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Wholly confused, I chastised myself inwardly.
To the outside world, I was a deer in headlights. Frozen, awkward, and praying like hell that this was all a dream and that I would wake up any second. Inside, I was doing cartwheels. I was positive that I would never see Lucas—my Lucas—ever again. I’d convinced myself that I’d lost my one and only chance with him when someone stole my backpack, along with my phone, in the middle of the Atlanta airport. Even the internet had failed me in my search to find him. I won’t even go into how the bloody, fucking hotel where he’d stayed had refused to help me. Heartbroken and dejected, I’d resigned myself to the belief that the blissful week of toe-curling sex, the week where I had fallen absolutely head over heels with this man, was the last time that I’d ever see him, touch him, or hear his voice as he said my name.
But it wasn’t.
He was here.
Right here.
In front of me.
Unless I was dreaming...
I had to be dreaming!
That’s it!
I’m still in bed and dreaming!
I needed to pinch myself.
OW!
Okay, that hurt.
I wasn’t dreaming.
This was really happening.
The man that helped mend my broken heart and professed his love to me was standing before me. And just like another good dream gone bad, he was on the verge of marrying another.
“Luke, it’s time.” The man he’d been speaking to shouted suddenly, waving to get Lucas’s attention. Lucas was blind to anything but me. We existed in a universe where it was just us two and because of it, neither of us could look away.
“What?” he said a few seconds later once he realized his name was being called. The man replied with something that I didn’t hear. “Oh, yeah.” Lucas immediately went from joyous to frustrated. His face flushed, something that happened when he was irritated. His tight shoulders tensed, but his eyes never left mine once. “Gimme a sec,” he called over his shoulder. “Promise me that we can talk later?” He said as he leaned in hesitantly, placing his hands upon my shoulders.
A small cry escaped my mouth at his touch. Lucas shuddered with a heavy sigh. His fingers curled around the curves of my shoulders, gripping me as if I’d disappear any second. As his eyes roamed up and down the length of my body, he slid those same hands over my skin until his thumb gently brushed my neck. I shivered, my eyes closing as I couldn’t help but savor the power of his touch. The warmth of his hands on my skin stole my breath and all I could do was nod.
“Later,” I whispered. The corner of his mouth tugged upward into the beginning of that devilish smile that turned me to jelly. Touching my cheek, he leaned in as if to kiss me, but stopped, smiled and let me loose. It was agony watching as he walked back to where his best man stood waiting.
“Holy shit, that was intense! That was so scorching hot and all he did was barely touch you!” Lou leaned in with an excited whisper. Her excitement cooled quickly at my lack of reaction. “Hey, are you okay?” A supportive arm slipped around my shoulders. I gasped as I struggled to breathe. Suddenly, I wanted to be anywhere but here.
I can’t watch him marry her! I can’t watch the man I love marry someone else!
“I can’t be here, Lou. I’ve got to get out of here,” I managed to say as the walls threatened to close in. “I can’t breathe!”
I scanned the room for an exit. My heart beat out of control. My pulse pounded in my ears. My hands were suddenly clammy and my feet tingled as if they were asleep and before I knew it, I couldn’t get enough air.
“Lou…” I choked out as my head swam violently. A breath later, the room tilted on its axis and my legs buckled underneath me.
“ARIEL!” Someone, maybe Lou, screamed.
And then everything went black.
“What happened?” I asked as I came to, however much longer later it was. I lay on my back, stretched out on a chaise lounge in the room where Lou, me, and the other bridesmaids, Mary and Phyllis, had gotten ready. Someone had placed a cold cloth on my forehead. The delicious cool was wonderful against my overly warm skin. I suspected Lou was the culprit because she was a superhero. Lou was a nurse and excelled at her job.
A man with silver hair and Lucas’s eyes stood across from me, wiping his glasses and watching me with a pleasant, heartfelt smile. I eyed him for a moment. He seemed familiar, but for the life of me, I couldn’t place where I knew him from.
“You passed out,” the man said. “I heard your friend scream from inside the chapel and rushed to help.” I quickly learned that this man, the doctor who had come to help me, was none other than Lucas’s father. They were carbon copies of one another. I watched closely as he shut his bag.
