Page 33 of Sweet Oblivion

“Tea for the newest woman marrying a Beneventi boy.” Dillan hands me my tea with a cheeky grin. “Welcome to the club.”

“Dillan—” Lexie stands and looks at the bruising I did my best to hide with makeup. I failed miserably, but I tried. “Ignore her, Lane, and tell us how you are and what you need? We all wanted to check in yesterday, but Ashton filled us in and told us to give you space.”

“Time’s up on the space, by the way.” Kaleigh leans her hip against the counter and runs her fingers over the hydrangea arrangement I’ve been working on. “We’ve been worried sick.”

“I’m okay,” I tell them on autopilot and force a smile. “I mean, I’m getting married. Woo hoo.”

It’s safe to say my faked enthusiasm falls flat.

“Don’t do that, Delaney. Don’t fake it for us.” Kaleigh’s words aren’t harsh or mean. She’s coming from a good place. It’s just still so damn foreign to me that it sets my nerves on edge. Almost as much as the way my sister watches these women, her eyes paying close attention to my reactions. “I sat at the hospital until Ryker kicked Hendrix and me out. And even then, I didn’t want to leave. Your new fiancé kept me in the loop most of the day yesterday too, once I threatened to show up at your place if he didn’t.”

He did?

“I really am okay. Sore. But not broken.” Not my spirit. Not my soul. “Not where it counts.”

Not a lie.

Bodies heal.

It probably didn’t help that I fell asleep on the couch watching aSchitt’s Creekmarathon last night and woke up tucked against Ryker with the old blanket from the back of the couch thrown over us this morning. “I’ll be fine.”

“How’s Ryker?” Dillan asks, not bothering to hide her worry.

“He seems okay. A little in shock, but can you blame him? We’re both processing, I guess,” I admit because let’s face it. I don’t know my fiancé all that well yet, and I’m not sure I’d know if he wasn’t okay. And who in their right mind would be okay with all this?

“What can we do to help?” Lexie asks, looking from me to Ashton, who’s still standing quietly behind the women. “There has to be something.”

“I guess I’ll need a wedding cake.” I may not know much about weddings, but I know I need a cake. And when I look at Ashton, she smiles and nods. Okay. Guess I got that right.

“Done.” Lexie winks. She’s not exactly quiet, but she’s the quietest of these women. “Any flavor preferences?”

I scrunch my nose as I think about it. “Not really.”

“No problem. Once you have the details, we can do a cake tasting, and you can decide what you want and how you’d like it to look. It’ll be fun.”

I lift my tea and try to hide my disbelief, but she sees it anyway.

“Trust me.”

Trust is terrifying.

But I’m trying.

Ryker

“They’re ready for you, Ryker.” My aunt’s assistant rises, notepad in hand, while my interpreter signs her words beside me. Olivia insisted on the ASL interpreter when I signed with the Kings. She said it was necessary, even if I thought it was a bit much at the time. Nobody wants to be the guy who needs something extra. Especially as a rookie.

Turns out, Bob’s pretty damn useful most days.

Most. Days. Today, I don’t want him anywhere near this meeting.

The fewer people involved, the better.

“Thanks, Karen.” I glance between her and Bob. “You might want to wait out here.”

Bob frowns. “Ryker, this meeting is with the GM, Coach, and?—”

“And my mother,” I cut in. “I appreciate it, but I’ve got it from here.”