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“Daphne?” My sister’s voice echoes into the sacristy. “Where are you? The cars are leaving.”
I whirl around and shove the white orchid into my bridesmaids bouquet. A second later, Eva comes into view. She looks gorgeous in her silk dress. All of the bridesmaids wear custom designs. Eva’s idea, Leo’s money. I could wear mine again.
“Oh, there you are. What are you doing back here? Are you okay?”
“Just needed a second to breathe.”
And maybe run away. Maybe run straight into Emerson’s car. My blood is still hot with the idea of him in this church during Leo’s wedding. He was here. He left the orchid as proof. As a gift for me to find. It’s both sweet and terrifying.
“Your face is red.” Eva steps closer to smooth a tendril of hair behind my ear. “You sure you’re all right? Leo won’t mind if you hang out upstairs during the reception.”
“No way. There’s going to be champagne and dancing. I’m good, really. I think maybe I locked my knees during the ceremony.”
“Okay. Come ride with me?”
We step out of the church together a minute later. Cars line the sidewalk in front of the church. I try to find Emerson’s. I don’t see it, but I know he’s here. He asked me to come with him. Eva’s standing at one of the black SUVs, waving me forward.
“Come on,” she says, laughing. “I’m freezing.”
No more texts from Emerson. He’ll know by now that I left. I want to be at the reception. Leo’s my first brother to get married, and I don’t want to miss it.
It’s crazy to trust Emerson. It’s dangerous to want him.
Answering him at all is a risk.
But every time his name appears on my phone screen, my heart does something strange and good, like it’s trying to get out of my body and go to him. I know how it sounds. It sounds like I’m out of my mind. Snow comes down outside the window as we speed out of the city and onto the highway.
“What’s on your mind?” Eva’s mind is on her phone. She’s texting continuously, her thumbs flying over the screen of her phone.
“Is something going wrong at the house? Who are you texting?”
“The coordinator. I’m letting her know that Leo and Haley are five minutes ahead of us. The servers only have a couple minutes to get ready after they arrive.” She glances over at me. “But you’re staring out the window and mooning over something.”
“I’m not mooning.”
Wishing, maybe. Wishing I’d been braver and gone out to Emerson. Let him take me away. But being brave in this case also means being an asshole. Disappearing in the middle of Leo’s wedding day would ruin it, no question.
“Daphne.”
“Eva.”
“Don’t lie,” she sings. “I can see you staring out the window.”
I stare at her with huge eyes until she laughs. “You already planned this entire reception. Let the coordinator do her job.”
“You’re right, you’re right.” She drops her phone into her purse and leans her head back on the seat. “Dad is in rare form today.”
“I’ve never seen anyone more pissed off at a wedding. He was, like, glowering the entire ceremony.”
“He looked sick with jealousy,” Eva muses.
“Like Dad would ever want to marry a Constantine.”
Eva huffs. “Probably not.”
Who the hell knows, though? I never in my life thought Leo would marry a Constantine. Much less one like Haley, who’s so sweet and soft.
The way Leo looked at her in that church…
