Page 109 of Unexpected Shot
Those are the initial three questions, so I answer them accordingly, and then fill them in on the events that apparently happened. We’re still putting pieces together as we remember them—the video helps—but there are some parts we might never know.
While I form my dough, the follow-up questions ensue.
What did Ethan say to us to convince us to stay married?
What are the logistics for the PR marriage,complete with a follow up of them getting the talking points down in case they’re ever asked about us.
Has Shelby tried to poison my dinner?
Have we fought over the temperature of the house?
I answer all the questions they throw at me, which are shockingly tame. But just as I think that, Theo throws down the question of the night.
“Now, the biggest curiosity on all of our minds, and one that all three of us have a very heavy interest in…” Theo pauses, laying on the dramatics. “Have you had sexual relations with your wife?”
If this were any other group of friends, one would assume this was locker room talk. Guys asking guys about things they have no business knowing.
Except for us, that question comes with a two hundred dollar each payout.
“I’m going to take your silence as a yes,” Asher says, clapping his hands and rubbing them together. “Pay up, Devereaux.”
“Can I defend myself?” I ask, even though I know I can’t.
“Depends,” Maddox says. “Did you sleep with Shelby?”
“Yes. But?—”
“No buts. The terms of the bet were, and I quote…” Theo brings up something on his phone, which I’m going to guess is word for word what I said, because he’s an ass like that. “‘I will never—emphasis on never—fuck Shelby LeBlanc.’ Did you not say those words?”
I let out a groan. “I need new friends.”
“Probably, but until then, go get our money, asshole.”
I shoot a glare to Asher as I walk back into the office, unlock a drawer, and grab the envelope where we stashed this cash six months ago. Back then, I thought it was a sure-fire bet.
I was an idiot.
When I come back out, I’m relieved to hear them talking about something other than my impromptu wedding or that Ihad sex with Shelby. And it only takes me a second to realize the attention has shifted from me to Theo.
“So, Mr. Lawson, while you’re home, any bride’s-man duties?”
Theo throws a lump of dough at Asher. “If you must know, yes, I will be seeing Ellie. And yes, it happens to be at the cake tasting.”
“Are you serious?” I ask as I take out my bread to score it. I think I’m going to go with an x-pattern tonight. “Granted, my wedding didn’t come with any planning, but I have to imagine that in a traditional setting, the groom usually attends with his future bride. Not the man who wants to be the groom.”
A matching ball of dough comes sailing my way, and I’m just able to duck before it hits me in the shoulder. I consider that a win for me. The man’s a center fielder. He has a hell of an arm.
“I don’t want to be the groom,” he says with a little too much fight in his words. I hope this isn’t how I sounded when I said I’d never sleep with Shelby. If I did, I wouldn’t have believed me either. “I don’t know how many times I need to tell you, Ellie is my best friend. She’s always been there for me, and in turn, I’m there for her. So, when her fiancé can’t accompany her to appointments, I step in. What’s weird about that?”
“What’s weird is that you made this trip home on a whim and suddenly there’s a cake-tasting appointment her fiancé can’t go to?” Maddox points out. “Seems suspicious to me.”
“For real, who invited you?” Theo scoffs.
We all laugh at the dig before Asher offers his two cents. “If that’s all this is, then we’ll stop giving you shit.”
“Thank you.”
“I wasn’t done. But if you love her, and she doesn’t know, and you’re going to watch her get married—stand next to her at the altar while she says ‘I do’ to another guy—then she needs to know how you feel. You can’t have any what-ifs. You can’t have things left unsaid. They’ll eat you up inside.”
