Kent takes a breath, no doubt to ask who had thought they could do such a thing, but the arrival of a long black limo cuts him off. I can see MC, her hair hidden beneath a white veil, looking out horrified from the window, and Liv leaning forward in her seat saying something to the driver. He shakes his head, though, and slams on his brakes then all the windows roll down at once.
The camera crew races toward the limo, and Summer throws herself from it shrieking, “No! Get out of here! I told you no! Not like this!”
Mimi, following her crew, waves the papers at Summer and she bursts into tears, which makes Mimi’s “Shouldn’t have given me the details then” somewhat anticlimactic.
“It was...” Kent murmurs, then he cuts himself off and storms toward Mimi. “Go away!”
The distant sound of sirens becomes louder as we all follow Kent, and Mimi says, “Fine, whatever.” She gives Kent a horrible smile. “Doesn’t look like there’s going to be a wedding today anyhow.” To her men, she adds, “Let’s bail out before the cops arrive.”
Grinning, they pull their camera lenses out of the limo’s open windows, and I hear the driver say loud enough to be overheard, “Outta the car, then. I go with them.”
He’s in on it too? No wonder he wouldn’t drive away when Liv clearly asked him to.
Liv escapes the car and helps MC out as Kent’s sister Holly scrambles out of the other side clutching a dress bag and small suitcase. Ignoring them, Mimi says, “See you on your honeymoon, Kent,” sounding smug and obnoxious, and my stomach clenches at the mere thought of the painfully private MC being filmed during what should be such an intimate time.
Then the limo roars away after the SUVs leaving MC in her beautiful but rather more sequined-and-bowed than I’d have thought she’d want wedding dress standing in the road staring at Summer.
“How could you?” MC says, sounding near tears. “Was it for money? Or your career? You sold us!”
“I tried to stop it.” Summer swipes frantically at her own tears. “I did, I really did. I thought at the beginning you wouldn’t care and when I realized you did I tried--”
“You should never have done it, no matter what you thought,” Kent snaps. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
Summer looks from face to face, clearly desperate for support, but finds none. I can’t give her any either; though I felt terrible for her at the pre-wedding party I can’t get my head around why she’d do this. Aaron, her most likely option, pointedly turns his back on her, and she begins crying again as a police car rolls up the driveway and comes to a stop.
An officer emerges and Kent says, clearly struggling to keep himself under control, “I’m sorry for bothering you. They’ve left now.”
She nods. “We got both SUVs for speeding at the end of the road. We’ll keep them busy for a while, so carry on with your wedding.”
Kent manages something that sounded like, “Will do,” and the officer leaves.
Silence, except for Summer’s continued sobs, then MC turns on her. “No. No way. You don’t get to cry. You’re the one who did all of this. Just because you want your career to take off. You ruined our wedding and you think you get sympathy? Not a chance. Get lost!”
Summer looks to Kent, and the sadness and horror in her face make me believe she truly did try to repair the damage she’d done. She looks like how I felt after being arrested, full of self-hatred and shock at how far things have gone. Kent doesn’t seem to care, though. “Go. Now. I never want to see you again.”
Summer casts one last look over the wedding party and the guests who’ve spilled out of the church too, her eyes locking for a moment onto someone behind me, then turns with another sob and flees down the driveway in her hot pink high heels.
Kent moves toward MC. “Are you okay?”
“No,” she says, sounding hysterical. “Of course not. Everything’s ruined.”
He takes her by the shoulders. “I’m here. You’re here. The pastor’s here. That’s all that matters.”
“But you’ve seen me.” She wipes away her first fallen tears. “Dad always talked about how amazing it was seeing my mom coming down the aisle, and I wanted it to be that way for us and now it isn’t.”
An older man behind me, probably her dad, protests that it’s okay, but I don’t think she hears.
“And I’m wearing the dress she made and she did my hair too...” MC covers her mouth with her hand. “I can’t,” she says through it. “I want to, I love you so much, but I can’t. I’ll always remember the mess and not... it’s hopeless. And it’s so unfair. I just wanted us to...” She dissolves into sobs.
Kent pulls her against his chest and turns to look at us with a ‘help me’ expression.
When nobody else speaks, I clear my throat and pass along one of the many things I learned from Ellen this week. “You’re right, it’s not fair. But are you going to let it ruin everything?”
MC pushes back from Kent and stares at me. “It already has.”
I shake my head, and so does everyone else around me. “It hasn’t,” I say, “unless you let it.”
“Yeah, don’t give her that satisfaction,” Aaron says. “Don’t let her win.”
Kent looks like he wants to comment on this but knows he can’t defend Summer, and I say, “It’s not about winning or losing. She did what she did. That’s a fact. But what are you going to do now? You can still get married. It’s only ruined if you don’t move past this. Do it for you, not to get revenge on her.”
Sam tightens his grip on my hand, and MC says, “But... it’ll still be different. Not how we wanted.”
She sounds like she’s trying to get her head around my suggestion though, not rejecting it, so I say, “Change clothes, I’ll redo your hair, and you can start the day over. It’ll still happen if we make it happen.” Suddenly feeling weird about pushing myself so far forward, I say, “At least, if you and your bridesmaids make it happen. You guys don’t need me.”
“As if,” Kent says, smiling at me. “You were amazing, holding them all off on your own. They’d have been in the church without you.”
I blush, and Sam drops my hand to slide his arm around my waist as he says, “He’s right, you’re amazing.”
That isn’t actually what Kent said, but I’m hardly going to correct him. The sweet awkward sincerity in his voice, the same tone he had before our first kiss, tells me he still cares about me. I cuddle into him, so happy I can hardly breathe. He pulls me even closer, and silence falls for a moment until MC says, “I hate to interrupt, but...”
I turn to her.
“Ashley... would you be my bridesmaid?” Her mascara’s smudged beneath her wet eyes, but she manages a half-smile. “I seem to have a vacancy.”
I smile back, happy and honored. “I’ll help however you want it.”
She swipes at her eyes. “Okay. Thank you.” To Kent, she says, “Can you wait an hour?”
He gives one slow blink, then grins at her. “For you? I can wait forever.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
I take MC and Liv and Holly back to Holly’s house where they’d prepared for the wedding, a few minutes away, and as we go poor MC keeps saying, “I can’t believe she’d do that,” until we pull into the driveway and Liv finally says, “Honey, I know. Me either. I’m shocked. But she did. And whatever her reason was, she’s not worth another moment of your attention. Like Ashley said, don’t let her ruin your day. Let’s forget about her and get you ready, okay?”
“Okay,” she says doubtfully as we hustle her and her huge white dress into the house past the confused stares of the neighbors. “But how? Not like I have another wedding dress.”
“What,” I say slowly, thinking as hard as I can, “were you going to wear to leave the wedding?”
“My pink dress,” she says, then she gives a real smile for the first time since everything exploded. “Like I was wearing when I saw him again on the island.”
“That’ll look great with us,” Liv says, gest
uring to herself and Holly in their pale grey dresses and pink heels. “You can shower and get your makeup off, then Ashley will redo your hair and Holly will repaint your face. You’ll be gorgeous. Gorgeous-er.”
MC dissolves into tears again. “I’m sorry,” she manages through them. “You’re all being amazing. But it was just supposed to be different. My parents’ wedding has been my ideal forever, and now nothing is like it was supposed to be. Summer changed everything, probably for the cameras.”
“Then we’ll change it back,” Holly says firmly. “You go shower, and we’ll start fresh. Okay?”
MC shuts her eyes for a long moment, and when she opens them her whole demeanor has changed. People had wondered how she’d been tough enough to handle three weeks on the island alone with her exes but I can see that strength in her now. “You got it. Let’s do this thing.” She holds out her arms to us, wide enough for all of us. “You’re the best.”
We share a group hug then she takes off for the bathroom, and by the time she comes out in a dressing gown Liv has removed the pink dress from its bag and I’ve redone her and Holly’s hair in sleek waterfall braids. “You look great,” MC says, smiling at them, then turns to me and adds, “But you didn’t do yours. How come?”
“You really don’t have to have me in it,” I say. “I don’t have the right dress, or pink shoes, and--”
She laughs, and I’m glad to hear the lack of hysteria in it. “I’m not worried, trust me. Bridesmaids are supposed to stand up for the bride and you sure did that. Can you braid your own hair like theirs?”
I prove that I can, while Liv and Holly help MC into the pink dress, and as I’m about to start her hair my phone buzzes with a text. Thinking it might be about the wedding, I check it.
Kent is worried. All okay? He suggests pink dress.
I smile, and read Sam’s message out to them.
“Aw,” Holly says. “My brother’s not such a bad guy. Even if he is my brother.”
“Even if,” MC says, blinking back tears. “Tell Sam we’ll be there soon.”
I do, wanting to say more to him but knowing I don’t have time, then I braid MC’s hair while Holly applies her makeup.
“Wow,” Liv says when I’ve finished. “That’s so neat.”
We find a mirror at MC’s request, and we all stare at the intricate heart shape I’d worked into her hair, the same one Sam and I did on that first video. It looks better on her than on him, I must admit, but the sight of it brings that moment back and makes it clear to me how lucky I am to have him in my life. To have all these people. They’re strong and smart and they work through their problems without resorting to ridiculous revenge schemes, and I look forward to learning from them and having fun with them.
MC giggles. “Not even close to how I looked before. I approve. Let’s go get me married off.”
Chapter Forty
“I do,” MC says, smiling at Kent with pure joy. He leans in, though it isn’t the right time yet, and kisses her sweetly on the mouth.
We all start clapping, and even the pastor claps too, then he says, “Life sometimes knocks you down, but faith and hope and love will always help you back up. Kent and MC, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may seal your union with a kiss. Another kiss.”
A chuckle ripples through the room, and Kent pulls MC close and kisses her again as everyone claps and cheers.
Once they break apart, the pastor takes them and Liv and Ron aside to sign the license then the newlyweds make their way down the aisle and out of the church. Liv and Ron follow, then Holly and Sam, and finally me with Aaron.
MC offered, in the car on the way back to the church, to rearrange the pairings so I’d be with Sam, then laughed at my confusion. “I’ve got eyes, you know. And not just today either. You guys have been cute together since he gave you that necklace at our party.”
It was sweet of her, but I didn’t want to disrupt things more than they already were since a short walk with Aaron wouldn’t hurt me.
It doesn’t, although I do feel awkward with my arm tucked into his since we were making out in a bar two weeks ago, but once we leave the church he draws me around the corner and says, “You were amazing, you know. Shutting those guys down, getting MC straightened out... I think there’s more to you than I thought. Why don’t we go out for dinner tomorrow and talk about it?”
I look up at him, undeniably handsome but absolutely not what I want. This is a guy who humiliated Summer in public to get her to sleep with him. Being with him would only lead me back down a path I never want to follow again.
I take a breath to tell him, “No, because you’re a terrible kisser,” then stop myself. It’d be the perfect revenge, since he’s actually great and I’m sure he prides himself on his skill, but I don’t want any revenge any more. I just want to move forward. With--
As if the thought called him up, Sam comes around the corner toward us. I don’t bother to answer Aaron, just turn and hurry toward Sam. He catches me in a hug, and I press my face to his shoulder and hold on tight as his muscular arms pull me even closer. I hear Aaron’s dress shoes clicking against the pavement as he walks away but I don’t care. Nothing matters right now but Sam.
After a few amazing seconds, he says into my ear, “What you said... you really mean that? No more revenge?”
I nod against him. “Had lots of talks with Ellen this week, and--”
He pulls back. “The psychologist? You actually let her talk to you?”
I look up into his adorable confused face and smile. “Sam, I called her.”
He smiles too, his face no longer confused but just as adorable, then kisses me. I kiss him back, loving being with him again, but he pulls back suddenly and says, “What about Will? Not even him?”
I reach up and brush my fingers over Sam’s cheek. “I found him. Last week. I didn’t do anything. And I won’t. No more revenge. Ever. Not on my parents, or the show, or anyone. It’s not worth what it costs. It’s not worth anything.”
Sam cups my face in both hands. “I’ve missed you so much,” he says, his thumbs gently stroking my skin and sending delicious shivers through me. “And not just because my hair hasn’t had a decent braid since you left.”
I burst out laughing. “But I taught you how to do it.”
“It’s not the same without you,” he murmurs, then leans in to kiss me again but stops right before our lips touch. “Like at work.” Drawing back and looking uncomfortable, he says, “I quit working for Billy a few days ago. It’s too weird with Hugh and Eric there. I thought about confronting them but...” He shrugs. “It’s just not me.”
I nod. “Smart. Take the peaceful way out. It only makes sense. Have you found a new job?”
Sam blinks several times. “Really? I walked away. You thought even the idea of that was stupid before.”
I had. “Well, I was wrong. The best revenge is having a happy life.”
“You have changed,” he says softly, pulling me in for a tight hug. “Good for you.”
“I still get mad sometimes, so I’m not finished yet,” I say, burrowing into him, “but I’m working on it. I’ll keep getting better.”
“You seem pretty damn wonderful to me. And yes, I do have another job. Little gym right near my house.”
A thought strikes me. “Any chance they need a receptionist? Not full-time, though, I need time for my course.”
“They do, actually,” he says, then leans back enough that I can see his confusion. “Wait, you’re still doing the course? I thought you’d quit since you didn’t need it any more.”
“I need this one,” I say, feeling shy. “I switched to the distress center thing. I’m not ready to do the actual work yet but I’ll start the training and keep talking to Ellen and keep trying to improve and some day I’ll--”
His kiss cuts me off but I don’t mind at all because I can feel how happy and proud of me he is and I love it.
In my head, though, I finish my thought. I will be strong enoug
h some day to take what Lynn and Ellen have taught me and use it to help others. I will.
It’s only a matter of time.
“Resentment is like taking poison and hoping the other person dies.”
~ Anon.
Acknowledgements
Ashley calls a distress center, and I want to acknowledge the amazing work done by the volunteers at such centers. Call one if you need to and donate to one if you can!
I used information from http://www.oregoncrimes.com/ to help me understand what Ashley would have gone through during her arrest. (Any errors in that process are mine.)
The ‘arch poem’ referenced in the book is “Most Like an Arch This Marriage” by John Ciardi. A beautiful piece, read at my wedding, and available at http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/176395 for you to check out.
Yet again my book got an amazing cover thanks to Scarlett Rugers Design (www.scarlettrugers.com). You’re wonderful, Scarlett, and I’m so glad I found you!
Francine LaSala once again performed the Herculean task of condensing a novel into a few paragraphs. Nobody does it better than her!
Bev Katz Rosenbaum is once again the fantastic editor who cut through my occasional waffling and made sure I stayed focused on the heart of Ashley’s story. I’m so grateful for her assistance.
I allowed anyone on my Heather’s Lovelies street team who had time/energy/inclination to beta-read this book, and did they ever come through! Huge thanks to Anna Galinski, Bethany Ulteig, Bianca Marzullo, Chanpreet Singh, Christal Merrelli, Claire Bailey, Darlena Murphy, Deb Singer, Jaime Johnson, Jamee Espinoza, Janet Sylvester, Jenny Eason, Kelli Nash, Linda Lang, Lori Just, Melissa McCormack, NagQuita Winfield, Nancy Bogardus, Sandra Holowaty, Sheyann Sword, Tiffany Croisant, and Yvonne Rahn. I so appreciate your wonderful comments. Some of you noted every last grammar error, some of you gave general opinions, and some of you honed in on one specific thing that needed to be taken care of. I’m beyond grateful to you all for your hard work on my behalf. (Any remaining errors, of course, are mine alone!)
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