My thoughts are interrupted by Kris walking into the room. She marches over to me, her face stern. “We need to get started. It’s almost time.” She shoves at my dress, trying to reshape me. “I picked this dress so it would give you a waist. It’s not working.” She turns and twists the dress on me for another minute until she’s satisfied. She steps back a little, scanning her handiwork. “That’s better.”
I try to twist the dress back without her noticing as the knots in my stomach tighten. “My parents will be here in fifteen minutes. We can start then.” I look at the clock on the wall and then back at her. “The wedding isn’t supposed to start for another thirty minutes.” I lean back as she reaches for my veil. “It will fall out if you touch it.”
Her hand falls to her side as she lifts her chin. “Why couldn’t they come yesterday like regular parents? You would think they would be here earlier with their only daughter getting married.”
I close my eyes slowly, then open them and fix her with a stare. “My parents couldn’t get away until today because my brother didn’t get out of the hospital until yesterday due to his car accident. I would appreciate it if you would discontinue your bad talk about my parents. You don’t know them.”
“I’m just saying.” Her chin lowers just a little.
“There’s nothing to say. I understand why they couldn’t be here until today, and that’s all that matters. I spoke with them when they got in the cab, and they’ll be here shortly and then we can start the wedding. How is Mark doing?”
Her hand moves to her hair, smoothing the already tightly pulled-back strands. “He’s doing fine.” She averts her eyes.
“Shouldn’t you be with him?” I prompt.
“Someone needs to act as the mother of the bride, since yours isn’t here yet.”
“I’m here. I’m the mother and father of the bride until they get here.” Zach steps to my side. I straighten more, pressing my shoulder against his arm.
“As well as man of honor,” she snipes.
“I’m a man of many talents.” He smiles down at me, loosening some of the knots in my stomach.
She sighs. “I’ll get back to Mark. Let me know when your parents arrive.” She almost stomps out of the room.
I let out a slow breath as Zach helps me twist my dress back into place.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asks me. “That woman and her insecurities will make your life a living hell.”
“Mark and I are looking for a house close to downtown. It’s far enough away that she will need to call before she comes. She won’t come, because she looks down on the area. I won’t visit her often, therefore I won’t see her as much.”
“I’ll still be over all the time. Mark told me I’m welcome anytime.” Another thing I love about Mark. He embraces my friendship with Zach whole-heartedly. Most guys I’ve dated couldn’t stand him and our relationship. He’s been my best friend since the day I transferred to our kindergarten class.
Nodding my head, I smile. “Most definitely!”
He gives me a quick hug.
There’s a knock on the door. “Come in.”
Mark’s best friend, Ryan, hesitantly walks through the door. “Hey, Rigby. How are you doing?”
“I’m fine. What’s going on?”
He hands me an envelope. “I’m sorry.” He hurries out the door, closing it behind him. I open the envelope and pull out the handwritten letter.
* * *
Rigs,
I’m sorry, but I can’t marry you.
Mark
* * *
“What?” Zach breathes behind me.
Something starts to unwind in me as I leave the room, heading toward the groom’s room where Mark was getting ready. Zach beats me to the room, bursting through the door, and no one is there. There are two tuxes hanging on the rack. I rush over to the window, and Mark’s gone.
I’m patting my dress, and Zach puts his phone in front of my face with Mark’s number already pressed into it. I put the phone to my ear and it goes straight to voicemail. That motherfucker.
My mom’s voice floats through the halls. “Where is she?”
We leave the room, and I turn down the hall toward her voice. “I’m here, Mom.”
“Oh, sweetie, look at you! You’re beautiful! Where’s Mark? You shouldn’t see him before the wedding.” She gives me a light hug, followed by my father.
“There’s not going to be a wedding.”
“What? Don’t joke with me like that, Rigby.” She moves a stray strand of hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear. I hand her the letter, and she reads it, then hands it to my dad. “He didn’t give you a reason. Where is he?”
“I don’t know, Mom. Now I have to figure out how to tell the guests waiting in the church.” I blink, waiting for this to hit me. Mark left me at the altar, and soon everyone will know.
“Are you okay? I’ll find him for you and bring him back here to talk to you,” my dad says.
I shake my head. “I’m not going to beg anyone to marry me. I’ll go out there and announce it and be done with it. I may even go on our honeymoon.” I sigh deeply, dreading having to announce this.
“I can go up there for you,” Dad offers.
I shake my head. “This is something I have to do myself.” My fingers go to my temple, rubbing lightly.
“I’ll go up there with you,” Zach says from behind me.
“Thanks, Zach.” Mom gives him a hug, and Dad shakes his hand, clapping his shoulder.
“Let’s get this done,” I sigh, strolling toward the church doors.
“We’ll be here when you finish.” Mom gives my arm a squeeze, and Dad chucks my chin.
Zach opens the doors for me and takes my hand, leading me to the front of the church. I position myself where Mark and I were supposed to take our vows, and look around. The questioning glances of the guests make my nerves vibrate just a little. The lower number of people on my side of the church is another reminder of what Kris did to make sure their family showed ours up. Neither his parents nor his sister are there. They must have known about it and left with him. Whatever. I clear my throat.
“Hi.” I take a deep breath. “Unfortunately, there won’t be a wedding here today.” I look around at all the people looking at me with pity in their eyes. A quiet buzz starts throughout the church. “But there will still be dinner and dancing. Come out and party with me. It’s a free meal and drinks. You’ll also be able to pick up your wedding gifts there.” I smile, trying to let them know that I’m okay.
The knots and nerves in my stomach disappear as Zach takes my hand and leads me to the back of the church, where my parents and brother, Rafe, are standing. My brother gives me a hug, whispering in my ear, “I’m sorry this happened to you, Rigs. He’s a fool for leaving you.”
I pull back and study him. “You look good. How do you feel?”
“A little shaky at times, but the doctor said that it will go away soon. This is about you. Are you really going to go ahead and have the reception?”
I nod. “Yep. Everything’s already been paid in full. There’s no sense in wasting it. I’m going to change my clothes, eat, and dance the night away.”
“But how are you feeling?”
“I don’t know. I’ll examine it later, but tonight, I party!”
Zach’s arm settles around my shoulder. “Let’s change clothes and go. I’m hungry.”
I sigh and lead our group out to the SUV. The ride to the venue is completed with idle chitchat. We arrive and file up to the room I rented for tonight. We change clothes and make our way down to the venue.
Almost everyone who was at the church comes to the reception. We eat, drink, and dance the night away. I cut the wedding cake and toast to my singlehood. As I spend the evening telling everyone I’m okay, I realize I really am. I’m relieved that he slunk away from our wedding like the snake he’s become in my mind. I’m quite sure we wouldn’t have lasted.
When the nigh
t is over, my parents and brother go to my house in the limo I booked go leave the wedding reception Zach comes upstairs to the room with me.
He strips down to his underwear and I put on my pajamas. Then we sit in the living room and munch on the leftovers we brought upstairs with us while watching a movie.
“How do you really feel?” Zach asks me.
I look at him. “I’m almost ashamed to admit this, but I’m actually relieved.”
His phone dings, and he looks down at it. “I forgot to tell my parents about what happened. Mom’s asking me about the wedding.” He taps a message into his phone before turning it off. “Relieved?”
“Yeah. I’m a little surprised myself. Maybe his mother drove me to that point.”
“Or maybe you didn’t love him in the first place. You just loved that he accepted you for who you are. You loved the idea of him.”
I shrug. “I think I’m a little numb right now. We can talk about it later.”
He pours me a glass of champagne and another for himself. “What are you going to do about the honeymoon?”
“I’m leaving for my honeymoon tomorrow. I need a little rest and relaxation. Come with me?”
“Okay.”
“You can take off from work that quickly?” I ask.
“I have just as much vacation time as you do. I’ll let my boss know tomorrow morning before we leave.”
I get online and pull up the airline tickets. They aren’t there. I put in the confirmation code again, and I see that he’s used both of the tickets. He changed my ticket to Ryan’s name and they left about an hour ago.
“He used our tickets, so we’re not flying to Vegas now. Where do you want to go?”
“That asshole. He called off the wedding—at least he could have left the tickets for you. Let’s go to Atlantic City. It’s not far away, and we’ve never gone.”
I nod and book two tickets to Atlantic City for tomorrow afternoon after cancelling the hotel reservations for Vegas and transferring them to a hotel in Atlantic City.
We decide to turn in and go to bed. The couch is too small for Zach, so we share. Zach wraps his arms around me, pulling me to him. I doze off with my head on his chest.
2
Rigby
The light tickles my eyelids as Zach’s hair tickles my nose. I lift my hand, brushing his hair out of my face, smoothing it down the back of his head. I wonder how we always end up like this. Every time we share a bed, he ends up with his head tucked under my chin and lying on my breast.
Looking at the clock, I notice it’s nine a.m. It was the best night’s sleep I’ve had in a long time. While Zach’s breathing continues evenly, I examine what happened yesterday.
Mark left me at the altar. How do I feel about that? Why he left is the real question. Maybe after I get the reason, I’ll know how I feel. The reason I feel relief is another question that needs to be answered.
“Quit thinking. You’re doing it too loud,” Zach mumbles into my chest.
“Well, if you slept on the other side of the bed like you’re supposed to, you wouldn’t hear me.”
“This is the way I sleep with you. I’ve never heard any complaints before.” He lifts his face to mine, looking me in the eyes, almost too close.
“That was before you told me to quit thinking.” I reach up and tuck his hair behind his ear.
“Didn’t you cuddle after sex with Mark?” He asks.
“We never had sex, but we have slept in the same bed.” I scoot back up against the headboard so I’m sitting up.
Zach follows suit, and something flashes in his eyes. “Really?”
I blink. “Yeah. Is that a big deal or something?”
“No!” he says, a little too loudly. I look at him strangely, and he makes a waving motion with his fingers. “I’m just surprised, that’s all. You’ve been together two years and haven’t had sex.” He leans away from me, turning his head away, before looking at me out of the corner of his eye.
“I sleep on one side of the bed and he sleeps on the other. He told me that he couldn’t be that close to me because he would want to have sex and he wanted to wait until we were married. It would make it more special.” I shrug.
“Does he know you’re not a virgin?”
“What’s with all the questions?” I cross my arms, looking over at him.
“Does he?” he persists.
“Yes. He just doesn’t know who I lost it to.” I sit up some more and cross my legs, turning to sit facing him. He does the same.
A smirk crosses his face. “Good times.”
Rolling my eyes, I get off the bed. “Let’s get dressed. We have to meet Mom, Dad and Rafe at the house before we leave.”
I walk into the bathroom, take off my clothes, and walk straight into the shower. The cold water wakes me completely up, and I wash as it warms up. I rinse my body off and get out of the shower, and Zach is right behind me, stepping in to take his shower.
I dry off and smooth scented lotion over my body. The scent is one Mark likes, so I bought it to make him happy. I was never a fan of it, so I throw it in the trash after I finish using it. I’ll buy my scent of the week when we get to Atlantic City.
After I put on my underwear, I leave the bathroom, walking straight over to my luggage. Pulling out the outfit that I was going to wear on the plane for my honeymoon, I look at it. I place it back in the luggage and pull out a pair of black straight-leg jeans and a fuchsia off-the-shoulder blouse. I get dressed and add a pair of fuchsia stilettos to round off the outfit. Looking at my suitcase, I know that I’m going to have to repack before leaving.
Zach walks out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist. My eyes roam down his sculpted chest to the V, where the towel blocks what’s hiding below. I shake my head, rolling my eyes, and sit down, turning on the television.
“I don’t have anything to wear until we get to your house,” he whines.
“Just put on what you wore yesterday. You can take another shower at my house, before getting dressed.” I reach down to the floor and throw his clothes at him.
He turns away from me as he drops his towel, his muscular cheeks flexing. I examine him with some appreciation while he gets dressed. He’s taller than me barefoot, even in my heels. He sticks his underwear in his pocket, deciding to go commando rather than wear the same underwear again.
I push everything back into my luggage and close it while Zach calls us an Uber before putting on his shoes. He grabs my luggage and my hand, and we go down to check out of the hotel.
The ride to my house is made in silence. My parents meet us at the door, and while Zach puts my luggage in my bedroom, my mom immediately asks, "Are you okay? Has it hit you yet?"
"Has what hit me yet?"
"That Mark left you at the altar. That he didn't want to marry you. Are you okay with this?"
"I'm fine, Mom. I'm still working through my feelings, but right now the reigning one is relief." I lean toward her. "Is that strange? Shouldn't I feel heartbroken or inconsolable or something?"
Her hand touches my arm, and she leads me into my office and sits beside me on the couch. "I'm going to tell you something, but I don't want you to get mad at me."
"Okay."
"I'm relieved too. I always thought that you were settling for him. Since he was happy with you the way you are, you fooled yourself into thinking you were in love with him. He was never the man for you. Do you remember when you told me that you were engaged?"
I nod.
Her hand touches my arm and squeezes a little. "You weren't excited. It was like you were stating a fact, not announcing that you were about to marry the love of your life. You've always had an analytical mind, but when something really excites you, your whole demeanour changes. It's like a beyond-happy type thing. That's how I've always known when something truly made you happy."
"Oh. Why didn't you say anything when I announced my engagement or introduced Mark to you?"
"You've always had a mind
of your own. I can offer suggestions at times, but if I flat-out tell you not to do something, you will dig in your heels harder to make your vision happen. I was just hoping that it wouldn't go this far. I'm glad he's gone—now you can be with the real love of your life." She leans forward and kisses me on the cheek. "Let's go in and eat breakfast before it gets cold. We also left your father standing in the foyer."
As she speaks, I feel something continue to unravel inside me. I lean forward and hug my mom, smiling. She always knows just what to say.
Mom puts breakfast on the table, and we sit down to eat.
"One thing I can say, sis, I've never been left at the altar," Rafe jokes.
"At least I've been proposed to, and for that matter had a long-term boyfriend." I tap my chin. "Tell me, how long was the longest relationship you’ve had? Oh right, Samantha Stone, your senior year. One month."
Everyone laughs.
"I choose not to be in a long-term relationship until I find the right girl," Rafe says.
"That's your problem—you're looking for a girl. You need to be looking for a woman," I say, effectively ending the joking session.
I look around the table at my family. We've always been close-knit, and since Zach’s parents started traveling for work again when he turned ten years old, he’s part of our tight-knit circle. My mom and dad offered to take him while they were gone, since we couldn’t stand to be away from each other for so long. They immediately said yes, since they would rather he be with us than with a formal nanny or a family member.
I've always loved his parents, because whenever they come back from a trip, they always bring me the best clothes. One time, when we were in high school, they went to France. When they came back, one of the pieces they brought me was this gorgeous tank top. It was in a white chiffon material, with ruffles around the neck.
I wore it to school, and all the girls went crazy looking for one like it. It was months before someone found one, and by that time, they were available in stores. I have always been fashion-forward because of them.
Married. Wait! What? Page 40