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I couldn’t keep my eyes from the promise ring with a new promise attached to it.

There was something more. Who the hell knew what, but we both wanted it.

All of the times I poo-pooed my friends and shot endless eye rolls in their directions when it came to feelings, well, I owed them a fruit basket or something.

A tap on the door. “It’s Dave. How are you feeling?”

“So much better.” Truth. I hopped up and unlocked the door. “Come in.”

He walked over and plopped down on the bed, leaned back on a pillow, and fear ripped through me. Was Gabe’s scent or cologne on there? “Fern, I wish you could stick around longer before you’re off across the globe again.”

“Well, you’ll be happy to hear I may be coming back for another visit sooner than I thought.”

“That’s great!” He sat up quickly, and my heart rate started to regulate. “What made you decide that?”

I didn’t want to lie. I needed to pull a half-truth because it was my bro. “Now that I think about it, I need to see more of your games.” That was a good one. “And our parents aren’t getting any younger so more visits are something I’m going to make happen.”

“The family princess has made me happy.” His grin caused guilt to bubble up.

“I’m not, Dave.”

“Yes, you are, but I know you’ll always have a little gangster under your crown.” He laughed before plopping back down on Gabe’s pillow again. I quickly yanked it from under him and threw mine in his direction. “I don’t want your big old head squishing my pillow.”

He looked over. “Hey, you know I have a big noggin because my brain is much more intelligent than the average gent.”

“Whatever.”

“So did you ever go on a second date with that drug lord?”

“The pharmacist?” I giggled and shoved his arm. “I did because he was cute, but every conversation led back to his mommy.”

He rolled on his side, using a feminine voice. “He did not call her mommy!”

“Yes, yes he did. When I see a red flag, I tend to grab some scissors and make a red heart out of it.”

“A normal, upstanding guy is just around the corner. And if he messes with you, I’ll be around the other corner to beat him senseless.”

“And you wonder why I choose not to bring any suitors home to meet the family?”

“Come on, I’m not that bad.” He chuckled. “Well, maybe I am. How about I reel it in, and you bring the next fella home for a visit?”

Gasp. “Well, if my bro is willing to act like a grown up, I guess I can too. Maybe I’ll find someone like Liv. How are you guys doing?”

“Okay. But everybody keeps telling me I should be thinking of buying her a ring.”

“Does any part of you want to settle down now? It’s been about two years, right?”

“Yes.” His voice was so quiet. “Does time dictate when you buy a ring? If nothing in me is telling me to do that, does that mean something is wrong?”

I was a little stunned as I’d assumed Dave had no doubts when it came to Liv. “No, I don’t think so. You can’t propose unless you’re certain it’s right. It’s okay to not know. Some things just take time to figure out. It’s good not to push it.”

“I always thought it’d be like a lighting strike. No wondering. I’d just know.”

I thought of Gabe and the fact that the last few days have been an electrical storm, leaving no doubt that I would chomp on glass or walk on fire to be in his arms.

“Maybe it’s not like that for everybody. Every relationship is different, and you’ll know when the time is right.” I put my hand on his shoulder. “And Dave, it’s okay if it turns out not to be right, too. Just say a prayer, and have faith.”

“See that?” He nudged my arm. “You always help me think things through.”

I fluttered my eyelashes. “I am pretty cool.”

“Damn straight.”

We all stood at the top of the hill outside the back door as I tossed sleds and inner tubes to everyone while Dan carried a cooler toward the top of the hill.

I gave a sharp whistle, and all eyes shot to me. “Alright dudes and broads, it goes like this. You hop on your inner tube, cocktail in hand, and whoever goes the farthest and chugs a drink is the winner.”

“What do we win?”

Of course, it was Fern. I wanted to shout to the sky that she would win me and all the jacked up shit that comes with that. “Well, Fern, the winner gets fifty bucks.”

“Yes!” she threw her arms in the air.

I clapped my hands. “To make it interesting, I put some water on our path earlier that’s now frozen solid. Some good lube for the sledding.”

Andrew pointed at Katie. “The boys will kill you girls!”

Katie rolled her eyes. “If I don’t win, you don’t get sex so maybe you should rethink that.”

Andrew deflated right in front of us as Dave gave him a slap on the back. “Don’t worry. Katie will drink too much, get sloppy, and forget her words.”

She shrugged and admitted, “That does sound a lot like me.”

Suddenly Liv let out a scream when three llamas barreled around the garage. One slowed down and side-kicked Dan who shot a few feet to the right before landing on his ass as they disappeared into the forest next to the cabin.

Ed laughed and helped Dan to his feet. “What the fuck was that?”

Novots pulled on his gloves, “I saw two llamas last night when I had to grab some stuff from my car. What the hell?”

I looked over to see Fern laugh as her eyes found mine. “Who knows? Maybe just some weird shit going on out here.”

“Who’s going first?” Dave shouted at the same time Fern ran full speed and put her tube at the top of the hill. “I guess my sister will make the first run.”

I watched her in the snowmobile suit that was many sizes too big for her, but I could still make out her figure buried beneath. Or maybe it was just the memory of her curves that were branded into my mind. She was an adorable snow angel.

She let out a laugh. “Watch out, motherfuckers, it’s on!”

Okay, maybe her halo was held up by pitchforks.

Dave handed her a beer, she held it high above her head, and he gave her a big push.

She ripped down the hill as the group whooped and hollered.

At the speed she was going, she reached the bottom of the hill, and whipped out onto the frozen lake.

Ed was at the bottom with a can of spray paint to mark her spot on the ice.

She hopped up, slammed her beer, and held the can over her head. I felt a zip in my chest because she was mine. As I gazed at her making her way up the hill, falling over her boots twice, Andrew nudged me.

“Bro, quit staring.”

I quickly sucked in the dorky smile I hadn’t realized I was wearing. I seriously needed to teach my facial expressions how to use their inside voice. “She’s just a really good sledder. Right?”

He examined me before I quickly looked away. “Yeah, she’s something.”

Mental note: keep thoughts and douchebag smiles in check.

After many trips down, we all stood around the raging bon fire at the bottom of the hill when Dave handed out cigars and bottles of beer. I decided to stick to water after last night just to shock the shit out of my liver.

“Disgusting.” Katie wrinkled her nose.

“Pass one over.” Fern winked at Katie. “Let me show you how it’s done. These are the good ones.”

Dave raised his beer bottle, “A toast! To all my friends. Shine on you crazy, perverted, alcohol lovin’ weirdos. Y’all are my people forever!”

Cheers and yelling as everybody took a drink. Ed cleared his throat. “Thanks to my peeps for being here this weekend.” He held his beer in the air. “Here’s to Hell. That our stay there will be as fun as our way there!”

Andrew waved his hand in the air, “Two more! To staying positive and testing negative! And to those who wish us well, all the rest can go to Hell!”

Everybody chugged a drink while my eyes rested on Fern. There was something about a woman sucking on a cigar while laughing and holding a Miller Lite that just felt right.

I’d been told to bring a dress for a fancy dinner, never ever imagining I’d be sliding into it, knowing that a man I’d met just days ago would likely be sliding me out of it later.

I carefully curled my hair and actually applied every cosmetic in my suitcase.

Foundation along with the soft rose blush and shiny light pink lip-gloss that made me happy.

The new eye shadow smell tickled my nostrils as I swiped it on, but not before pulling up the perfect cat eye tutorial on my phone.

After three failed attempts, Smitha Deepak’s one-step cat eye had me looking smoky. I attempted the false lashes I’d picked up at Walgreens, but after nearly blinding myself with the glue, they found a new home in bottom of the trash can.

As a nurse, my daily beautifying routine consisted of the choice of a high bun or low pony tail and scrubs which are basically professional jammies. I was enjoying the crap out of being a girly-girl for a change.

The final step was my dress. I ordered one from Amazon, but after it looked like it may not arrive in time, I quickly ordered three more and paid for overnight delivery, as the thought of a fancy dinner in my scrubs caused my panicked fingertips to dance across my keyboard, hitting buy, buy, and buy.

Of course, they all arrived in time which meant I had three dresses I’ll never return because I just don’t do the shit I’m supposed to.

Maybe I’ll start vacuuming or going to Target looking fab, pretending I have a life.

OR since I have an upcoming visit with the hottest hockey player that’s ever walked the face of the earth, I can wear a different dress every day we’d be together, and every night he could tear it off me with his teeth. Sigh.

I forced myself not to choose a “little black dress” knowing it would likely be the go-to color of the other girls this weekend.

Instead, I opted for a deep burgundy dress that went just below the knee, and it perfectly concealed most of my car hitting the tree debacle perfectly.

It fit like a glove, had a mid-thigh slit, skinny spaghetti straps, and sucked me in in all the right places.

I’d never really found myself to be pretty. Sure, I clean up nicely, had decent genes when it came to my eyes and skin, but something about this dress, or maybe wearing it in the very room that Gabe had me feeling things I never knew were humanly possible, made me feel beautiful beyond measure.

I picked up my black handbag, also from my Amazon cart, and stepped into the black heels with a little strap around my ankle that had two benefits. Uno, the strap looked super sexy, and dos, my shoes won’t fly off if I had wine. (Of course, it’s happened before.)

When it comes to dressing up, I tend to have shoe-pidity: the act of wearing ridiculously uncomfortable shoes just because they look so damn good.

Now I don’t go beyond a two-inch heel because if I do, I walk like I have a stick wedged up my butt.

And to prepare, I’d clickidy-clacked up and down the stairs in my apartment building to break them in last week.

My door rattled with a knock. “Hey Fern.” Tawnee’s voice sang out. “We’re all heading downstairs for a glass of wine before we go.”

Clearly, the ankle strap was really going to pay off. “Great, I’ll be right down.” I quickly shot myself good with Coco Chanel Mademoiselle before stepping back and admiring the reflection looking back at me.

I started down the stairs to see everyone already below in the living room laughing while Liv was passing around glasses of wine. Sure enough, Pam and Katie wore black cocktails dresses, and Tawnee, as the bride, wore a white off the shoulder number. All hair and makeup in the room was on point.

My brother, Ed, Dan, and Andrew looked sharp in slacks and sports jackets; even the hockey hair was tamed.

I was half way down the stairs when Gabe entered from the kitchen, carrying a bottle of wine.

I will never, in my entire life, forget the way all the oxygen was sucked from my lungs at the sight of him.

His thick hair was pushed back in a GQ kind of way, and he wore black slacks, a steel blue sports jacket, and a pinstriped dress shirt.

Is it bad that I wanted his handprints on my bottom?

My only thought was wow, let me take your pants off .

Yes, he was definitely on my to-do list for later.

He was behind everyone, and as he saw me, he stopped walking. A slow grin slid across his lips. His eyes traveled down my body awaking butterflies in my tummy. He had the bottle in one hand while he placed the other over his heart.

Quick recap: the sexiest man alive, wearing a suit that does nothing but favors for those pecks and biceps, is gazing at me like I’m a vision. At the same time, his hand is over the vital organ that’s keeping him alive. OMG, how is this even happening to Fern Ethel Novotny? #mindblown.