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Chapter One
Imust be a gluttonfor punishment. It's been months since I agreed to fly home to be a bridesmaid in my childhood best friend's wedding, and my regret over not being able to refuse has increased tenfold over the last several hours.
Trust me, I tried to say no. I made up hundreds of excuses as to why I couldn't possibly leave Maine to fly all the way to California for a wedding. It seems understandable, right? I mean honestly, isn't it a bit much to ask a person to fly across the country for an event that lasts only a few short minutes?
Yet here I am. Sitting in a line of traffic that seems to be never ending with a cab driver that smells like three day old sweat and stale beer. I glance at my cell phone lying in my lap and take a deep breath. The ceremony starts in a little over twenty minutes and with every car at a complete standstill, I have a choice to make.
Do I sit here and let precious minutes tick by? Or do I suck it up and walk the roughly half a mile to the church? I think I could get there on time. Or at least I hope I can.
I glance out the window at the busy Auburn streets. This city has always been bustling and full of life. It's been eight years since I've been here, but in that time it doesn’t seem like that aspect has changed much. If anything, it seems even more chaotic than ever. Something I definitely don’t miss.
I like the peacefulness of Maine. The water, the weather, the calm. I never realized how different East coast life was until I was actually living it. Don't get me a wrong, there's a certain beauty to California. A laid back, modern vibe that Maine is lacking. But I would take late afternoon strolls along the shore with not another person in sight, over the mess I’m sitting in now any day.
Finally admitting to myself that I don’t really have a choice at this point, I pull a twenty dollar bill out of my clutch and hand it to the cabbie before pushing the back door open and exiting onto the busy street. The cab driver gives me a crooked, stained tooth smile, before turning his attention back to the line of cars in front of him.
Straightening my peach, floor length gown, I shut the car door before quickly slipping off my four inch heels and making my way to the sidewalk to my right. Leave it to Chloe to pick a monstrosity like this for a bridesmaid dress.
The tight bust and straight skirt do very little for my shapeless, small frame. And the color, well let's just say it doesn't compliment my pale skin in a way that is at all flattering.
I weave in and out of the various people making their way in the opposite direction, before veering toward Venetian Street, quickening my strides. If I'm lucky I will make it there without being insanely late.
Of course, none of this would have happened had I been better prepared and accepted the fact that whether I liked it or not, the trip home wasgoingto happen. Getting a last minute flight with a two hour layover in Texas, arriving in California only an hour before the ceremony is scheduled to start, is asking for trouble. So as the sweat beads on my forehead and slowly trickles down my face, I have no one to blame but myself for my current situation.
By the time I finally reach the church, I'm both relieved and panicked. It’s been so long since I’ve seen any of these people. I can’t deny that I’m nervous. I think anyone would be in my situation.
I slip my heels back on my feet and take a deep breath. The mixture of emotions I'm currently feeling stirs uneasiness in the pit of my stomach, and I have to force myself to open the door and walk inside.
I don't get but two steps into the cool hallway before someone rounds the corner and runs directly into me. The unexpected collision catches me off balance, but two strong hands brace my shoulders and steady me before I take a nice little nose dive into the tiled floors.
“Sorry... I...” I start to say, but when my eyes dart up to meet the man in front of me, my words get lost in a chaos of rapid breaths and thumping heartbeats.
“Scarlett?” His voice is like velvet against my pounding eardrums and I feel like I’ve been transported to another dimension.
Crisp blue eyes burn holes into mine and I swear I lose all sense of time. Have minutes passed or simply seconds? I didn’t prepare myself for what the reality of seeing Westin would do to me.
Westin...
God, how many times have I thought about what it would be like to come face to face with this man again? How many times did I lie in bed at night and imagine what it would be like, how I would feel, what I would say? But standing here now, it isn’t anything like I pictured.
He's still the same boy I fell in love with all those years ago, except he's not at the same time. His features are harder and aged. His once bare jawline is now covered with a light dusting of facial hair. His brown hair is short and modernly styled, his bangs pushed haphazardly to the side to avoid withholding the view of those beautiful eyes to the world.
I can't stop my gaze from quickly skating across his body. Assessing that not only is he broader, but he's more defined as well. By the way his white dress shirt clings to his sculpted chest and the way his suit jacket seems to be straining at the seams against his broad shoulders and massive arms.
My god, this man is even more perfect than he was as a teenager. I didn't think that was possible at the time, but now? Well now I’m not sure of anything.
Even in my heels, he stands a good six inches taller than me and as my eyes slowly travel back up to his face, I’m hit with a thousand different emotions.
I’m not prepared for this.
Then again, it never dawned on me that he would be here.
But of course he's here. His cousin, Jacob, is the groom.
How did I not even consider this?
I guess in the chaos of everything I overlooked this one very important detail.
“Scar?” He finally breaks into my thoughts as the reality of the situation comes full circle. I can feel my cheeks heat crimson at my obvious lack of composure and I do my best to control my voice as I finally manage to speak.
