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“And thank you for being here for me.” She squeezed my arm. “Also, just a heads-up, he’s out there.”
“What?” I furrowed my brow. Of course Jackson was out there.
“I mean, he’s out there.” She gestured to the bathroom door. “He’s waiting on you.”
Oh. Great.
26
JACKSON
Itapped my foot anxiously against the floor. Why did she take off like that? What did I say that was wrong? My head was spinning. I thought it all had gone smoothly. I mean, yeah, it took her a second to get the words out, but she had accepted. Everyone probably wrote it off as shock, anyway.
Leaning against the wall, I counted the seconds, making it all the way to over two hundred before the bathroom door finally opened. Out stepped Maeve, who had a complex expression on her face. I couldn’t tell if Maeve was about to cry—or if she might murder me.
And that was a terrifying look to get from a woman.
“She’ll be out in a second,” Maeve said curtly. “And be gentle with her.”
“What?” That’s confusing as fuck.
“Listen.” She lowered her voice, pointing her finger at me in a borderline threatening way. “She is my best friend and whether you can’t stand her or not, she’s got a freaking heart of gold. She’s always wanted to find true love—and have someone get down on one knee, vowing to spend the rest of their life with her. Not everyone can just brush off a big lie like you people in this industry can.”
Oh shit.
“Right.” My voice dropped, and the guilt I’d felt earlier came rushing back in. “I guess I never really thought about it like that.”
“She’s only doing this because she doesn’t want her parents to pay for her school—and she’s using the rest of the money after school costs for them too. Lena loves hard and she’s the most selfless person I know.”
I nodded, not knowing what else to say.
“If I were you,” she continued when I didn’t say anything, “I’d offer to take her home. Don’t make her keep up the façade for the rest of the night.”
“Okay,” I muttered as she walked away, leaving me there alone in the hallway. I checked my watch and then typed out a text to the driver, letting him know to pull the car around. I didn’t blame Lena for wanting to leave. It wasn’t all that easy for me, either.
Especially the shit I’d felt when I started rambling about her.
I had a completely different generic speech planned, and instead, I went way off of it—and I wasn’t even sure where it all came from.
“Sorry for bailing,” a timid, sweet voice said, bringing my eyes up from my phone. Lena looked at me sheepishly, her mascara still slightly smeared beneath her eyes. My heart sank at the sight.
Fuck, I made her cry…
“It’s fine. I think everyone is drunk out there anyway.” I tried to keep my tone indifferent, but the sight of her emotionally disheveled was pulling at my heartstrings…
Ones I didn’t even know I had.
“Yeah, maybe,” she sniffled, running her hands over the bridesmaid dress as if to smooth it out. “I’m good though.”
“How about I take you home?” I suggested, giving her a slight smile. “I don’t think anyone will blame us for wanting to go home.”
“Are you sure? I don’t mind staying if you’d like to.”
I laughed. “Trust me, I’m good. Let’s go. I already texted our driver.”
“Ugh, thank you so much. I don’t know if I can face all those people again. I mean, they were just looking at us with such…admiration or something. It was too much.”
“Well, that’s because they thought it was real. I was even caught up in it.”
