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“I do,” a familiar voice says, and the hair on my body stands on end. As if in slow motion, I turn toward the source of the voice. There stands Chase with his hands on his knees, struggling to catch his breath. “I do,” he repeats. Straightening, he looks directly at me.
“What are you doing here?” I half-shriek. My heart races, from both excitement and fear.
“You can’t marry him,” he says firmly, walking toward us, “until you hear what I have to say.”
“There is nothing left to say,” I say softly, and look at Brenda. She takes a few steps back. Staring at her feet, she shifts her weight from one foot to the other.
“Oh, but there is,” he says simply. Evan glances in my direction, his eyes refusing to meet mine.
“There is nothing you can say to stop me from marrying Liv,” Evan snarls at Chase, taking a few menacing steps toward him. Chase stops, and plants his feet firmly on the ground.
“That’s great, but you weren’t the one I was trying to stop from making a mistake,” he says to Evan, then turns to me. “You’re correct. Technically, there’s nothing I can say, but, there is something she can say,” he says, turning to look behind him. There, standing in the shadows of the trees, is my ex college roommate, Brandi. Slowly, she makes her way toward us, a smug smile on her face. I look at Evan and his face falls, his eyes filled with panic.
“Evan,” she murmurs.
“What are you doing here?” he whispers, his eyes wide, like a deer caught in headlights.
“Chase told me you were marrying Liv,” she says, her voice filled with contempt. “I need you both to know something first.”
“What is it you need to say that didn’t warrant a phone call?” I ask.
“This is between me and Evan,” she replies, keeping her gaze locked on his.
“No, I want to know what dragged you all the way down here.” Turning to Chase, I demand, “Why is she here?”
“If it wasn’t important, I wouldn’t have flown all the way down here with her,” he says softly. I glance at Evan, but he remains quiet, frozen. The pause in his actions and lack of response tells me all I need to know. He has nothing to go on, which means everything that has yet to be said is true. His eyes shift to Brandi before connecting with mine once more. The panic is gone, acceptance left in its wake. I fight the urge to shove him away, to cause a scene rivaling the one already cast upon us. He lied to me.
“Whatever you need to say, say it,” he growls, still looking at me. “Then we can move on and I can marry Liv.”
“You really want me to do this here?” she asks, lifting a brow. Evan, turning to stare directly at her, nods his head. She shrugs her shoulders. “I’m pregnant.”
The words hang in the air like a pungent smell. I look at Evan in shock.
“How long have you known?” I whisper, my heart freefalling and shattering to the ground.
“The doctor says I’m about three months.” The news slices through me.
“What?” I ask, barely able to get the word out. I turn to Brandi. “But, I thought . . .”
“He told you it was a one-time thing, a big mistake,” she laughs as she continues my torment. “Well, he lied. We’ve been together for a long time.” A wave of nausea begins to overtake me, my head spinning from the truth that’s been staring me in the face for months.
