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“To my girls growing up and my bones getting old,” Dad toasts in response as my phone vibrates in the pocket of my dress. I’m not sure who it could be, but as I’m about to check, I’m distracted by little boy shrieks that get louder with my brother, Rowan’s, guffaws. As always, you can typically find him with the kids, or in this moment, Parker’s toddler, Easton.
“Hey, baby boy,” Summer calls him over, opening her arms wide for him to tumble into them as she crouches. “Should we get you dressed for the party?”
“Umm…” Big blue eyes flash up to take us all in before he asks, “Bow tie time?”
“Absolutely!” Summer singsongs as she leads him back to the house hand in hand. Meanwhile, Rowan pours himself a baby stout behind the bar.
“Have you spoken to Tyler?” he asks, checking his phone. “He called earlier to talk to you.”
“Oh?” Pulling my phone from my pocket, I notice the stack of missed calls from him. Instantly, my heart squeezes tight, causing me to wince.
“Trouble in paradise?” Rowan jokes, earning himself a slap to the back of the head from Dad.
“Don’t you start,” Pa warns him while Parker chuckles at my brother’s teasing.
It’s becoming more and more annoying lately, especially since Tyler and I became engaged. They used to be friends at one point, but when we started dating, Rowan distanced himself from Tyler. I never understood why, however, a part of me is certain that he’s taking the whole overprotective big brother shit way too far.
As much of a playboy as Tyler used to be, I know that Rowan’s surly attitude toward him is unnecessary.
“The guy is fucking useless,” Rowan groans as I wander toward the gazebo at the bottom of the yard that overlooks the lake. “Fucker has done nothing for this wedding.” When I turn to level him with a scowl, Rowan meets my annoyed gaze dead-on, stating, “It’s like he doesn’t want to ge—”
“Enough, now,” Pa cuts him off at the same time as my phone vibrates again, stealing my attention as I flip Rowan off and continue to the quieter sitting area.
“Hey, babe,” I answer gingerly, leaning over the side of the gazebo to watch the fish in the water below. “Tyler? Hello?” Making sure the line hasn’t cut off, I check my phone. “You there?”
“Uh…yeah. Yeah, I’m here.” The sound of his voice never fails to make my heart skip a beat, but the unusual quietness is off.
“Is everything okay? Are you—”
“We need to talk, Ro,” he tells me morosely.
I’m smart enough to know that everything is not okay from his tone alone, but it doesn’t stop me from injecting as much lightness as I can into my reply. “We can talk when you get here.”
“I stopped by earlier, but…uh…the house was busy and—”
“Oh, why didn’t you come up?”
“I want to talk to you on your own.”
“I was on my own, Tyler, I was getting ready?” The sharp edge to my reply irks him some because he snaps back, “Outside that house. Away from everyone. I just need to talk to you, dammit!”
The air in my lungs escapes suddenly, making it nearly impossible for me to speak and ask, “Why?” I wish I said nothing because that one word tightens all my insides, twisting all the excitement I was feeling into dread while my heart pounds so loud that I can barely hear when he finally tells me, “I can’t do this.”
I keep waiting and waiting for him to go on. Every second that ticks by drags, and the warm air chills as the breeze flutters around me. The lump in my throat throbs with the tremble of my aching breaths.
“Y-you…y-you…” God, I can’t get any words out as I choke on my tear-filled sobs. “Y-you…c-can’t…d-do…w-wha…what?”
There’s a beat of heavy silence before he blows my name out on a deep exhale, “Rosie…”
“You can’t what, Tyler?”
The drum of my heart is deafening. Hot tears I can’t control pour from my eyes as I stare down at the blurred, rippling water. I’m slowly suffocating on my own sobs. Unbearable anger and disappointment turnover my insides so that I can’t think straight despite knowing exactly what’s happening. It’s as though my mind is trying to spare me the devastation unraveling around me.
It’s too late though, even before he says it, I’m retching at the sucker punch he’s about to deliver. All the color is draining from my world as I fist my phone tighter in my hand. Waiting for him to say the actual words. Even when I know what’s coming and there’s no way to stop it, the only thing I can do is stand by while he shatters the future we planned together. He releases a relieved sigh after he utters the words…
“I can’t marry you.”
Chapter Two
