Page 80 of She Was Mine First

The last dayand a half seemed as if it were a blur. If I had to listen to Livvy receiving marriage advice one more time, I was going to lose my shit. Half these women wouldn’t know a good marriage if it bit them in the ass.

I walked into the banquet hall for the bridal party with a drink in my head, immediately running into Livvy’s old man.

“Ethan,” Mr. Collins greeted, shaking my hand. “How have you been holding up with the women every day? I told Livvy that you’re more than welcome to join us, but she was adamant that you were fine with her.”

“I am, sir, but thanks for the invitation.”

“You’re a good man.” He gripped my shoulder. “I’m sure you’ve heard all the wives complain about their husbands, so tell me, how did I hold up with Mrs. Collins?”

I chuckled. “Not too bad.”

“That’s great to hear.” He clinked his drink with mine. “How’s business? I feel like I haven’t had a moment alone with you to congratulate you on all your success. I’ve been following your career since the beginning, and from one entrepreneur man to another, I’m damn impressed with everything you’ve accomplished in just four years.”

I never expected him to say that to me, and I was a bit thrown off.

He scoffed out, “I know. I know. I haven’t always been a fan of yours through the years, but you really did prove yourself to me when you let Livvy go. I’ll forever be grateful for you allowing my baby girl to find her independence. And look at her now, an attorney at a top law firm in California and marrying a Hunter. I couldn’t be prouder.”

“Yeah, well, appearances can be deceiving, sir.”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “Are you talking about Beau? You don’t approve?”

I shrugged. “It doesn’t matter what I think. All that matters is that our girl’s happy.”

“Ethan, if you know something about Beau—”

“What about me?” Beau chimed in, walking up beside Mr. Collins with Livvy on his arm.

“Oh, I need to take this call,” Mr. Collins announced, grabbing his phone as he walked away.

“I was just telling Mr. Collins that appearances can be deceiving.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” Beau indicated, “Starting with the woman who is eye fucking the shit out of you, Ethan.”

My gaze shifted to see Varissa making her way over to me.

Fuck.

“Ethan.” She beamed once she stood in front of me. “Now, this is the last place I’d think to run into you.” She leaned in, kissing my left cheek and then my right.

“You two know each other?” Beau asked, peering back and forth between us.

Livvy answered, “I think everybody knows who she is, Beau.”

“Oh, stop…” Varissa waved her off, but deep down, she loved the compliment.

She was a supermodel, after all.

Within seconds, several people crowded around her, asking to take a picture with her while Beau tended to the guests who were suddenly surrounding them too.

I backed away, walking to the bar instead. I needed another drink. After I tipped the bartender, I ended up on the balcony Livvy and I were standing on the night of their engagement/welcome party.

It wasn’t long until I was aware that Livvy stood behind me. I could feel her from anywhere in the room. However, I waited for her to make her presence known, mindful that this wouldn’t be a pleasant conversation.

Our profound connection to each other was strong at that moment. On nights like these, I’d look up at the night sky, wondering whether Livvy stared up at them with me miles away. I often thought about if things would be different if she had stayed in Charleston and didn’t move to California.

I thought about our pregnancy scare or even worse…

If she had actually been pregnant.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com