AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It happened to me.
It could easily happen to them.
But maybe it wouldn’t.
Maybe they were smarter than I was. Maybe I had lived for far too long believing that nothing could ever come between Kiera and me. Perhaps I had taken her, our relationship, and our marriage for granted, assuming it would always be there, and that was the very reason I was now in this position.
Knowing I couldn’t say nothing in response, I had to fight the urge to let my emotions get the better of me and spill it all.
Once I managed to tamp down the temptation to do that, I forced a knowing smile on my face as I nodded and returned, “I’m certainly committing every second of this trip to memory.”
At least I’d been honest with my response, even if I knew they were going to take it to mean something that it didn’t.
“I’ll bet you are,” Simon muttered.
With that, everyone laughed. To save face, I compelled myself to do the same.
And as the conversation started to shift to other topics about Zac’s upcoming honeymoon, Colt’s kids, and everyone’s work lives, I couldn’t stop myself from facing the facts.
I was totally responsible for where Kiera and I wound up.
We only had a few days left together, and then, because I hadn’t given our relationship the time and attention it deserved, we’d go home, and Kiera would be out of my life forever.
Regret would consume me for the rest of my life, as memories of the life I had with her would follow me everywhere, even into the nightmares I’d surely have every night without her by my side.
FOURTEEN
Kiera
“We should do this every year.”
It was at Margot’s declaration that my body tensed. Fortunately, I wasn’t required to speak, and it was Talia who decided to ask for clarification.
“Do what, exactly?” Talia asked. “Have a spa day?”
“No. Yes. Well, not just the spa day. I mean, this,” Margot clarified, swinging her arm out in front of her and around the table to each of us sitting there with her. “The trip. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve been having the best time.”
There was a collective silence as the girls and I exchanged curious glances. “Nobody else is getting married,” I noted.
“I know that,” Margot scoffed.
“You just mean the vacation and time away together,” Talia guessed.
Margot nodded.
“That’s honestly a really great idea,” Saylor said.
“Fantastic, if you ask me,” Thea added.
Couples’ vacations with my friends. I couldn’t think of anything that sounded like it’d be more fun than that.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to be an option for me by this time next year. In fact, it remained to be seen whether I’d be able to get through what was left of this trip unscathed.
Things hadn’t been great, and I felt like I was falling apart. The last few days had been some of the most emotionally draining days of my life. If it wasn’t for the fact that Talia and Zac decided to split up for the day, so the guys could go off and do their own thing while the girls did something else, I wasn’t convinced that I wouldn’t have cracked.
There was far too much pressure. Much more than I had anticipated experiencing before coming into this.
So, I was glad that we’d gone off this morning and done beach yoga. Talia wanted to try it out, and we’d all had a lot of fun. We were currently in the middle of our spa day, which was going to consist of massages, facials, manicures, and pedicures. We’d already gotten the massages and facials and were currently taking a break for lunch. Manis and pedis were scheduled for after lunch.
