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That’s pretty admirable on the Kingstons’s part. Not many venues are that accommodating for disasters outside their control.
I approach Cash where he’s standing at the welcome desk, instructing the receptionist on where to direct any wedding guest who might happen to straggle in this afternoon.
“Man, am I glad to see you.” Cash sighs, clapping me on the back and dropping my room key into my palm.
“What’s going on?” I ask, looking around and trying to make sense of the situation unfolding.
“What can I say?” He shrugs helplessly. “You and Alana weren’t the only ones affected by poor travel conditions these past two days. More than a handful of the guests still haven’t shown up.”
“Who’s missing?” I ask.
“Jasper and Grammy are not here yet, but they’re close,” my brother says. “Nicky is trying to get on another train. Meghan’s aunt, Jane, is stranded, too.”
I flinch in sympathy. “Damn. What bullshit. Grammy always says rain on your wedding day is good luck.”
Cash chuckles dryly. “That couldn’t be further from the truth in my situation.”
“I’m sorry, man.” I remember my own wedding day, and how I wanted everything to be perfect, if only for Alana’s sake. I can’t imagine how helpless my brother must feel, unable to fix this mess for his fiancée.
Harry and Mason jog down the stairs and stroll into the lobby. Just like the bride, the guys are all pseudo dressed up, too, with their dress shirts unbuttoned at the top and matching bowties hanging loosely around their necks.
We stroll to the seating area. The guys fall into the different antique chairs that are spread across the lobby, all chatting.I remain standing, leaning up against a nearby wall, ass too sore from driving for hours to consider sitting just yet.
“So what’s the plan?” Harry asks Cash.
The would-be groom tracks a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. We have a shitload of food, decorations, everything. And no fucking wedding to celebrate.”
The guys start tossing around ideas for how to make the most of the evening now that a wedding is no longer happening.
Me? I’m ready to just find a dark room somewhere, fall face first into a clean bed and pass out. I had been looking forward to arriving and just sort of blending into the background to celebrate my younger brother.
More excitement was not on my menu. But that’s what’s being served today.
Now that the adrenaline of rushing to get here on time is beginning to fizzle out, my melancholy is hitting hard. The last few hours in the Jeep, alone with my ex-wife, really did a number on me. And that conversation we had on the way out of Starlight Falls was brutal.
Christ. Alana and I did such a good job of keeping our divorce squeaky clean over the past four years since we broke up. We always acted maturely and made rational choices and never let ourselves get carried away with our emotions.
But two days and three reckless nights was all it took to make a mess of everything.
So…about us.
When she uttered those words in the car this morning, my defenses shot up. Because I love this woman and couldn’t stand to hear her reject me one more time. I didn’t want to hear her list out the reasons why she won’t give me back her heart. I didn’t want her to have to say that it was just sex and that I shouldn’t mistake it for something else.
So, I cut to the chase and I gave her the ending I knew she wanted. Even though it’s the last thingIwanted.
Maybe it was pride. Maybe it was self-preservation. All I know is, vulnerability is no longer an option when it comes to her.
Feels like shit, though.
But I’ll come out of this just fine. I’ll go back to surviving the way I’ve been surviving over the past four years. I’ll get through it.
“I’ve never seen Meghan like this,” Cash is saying when I tune back into the conversation. “I don’t think she got any sleep last night, trying to decide what to do about today.” He looks pretty damn crestfallen himself, but I have a feeling that he’s mostly concerned with how his fiancée is faring.
“Maybe you guys should just go through with the wedding,” Mason suggests. “There’s still time. I could go grab the preacher before he takes off.”
“No, Meghan is adamant, and I’m with her on this. It’s important for us to do this with all our family. It’s not right unless everyone’s here. But shit, it just sucks seeing her so devastated.”
The conversation rolls on around me. I’m only half-listening. I know that, as the best man, I should be contributing something useful here, but I don’t have any solutions to offer. I’m still lost in my head.
