“Anyway,” I say pointedly, “I had some unused vouchers laying around, so we figured we’d—”
“We?” His voice is sharp as he glances around. “So you are here with someone?”
I’m about to correct him—bywe, I meant the Core Four—but the hard look on Jamie’s face is just so infuriating, and Genevieve is standing there, an awkward, but still beautiful, smile on her pretty face, and I don’t know—something evil possesses me, and I can’t keep the words from tumbling out. “My boyfriend.” Jamie blinks. “Yeah. I’m um, here, vacationing, with my, you know. My boyfriend.”
Boyfriend? What the frick?
Jamie blinks once, and his jaw tightens. Something shutters in his eyes. “Right.”
We all stand there silently for a beat. Jamie and I are close enough that I can smell the chlorine on his skin. Feel the warmth radiating off his body…
“Well, we’re only here for a few days,” he says, clearly trying to break the tension. “Leaving Friday afternoon, so not sure we’ll run into you again.” His voice is matter-of-fact. “Hope you have a good stay, Sybs.”
I inhale sharply.Sybs.It’s just a nickname—the one all my closest friends use—and yet hearing Jamie casually toss it out now feels like a blow to the chest.
“Thanks,” I manage to say.
He nods, like this makes it official. Then he gestures for Genevieve to walk ahead of him, back toward the gate that leads out of the pool area. She gives me a small smile and walks away. Her gait is confident, like she knows the view of her from behind is just as good as, if not even better than, the front.
Jamie trails behind her, presumably enjoying said view. Then, just before he reaches the gate, he turns back and glances at me, just briefly. His face is inscrutable. The same placid blankness I remember staring back at me from the end of the aisle last June. When we first started dating, he used to joke that he had a slight problem of RAF (Resting Asshole Face). I always said his reserved nature—the way he held his cards close to his chest and was so intentional about who he let in—was one of the things I loved most about him. Now, it just makes me feel every inch of the distance between us.
“Goodbye, Sybil.”
And then he’s gone.
Thankfully. So I can die of mortification in peace.
Because it’s one thing to say I have left the shame and sadness of that breakup behind me and quite another to be trapped in the most beautiful place on earth with the man I once thought I was going to spend forever with.
THE DAY OF OURwedding, I arrived at the venue a little late. Okay, very late. So late, everyone feared I might not show at all.
And I very nearly hadn’t.
I knew I needed to talk to Jamie about what happened. Why I’d missed our welcome party and rehearsal dinner. But my mother assured me there’d be time for that later. Everything was still, by some miracle, on schedule for the ceremony. But only if we hurried.
I remember arriving to the ceremony site, with its breathtaking ocean views and the floral arrangements that looked even more perfect than the pictures we’d consulted beforehand. And rows and rows of white wooden folding chairs, with the backs of all our friends and family members.
I took a deep breath, trying to center myself, but before I could exhale, the bridal music started up, and my father was wrapping my hand around his crooked arm and leading me down the aisle.
Was it all like I’d pictured it would be? Not exactly. The wind kept catching up my veil, and the roar of the ocean mostly drowned out the cellist—or was that just the roar of my pulse in my ears?
But when my eyes landed on Jamie, relief surged through me. I had to squint because he was a little bit backlit by thesun. The breeze picked up his dark hair, making him look like a lead in a James Bond film, his perfectly tailored tux hugging his body just right. Just looking at him waiting for me at the end of the aisle sent a wave of calm through me.With Jamie, I’m safe, I told myself. With him, everything was possible.
“Sybil,” he whispered when I reached him. “Thank god. Are you all right?”
“I’m… fine.” I felt my pulse tighten in my throat, though. There was so much to explain. “Should we maybe talk?”
His shoulders stiffened. “Here? Now?” He looked to our officiant, who also happened to be his older sister, Amelia.
“It’ll just take a second,” I said, then turned around to face our gathered guests. “Hey, y’all!” I flashed them my brightest smile. “Thanks so much for coming! Grandma G, you look fab in that yellow dress!”
The crowd tittered with laughter, shaking their heads, as if to say,Classic Sybil.
“I need to have a quick word with my gorgeous husband-to-be, so if you could just give us a moment, that’d be great.”
More laughing from the crowd, but in my periphery, I could also see looks of concern painting my bridesmaids’ faces. In the second row of chairs, my friend Finn seemed ready to jump to his feet and assist with whatever disaster was about to unfold. But I ignored him, and the girls, and grabbed Jamie’s sleeve.
“Great, thanks, y’all!”
