On my way out later that night, Emily pulled me aside.

I could tell by the mixture of curiosity and disbelief in her eyes that she was going to ask me about Rob. Clearly she’d overheard us talking about—well, us earlier. How we’d been hooking up.

My face burned.

“I know what you’re going to say.” I held up my hand. “Let me stop you right there. Hooking up with Rob was an accident. I’m not proud of it. But it’s over now, so you have nothing to worry about.”

Em arched an eyebrow. “You sure about that?”

“I’m sure.”

“I have to admit I’m surprised,” she said. “Never saw the two of you…you know. How long have you guys been hooking up?”

I rolled my lips between my teeth. “Uh. Five months? Mabye six?” I said, scratching the back of my head.

Em’s other eyebrow joined its partner at the top of her forehead. “Wow. That’s a long time, Aly. I had no idea.”

“That was kind of the point. I didn’t tell anyone, for obvious reasons. But now it’s over, and that’s all that matters. I promise it won’t affect the wedding.”

“I know,” Em said, nodding. “You’re a pro at these things. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay working with him for another six months. Rob’s a lot to handle.”

If only Em knew just how much of him there was to handle. So very, very much.

My face burned hotter.

“We’ll be fine,” I said with forced cheerfulness. “Seriously, you don’t need to worry. I’ve got it covered.”

She looked at me for another beat. Then she pulled me into a tight hug.

“Okay,” she said. “But promise me you’ll say something if it gets to be too much?”

I nodded. “I promise.”

* * *

I spent some quality time on Pinterest later that night putting together a mood board for the engagement party. My passion for design wasn’t confined to just interiors. I loved fashion, art, and parties, too. Basically show me anything pretty, and I was in.

Em’s favorite color was green. Her style was best described as classic with a twist. So I’d used that as inspiration for my board. Lots of greenery with some greys mixed in. A garden theme would be tough to pull off this time of year. But maybe we could incorporate some autumnal foliage, and throw in some tall taper candles—yes!—to set the mood. And I loved Kit’s family’s crest. If I got his permission, I wondered if I could have it embossed on some coasters and napkins, or even a party favor for their guests…

Needless to say, the Pinterest hole I ended up falling down was a pretty damn big one.

When I finally emerged, bleary eyed but breathless with excitement, I shot off an email to Rob. I figured it was best to get a head start. Especially considering it took him weeks to respond to anything I ever sent him.

Well. Anything except a booty call text. And I was so done with those.

Honestly, I kinda just wanted to get him out of the way so I could plan the party myself. I took weddings seriously. I had a soft spot for the romance of it all. Plus, I had been in approximately four hundred weddings (only a slight exaggeration) over the past few years as, one by one, my friends had found their happily forevers. I was a pro. And I was determined to apply everything I’d learned to make Emily’s experience as special and lovely as possible.

Which meant keeping Rob out of it. He’d dropped the ball on half the tasks he’d been assigned for the School For the Arts. I imagined he’d pull the same stunt with an engagement party.

I left my laptop on my bed while I got into my pajamas and made some chamomile tea. I nearly spit it out when, climbing back into bed, I saw I had a reply. From Rob. Five minutes after I’d sent him the email.

It had to be a misfire. Had to be. Or at the very least an auto-reply. Something like, I am currently out of the office getting shitfaced at the pub. I will respond to emails when I am back at my desk sometime next year.

Only it wasn’t either of those things.

Aly—I may have been a slacker at the foundation. But I won’t be for this wedding. Kit and Em mean a lot to me, too. So what can I do for the party? Food? Drinks? DJ? You’ve got to let me help.

Just like you’ve got to let me know when this “real deal” fellow of yours falls short (pun intended). He will. I know the type.

Not to toot my own horn (pun most definitely intended), but I don’t think the “meetings” we had in my car and at the pub will be so easy to forget. You certainly seemed to enjoy them. I promise I won’t ruin this party. But I may have ruined you for other blokes. Probably should be sorry about that. I’m not.

BTW, as ridiculous as this stag/hen thing is they want to do, we can make it work. I have some ideas.

Rob

PS—you can’t really be into this bloke, right?

For several beats I just stared at the email. I mean. What the hell? I had no idea what to think. He was an asshole. But he was trying to be helpful, too. The dissonance made my head hurt.

And what was that bit about my ‘really being into my bloke’ at the end there? Rob had never asked about my personal life. Ever. As a matter of fact, he’d never asked me about much of anything. When we were together, we were either working or fucking. We did not chat. We definitely didn’t get personal.

But then tonight, he’d kind of balked at the idea of Philip. Now he was basically telling me Philip would be disappointing in bed because Rob had “ruined me” for other men.

Dick.

I was getting ready to shut my laptop when his reply popped up. He’d replied even faster this time around.

Funny how I’m the boss in the backseat. But you are in the office. I like this arrangement.

Clearly I can’t convince you over email to let me do my part. So meet me for lunch. I will make it worth your while (pun not intended).

Rob

PS—You’re cute. We both know I’m the one to thank for those orgasms. You didn’t “muster” them. I gave them to you. Every single one. I bet I could make you come in the middle of the bloody apocalypse. You’d thank me, too.

This time I legitimately stared at my screen. Was he for real? I wished I could reach through my computer and strangle him. He was such an ass.

That being said, I did have to think about Kit and Emily above all else. It was obvious Kit wanted Rob to be involved in the party. Probably a dick move if I totally cut him out of it. Only what he deserved, sure. He was being an ass. But I wouldn’t stoop to his level.

* * *

I stayed up for another hour waiting for Aly’s reply. But it didn’t come.

I felt a pang of disappointment. Aly was being Aly—brutally honest. Witty as hell. She held no punches. Very few people ever went toe to toe with me like this. It was making me hard.

God I wished I could text her right now. Invite her for another go in the backseat of my car. We’d been so good at that.

So bloody good.