Chapter 66
Lacey raises her hands in surrender. ‘Didn’t cross my mind once. I swear. Besides, I was kinda starstruck too, y know? Then I met him and he’s just an over–hyped loser.”
“Ha fucking ha. Hilarious, Lacey.”
She grins. “I know.”
Lacey’s words don’t comfort Céline at all, because she’s still so obviously starstruck. I can’t help but smile, she must be a really huge fan. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t get over this. So, you’re the Liam Calloway? Like the real one?”
Liam leans back in his chair, easy and relaxed. “Depends on what you’ve heard.”
Céline hums thoughtfully. “That you are either the golden boy of hockey or a menace off ice. It depends who you ask.
I snort. “Both are accurate.”
Liam turns to me, feigning offense. “Et tu, Emilia?”
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Céline laughs, and Lacey nudges my arm. “And you–Emilia, right? You’re all over social media these days it kinda feels like I know you personally now. Plus, Bec hasn’t shut up about you.”
I brace myself. “Oh?”
She waves a hand. “Nothing bad, surprisingly. Just that you’d be here.”
“Wow,” I say dryly. “I’m touched.”
Lacey grins, but before she can say anything else, a hush falls over the deck.
A few heads turn toward the entrance, and like some kind of scripted moment from a rom–com, Zane and Becca finally
make their grand entrance.
Zane, effortlessly cool in a fitted button–down, walks like the whole ship belongs to him.
Becca, on his arm, looks like a goddamn dream–perfectly styled, glowing, the kind of beautiful that makes you feel
like you need to check your reflection.
I should be over it by now. Shouldn’t feel anything. Shouldn’t care.
But the way Zane’s eyes flicker toward me–just for a second, just long enough to register something unreadable- makes my stomach twist anyway.
The feeling doesn’t last long. Not after I remember the way he acted in my bakery a few weeks ago–like I was nothing. Like all the years we spent together meant less than the crumbs on the floor.
Bile rises in my throat.
I turn away before he can look at me again, focusing on Céline, who’s still chatting with Liam. She gestures wildly with her hands, her French accent thick as she tells him a story about a disastrous first date she had with some football player.
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Chapter 66
Lacey leans in, dropping her voice. “So, are you gonna pretend they don’t exist, or are we doing the whole polite ex
thing?
I let out a short laugh. “Oh, I’m way past polite.”
She grins. “Good. Becca loves an audience. You ignoring her will drive her crazy.”
That alone makes it worth it.
Liam must sense my shift in mood because his hand casually finds my thigh under the table, his thumb rubbing slow,
reassuring circles. It’s nothing. A tiny touch. But it anchors me.
I don’t need to look at Zane. I don’t need to acknowledge Becca.
I have nothing to prove to either of them.
Well, aside from giving them basic courtesy. It is their wedding cruise, after all.
Zane picks up a champagne glass and taps it with a knife, the delicate clink ringing through the air.
Not that he needed to–his obnoxious, know–it–all voice would have drawn attention just fine.
“Thank you all for coming to celebrate Becca and my impending marriage for an entire month on this ship. It means more to us than you’ll ever realise.”
Liam makes a low, amused sound, just quiet enough for only me to hear. “A whole month? God help us.”
I bite my lip to keep from laughing. Becca stands beside Zane, practically glowing under the attention, her fingers wrapped possessively around his arm. She’s wearing something impossibly elegant–soft silk, deep red, made to cling to every perfect curve. A statement, as if she’s saying, Look at me. Look at what I have. Look at what I won.
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