I need to distance myself from the situation—and from him. This ache in my chest is going to kill me.

“Aren’t we laying it on a little thick with the doting boyfriend act?”

“You okay?” he asks, smoothing my forehead.

“Your sister wants to hang out once she’s back from her honeymoon.”

“Oh fuck.” He closes his eyes.

“Yeah, make sure you come off as the asshole who broke my heart. They really hate your ex.”

“What did she tell you?” he asks worriedly.

“That you two wanted different things and she was a bitch.”

He chuckles. “Leave it to Lola to give you the CliffsNotes, Lola style.”

“Did she miss something?”

“Nah, that’s pretty much it,” he says. “I almost married a bitch. Lesson learned. Women aren’t as trustworthy as they pretend.”

“Because men are so pure and innocent?” I ask irritated.

He narrows his gaze, studies me for a few moments and says, “Who hurt you?”

“I wouldn’t say hurt. All the guys I date eventually realize I’m just not good enough for them.”

“Is that why you said you’re a five?”

I laugh. “Seven, but it’s good to know I’m a five on your scale.”

He chuckles. “You’re an eleven.”

Miller clears a few strands from my face and kisses my lips softly.

“When I see you, I see a beautiful woman with so many great qualities. Any man would be lucky to have you, but I doubt anyone would be good enough for you.”

“Look at you, pumping my ego,” I joke, trying to push him away.

“Babe, I can pump something else too after the wedding.”

“Mr. Archer, we just had sex a couple of hours ago.”

Marrying isn’t part of my five, ten, or even fifty-year plan. Relationships just don’t work for me. But just because I’m a cynic that doesn’t mean I don’t cry at weddings. I mean, here they are, Kevin and Lola looking at each other as if they were the only two people in the room, promising to be there for one another no matter the circumstances.

In this moment, I allow myself to wish for the whole package. For a man who could be by my side, holding my hand when I need support. A man who would lean on me and look at me the way Kevin looks at Lola. I wonder how it would feel to have someone by my side when I felt like the world was about to swallow me whole.

“Now you’re the one laying it on thick,” Miller says, patting my cheek with his handkerchief. “You don’t have to cry.”

I shove him with my elbow. “This isn’t acting. Look at those two, so in love, making promises, and looking at each other like they belong together forever. They seem so happy. The kind of happy you only read about in fairy tales.”