“No… not,” Annelies rubbed her temples, “interrupting.”
“Great. Come on then.” Daisy clapped once and took the dress from my hands. “I can’t slow the eclipse down. We need to fix your makeup and hair, so you’re not late.”
“Sure. Hair,” I said, daring to look at Annelies once more before I trailed after Daisy.
“Jade?” Annelies asked when I reached the doorway.
I turned to look at her. “I—”
“Please leave what I said alone.” Her lower lip trembled, but she quickly composed herself, snootiness overriding the fear I’d previously witnessed. “And if you have more to add, wait until after the wedding. You don’t get it, but everything needs to be perfect.”
Was she kidding? I fumed. Her stab at of my not “getting it” because I wasn’t the one getting married fit the shallow Annelies Taft stereotype. Plus, it cemented the fact our foundation I tried to establish wasn’t solid. At all.
I let Daisy pull me into the hall and away from the bridal suite. “You two can talk after the wedding.”
After. It sounded so final.
“How are you feeling?” she tittered.
“Um. Kinda nauseated.” I rubbed my arms. “Overwhelmed.”
“That’s completely normal. Being maid of honor is stressful. You have to decide what’s trivial and what’s important, what to keep the bride informed about and what to shield from her. It’s a lot.”
You’re telling me.
“Yeah.” My stomach sank. With the way our conversation veered off course so fast, I didn’t have an opportunity to bring up what’d happened with Eli. My heart felt torn, even in anger. Although she asked me to not say more, I had to try. “I gotta go back… I forgot to tell Annelies something.”
“Oh, no you don’t.” Like a square dancer, Daisy linked her arm with mine and walked me around in a circle until we continued in her intended direction. “Time’s running out.”
That’s what scares me.
Daisy led me to a room on the far side of the building where a woman named Kaitlyn waited to do my hair with a curling iron in-hand. Over the next hour, she forced my long, blonde locks into a pile of sleek ringlet curls that tumbled down my shoulders while a man named Chaz applied eighteen layers of makeup to my face. The girl in the mirror appeared to be a perfect Goldilocks, but nothing in my life felt “just right.”
Was it true? They’d had sex? How could Seth get Annelies pregnant? Why did he agree to be in her wedding? If Anal Eyes spoke the truth, that made for a total of four women I’d discovered in the past week. Four! Was there anyone in town Seth hadn’t slept with… besides me? And then I thought back to the night before, cringing because he’d dodged my question when I’d asked about my clothes. Maybe I was a notch in the bedpost and didn’t remember it.
By the time I surfaced from my thoughts, my makeup and hair were done, Kaitlyn and Chaz gone. The dress and I were officially alone. I ran my fingers over the green Seamless bag before getting undressed, wondering how it could mean so much and so little at the same time. The strapless corset felt too tight as I forced each hook into its corresponding fastener. The high-hipster panties came next, suctioning my stomach to my spine. Nothing comforted me, inside or out. I carefully tugged at the zipper on the bag and pulled at the scratchy material until it burst into the room. The full effect completed when I turned on the twinkling lights and stepped into the bell. Like Sabina predicted, it slipped on effortlessly, a perfect fit on my frame. Looking in the mirror, I felt shame when I saw the elegant hairstyle, the heavy makeup, and the illuminated dress. Everything looked so fake. Then again, so did I for everything I didn’t do. Jade Nash was a fraud and didn’t deserve to be anyone’s MOH.
The buttery-colored skirting was coarse beneath my fingertips while I bunched the material to put on my shoes. As hard as I tried not to, I relived the past and wanted to cry.
“The ‘90s called. They want their dress back.” Miles slowly circled the chair like a shark. “What color is that? Neon Leprechaun?”
I gritted my teeth and read the description on the tag, not feeling better about my defensive stance. “It’s called ‘Legit Lime,’ jackass.”
Every conversation and argument shredded at my chest. Every glance and touch tore into my thoughts. Every marking on that damn napkin… All of it shredded into confusion, regret, and anger until someone startled me.
I didn’t know their name. Eli’s uncle? Annelies’s cousin? A family friend? It didn’t matter. The stranger guided me to the closed chapel entrance. There, I’d wait for my turn to walk down the aisle and stand up for a wedding I didn’t believe in or support.
Through the window, I watched a sea of people mill around while more trailed in from the parking lot. Others pointed at the sky, no doubt discussing the upcoming eclipse. If I had to guess, the entire town showed up… minus Barry and Roxy.
A door across the room opened with a low creak. I turned and saw Seth spot me, heading my way. I couldn’t move. He’d cleaned up more than I expected. I took in his fresh haircut and the missing scruff surrounding his facial hair. All of it complemented his contrasting tux of black on white. He could’ve easily walked out from the pages of a men’s fashion magazine.
More than anything, I wished I couldn’t feel, but I did. A lot. And it hurt. Forcing an empty smile, I looked over his dark trousers, gold bow tie, and black jacket.
“Hey,” he said. “Be proud. I showed up.”
“I’m sorry.” I needed to break eye contact to not crumble. Instead, I glanced out the window at Bo, doing my best to not inhale Seth’s aftershave. “Should I praise you for existing?”
He touched my elbow. “Is… everything okay?”
“Fine.” I pulled back.
“With women, ‘fine’ usually means ‘not fine.’ Did you find Annelies?”
“Yep.” Maintaining my composure was so hard, even without seeing his face. “We had an exchange.”
“How’d she react?” he asked.
“There was a lot of shock. On both of our ends.”
“And there’s still going to be a wedding? I told you she already—”
“Seth, I need you out front with Bo and Eli,” Daisy said. “Five minutes until we start.”
I shook my head left and right. “You’re wanted elsewhere.”
My hidden message was received. “Guess I should go then.” Seth’s expression had hardened to match mine.
“Hey,” At the last second, I reached for his arm and swallowed the growing lump in my throat. “Remember what I said last night, about your past not defining you?”
“Yeah?”
“I was wrong.” I blinked heavy tears and nodded. “Yours does, Miles.”
The look on his face was unforgettable— like I’d stabbed him in the chest. “What the hell happened—”
“Surprise!” The doors burst open, and a man walked in, one I recognized.
A fresh riptide of emotions tried to pull me out to sea. It shouldn’t have been possible, but my awful day plummeted.
“Holy… Nate?” Paige exclaimed with a high-pitched squeal.
“Nate!” Annelies shuffled toward him. “You’re here!”
I stared at Nate Breckenridge, my stomach flipping and flopping while more unwanted memories surfaced. Not much had changed about him. The same slicked back, reddish-colored hair. The same tattoos visible on his neck. The same round, tinted sunglasses. But one thing was different and stood out— he wore a tuxedo matching what the groomsmen wore.
“How?” Annelies asked.
“On Wednesday, Eli called and practically begged me to find a way to surprise you. He said you wouldn’t have a best man without me.”
Lies. So many lies!
Nate continued, “I had a buddy drive me up, since I couldn�
��t fly from the accident. Took a full day and no sleep, but it’s worth it. Look at you, Annelies. You’re stunning.”
Annelies blushed.
Nate took a step back and glanced at his attire. “What do you think? I’m still kinda banged up, but am I too late?”
“You’re right on time,” Annelies said before turning toward Seth. “Seth, Nate’s taking your place.”
If my shocked jaw could’ve fallen far enough, it’d have cracked the hardwood. I recalled that night at The Kraken when Eli stormed off after Bo broke the best man news to him. His level of spite and retaliation were unparalleled. While Seth being kicked out of the wedding floored me, thinking about what Annelies said fought harder for attention. My mind wouldn’t stop. Bo’s hidden history took turns with the news about Cranston and his lengthy affair with Bianca at high volume in my head. All of it was too much.
“But I thought…” Seth started.
“Come on,” Annelies said. “We all know you didn’t want to be part of this wedding in the first place. It works out for everyone. Right?”
If Seth tried to hide his disappointment, he did a cruddy job. “I guess. If that’s what you want.”
“Great,” Annelies said. “Everything’s perfect again.”
But it sure didn’t feel like it.
Seth’s outraged stare was difficult to ignore while Nate eyed me. “Hey, good lookin.’ You’ve been on my mind.” Nate ran his fingertips over my shoulders before giving me a hug I didn’t return. Next, he planted a kiss atop my head I didn’t ask for. “Maybe we can get together after the wedding and go to the beach?”
I glanced over his shoulder from within his embrace and punished Seth by uttering a defeated, “Maybe.”
I could tell by Seth’s body language; my latest message came across loud and clear, too. The muscles in his jaw danced each time he pressed his teeth together. The swan dive into my soul he’d perfected suddenly seemed like a belly flop. He walked away and jammed the door handle hard to announce his exit.
“What’s happening?” Daisy asked Paige.
“Nate’s in as best man and Seth’s out,” Annelies replied.
“All right. No more musical groomsmen,” Daisy said, escorting Nate to the doorway, giving him directions on where to go. “Places!”
Once the last person sat down, that same traditional wedding ceremony music played from rehearsal. Daisy cued Izzy, the flower girl, to walk slowly and drop plump white and yellow petals from her basket. Next, Lissy paced herself behind Izzy. After that, Paige began her walk behind Lissy. Each time someone left the room, another opportunity was lost, a last-ditch effort for me to fess up… gone.
I glanced back at Annelies who stared at her vacant arm with a frown. As much as I hated her, I also hurt for her. Cranston was nothing more than a coward to avoid walking his own daughter down the aisle. If I thought the wedding had a sliver of redemption, I’d have given Annelies away myself. Yet, I couldn’t bring myself to willingly feed her to the wolf.
“Jade?” Annelies asked.
“Yeah?” I replied, assessing Paige’s distance for my cue to walk.
“I was thinking, there… wasn’t anything else you wanted to say, right?”
I took a step toward Annelies and opened my mouth. My moment had arrived. And then, it vanished.
Daisy gave me a nudge, and I stumbled in my heels. “Go!” she hissed.
The wedding crashed all around me with each step, the ceremony playing out both in slow motion and like a whirlwind. Alone, I stepped onto the white runner, skimming the sea of eyes staring at me. Seth was nowhere to be seen in the crowd. Stop it, Jade. Look forward. Only forward.
Once I stood next to Paige, the bridal chorus began. Everyone stood and I watched Annelies approach alone with unhurried steps, occasionally glancing between the bouquet in her hand and at the audience. So badly, I wanted to object and break my word to her, but I’d run out of chances.
Moments later, the ceremony began, but I had trouble processing more than a phrase at a time.
“We are gathered here today…”
“A great blessing…”
“Holy matrimony…”
“Love, honor, and cherish…”
“Time of celebration…”
“Your vows…”
“Declare your intentions…”
I surfaced from my fog for the eighth time when the wind changed directions. Goosebumps crept across my arms as the temperature dipped a few degrees, and everything quieted as if the world witnessed a historic event along with all of Cannon Cove. On the ground, I saw a massive shadow inching toward where the bride and groom stood, waiting to engulf them in one hundred shades of gray.
I listened to Eli say the standard vows he’d chosen and wondered if it tasted bitter to spew so many lies about faithfulness and loyalty. Days prior, he’d begged me to grab his dick in the alley of The Salty Seaman.
“Annelies who?” he asked with a low murmur.
“I, Eli James Whitaker, take you, Annelies Marigold Taft, to be my lawfully wedded wife. To have and to hold, from this day forward; for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish, until death do us part.”
Maybe no one else could tell, but I could. His words sounded insincere, like he’d memorized them for the sake of reciting them and not for the sake of meaning them.
Next, it was the bride’s turn. The eclipse reached Annelies’s feet, and a shadow continued to overwhelm the sun. I’d missed my chance, too late to help her. For that, I’d harbor regret until the day I died.
Annelies focused on her future husband and a wrinkled piece of lavender paper clutched tightly in her grip. With shaking hands, she unfolded it, but she spoke from memory and only used the page for support. “A solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the sun and the Earth.”
A sly grin spread across Eli’s face. He’d pulled it off— he’d won an oblivious trophy wife and got away with the entire sham.
I felt sick, thinking of his hot breath on my neck.
“You smell incredible.”
Darkness overhead consumed them both.
“Eli,” Annelies grabbed his left hand, “You’ve been my sun. You’ve been my light. You’ve been my warmth. And I’ve been the Earth, thriving… because of you.” She paused and let out a long breath through tightened lips, the loving glow behind her eyes still present.
Each of her words sounded familiar in tone, mimicking Eli’s. Just delivering. Not meaning. A single tear slid down Annelies’s cheek as her eyes trailed toward Paige. “And that moon also crosses between us today because…” Her lower lip quivered and she turned to her best friend. “I can’t,” she whispered. “I need you to help me.”
“What’s are you doing?” Paige moved over to Annelies and spoke in a flurry of murmurs. “I can’t read your vows.”
The bride took a step backward and guided Paige’s hips until the HBIC stood in front of her… facing Eli. “That’s much better.”
Paige’s eyes flicked toward the pastel purple paper she’d been handed, over her shoulder at Annelies, and then back at the vows but for a longer period of time. Next, Glow Job’s face went as pale as Annelies’s dress.
At first, I didn’t understand what was happening, but then it hit me.
And that sonofabitch hit hard.
I couldn’t believe what I witnessed with their placement. Eli and Paige stood, face-to-face, with nothing but eighteen inches of space separating them while Annelies stood behind Nip Slip.
The moon.
The sun.
The Earth.
Holy fucking shit.
The symbolism Annelies used to communicate was otherworldly. I knew why she’d pushed for the wedding to coincide with the eclipse.
There are numerous planets, solar systems, and galaxies waiting to be found. That day, as we stood in front of the townspeople of Cannon Cove who acted as astronomers, Paige had been discovered. But matters were complicated. She wasn’t the only one who’d traveled through the orbit and intervened in Eli and Annelies’s relationship. Because of Eli, Sienna was the moon. And I was, too.
Murmurs sounded from the rows of guests, buzzing with curiosity and surprise, shock and intrigue. While the rest of the crowd remained oblivious to what the bride and groom said, I had a backstage pass to hear every stomach-turning whisper.
“Go on,” Annelies encouraged Paige. “It’s okay.”
More lies. Truth be told, none of it would be all right.
Distinct panic crossed Paige’s face. “No,” she mouthed, thrusting the paper at Annelies.
Annelies grabbed Paige’s hand and pushed it back toward her. “Don’t make a scene while everyone’s watching. You can’t run away. Not now.”
“Annelies!” Eli growled.
So many eyes were fixated on us, the eclipse overhead forgotten. I wanted out of the spotlight but fleeing through the shadows would leave me looking guiltier than Paige. I thought back to when I confronted Annelies in the dressing room.
“And if you have more to add, wait until after the wedding. You don’t get it, but everything needs to be perfect.”
She was right. I didn’t get it then— everything had to be precise to execute her plan. I should’ve paid closer attention— she knew that flaw was there.
“See? That’s what I’m afraid of; I know someone has seen the flaw, but no one’s mentioned it. Does that make sense?”
“Eli…” Paige’s eyes flicked down at the paper and over at Annelies. “Please. Don’t make me do this.”
Jade Page 38