My Accidental Forever (Love You Forever #5) - Alexis Winter
One
Harley
“I’m engaged!” my best friend, Cora, nearly screams as she jumps up and down in front of me. Her right hand is fanning her face. The left is held out, showing off her beautiful sparkling diamond ring for me to see.
I do my best to force a smile, hoping and praying it looks genuine, but who am I kidding? I’m not good at faking anything. My resting bitch face always gives me away. “Congratulations,” I say with as much enthusiasm as I can muster as I take her left hand in mine and look at her ring.
She pulls me forward into a rib-crushing hug. Her giggles turn to tears. “Oh, Harley, I didn’t think this day would ever come,” she says, sniffling. “Now you’re the only one left.”
Yeah, rub it in. That makes things better.
Let me start by saying that I’m not your stereotypical girl. I’ve never been one to dream of my prince charming or the perfect wedding. It’s not that I’m just dying to get married, but it sucks that I’m the last of my friends who’s still single. Sarah has two kids already. Jessica is pregnant. Lilly, Meredith, and now Cora are all engaged. And when it comes to me . . . well, I have a couple foster dogs at home, no real boyfriend, and no intentions of settling down anytime soon. I feel like everyone is just way better at this adulting stuff than I am. It feels like I’ve just discovered I’m in a race and I’m already in last place.
“I know,” I agree, “but I think I’ll always be the single one. You know, the cool aunt who keeps the secrets and sneaks alcohol at all the kids’ parties,” I joke, and she pretends to ignore the hint of sadness in my tone.
She forces a laugh and playfully smacks my arm. “You’re a riot,” she says, blowing me off. “Seriously, aren’t there any guys who could stick? I know you’re seeing, like, three dudes at the moment, right?”
I roll my eyes. “I am not seeing three of them,” I argue.
She gasps. “You are, too! Let me see if I can remember them all. There’s Brett, the motorcycle racer. There’s Tony, the almost-MMA fighter. And there’s Will, the aspiring musician. You don’t think any of them will stick?” She sits back down in the chair across from my desk and I follow suit.
“Well, let’s see.” I start ticking them off on my fingers. “Brett’s already out of the picture. He’s in Florida for a race. We went on two dates and, no, I didn’t sleep with him.” I hold up my second finger. “Tony stopped talking to me when I didn’t put out on the first date,” I say, and she gasps as she leans forward to smack me across the arm. I quickly dodge away, out of her reach. “And Will’s still around, but it’s nothing serious.”
She shakes her head. “How could you leave Tony like that? He was hot as hell, Harley!”
I nod. “I know, but he seriously sucked at fighting and thought he was amazing, and I’m not down with a dude who expects me to suck his dick just because he bought me a steak. Fuck right off, bro.” I shrug. “I want a winner—not a loser who always has black eyes,” I joke.
She rolls her blue eyes and shakes her head, making her red curls sway with the motion. “Seriously, you keep being this picky and you will end up alone.”
I laugh. “Well, I’m always going to be this picky, but while you guys are all tied down to your husbands and kids and PTA meetings, I’ll be out living my best life and traveling the world. So who’s really losing here?” I ask with a wink, but keep my tone light and playful as a smile stretches across my face. We both know I’m kidding, but what she doesn’t see is how much I’d actually love to be tied down like that.
She giggles. “I guess it all depends on what you want. I want to be married, have a couple of kids, and always have my best friend with me through thick and thin. But good for you for not following along with all these boring traditions.” She rolls her eyes and I can tell she doesn’t believe a word of my story.
“Yeah, I mean, all that marriage stuff is good for you and the girls, but I’m just not that type.”