AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Still, our eyes lock before he begins his address to the crowd. “Logan and I have known each other since we were eighteen and by some lucky twist of fate ended up sharing a freshman dorm room. I have to say, when I first stepped inside and saw this prepped-up kid in his ironed shirt, he was so prim I wondered if he pressed his pajamas, too, and if we could ever become friends.”
Archie pauses and frowns theatrically, allowing the audience to chuckle at his engaging anecdote. “Luckily, as the days passed, his stock of home-ironed clothes ran out and his gear became as crumpled and wrinkled as that of any other respectable college kid.” Another short pause to collect laughs. “But what sealed the deal was when I came home the week after orientation and found him sleeping on his bed with his mouth open and drooling on the pillow, a bag of Doritos at his side, crumbs all around him, and his white T-shirt stained by the orange imprint of many fingertips. That’s when I knew we could be friends for life.”
More laughs. Gosh, I hate that he’s such a showman and that everyone in the room is eating out of his hand. Especially the ladies, I can’t help but notice, with a bitter aftertaste in my mouth. If he wants to substitute me for someone else, he’ll have his pick tonight. A snap of the fingers and they’ll all fall at his feet, just like I did. But it’s not his fault for being who he is. I’d been warned and chose to ignore the alarm bells. If I have to deal with a broken heart right now, I’ve no one to blame but myself.
“I guess for Winter and Logan it’s been the same,” Archie carries on. “Not a case of love at first sight here, folks.” The people in the audience who know about Winter and Logan’s insta-hate past laugh, including me. The first time my sister described the groom to me, she called him Satan.
“But it didn’t take them much to discover they shared more than they initially thought,” Archie continues. “Only the archeological discovery of the century, being trapped in an ancient tomb together, escaping a bunch of trigger-happy lunatics through the jungle, and having to save my life along with that of everybody else on that expedition. Easy, right? Well, not exactly, because my boneheaded friend almost blew it at this point”—Archie stares at me, making a breath catch in my throat—“by not saying how he really felt.”
His gaze lingers on me for another second before moving away, and I can breathe again. “He could’ve lost her, but, thankfully, only two international flights later, he managed to right his mistake and profess his undying love. I wasn’t there to witness the event, but I was told begging was involved.” Again, everyone laughs. “And now here we are. Logan, my friend, today you’re the luckiest man on Earth to have convinced this amazing woman to be with you for the rest of your lives. I wish you joy and happiness, and that your love will go on as strong as today until the end of time.” He stares at me again. “I would consider myself ever so lucky to convince a woman to love me for all eternity, just like you have Winter.”
The crowd awws, and a few hopeless romantic tears are shed around the room. While I’m positive I’m about to die. What did he mean by that? Has he changed his mind? No, I can’t tell myself stories; people don’t simply change overnight.
“And before I begin to sound too much like a movie soundtrack, I’d better wrap this up.” Archie raises his champagne flute. “To the bride and groom.”
The audience explodes with booming applause.
25
SUMMER
I cruise through the cutting of the cake unscathed. The traditional moment takes place in a spot further down the lawn where the cake is awaiting Winter and Logan under a gazebo—a wrought-iron structure covered in green leaves and white flowers, following the same theme as the other flower arrangements. Again, there are enough people around to ensure a big buffer between Archie and me. With the guests forming a large semicircle around the gazebo, I can hide in the crowd and follow the event from the sidelines.
Distances, however, thin considerably as we head to the dance floor—back in the wall-less house where tables have been removed to clear a space in its center—for the first dance.
But being demoted to simple bridesmaid has the added benefit of me being paired with Tucker for the last of the wedding party’s duties. And if I sneak off stage the second the song is over, I can disappear into the crowd again and not have to face Archie.
With this determination in mind, I find Tucker, steer him to the opposite side of the dance floor to where Lana and Archie are standing, and wait for the first song to start. The notes of Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect”soon fill the air, and I have to work hard at keeping the waterworks in check as my sister and Logan walk onstage hand in hand and begin to waltz. The bride and groom can’t take their eyes off each other, and they look so unabashedly happy my chest tightens.
And then I make my first mistake; I look up and find Archie’s eyes, and my heart squeezes even harder.
The first chorus ends, our cue to enter the dance floor. Tucker and I join hands and I let him lead. As my dancing partner twirls me around, my eyes search for those of the man who has stolen my soul. We meet and lose each other’s gazes again at each turn in a vortex of emotions until the song ends.
My plan to flee forgotten, I remain on the dance floor, breathless, staring at him. Tucker leaves me to go grab Penny from the crowd and lead her on for the second dance. Similarly, all other couples break apart and reshuffle. Winter is to dance with our father, Logan with Mom. And when Christian claims Lana for himself, the best man is free to close the distance between us, imprison my body in his arms, and spin me to the center of the stage.
“All of Me”from John Legend begins to play next.
Why did my sister have to pick the most romantic songs on the planet?
My heart can’t take any more strong emotions; it’s already been battered and crushed too many times. I’m so ruinously in love with this man holding me, it’s ridiculous. I can’t bear the thought of having to say goodbye to him tomorrow. Of never seeing him again. I search Archie’s eyes for a clue he feels the same, and his gaze seems to promise everything his mouth still hasn’t said.
A small flame of hope lurks in my chest, but I squash it down. I can’t get carried away again. For all I know, this could be just a beautiful goodbye for him.
The song ends and, before I can do or say anything, Archie scoops me up into his arms and carries me off the dance floor and over to a wooden bench hidden in the trees surrounding the lawn.
I’m holding on to him, my fingers laced behind his neck. And as we sit down, I don’t let go. Archie sits and scoots me closer to him with one arm, while his other hand moves up to cup my cheek.
Eyes as intense as ever, he whispers, “I love you, Summer, and I’m not ready to let you go. Whatever it takes.”
For a moment, the words catch in my throat and I can’t speak. I gulp down a sob, and, in a trembling voice, I say, “I love you, too. But—”
Archie presses a finger to my mouth. “No buts.”
I free one of my hands from behind his neck and put it over the hand covering my mouth. I kiss his fingertips and push the hand down, saying, “But because I love you, I can’t force you into something you don’t want. Even if we could make it work at first, one of us would have to go against our wishes in the end. And I would never do that to someone I love.”
“Summer, I’ve been stupid. I had no idea what I wanted before I met you. I’ve never been in love before. I’ve never felt like I’d die if I had to be apart from someone, away from you.” He taps my nose. “I always thought marriage wasn’t for me, that I would never find a woman I needed by my side every day, but you are that woman, Summer Knowles.”
“How can you be sure? How can you change your mind so radically in just a week?”
