AllFreeNovel
Share Us
When I looked back on my life, I could see all the best things and the best moments had snuck up on me. They’d flitted by just like a gorgeous animal might poke its head from the brush, catch the sunlight for a few seconds, then scamper away.
And maybe that was some sort of secret to life. I needed to open myself up and enjoy the moments that I got, even if it was just a beautiful morning in a beautiful place.
Or, a little voice in my head chimed in, a beautifully ridiculous man in an insanely ridiculous situation.
I let that thought settle into my head as I sat there, brain wandering over everything that had happened in such a seemingly short period of time. Over how much had changed already.
I had about half an hour before the frenzy of the day was scheduled to fully consume me. Hair, makeup, dress fittings, and all of that was after I personally went down to the outdoor area where the ceremony would take place for one last look.
My father and brother found me as I sat near the gardens. I hadn’t realized I’d been remembering the time Chris and I hooked up in a flower-filled room until I was staring eye to eye with my father.
I blushed, even though he had no way of knowing what I was thinking.
“Seems like you’ve really done a number here,” my father said, hiking up his slacks to sit beside me.
Asher took the spot on my other side.
“A good number or a bad one?”
“Guess we’ll find out in a few hours.” He was glaring off into the distance, and I sensed that I was supposed to say something here. Given that I’d only come clean about the arrangement with Chris to my brother, I could see why my father would be mad. He’d think I should’ve made him aware sooner that I was interested in someone—or that the someone should’ve at least spoken to him before we were engaged.
I gave him a one-armed hug. “You’ll learn to like Chris.” I rested my head on my dad’s shoulder, wondering what I meant by that. Would he? I’d gotten the feeling Chris was about to tell me he already had his extension—that he was only agreeing to follow through with the wedding because he knew it was important for the future of my business. In other words, the prognosis for our marriage was likely to be dead upon arrival, and my father wouldn’t learn to like Chris, because he’d hardly ever see him.
“You really did do a great job setting this all up,” Asher said.
“Hopefully it’s enough. I still get about three nasty reviews and a handful of emails every day about Texas. Sometimes I’m not even sure a home run here would be enough good publicity to outweigh the bad.”
Asher bumped his knee into mine with a little smile. “You’ll figure it out.”
I heard footsteps crunching up behind us in the grass. “Can I have a word alone with her?”
We all turned to see Lance standing there with his hands in his pocket. I almost laughed a little when I saw he was wearing a turtleneck. Chris and his damn comment had poisoned my mind so all I could see was a veiny, phallic turtle’s neck when I looked at Lance.
I couldn’t help still feeling a little wave of… something to see him. Lance had been a fixture in my life for so long. I’d had so many butterflies in the stomach moments around him. So many wasted dreams and hopes. Now it all felt like it was mixed together with a strange blend of nostalgia and bittersweet sadness.
My dad and Asher got up, leaving the two of us alone.
He sat beside me, leaving enough of a space between us on the bench that I could tell he was being cautious. “Hey,” he said.
“What are you doing here?” I’d made sure Lance wasn’t invited after he showed up at my apartment and stirred up the drama with Chris. Him being here was several steps too far. Chris would probably think I’d invited Lance, and then—
No. Chris wouldn’t think that. I remembered back to the times he’d had more than enough reason to assume the worst of me—like when the picture of Lance kissing me in the coffee shop surfaced. Chris had never assumed. He’d asked me, and he’d believed me.
Lance interrupted my thoughts by trying to reach out and put his hand on my knee. I flinched back. He hesitated, then pulled his hand away, nodding. “I wanted to see you. You’re my best friend. You were, at least.”
“Lance. You know how important it is for this wedding to go smoothly for me. How could you just show up here like this? Do you realize how it would look if anyone saw us even talking right now?”
