyance at my stupid Toyota, I give my friend a big smile as I slide into the passenger seat.

“Hey, Lexi. Thanks for picking me up.”

My blonde friend smiles brightly, her green eyes sparkling in the noonday sun. “Anytime. I seriously don’t mind at all. Sorry about your car, though. Did you call a tow?”

“No.” I shake my head. “I’ll deal with it when I get back. It’s an old car, and I know it won’t last much longer, but I can’t afford to replace it, you know?”

Lexi hums a sound of understanding as she pulls out into traffic and starts making her way to the restaurant. “Totally. I plan to drive this thing until it dies too.”

She gets me. It’s so nice having friends who get me.

“So,” she says, drawing the word out in a sing-song tone, “how’s living with Griffin?”

Side-eyeing her, I try not to act suspicious. It’s an innocent question. She doesn’t know we got drunkenly married. No one does. She’s making conversation because that’s what friends do. “It’s good.”

Eloquent, Mira.

Lexi chuckles. “Just good? You two seem to get along well. Is he as sweet to live with as he is to hang out with? I know he’s kind of a goofball sometimes, but I’ve always really liked Griffin. He’s good people.”

A smile quirks the corner of my lips because he is good people.

He offered me a place to live without hesitating, then had my room beautifully decorated.

He makes sure I eat, makes me laugh, listens with his whole body when I talk, and he’s always genuinely interested in what I’m doing.

Not to mention, he’s supportive. And unlike my shitty ex, I don’t think Griffin is feigning interest in me just to get me to sleep with him.

Or stay married to him, as the case may be.

“He’s a great guy,” I agree. “Honestly, I’ve had more fun living with him than I’ve ever had living with anyone else.”

Lexi nods. “I could see that. How long do you plan to live with him? I know you’re working on getting your business off the ground.”

“Um, at least for the next six months,” I say, my belly twisting strangely. Wanting to get us away from this particular line of conversation, I turn it around on Lexi. “How’s living with Ryder? Is it weird or great?”

Lexi and Ryder moved in together not too long ago after their relationship became something of a local, and even national, spectacle.

Lexi’s dad was the head coach of the Rogues for quite some time until he was caught on film at a game starting a fight with Ryder and saying some truly vile things about his daughter when he found out she and Ryder were secretly dating.

It was a huge scandal for a while, and people rallied behind Lexi and Ryder, which was great, but it also meant that Lexi lost her ability to go to school on campus because people were always going up to her, taking photos, and generally making her feel unsafe.

That’s when Ryder insisted Lexi move in with him.

They hadn’t been dating all that long, but clearly, the two of them are meant to be, so Lexi jumped right in and said yes.

My blonde friend sighs, hearts in her eyes and a dreamy look on her face.

“It’s so great, Mira. At first, I was worried it was too fast, you know?

But then I thought about how amazing it was to spend that week alone together at the cabin over Christmas, and he was a total stranger at the start of it.

” She smiles dreamily. “I love him so freaking much.”

“I’m so happy for you,” I tell her honestly.

“Thanks, girl. I’m really happy too. Now we just need to find someone for you so we can triple date. Me and Ryder, Isla and your brother, and you and some dreamy hunk.”

Forcing out a laugh, I rub the back of my neck. “Uh, no, you guys don’t need to find anyone for me. I’m good.”

“Oh, come on, Mira. There’s gotta be someone on the team you think is hot.” She glances my way. “You’re gorgeous and smart. Any of those men would be lucky to date you.”

“Right,” I say. “Except they’d all probably be too scared my brother would kick their asses to ask me out.” The city goes by in a blur, and before I know it, Lexi pulls into a spot on the street.

“You might be surprised,” Lexi says as she opens her door and climbs out. She smiles brightly at me over the roof of her car. “Isla told me Maddox has been talking about wanting to set you up with someone too.”

What? I gape at my friend. My brother wants to set me up with someone? Why would he want to do that? “I’m sorry, what?”

Lexi chuckles. “I guess he has someone in mind for you.”

“Someone on his team?” I ask as we walk into the restaurant. I’m so distracted by the whole conversation, I almost walk into a post.

“I don’t think so. Some guy his agent knows or something? I’m not totally sure. Isla only mentioned it in passing. It’s sweet that your brother wants to set you up with someone.”

“Right. Sweet.” The effort it takes not to roll my eyes cannot be overstated. But I manage to keep my face in check as the host greets us and leads us to a table.

Maddox wants to set me up. That’s…not great.

I’ll have to figure out some good excuses to put him off, because I sure as shit can’t tell him the truth.

Because telling my brother I accidentally married his best friend, and said best friend is practically blackmailing me into staying married for six months, would be a death sentence for Griffin.

And as much as I may have wanted to kick Griffin’s ass when all of this went down, now the thought makes my chest ache.

How is this even my life?