Page 27 of Face Off

“You both look so beautiful.”

“So do you,” I said.

“This is the last salon day before I become Mrs. Mercer.”

“You’ve been calling yourself that since the engagement,” Aura reminded her.

“That was emotional preparation.”

I wrapped one arm around Bliss before she could cry hard enough to damage the blowout. Aura joined from the other side, carefully protecting her straightened hair from Bliss’s damp eyes.

“We have one more night before the entire wedding becomes chaos,” Bliss said against my shoulder.

“Almost,” I corrected. “Tomorrow is Tuesday.”

“Wednesday cocktails before everyone arrives, then.”

Aura pulled back. “What happens then?”

“Cocktails,” Bliss said. “Only us.”

“Define us.”

“The friend group. You, Easton, Charm, Ryan, Cade, Briggs, Lyric, and Rider.”

I looked at her.

Bliss lifted both hands. “No family. No games. No schedules beyond the meet-and-greet dinner afterward. We have cocktails before everything officially begins.”

“You want to break the ice,” I said.

“Yes.”

“With alcohol.”

“Yes.”

Aura nodded. “Finally, a bonding activity designed by someone competent.”

“It gives everyone a chance to settle,” Bliss continued. “Ryan and Charm can see each other before they’re expected to work together in front of fifty relatives, and Briggs might be less stressed if Lyric spends time with everyone before the games.”

“That feels optimistic,” Aura said.

Bliss looked toward me. “Are you comfortable with it?”

I considered the question.

Wednesday night. Oheka Castle. Ryan standing inside the same room after fifteen months without his voice directed at me. No aisle, cameras, parents, or coordinator demanding we behave like cooperative pieces on Bliss’s wedding board.

The thought tightened my stomach, but it also awakened something beneath the anxiety.

Anticipation.

“I’m comfortable.”

“You don’t have to be.”

“I know.”