Chapter 24

Frankie

“Don’t be nervous,” I called into the room. “Just breathe.”

“It’s not going to fit,” Val called out in a singing voice. “I knew I shouldn’t have accepted Garrick’s invitation for Christmas. Gerhart and Molly have fattened me up, and now I’m screwed.”

I sighed and shook my head, laughing. “You’re going to be fine. It’s almost physically impossible for you to get too fat for your wedding dress in such a short amount of time.”

I heard Val swear and for a second worried that maybe I was wrong, not that it would be a big deal. We could either pay for a rush alteration, or the two of us could start hitting the pavement together a few times a week, but either way, we would get her in that dress. But when the curtain opened, the shop assistant grinned and waved her hands toward the stunning bride.

“Fits like a glove,” she said.

Val’s face glowed with relief. “It fits perfectly.”

“It’s almost like you’re the same size as you were when we measured you,” I remarked. “Shocking.”

She batted a hand dismissively at me. “Shut up. Tell me how beautiful I look.”

Val didn’t need me to tell her, but I did anyway, commenting on the perfection of her princess gown and how stunned Garrick was going to be on the big day. She beamed throughout and admired herself in the full-length mirror, messing with her hair and twirling.

“I can’t believe it. Just a little over a month and I’ll be walking down the aisle.”

“I know. Almost everything is ready to go, so now it’s just a matter of getting you both there.”

She chuckled. “Garrick would camp out under the arch for the next month if he could. He’s more excited than I am.”

“I believe it.”

Val finally turned away from her reflection and walked over to hug me, squeezing me with arms like a champion rower.

“I feel like I haven’t seen you in years, but it’s only been a couple of weeks,” she said. “How was New York?”

She pulled apart from me, and the shop assistant reentered the dressing room. I massaged a kink in my shoulder and grimaced.

“It was good. My family was thrilled that I could make it.”

“How did that come about anyway?” Val called. “You said your brother surprised you?”

“Uh.” I decided now was as good a time as any to tell her, especially since I’d been unable to think about anything but Levi since then and I could use a little reassurance.

“So actually it was your brother that surprised me with a ticket,” I said.

“I don’t have a brother.”

“You will in a month.”

Val ripped the curtain back, dress around her hips. The shop assistant’s eyes bulged in terror behind her.

“Are you saying Levi bought you the ticket?” she asked.

I nodded.

Val’s mouth fell open. “That’s...wow! Why? When? What did he say?”

“I got the notification when I went to bed on Christmas,” I said. “All he said when I asked him was that he felt bad I couldn’t be with my family for Christmas.”

Val allowed the shop assistant to close the curtain and I leaned back against the white leather sofa. It creaked under me.

“That’s not all,” I said. “But I’ll save the rest for when you come out.”

Val emerged from the room in record time, thanking the assistant and hoisting me up by the elbow.

“Did you have sex with him again?” she whispered.

I nodded. “I went to get him to take the ticket back but he couldn’t. And then...I don’t know what came over me. I wanted to thank him. So, I uh, thanked him.”

Her eyes filled with delight. “Let’s go grab a drink.”

We finished up at the store and headed across the street to a small brewpub. Val ordered us two frothing pints and we sat at a small corner table.

“You and Levi had sex again,” she mused aloud. “And you weren’t even stuck on a mountain with nothing else to pass the time.”

“It was the last time,” I insisted. “I couldn’t help myself. Garrick is hot, and you’ve done well there—but have you seen his brother?”

“Why the last time?” she asked.

I wondered if she was joking, and my skepticism must’ve shown on my face.

“Maybe the idea of Frankie and Levi kissing in a tree isn’t so crazy after all,” she said. “He’s opened up a bit, wouldn’t you say?”

“That doesn’t mean we’d work.”

“But do you like him?” Val’s eyes cut through me like laser beams and I swallowed a mouthful of beer to put off the inevitable. I couldn’t lie to her.

Wiping the froth from my lip, I answered, “Yeah. That’s the problem.”

“I’m not following. The sex is amazing, isn’t it?”

“Beyond amazing.”

“So? What’s the problem?”

“Levi doesn’t want a relationship. We could keep screwing around, sure, but it would only be a matter of time until I fell in deep for him. It doesn’t matter how amazing the sex is, it’s not worth that kind of heartbreak. I already feel way more for him than I ever thought I would and that scares me. I need to shut this all down.”

Val cocked her head to the side and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. “I understand. I won’t push it.”

I chuckled. “Did you ever think we’d be lamenting my feelings for Levi like this?”

Val threw back her head in laughter, nearly spilling her pint.

“I know I’ve said this before, but I feel like it bears repeating,” I said. “I know I’ve been acting unprofessionally and I hope I haven’t made you uncomfortable.”

“Uncomfortable?” Val stopped laughing and wiped a tear from her eye. “Jeez, Frankie. I just laughed my tits off at your expense. I’m far from uncomfortable, and I hope you know that. I adore you.”

“I adore you too.”

Val shuffled her stool around to mine and pulled me into a hug, rocking back and forth.

“Hey Val?”

“Mhm?”

“Do you think after all this is over we could still hang out sometimes?” I asked. “Pro bono, of course.”

Val pulled back, blue eyes glistening. Her lips stretched into a broad grin and she nodded.

“Of course we can hang out,” she said. “You’re my best friend.”

My heart soared and I gathered her back in for a hug. “You’re my best friend too.”

We must have looked crazy, sitting there hugging each other like that. We didn’t touch our pints again for several minutes, much too engrossed in our weird little love fest.

I was sad about Levi, but at least I had Val in my life. It sucked that I would still run into Garrick’s brother from time to time if we were going to continue being friends, but without the wedding forcing us together, Levi and I should be able to steer clear of each other. I still longed for another taste of him, but it would get easier to ignore over time. I’d had my heart broken enough in life to know when to pull back.

Val and I returned to our drinks and she moved the conversation to the wedding.

“You know how we were going to arrive the night before?” she asked.

“Yeah. Don’t tell me you want to drive up the morning of.”

She chuckled. “Quite the opposite. I booked a block of rooms for us for the five days prior. I’m still cheesed that I never got to go skiing.”

My heart sank like a stone. “Us? As in...?”

“You, me, and the Wheelers.” Her expression grew pained. “Is that okay? There are a bunch of other guests vacationing up there at the same time. And Molly and Gerhart will be there. It won’t just be the four of us.”

“Of course it’s okay,” I said, waving her off. “It’s your wedding, Val. I want to do whatever you want to do. Besides, I’m a grown woman. I can handle being in the same room as a guy I’ve slept with a couple times.”

I followed this up with a hearty gulp of beer but Val seemed to accept it.

In truth, I was stunned. I couldn’t imagine anything worse than being back in that hotel with Levi. Our snowy weekend seemed like a hundred years ago, but I remembered it like it was yesterday.

I didn’t want to scourge those memories by spending nearly a week avoiding the best man and trying not to feel hurt when he inevitably found someone else to entertain him. My reluctance was wholly selfish, which was why I didn’t tell Val.

“It’ll be fun, I promise,” she said. “We’re going to ski, sip hot chocolate and Baileys, and spend the nights cozied up next to the fire. I can bring up some board games too. Doesn’t that sound awesome?”

“Sounds incredible,” I replied, managing to keep my tone from falling flat.

As long as we didn’t get trapped up there, how bad could it be?