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"Two days ago." Murphy is all effervescent happiness, her eyes aglow and the dimple in her left cheek fully dimpling. A better person than me would be happy for her. "Liam asked me and I said yes and we decided there was no reason to wait. We drove to Vegas, got married, and drove back."
"What was the rush?" I ask. "Did you have a big fight, and this was Liam's way of making up for it?" I'm fully aware I'm being an asshole. I just can't seem to stop. Marriage is forever. There's no coming back from it.
"I told you." Liam crosses his arms over his chest and rocks back on his heels. "I told you he wouldn't take this well."
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Cherry stand and start toward us. I'd almost forgotten she's here.
"We're going to have another wedding here." Murphy wraps an arm around Liam's waist and leans into him. "For our friends and family, with a huge-ass party of a reception. We want you to be a part of this."
Cherry's cool hand slides into mine and squeezes. I hold on for dear life. "You've only been dating for a little over a year." I should have been there to talk some sense into them.
"Almost two years." Murphy slips her hand into Liam's making the two of them a united front against me.
"Xavier." Cherry voice is low, her grip on my hand tightening. "Take a breath."
I glare down at her. "I don't need to take breath, Cherry. My two best friends are ruining their lives. I'm allowed to tell them the truth when no one else will." I want to be the kind of friend who accepts their choices and congratulates them, but I've never been that kind of friend. I don't want to have to pick up Murphy and Liam's pieces. I'd rather not see them hurt in the first place.
Cherry looks up at me, not a sign of anger anywhere on her sweet face, just concern and… is that pity? "Are you worried they're ruining their lives or are you upset because you…" She glances over at my friends, then turns back to me and waggles her eyebrows. "Because of how you feel about…" Eyebrow waggle. "You know."
I stare at her in confusion for about thirty seconds before I realize what she's getting at. I huff out an exasperated breath. "Cherry, I'm going to tell you this one last time. I'm not in love with either Liam or Murphy. I've never been in love with either of them and I never will be in love with either of them."
"That hurts." Liam's voice bubbles with laughter.
I turn to him. "Your relationship is headed for disaster. There's no coming back from divorce. When this ends, it's going to destroy us all." And there will be no way for me to fix it.
I realize I might have gone too far when Murphy's eyes fill with tears. "I know you've had a hard time seeing us as a couple, seeing our relationship change, but I thought you'd at least pretend to be happy for us."
Shit. I'm fucking this up, but I can't pretend. Not with them. "I'm sorry, Murphy, but this is a mistake. As your friend, I have to be honest."
Liam shakes his head, but he looks more resigned than pissed. "Friends support each other, Xavier. You haven't been our friend, not really, not for a long time."
"I've stood by you." Why do my legs feel so weak? Why does it feel like the world is tilting off its axis? "I've been here for both of you whenever you've needed me. Being honest about the train wreck I see coming is also me being a good friend to you."
"We're married now," Murphy says in a watery voice. "If you can't support our relationship, you are no longer our friend."
She watches me like she's waiting for something. Liam stands next to her, body tense and stiff, expression closed off. Murphy's words hit hard, but it's not the part about me no longer being their friend that hollows me out, it's the 'our' relationship and knowing she's talking about her and Liam. No matter what I do, we are no longer a trio of best friends. They've shut me out, have been shutting me out since they made the moronic decision to date.
Cherry squeezes my hand, maybe urging me to speak, maybe just offering comfort, but there's no comfort to be found.
A tear rolls down Murphy's cheek. "I hope you can change your mind, Xavier, but until you do, it's best if we don't see each other."
My heart clenches, but I can't find a reasonable argument. There's no way I'll be able to pretend I'm okay with their relationship.
Liam looks disgusted. "You're being a real shithead, Xavier. Even shittier than usual. When you pull your head out of your ass, you better hope we're still willing to forgive you."
They walk out of my shop hand in hand, the door slamming behind them with a puff of cold air and snowflakes.
I look down at Cherry, expecting to see her glaring at me too, but her face is all sympathy. "You really aren't in love with either of them."
"I told you that. They've been my best friends forever, my second family."
"I get it," she says. "Change is hard. And it's hard to see your closest friends heading for disaster."
The dark heaviness that settled in my gut when they walked away eases a bit. "You see it too?"
She nods, eyes wide. "Um, yeah. Anyone who rushes to get married is ignoring a major problem. Marriage never fixes anything. I've seen it happen more than once with my mother and my aunt and my mother's friends. Passion always burns bright in the beginning and everything feels like true love when you believe hard enough, but it never lasts. You should be ready to be there for both of them when it all falls apart."
She looks so certain, so confident, just when I'd been about to doubt myself. And that is sexy as hell on her. "I really want to kiss you right now."
