Page 70 of Blue Jean Summer

Those eyes, always sharp and assessing, softened again. “You really are beautiful, Cath. You look…” Hayes just shook his head. “I don’t even have the words.”

“Then I’ll take that as a good thing.” I brushed away some nonexistent lint from the lapels of his suit. “I—”

A hurried knock cut me off. Hayes and I looked at the door, but Hallie didn’t wait for an answer before letting herself in.

“What’s wrong?” I asked as I immediately read the mix of devastation, guilt, worry, and anger written on her face.

Hallie steeled herself and closed the door behind her, cutting out the commotion from the catering staff on the first floor. “There’s been a change of plans,” she said as calmly as she could, but the tremor of rage that rattled each word couldn’t be hidden.

The sharp edge to her tone meant that whatever it was was bad.

“Is it about the wedding? If something fell through, it’s fine,” I said, trying to put her mind at ease. Hallie would spiral if today wasn’t a flawless production.

Her eyes darted between the two of us. Creases lined the corners of her lips. “I just received word that Governor Grant will not be in attendance today,” she said stoically.

My heart stopped. It felt like the estate house had collapsed around me, pinning me in metric tons of rubble. My ears rang with the tinny hiss that was both silent and deafening.

“Also, Lewis is back, and he brought a plus-one,” Hallie blurted out in a panic.

I was too stunned to care what the hell Lewis was doing. “But…but he said that he would be here.” Tears that burned like acid welled in my eyes. “He said…” A cry caught in my throat. “He said he’d walk me down the aisle.” It was barely a whisper. Devastation shredded my vocal cords in one quick slice. “He promised.”

Hallie hurried over. “Cath—”

“I’ve got her,” Hayes said softly as he wrapped me in his arms. Hallie froze, then took it as her cue to bow out.

The moment the door closed, I crumbled into Hayes. His arms were strong and safe, holding me up as I cried. I didn’t care that I was in a five-figure wedding dress, or that his suit probably cost even more and I was smearing my makeup into the fabric.

Hayes tightened his hold around me, but he never said a word; he just gave me space to cry.

I shouldn’t have been surprised. It was a lesson I had learned over and over again. Unfortunately, it seemed as though I was destined to learn it once again. The biggest betrayals come from people who are supposed to love you. That kind of hurt cuts twice as deep.

With one phone call from my dad, all my years of hurt had begun to scab and scar, but in the blink of an eye, the wound was ripped open once again and was hemorrhaging.

“It was stupid to hope he would come around after all these years,” I whispered as my tears began to turn into a headache. I rested on his shoulder and closed my eyes. “So fucking stupid.”

“Hope is never stupid,” he whispered reassuringly. “Hope is what makes you beautiful when you take all of this off.” His hand was warm as he rubbed my back. “Say the word. I’ll call the whole thing off.”

I sniffed. “We have to get married.”

“We already got the marriage license. For all I care, we can say the vows and have the officiant sign it while we’re sitting in the kitchen in our pajamas. I’m not going to force you to go through some spectacle.”

“I just want to know why I’m not good enough for him,” I cried. “Why I’ve never been good enough.” The tears were back, and this time I couldn’t stop them. “He’s the only family I have left.” I hiccuped.

“It’s not you, sweetheart. It’s him.”

“That doesn’t make it hurt less,” I said as I sat back and stared at the ceiling. “It was easy when he ignored me completely. But having a little of his attention—a little hope—that makes it hurt so much more.”

Hayes reached for a tissue from the box on the coffee table. He cradled the back of my head while he gently dabbed at my eyes, carefully cleaning up the smears of makeup. “I’ll deal with him,” he promised with a darkness that, honestly, scared me a little. But that edge was quickly softened. “What can I do for you right now? One call and I’ll have the estate cleared out. There won’t be another body for miles.” I knew he meant it too.

“I keep my promises,” I said. “I just…I need a minute.” There was a beige smear from my cheek along the shoulder of his suit. “I have a stain stick that can get that out.”

“I don’t care,” Hayes said. “Whatever you need, Cath. Say it and it’s yours.”

I let out a pathetic laugh. “I don’t suppose you can give me the governor’s head on a silver platter as a wedding present.”

Hayes chuckled. “I’m not the decapitating type. But I think you’ll like your wedding present just the same.”

That piqued my interest. “I get a present? I didn’t get you anything. Shit. Was I supposed to get you a present?”