Just One Wish (The Kingston Family #4.5)(12)

Tara glanced around her end of the table. Her mother was talking about Axel and how famous he was now and his history with both bands. Marsha had done her research.

“Make it strong, please,” she said quietly.

The server laughed and nodded before heading off to the bar.

“Mom, Axel is an old boyfriend. Nothing more,” she said, smiling at the other women so she didn’t sound like she was scolding her mom.

“Oh, Tara. Amy’s five years younger than you, and she’s getting married.” Aunt Jeanne wagged her finger at Tara. “You’re not getting any younger, you know.”

Before Tara could reply, one of Amy’s bridesmaids, whose name Tara couldn’t remember, stood up and clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. “Game time!”

Tara breathed a sigh of relief at the interruption that would save her from being harassed by her mom and aunt.

“Whenever someone says the word baby, we all have to do a shot!” Amy said, lifting her glass and grinning at Tara. Apparently she’d overheard the conversation and knew a good way to get drunk when she heard one.

“It’s not a baby shower,” she reminded her sister, but Amy wouldn’t meet her gaze.

A man placed shots of what Tara assumed was vodka in front of each person at the table, and the other girls clapped their hands and squealed in excitement.

Let the fun begin, Tara thought, laughing. At least she hadn’t taken her car and had come with her mother. Once Marsha left, Tara would call an Uber to get home later.

“Tara, your mom isn’t getting younger, either, and I know she wants grandbabies,” Aunt Jeanne said loudly.

So much for changing the subject. Tara looked at her aunt, who not-so-innocently grinned. The woman clearly knew what she was doing.

“She said babies! Shot!” someone called out.

Only too happy to oblige, Tara picked up the little glass, braced herself because it had been years since she’d done one, and poured the liquor into her mouth and gulped it down. The alcohol burned as it slid past her throat and into her chest. No sooner had she swallowed than the empty glass had been replaced with a full one.

Her aunt, mom, and the other women were on a roll, with Tara in their sights. Ribbing her about her single status and failure to provide her mother with a grandbaby amused the older women, who should have gone home by now. They weren’t doing shots, Tara noticed, but she played the game, getting drunk in an effort to tune out the fun around her.

By the time her mother was ready to go, offering Tara a ride before she left, Tara was feeling no pain. She was even enjoying the bridesmaids, who’d taken over the baby challenge, using it against each other. She promised her mother she’d call a car and assured her she’d get home fine.

A while later, the room began to spin, and Tara stopped drinking. She’d already fended off one or two men who wanted to buy her more alcohol, and she pulled out her phone since she hadn’t checked it all evening. Her texts and emails were empty, and she started thinking about Axel.

She’d done her best to put him out of her mind because they were so mismatched. But sitting at a table alone, Amy and her friends dancing on the small designated area, she couldn’t help but pull up his number.

The desire to text him was strong, and a war began to wage inside her mind.

Angel Tara: Don’t do it, you’re drunk.

Devil Tara: He asked you out. He’d love to hear from you.

Angel Tara: Getting further involved with him can only lead to hurt and trouble.

Devil Tara: Don’t be a baby.

Tara didn’t miss the irony of that particular word. It had gotten her drunk and to this point in the night, phone in hand. And if they hadn’t broken up all those years ago, maybe she’d be married with his baby, and she wouldn’t have been the subject of her aunt and mother’s pushing and prodding.

Devil Tara spoke up again: Do it. Do it. Do it.

Angel Tara was suspiciously silent.

She glanced at the screen, waiting for the blurriness to subside. How many shots had she had, anyway?

She pulled up Axel’s name and typed.

Tara: Where are you?

Her cell buzzed immediately.

Axel: At Xander’s.

Tara: With the babies?

She blinked, some rational part of her brain telling her she’d regret this tomorrow, but drunk as she was, she couldn’t bring herself to care.

Axel: What babies and where are you???

Tara: The kids we would’ve had if we’d stayed together.

She thought she’d misspelled a few words but couldn’t be sure. She hit send anyway.

Axel: WHERE ARE YOU? Did your dick of a date get you drunk?

Tara: Yep, I’m drunk. The phone’s spinning. What date?

Axel: TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE?

Tara: Amy’s bachelorette party.

Axel: WHERE???

Tara leaned over in her seat and nearly toppled onto the floor. Amy, who’d just walked over, flung herself into a chair. “Why’s the ceiling going in circles?”

“Ames, where are we?” Tara asked, glancing up at the direction her sister had pointed, narrowing her gaze to see if she could see circles, too.

“We’re at Shenannananigans,” Amy said.

Tara did her best to spell that for Axel and sent him the name of the bar.

“Amy!” Her fiancé, Kenneth, strode up to her. “Honey, are you okay?”