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Present day
On the other side of the door, an entire room filled with friends and family waited for the bride, my friend Bristol. She appeared at the top of the stairs, and on her way down, I thought she looked like a princess.
“My stars.” Her father’s voice hitched, and he burst out in tears, something I’d seen several strong, gruff men do when they realized they were letting go of their daughters… not that I would personally know what that was like.
Before my little girl imagination was crushed and my innocence stolen with the cruel realities of the world, I believed in fairy tales. At one point, I even thought a white knight would swoop in and save me, riding off into the sunset with me in his strong arms.
That delusion vanished into thin air when I was cast as a villain… a role I chose to play. I deserved an Oscar for my performance, but it was the only way I could protect myself, and anyone who dared to get close to me, which I never allowed.
Not until I met Bristol.
She and the amazing guy she was about to marry were my saviors one night when yet another man tried to hurt me. I didn’t think anything else would come of it, but Bristol saw through the facade I was having a hard time keeping up with anymore. She made me believe that not everyone was out to get me and showed me kindness even when I didn’t deserve it. She showed me true friendship.
Out of nowhere, I felt a sting burn the backs of my eyes, but I made sure to blink it away quickly. I was the wedding planner, so I couldn’t get emotional.
I stood aside while the family had their moment, and when they were done, I settled Bristol next to her father and fussed with her bouquet. “You really are beautiful,” I said quietly.
“Thank you.”
I turned around with the intention of cueing the wedding coordinator, but my foot caught on something. I flew through the air and a set of strong arms caught me. He somehow flipped me around, and I was upright in the blink of an eye. The momentum had me slamming against him, our chests crushed together, my fingers bunching his suit.
Scotty.
Green eyes, sharp jaw, and reddish-brown hair styled to look messy that I wanted to run my fingers through to make that way for real. All his tall, toned, intensity wrapped in a crisp white shirt and gray suit that fit him like a glove. The pink tie was the bow wrapped around his gift of a body that I wanted to unwrap and play with all night.
He was Bristol’s closest friend from her hometown and the man who sacrificed so much to make sure she was safe from his monster of a brother who was hell-bent on hurting her.
I met Scotty last night during rehearsal dinner, and after he shook my hand, tingles surged through my skin like the promise of him was injected into my veins. It scared the crap out of me, but I was more afraid to even look at him again in fear that I was wrong because I wanted it. I wanted the memory of a touch setting me on fire. I needed to believe in the dream, but this was worse… or better. It wasn’t a fantastical thought; it was reality that made me feel like I was in an alternate universe.
His arm was around my waist, and his hold was so tight that my toes barely touched the floor. Our eyes connected, and a spark shocked my nose when his brushed against mine. It went to the tips of my toes and trilled up to my fingertips.
I couldn’t lie to myself now, couldn’t pretend this wasn’t something big, not when the evidence was a hair’s breadth away.
This was my fantasy, the one dream that reoccurred so much I started to think my mind was playing tricks on me. I never thought it would happen in real life, let alone twice, but now that it had, it terrified me.
The meet cute, the love at first sight. The thrilling feeling of déjà vu that I know isn’t real but exciting at the same time, wondering if we’d known each other in a past life. It was like a neon sign flashed above him with hearts and arrows pointing at his head, one of those belonging to Cupid that had speared me in the chest, knocking the wind out of me and awakening my comatose heart.
Call insta-love ridiculous, unbelievable, or fake, and I’d normally agree, but now that it happened to me, nothing could convince me this was manufactured.
Scotty blinked, and the green of his irises melted into a blue tint, then back to green, and I couldn’t look away. I wanted to, God, I wanted to run away, but his arm was a vise and his gaze magnetic.
“Holy shit,” someone whispered, I think the bridesmaid, her shocked words penetrated and reminded me where I was.
No.
No, no, no. This can’t be happening, not now. I tried to breathe, but it came out like a gasp, and I jumped back like I’d been electrocuted.
His gaze was warm, but like the sun, I didn’t want to look directly at him because those intense rays would burn me. He hadn’t said a word, but he didn’t need to. The attraction might as well have been shouted into a megaphone.
I needed to focus on anything but him. I had a job to do, a job I desperately needed. My hands were clammy, and I wiped them on my skirt as I gained my composure as best I could.
Snap out of it.
I cleared my throat.
Focus.
Then I moved to the door, where I touched my earpiece and told the wedding coordinator, “Time to go.”
