Page 50 of Gin and Bear It

“We’ll leave you two be,” Malcolm says. “I’m sure others want to talk to the bride and groom.”

“I’ll come hang out with you two later, okay?” Jada says to her niece and nephew.

They pout a little but go off with their parents. My shoulders relax. That was about as awkward as meeting strangers at a party—not devastating but not an A+ effort either. And Cs get degrees.

“This is going well so far,” I say once they’re out of earshot.

“Take that back right now.” Jada pinches me and glares. “You’re going to jinx it.”

“Be optimistic.” I lightly poke her side and lean in close to speak quietly in her ear. “We’ve fooled everyone so far.”

“I swear, you’re going to kill me and we’ve been married for less than a week.”

Things continue to go well, though. We make small talk with some cousins, hang out with my nana for a bit, and pet the dogs who keep sneaking in for attention. But Jada’s entire energy freezes up when she spots a woman across the crowd.

“There’s Danika,” Jada says softly, pasting on a smile.

I follow her gaze and spot a woman stalking toward us, a bored-looking man at her side.

Jada’s cousin looks like her in an alternate universe—curvy and thick, but with a style that looks ripped from Instagram. Tight and trendy. I’ve been around enough people who have gotten some work done to recognize little touches of filler and Botox. The “preventative” stuff, if I had to guess, which doesn’t really prevent much of anything.

Their energy is the biggest difference. She looks me up and down like I’m a walking turd.

“So, you’re Jada’s husband?” she asks the moment she’s close enough.

“Yep. And you must be Danika.” I give her my most charming smile. “Nice to meet you. Congrats on your engagement. And your graduation soon.”

“Thanks.” She looks at Jada next. “You’re not wearing a wedding dress?”

“Nope. We’re keeping it casual. And it’s just a party anyway, not the actual wedding.” Jada slips her hand around my bicep and I get closer to her.

“Mm.” Danika takes a long sip of her drink, not breaking eye contact with me. The man with her—her fiancé, I’m assuming—doesn’t say a word or even introduce himself. He could literally fade into the background like a ghost and it would take me a moment to notice. “Well, whatever. I just can’t believe you’re married. Nice timing.”

“Sometimes the stars align,” I say.

She raises an eyebrow at me. She couldn’t be more annoyed if she tried, and the asshole in me only wants to stoke that flame.

“Right.” She sips her drink again. “So how did you even meet? Do you even know each other?”

“No, we’re total strangers,” I say. Jada lightly steps on my foot. “But no, we’ve known each other basically our whole lives. But we reconnected on another level last year.”

Danika gives us a narrow-eyed gaze again. “Right. You were in a band, right? Or are? What are you going to do when you go on tour again?”

“We’re on hiatus. Indefinitely,” I say. “I’m working for Stryker Liquors now.”

“So you’re broke?” Danika shoots back, a smirk on her face.

“He’s not broke,” Jada says. “He’s just choosing to slow down. Right?”

“Right.” I want to throw back my entire drink to blunt the irritation that’s bubbling up inside of me, but I hold back.

Now I understand why Jada didn’t want her cousin to have the hotel. I don’t like her, and I get the feeling that everything she touches turns to slop.

“She’s not going to sell the hotel anyway. If you were in it for the money, I mean,” Danika says. “Even though that real estate is worth, like, millions.”

“The history is worth way more than money.” Jada’s smile is tight.

“Sure.” Danika softly snorts. “Whatever. Like you wouldn’t love the money.”