Total pages in book: 167
Estimated words: 164557 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 823(@200wpm)___ 658(@250wpm)___ 549(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 164557 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 823(@200wpm)___ 658(@250wpm)___ 549(@300wpm)
“Breathe,” Beckett whispers in my ear.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath, then exhale slowly, trying to let go of the anxiety, the insecurity, the constant need to prove myself.
But there’s nothing for me to prove. Not here, with these two guys. When I’m here, I don’t feel the need to be perfect. I just get to be…me.
DAD CHAT
Will Larsen has been added to Dad Chat
Luke Ryder has been added to Dad Chat
Shane Lindley has been added to Dad Chat
Beckett Dunne has been added to Dad Chat
JOHN LOGAN:
Yo. You’ve been recruited.
LUKE RYDER:
Recruited for what?
JOHN LOGAN:
To watch out for my daughter. This Isaac kid is a menace.
BECKETT DUNNE:
I don’t want to be in this chat. Unsubscribe.
WILL LARSEN:
I will stay only because three of you played in the NHL and won multiple Stanley Cups.
JOHN LOGAN:
You are all staying in this chat until you are removed from the chat.
HUNTER DAVENPORT:
What do you mean, three? You realize I exist, right? I won a fucking cup with Tampa.
WILL LARSEN:
Oh shit. Davenport’s in this chat too??
SHANE LINDLEY:
Coach Hollis is gonna shit a brick when he finds out we’re in here and he still can’t score an invite.
GARRETT GRAHAM:
Hey, Shane. Sorry to hear about your father. Gigi said you two were close.
SHANE LINDLEY:
Thanks, Mr. Graham. Yeah…it’s been rough. We miss him a lot.
GARRETT GRAHAM:
Garrett. And I hear ya. I can’t imagine what you’re going through.
COLIN FITZGERALD:
This could probably go unsaid, but nobody tells Hollis you got an invite. Understood?
BECKETT DUNNE:
Any reason why he’s shunned from a super cool group called Dad Chat?
JAKE CONNELLY:
His wife is a narc. She reads his messages and reports back to our wives.
SHANE LINDLEY:
Yo, that’s fucked. She breaks into his phone?
COLIN FITZGERALD:
No, he gives her access to it. Hollis says secrets are the nails used to build a house of divorce.
SHANE LINDLEY:
That dude is weird.
JOHN LOGAN:
How did you assholes turn this conversation about yourselves? My daughter’s life is at risk here.
JOHN TUCKER:
Your daughter’s life isn’t at risk.
DEAN DI LAURENTIS:
At risk of getting knocked up by a football player, maybe. Risk of death? Unlikely.
JOHN LOGAN:
She’s not getting knocked up, because they’re not having sex.
BECKETT DUNNE:
LOL
GARRETT GRAHAM:
LOL
CONOR EDWARDS:
LOL
SHANE LINDLEY:
BAHAHAHAHAHAHA
DEAN DI LAURENTIS:
What’s the weather like in Denial Town?
JOHN LOGAN:
Fuck all of you.
Here’s the deal, young Briars. Blake is too trusting for her own good. She doesn’t possess the proper skills yet to see through this dickhead’s bullshit. But I do. Isaac Grant is a MTMD.
SHANE LINDLEY:
??
GARRETT GRAHAM:
I got this—I speak Logan. A…menace to my daughter.
JOHN LOGAN:
Exactly. Who names their kid Isaac Grant anyway? Fucking assholes, that’s who. He almost got Blake kicked out of her dorm. And since I’m not there to keep an eye on this fuckhead, I’m officially declaring you my proxies. Especially you, Ryder. You’re practically related to her now.
LUKE RYDER:
Um…I’m not interfering in a freshman girl’s love life.
SHANE LINDLEY:
Hard pass.
BECKETT DUNNE:
I’ll do it. She’s cute.
Beckett Dunne has been removed from Dad Chat
JOHN LOGAN:
The rest of you—you’ll watch out for Blake, you hear me?
DEAN DI LAURENTIS:
Or face death.
WILL LARSEN:
We’ll do our best to look out for her.
JOHN LOGAN:
Finally, someone reasonable.
GARRETT GRAHAM:
Yes. Finally.
JOHN LOGAN:
Are you calling me unreasonable?
HUNTER DAVENPORT:
Oh shit! The nominees for this year’s Hockey Hall of Fame were just announced.
JAKE CONNELLY:
Link?
GARRETT GRAHAM:
Let me read and then we’ll discuss.
SHANE LINDLEY:
omg we’re about to discuss hockey with hockey legends.
JOHN LOGAN:
No, we’re done here. Watch out for Blake.
DEAN DI LAURENTIS:
Or die.
JOHN LOGAN:
Fuck off, Dean. If this were one of your daughters, you’d do the same thing.
SHANE LINDLEY:
Can we please talk about the Hall of Fame nominations?
Shane Lindley has been removed from Dad Chat
Luke Ryder has been removed from Dad Chat
Will Larsen has been removed from Dad Chat
CHAPTER FORTY
CHARLOTTE
He’s the worst, right?
AFTER MONTHS OF RIGOROUS PLANNING AND ENDLESS MEETINGS—WITH a few stellar PowerPoint presentations thrown in there—the night of the Delta Pi Presidents’ Gala finally arrives. And I have to admit, my sorority sisters killed it with the decorations. Yara’s centerpieces are downright glorious.
The ballroom at the hotel in Boston is shimmering, lit by chandeliers. I smooth the front of my pale pink dress and adjust the spaghetti straps, looking around for Will, my date for tonight.
My heart flutters when I spot him by the bar, looking impossibly handsome in a sleek black tuxedo. He catches my eye and flashes that easy smile that always makes me weak in the knees. He cleans up nicely, but I’m not surprised. Of course Mr. All-American can pull off a tux.
I can’t help but admire how he stands out among the sea of older, wealthier alumni. He looks confident, poised, like he belongs here, and I suppose he does. He’s a congressman’s son. He fits right in at these sorts of events, with these types of people.
I make my way over to him, weaving through clusters of people who are too busy schmoozing to notice me slip past. When I reach him, he kisses my cheek, his hand gently resting on my lower back.