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CHAPTER15
Tatum
The cake was beautiful, a three-tiered masterpiece with white buttercream and a little bride and groom figurine on top. I was sure that it was also delicious but to me, it tasted like cardboard.
The dinner was completely unappetizing to me too. It had nothing to do with the quality of the food. My stomach felt like it was twisted in knots. Not only was I having a hard time being near Ben, but I had to give a speech soon. I knew that speaking in front of a crowd at the reception was a big part of being a maid of honor when I accepted the position, but I actively tried not to think about it too much until I had to.
Now, I had to.
I’d written a speech before coming to the island, and as I sat at the table with my uneaten cake in front of me, I was scanning the index cards I’d written it on. I already had the speech memorized, but I was still reading it over, hoping it would help with my confidence. I hated public speaking. It made me a nervous wreck to imagine so many eyes on me.
“Hey, are you okay?”
I glanced over to see that Faith was looking at me with a small frown on her face. I gave her a weak smile. “Yeah, I’m just trying to psyche myself up for my speech.”
“That makes sense. I think Ben seems nervous too. Or maybe he’s just upset because of Amy showing up here.”
I jolted at the mention of her name, realizing that Faith must have known he was married this whole time. That hadn’t occurred to me before. Why in the hell didn’t she tell me about it? She was the only person that knew there was something developing between us, and she didn’t say a word. In fact, she’dencouragedit.
“Amy?” I asked, curious about what she was going to say. She mentioned the woman so casually, as if there was no reason for me to be upset. But that didn’t make sense.
“Ben’s wife . . . if you can ever call her that. Michael told me that she showed up here a couple of hours before the wedding while we were all getting ready. She made one hell of a scene.”
“A scene?” I was completely lost.
“Yeah, and it’s not the first time. Since they split up two years ago, she’s refused to sign their divorce papers, no matter how persistent Ben has been. She’s shown up randomly at least a half dozen times, not caring who is standing around to witness her trying to talk him into getting back together. It gets pretty awkward, and I feel bad for him. He’s made it very clear that he’s not interested, that all he wants from her is a divorce, but she’s determined. However, today, shefinallybroke down and agreed to dissolve the marriage.”
I didn’t know what to think about all this. It wasn’t at all what I expected. Before I had a chance to process it all, the DJ had cut off the low music that was playing in the background this whole time and handed me a microphone.
It was time.
I stood up and several guests took notice. A hush fell over the crowd of people as I lifted my champagne flute and tapped the side of it with my fork a couple of times. This got me even more attention until all eyes were on me.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and flashed a practiced smile. I didn’t even look at the index cards as I started speaking. I didn’t really need them.
“Hi, everyone,” I said, my voice booming out of the tall speakers on the stage behind me. I pulled the microphone away from my mouth a little so that it wasn’t so loud. “For those of you that don’t know, I’m Tatum and Faith has been my best friend for ten years. We met during our Freshman year of college, and I remember even back then, she was always a romantic. She was always looking for her prince charming, someone to sweep her off her feet. I used to think that she’d never find the ‘perfect guy,’ because such a thing didn’t exist. But I was wrong. I’ve seen the way that Michael and Faith are together, and I know that she’s found the right guy, the one she’s been looking for.”
The longer I talked, the more comfortable I became. I could never be completely at ease addressing a large group of people like this, but I knew that my speech was good. It wasn’t long, but I told personal stories about Faith and the way that I had seen the love between the two of them grow into something truly special and inspiring.
That was true, and it was probably the reason that I allowed myself to fall for Ben. No matter what I’d been through in my own bad relationships, I knew that real love existed. I’d seen it. I was looking at it right now as my friends held each other’s hands and smiled with a happiness that I longed for.
I tried to push my thoughts of Ben away as I finished my speech. I could feel his eyes on me, and it just made me more confused about everything. The things that Faith told me were swirling around in my mind, but no matter what the truth was about his situation with his wife, I wasn’t happy that Ben didn’t tell me about it.
“...and I know that they are going to have a wonderful life together. So, if you would all raise your glasses,” I lifted my own into the air, “and join me in toasting Mr. and Mrs. Hendrix.”
Everyone drank with me, and I resumed my seat, relieved that the speech was over and I didn’t trip over my own words or embarrass myself in any way. I put down my drink and turned to hand the microphone back to the DJ on the stage behind me, but Ben was already standing there, holding out his hand.
Of course...he had to give a speech, too. I handed over the microphone, and Ben made sure that our fingers brushed when he took it from me. The spark was still there, not in the least diminished by the truth I discovered today. He turned to address the room, confident and relaxed as he spoke into the microphone.
“Just a few more words,” he said, and the grin on his face was so sexy that it made my heart flutter. “As best man, I knew that I had to give a speech today, and I thought long and hard about what love is and why marriage can be such an important thing to celebrate. What I came up with is a single smile. You know, the one that spreads across your face without you even realizing it when you see the person that you love. The smile that you wake up with because she’s stretched out in the bed beside you. The smile that you love to see on her face to know that you make her just as happy as she makes you. That’s what love is about. It makes you want to be a better person. And it doesn’t matter what mistakes you’ve made in your past, or what flaws you have. When you find the right one,” Ben’s eyes met mine and held them, “you just know. Nothing in the past matters anymore. There’s only her and the future you can have together.”
Even though his words were appropriate for his best man speech, it was obvious that he was talking about me, and the warmth in his eyes was the kind of thing that couldn’t be faked. I was touched, and I felt the pieces of my heart coming back together, stronger than ever before.
I swallowed hard. He was right, it didn’t matter what had happened in the past. All of my relationships had crashed and burned, but that didn’t mean that I wasn’t worthy of happiness with this man who’d made me so whole and complete. Wasn’t the situation with Ben and his marriage the same? If they’d been separated for years, as Faith said, then why should his past mistake keep him from finding someone new? Why should it keepusapart?
As Ben called for everyone to drink in honor of the couple, I finished off my champagne, my head slightly buzzed from the alcohol. The DJ took the microphone back and started playing a slow song. Michael stood, holding his hand out to Faith. When she took it, he pulled her out of her seat and led her to the dance floor. All eyes were on them, except Ben’s.
He looked straight at me, then gestured to the empty chair beside him. He was leaving it up to me to come to him this time. I took a deep breath and settled into the seat Michael had just vacated.
