AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Beth scoffs and takes me by the shoulders. “I don’t care about my stupid couch, Cas. I just want you to be okay.”
Her sincerity burrows into me and warms my chest. “I think I’m going to be,” I reply. “I can’t believe I almost lost myself along with everything else.”
“And I can’t believe it took the wise words of Cameron Robinson to get you back,” Beth laughs.
* * *
Cameron Robinson’swords become a mantra for me. Every time I start to hope for more, I remember her face shining with sweat under the stage lights and it stops me in my tracks.
This new appreciation for life has me practically skipping along the sidewalk as I go to my first day on the job. I smile at strangers who are hurrying past me and take it all in with a renewed sense of hope.
I pause at a newsstand a block from the club, the image of a beautiful bride smiling broadly on the cover of a magazine grabbing my attention. Smiling radiantly, her hair is as red as mine, offset perfectly by the field of sunflowers behind her. I run my finger over the delicate tiara perched on her head and can’t help but see myself in her.
Holding the magazine, I study every detail. The bride’s smile is definitely the piece de resistance. It isn’t the waxy smile a model might flash just for a photo. It looks so… real.
“She looks so happy,” I say out loud to no one in particular.
“Looks can be deceiving.” A man appears at my side out of nowhere and picks through a pile of newspapers.
I turn to him, already glaring. But then I take a minute, before any argument can come out of my mouth. Because it’s not just any man standing beside me. He’s all chiseled jaw and brooding brow, and even in his immaculate designer suit I can tell that he’s ripped.
I shake my head to get rid of that particular thought. “It’s her wedding day,” I retort. “I think it’s safe to assume she’s happy about it.”
He can barely contain his derisive laugh. “The wedding industry as a whole is nothing more than a series of gimmicks put together by jewelers, designers, caterers, you name it–all looking to make a quick buck.”
I purse my lips tightly and take a breath. A know-it-all who thinks being born into money makes him an instant expert on everything. I wish I didn’t know his type, but unfortunately I do.
“That’s a pretty bleak way of looking at what’s easily one of the most romantically significant days of-”
“Romantic?” he scoffs. “You’re telling me it’s romantic to pay thousands of dollars on a dress you’ll only wear once. On food that you’ll only eat a fraction of. On-”
“I’m saying that it’s worth it,” I interrupt him.
“If love were actually a thing, then yeah. Maybe I’d agree with you.” He folds up a newspaper and tucks it under his arm before slipping the news guy a crisp hundred dollar note. “Keep the change.”
The guy excitedly expresses his gratitude but the arrogant asshole doesn’t even acknowledge him.
“Most people end up taking out loans just to cover it all, to impress people who end up gossiping about them anyway,” he says, looking at me with a smug grin.
“Well that’s a miserable worldview.” I’m so irritated that I return the magazine to its holder.
In the short time he’s been standing here, he’s managed to ruin the moment completely. Looking at the cover of the bridal magazine, she suddenly doesn’t look all that happy anymore.
“Miserable,” he considers my words for a moment, the corner of his mouth tilting up in a half smile.
He’s handsome, alright. There’s no denying that. With thick, dark lashes and smoldering dark eyes that keep me transfixed. I can’t look away even if I wanted to.
“I’d hardly call it miserable,” he says then. “In fact, I’m quite happy with the world.”
This time his face breaks into an actual smile and I find myself thinking how perfect he’d look on a cover of his own. I’m sure he feels the same way, and that thought is what finally brings me to my senses.
“She’s definitely a lot happier than you are,” I mutter.
He looks at the bride then back at me knowingly. “It’s the sunflowers isn’t it?” he asks, reaching for my earrings, but stopping just short of touching me.
My cheeks blaze under the rush of heat his proximity causes, and I stand speechless with my mouth dry and the smell of his cologne filling my nostrils. This man I have just met and would probably never see again irritates me, but I can’t deny his dominating presence.
He straightens and fixes his silk tie. “That wedding will end in divorce, 50% of all marriages do. All I’m saying is, it’s an expensive ride - marriage, the wedding, the subsequent split.”
He flashes me a charming wink and then saunters off, not bothering to look back.
“What a jerk,” I whisper under my breath.
“Nah, he’s okay,” the news guy smiles. “Take the magazine if you want. It's already paid for.”
But I’ve already forgotten about the blushing bride. This time it’s the mysterious stranger I can’t tear my eyes from.
