“Wine’s not gonna cut it for this one. Drink up girl and tell me what you’re gonna do and how I can help.”
I sip at the smooth, sweet vodka and let out a pent-up sigh.
“Well, I’m sure as hell not marrying him, for one.”
She reaches across again and drags her finger around the line of bruises that encircle my wrist like a bracelet and cocks a brow with a dead-eye stare.
“He did this? Did that ball-less baboon put these marks on you? I’m feeling like Earl’s gotta die right now, girl.” She sings the last part like the song.
I nod slowly and press my lips together as shame rocks through me at having such questionable judgment in the man I agreed to marry. The truth is, I don’t even recognize the woman I’ve become. The girl who ran from here would have had Jason on his knees howling in pain for putting his hands on me that way. I scrub a hand over my face and meet her patient gaze again.
“He wasn’t pleased that I stumbled onto his transgression. Grabbed me as I tried to leave and warned me not to make any rash, knee-jerk reactions to it. He said that it didn’t change anything between us.”
Maggie shoots the rest of her drink and pours another. “So, what did you do then?”
I shrug one shoulder. “I left. Went back to our condo, packed everything I own into my car, took my money from our joint account, and emailed the wedding planner that the wedding was off. And then I drove straight here.”
Maggie runs a finger around the rim of her glass with a thoughtful expression.
“Damn, girl. What are you going to do now? What about work? Do you have a job you have to get back to?”
I shake my head and take another sip of vodka.
“No, I’m an accountant and all my clients are remote so I can work from anywhere that has an internet connection. I honestly don’t have a clue what I’m going to do next. I’m essentially homeless. I just need to focus on getting through the next couple of days, deal with all of Daddy’s stuff and then figure it all out, I guess.”
Maggie furrows her brow in thought and pours out more vodka.
“Well, you could always stay at his place while you figure it all out. Take some time, you know?” She taps the ring on my finger. “Can I ask why you’re still wearing that?”
My cheeks flame up in embarrassment and I give her a sheepish look.
“Armor?”
She chuckles at that. “Do you really thinkthatis going to stop the Kingston boys from coming at you for answers? Rainy, you were their…everything. When you left, they all fell apart. It was brutal, especially as I couldn’t tell them why you left or where you went.” She leans back in her seat and crosses her arms with a dark look. “Fucking vault! I can’t even tell you how many times I wanted to blow it up and just tell them. They were hurting so bad, babe.”
I have to look away and take a deep breath as guilt and sorrow wash through me.
I choke out, “I’m so sorry I put you in that position, Mags. It wasn’t fair of me to do that to you.”
She waves my words away. “Nah, don’t say that. You did what you thought was best and I supported you completely. I just want you to be prepared. If you stay here in town for very long, that bill’s going to have to be paid. It might take them awhile but they will come at you for answers.”
I’m saved from responding when Hetter comes in and eyes up the glasses and half-empty bottle of vodka with a grin.
“Y’all done with your hen party? Am I allowed to hang with you now?”
Maggie rolls her eyes at him but pushes a chair out from under the table for him to sit. He snags a beer from the fridge and drops down into it.
“Did ya show her the book? Maybe she can talk some sense into ya about it.”
I can practically see the steam coming from Maggie’s ears as she pins him with a death glare.
“What book?” I ask.
She reaches over to the end of the table and unearths a fat, pink satin covered binder and slides it my way with a tight smile. I pull it closer and read the fancy script on the cover.My Dream Wedding.I try really hard not to react as I open it and start flipping through the pasted-in cutouts, scraps of fabric, and some over-the-top ideas for a ‘perfect’ wedding. It’s…a lot. I can’t believe Maggie’s changed so much in a decade that this is the kind of wedding she wants. I lift my eyes and paste on the best excited-friend smile I can for her.
“Wow, Mags, this is going to be…epic?”
Hetter smothers a laugh with his big hand and Maggie loses her cool and screeches, “Epic? It’s going to be a fucking circus! Fuck my life!”
