The Right Groom

by Jen Talty

  “I’m sorry to bother you with this, and if you don’t want to talk to me, I understand, but Andy called.”

  He shifted in his chair. Her light-brown hair shined under the moonlight. Her blue eyes sparkled like the lake. She was even more beautiful than the last time he’d seen her with her tanned skin and lean, toned muscles. But she’d changed. She wasn’t full of light and hope. Her normal carefree attitude had been replaced with a heaviness that he’d never seen before, and it crushed his heart.

  Of course, his mother said the same thing about him.

  “It’s okay. I don’t mind.” Oh, he minded all right, but not because he didn’t want to spend time with her or listen to her sweet voice. He just didn’t want to hear her pine over another man. He knew it was wrong for him to want her to still be hung up on him, but it was a truth he could no longer deny when she sat only a foot away. “What did he have to say?”

  “That he doesn’t have cold feet.”

  Spencer coughed. “As in he’s coming?”

  She took a gulp of wine. “As in he doesn’t love me, never loved me, and never wanted to marry me in the first place.”

  He reached out and took her hand, thumbing the thick diamond on her finger. “I think that ring says otherwise.”

  “Not only did I pick it out, but he wasn’t even there when I bought it, though I did put it on his credit card, so technically, he paid for it.” She tipped her head back and downed the red liquid as if it were water. She reached for the bottle and poured herself what could only be considered a double.

  He was tempted to tell her to slow down but thought better of it. “I’m not following.”

  “It’s simple. He joked one night about getting married. I took it seriously and ran with it. He never meant it but didn’t bother to stop the train wreck until I was at cruising altitude. And the worst part is now that I’ve had five minutes to think about it all, I should have seen it coming.”

  “Do you love Andy?”

  “What kind of question is that?”

  “An honest one,” he said.

  “Of course I do. I wouldn’t go through the motions of a wedding if I didn’t, but if he’s not coming, what am I supposed to do? I’ve tried pleading with him. Begging him. He’s made it clear he doesn’t want to marry me.”

  “I know you don’t want to hear this, but it’s better to find out before you got hitched than after.”

  “Yeah, but now I’m stuck holding the bag.” She rolled her head and stared at him with tears lining her soft-blue eyes. “I haven’t told my parents, and I’m not going to just yet.”

  “That’s a mistake,” he said.

  “Well, it’s not your business.”

  “But you made it mine when you showed up here at ten in the evening.”

  “You promised you wouldn’t say anything.”

  “And I won’t, but you need to think about what this is costing your father.”

  She tossed a cheese puff at his face. “What the hell do you know about that? Maybe Andy was paying for it.”

  “Is he?”

  She slouched in her chair.

  “Exactly. And while I’m sure your father worked his magic to get everything you wanted, I’m sure it wasn’t free, and you don’t just cancel country club reception halls.”

  “I’ll figure that out, but I need a few days before I say anything.”

  “Why?” he asked.

  “You’re kidding, right?” She glared at him. “Besides being humiliated, I don’t want to spend ten days with my family and friends giving me pity looks. It’s bad enough they’re already speculating.”

  “The longer you let this charade go on, the harder it’s going to be on everyone.” Spencer contemplated on if he should tell her about the extras her father went all in on for his daughter’s special day. It didn’t matter that Stanley Farren didn’t particularly support this marriage; he loved his daughter and would do anything for her, including finding her dream designer dress which cost a small fortune.

  She chewed on her thumbnail.

  “Please don’t tell me you’re holding out hope that this Andy asshole will change his mind.”

  “Of course I’m holding out hope. Wouldn’t you?”

  “No. I don’t think I would.”

  “Of course not. You just let people walk away without a fight.”

  “Seriously? You’re going to go there with me?” It was his turn to down an entire glass of wine, only he wasn’t going to refill his. “You broke up with me.”

  “I did not.” She waggled her finger under his nose. “I suggested we adjust our plans to include me being a travel nurse for a couple of years. You basically told me no fucking way.”

  “Do you have any idea how hard it would have been for me to find work going from one city to the next? And my family is here. Our family is here.” He lifted his chair, turning it so he faced her dead-on. They’d had words about this before, but he’d always held back.

  Not this time.

  “For two years, we continued to see each other even though all we did was either fuck or fight.”

  “That’s crude.”

  “It’s the truth, and it’s in part why we didn’t make it.”

  “We didn’t stay together because you can’t bend. You’re rigid. You have your entire life planned out, and God forbid the plans changed.”

  He laughed. “I’ll give you that I like my routine, but we planned out our life together, and then you, with the snap of your fingers, changed it. I didn’t get a say; I got an ultimatum. You basically said you were doing it and I could join, or I could say goodbye.”

  “And you chose the latter.”

  “You really do have selective memory,” he mumbled. “I wanted to see if we could do long distance.”

  “Fuck and fight,” she repeated his words back to him.

  He leaned forward and took her hands, doing his best to ignore the rock on her ring finger. “I wanted to make it work. I loved you.”

  “I know that. I loved you too, but during one of our fighting periods, you dated Dee. That killed it for me.”

  “You were dating other men too.”

  “True,” she said with a long breath. “But Dee had tried for years to break us up. Why her?”

  “To piss you off.”

  “It worked.”

  “Maybe too well because after that, we didn’t speak again for a long time.” He studied their hands. Her warm skin sent heat to his body, reminding him of how things used to be. “So, what are you going to do?”

  “For now, I’m going to play the part of the nervous bride and go through the motions.”

  He opened his mouth, but she quickly shushed him by covering his lips with the palm of her hand. “I just need a couple of days, and then I’ll tell them. Please.”

  “On one condition.”

  “What’s that?” she asked with narrowed eyes.

  “We do what our parents ask and spend a day together. I happen to have Saturday off. I suggest we spend the day on the boat. Do a little picnic. Go swimming.”

  “That’s in two days.”

  “Yup. I’ve got a forty-eight-hour shift starting at six tomorrow morning. I’ll pick you up on your dock at ten on Saturday.”

  “Won’t you want to sleep?”

  “As long as it’s not a rough night, I’ll be able to get some shut-eye at the station. They do like us to rest when we’re not on calls.” This was going way above what his parents had asked him to do, and he wasn’t really sure why he put this condition on her other than his heart beat a little faster, and he needed to know if there was anything left between them. “Besides, by then you might be ready to tell your folks, and we can come up with the best way to tell them, and I’ll be there for moral support.”

  “You’d do that for me?”

  “I spent my entire childhood loving you. That’s not something that just goes away. I’d like to believe you’d be there for me if the tables were turned.”

 
; “I would.” She swiped at her eyes before pouring more wine. “I hate crying.”

  “I know.” He tried to take the glass, but she pulled it away and chugged. “You really should stop drinking.”

  She snagged the bottle and took a swig. “I think I’m allowed under the circumstances.”

  He raised his hands as if he were being held at gunpoint.

  “I hate being so foolish even more, and I need to know why Andy did this. His answers don’t make sense to me. I mean, at least when we broke up, our reasons made sense.”

  “I don’t know about that, but we had argued over the same thing, and neither one of us were willing to budge.” He ran a hand over his face. Her brother Hugh had told him more than once that he didn’t think his sister was in love with this Andy dude, but that she’d gotten wrapped up in the whirlwind romance with a guy who flattered her, wined and dined her, and showed her a world she never experienced before.

  And even though she picked on him for being rigid and having a life plan, she’d been the one who had decided that twenty-six was the right age to get married.

  He’d agreed at the time, and if he was still with her, he wouldn’t be opposed because right now in this moment, he knew he still loved her, but he wasn’t going to be a second choice.

  So, he’d have to take some time and find out if he could ever be her one and only again. Not an easy task when she was hung up on the wrong groom.

  “And see, while at the time I was heartbroken over our breakup, I understood our differences.” She paused to take another sip of wine. She hiccupped. “I don’t understand why Andy would do this to me.”

  Spencer scooted closer, reaching out and tipping her chin up with his thumb and forefinger. “I don’t know the man, so I could be speaking out of turn, but maybe this isn’t about you, but him.”

  “What do you mean?”

  All Spencer wanted to do was kiss her sweet, plump lips. But now wasn’t the right time. Besides her being wasted and vulnerable, when he did kiss her, he wanted her to be thinking about him and only him.

  “What were his past girlfriends like?”

  She raised the bottle and swallowed, followed by a belch. “I don’t know. He was a bit of a player before me.”

  Fucking wonderful. Figures. “I’m sorry, but it sounds like he still is, and you, unfortunately, took his game too far.”

  The glass bottle slipped through her fingers.

  He managed to catch it before it splattered on the concrete patio. “All right. It’s time to get you home.”

  “Can I just stay here?” She kicked her feet up on his lap and closed her eyes. “I’ll get up and leave before anyone sees me.”

  “Not a good idea.” He stood, lifting her into his arms. “This will be easier if we do this piggyback style.”

  “Okey-dokey.”

  Gently, he set her down and turned while she jumped up on his back, nearly toppling them both over. He strolled down the street with his fingers digging into strong thigh muscles.

  She rested her head on his shoulders. Her hot breath tickled his neck while her hands dangled over his chest. “Do you remember when we were in elementary school; I would come over in my pajamas to watch cartoons, and your mom would make Mickey Mouse pancakes.”

  “Those were the days.”

  “Do you think she could make me some now?”

  He chuckled. “I’m taking you to your parents, not mine.”

  She kissed the spot under his earlobe.

  He shivered, but it wasn’t because he was cold. “And your father, no matter how much he liked me, didn’t care too much for when I snuck in, or out.”

  “He tried not to catch us,” she said with a giggle. “Except to embarrass us for fun.”

  “He turned my cheeks red many times, but at least he never caught me with my pants down.”

  “That we know of.”

  Spencer groaned.

  “Isn’t it weird to live down the road from your parents? From mine?”

  “No. I like it. Plus, I’ve got a lot of friends that live on this point.” He strolled down her driveway, a little grateful the back light was still on. He had no intention of sneaking in her house at his age. But he also knew she wouldn’t want her father to see her like this. She’d never been able to handle her liquor, and she’d just downed three quarters of a bottle in less than an hour. He just hoped she didn’t lose her cookies.

  He curled his fingers around the doorknob and nudged it with his hip. Quietly and swiftly, he made his way up the staircase and down the hall. “You are staying in your old room, right?”

  “I am.”

  Lucky for them, the master suite was on the first floor and he didn’t have to go near it. He managed to make it into her room and laid her down on the bed. Gently, he removed her shoes and pulled the covers over her body. As quietly as he could, he raced to the bathroom and filled a glass of water. He set it on the nightstand.

  She grabbed his hand. “Stay with me.”

  “Not a good idea.” He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Get some sleep. I have to pull a double, but I’ll have my cell. Text me when you wake up.”

  Rolling over, she hugged the pillow and sighed.

  Boy, was she going to be hurting in the morning.

  Clicking the light off, he made his way toward the front door, stopping midstep halfway down the stairs.

  “Well, this is certainly reminiscent of your high school days.” Her father stood in the middle of the foyer with his hands on his hips, a smug grin on his face.

  “Sorry, Mister Farren.”

  “How many times do we have to go through this? Please, call me Stanley. Can I get you a beer or something?”

  “No, thanks.” Spencer jogged down the last few stairs. “I’ve got an early double shift in the morning.”

  “Ah, yes. You’re pulling some extra work for my boys.”

  “And I’m happy to do it.”

  Stanley nodded. “So, why are you sneaking out of my daughter’s bedroom?”

  “Not sneaking, sir.” Spencer cleared his throat. “And if you tell Echo, I will deny it, but she had a little too much to drink, and I was just making sure she got to bed okay.”

  “I appreciate that.” Stanley let out a long breath. “Not to put you on the spot, but did she say anything to you about her fiancé?”

  Spencer didn’t like lying to anyone, but especially her father. But he’d made a promise to Echo which he planned on honoring. “Only that he’s really busy at work, under a lot of pressure with some big case, and she feels bad that he’s not here.”

  “Is that why she’s drunk?” Stanley rested his hand on Spencer’s shoulder and guided him down the hall and into the kitchen. “My daughter’s never been a big drinker, so you carrying her home on your back tells me something is upsetting her, and I’d appreciate it if you told me what that was.”

  “I think it’s just a lot to be back here, to be getting married, and not to have Andy by her side.” Spencer nearly gagged on her fiancé’s name. “And no offense, sir, but you and my folks are making it awkward for both Echo and me.”

  “I suppose we have.” Stanley opened a drawer from the phone desk. “When I first started helping my wife plan this wedding for Echo, I hadn’t really given it much thought that it wouldn’t be to you until a week ago when Echo mailed us this wedding idea book.” He handed Spencer a scrapbook of sorts, one that looked hauntingly familiar. “She knew we couldn’t pull off anything like what she had in these pages, but she asked if we could try to do a few specific things.”

  “Like what?” Spencer flipped through the pages. His pulse pounded in his ears.

  “That’s not as important as what she wrote on most of the corners.” Stanley tapped his finger to a heart-shaped doodle. Inside the heart were the words: Spencer and Echo forever.

  Spencer blinked. He flipped to the front. If there was an image of a fireman and a nurse he was going to…he had no idea, but it would freak him out.
>
  Sure enough. Fireman and nurse. The exact same ones she’d cut out years ago.

  “She started this in high school.” Spencer closed the book and did his best to act nonchalant.

  “Don’t you think it’s strange that she’d not only keep it but send it to us to use as a baseline for a wedding to another man?”

  “What I think doesn’t matter,” Spencer said.

  “It matters to me.” Stanley sat on the barstool and folded his arms. “I know I’m putting you on the spot, and I am sorry if I’m making you uncomfortable, but she hasn’t been acting herself since she met this man. And worse, since her brother picked her up at the airport, she’s been on the verge of tears, and these aren’t wedding day happy tears.”

  Well, fuck. Nothing like being backed into a corner. “Truthfully, sir. I think she had only a few days to get ideas together and remembered she’d made this years ago.”

  “I’m not a fan of rush weddings,” Stanley mumbled. “But I suppose that makes sense.”

  “She’s also worried you won’t like him, and when everyone is either comparing him to me or trying to push her and I back together, it’s adding to the emotional stress she’s under right now.” Spencer swallowed the bile his lies created.

  Stanley scratched the back of his head. “When you put it like that, I can see how I might be jumping to conclusions. Since when did you become so wise?”

  “I don’t know. It might have been my math teacher. Or maybe my football coach.”

  “Your parents raised you right.” Stanley slapped him on the back. “Thanks for making sure my daughter got home safe and sound.”

  “Anytime,” Spencer said. “I’ll see myself out.” When he left, he stopped at the top of the driveway and glanced back at the house. He hoped he’d done the right thing by keeping her confidence and not spilling the beans to her father. However, depending on what his buddy finds out about her now ex-fiancé, Spencer didn’t plan on letting Andy off the hook so easily.

  Echo, and her family, deserved better.

  3

  “Oh, my God, Mom. This is so beautiful.” Echo held up the wedding dress. Tears welled in her eyes. “It’s so much like the one in the book I showed you.”