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I squeezed my eyes shut. “I can’t, Derek. I can’t.”
“Why?”
I gulped and finally met his concerned eyes. “Because we slept together.”
Derek’s jaw dropped, and then he looked furious. “I’ll kill him.”
I grabbed his arm before he could do something stupid. “No, stop. Look, it was a long time ago.”
“I don’t care when it was!”
“Derek,” I groaned. “It’s his wedding day. You said you’d be there for him. You can’t hurt him because of our ancient history.”
“When?” he demanded.
“Remember when y’all came up to New York after he and Lila broke up?” Derek nodded. “It happened after you left.”
“The fuck?” he growled.
“And that might have been fine … if I hadn’t told him I was in love with him when he told me he was getting back with Lila at Christmas.”
Derek pushed a hand through his hair. “Fuck.”
“Yeah. It was … a mistake. I should have never said anything. But I can’t take it back, and I won’t stand there when he makes his mistake. Do you understand?”
He finally nodded. “Okay, Amelia. Okay. I wish you were coming, but … I get it. I’ll kick his ass after the wedding.”
I snorted. “Fine. After though.”
He ruffled my bun, and I jerked back.
“You know he never deserved you, right?”
I bit my lip. “Thanks, Derek.”
He finished getting ready and then headed out to the wedding of the season.
I curled into a ball and turned on mindless television to try to silence my mind. But it was no luck. Ash was going to be married in a matter of hours, and then he’d be out of my reach forever.
Nothing was on TV. My email was empty. The internet was silent.
And I was going stir-crazy.
It was half past four o’clock. Ash should be married already. Pictures would start showing up on social media. I should be enjoying the silence and not waiting for the barrage of images that were surely going to break my heart.
I groaned in frustration. This was stupid. I should have just gone. Then, at least I’d know when it was over. I’d have seen it all firsthand instead of waiting with anticipation for it to cross my feed.
Then, my phone rang. Derek’s number came up. That was weird.
I answered. “Hey. What’s up?”
“Grab alcohol and meet me at my house.”
“What?”
It sounded like he was driving. But why would he be driving? Shouldn’t he be at the wedding?
“Hurry.”
“Derek, what’s going on? Aren’t you at the wedding?”
Derek was silent for a few seconds, talking to someone else in the car. Then, he said, “I’ll explain everything when you get here.”
The line died. What the hell?
Well, fuck. I grabbed a few bottles of wine and two bottles of scotch I’d been saving for a special occasion, dropped them in a bag, and then got in my car. I parked out front of Derek’s house. His BMW was parallel parked in front of his place. He’d done a shitty job with it. I’d never seen him park that poorly.
What in the fuck was going on?
I pulled into the spot behind him and jogged up to the front door. I wrenched it open without knocking and found Ash Talmadge pacing in the living room.
“Ash?” I said in confusion.
His head whipped up at the sound of my voice. He was still in his suit from the wedding. His bow tie was hanging loose around his neck. The top button undone. His face a mask of fury.
I nearly stepped back. But then Derek strode in with a bottle. He shot me a frantic look.
“Hey, Mia. What did you bring?”
I opened and closed my mouth. Then, I held up the bag I’d carried inside. “I have scotch.” I glanced between them. “What is going on?”
“Just tell her,” Ash spat.
Derek took the bag from me. “Lila left.”
“She … didn’t show?”
“No,” he said with a sigh.
“Cole interrupted,” Ash spat. “And she left with him.”
My stomach dropped. “No,” I whispered. “That’s … oh my God.”
Derek rummaged through my bag and poured out three glasses of the good scotch. It seemed fitting. I’d been saving it for something special. I supposed the worst day of Ash’s life counted.
“Ash, I’m so sorry.”
He waved his hand at me. “Don’t lie to me.”
I winced. “I’m not lying.”
“You weren’t even there,” he accused.
“That’s not her fault,” Derek said, speaking up for me. “Is it?”
Ash glanced between us, and in that one look, he seemed to realize that I’d told Derek everything. “Ah, so you know.”
“Yeah, you should have told me, but we have more pressing concerns now,” Derek said. “So, have a drink.”
Ash drained it and then threw the crystal glass across the room, where it connected with the fireplace and shattered. I jumped at the violence of the action. Derek looked helpless. I felt just as helpless. I didn’t know how to help Ash. Nothing could help him. Lila had left with someone else. The real and final end. She’d made her choice, and it hadn’t been Ash after all.
