At least as far as my current circumstances went.
“I’m impressed,” Grace whispered when she made her way over to me after she and Ben greeted their guests. “This place is really nice.”
“What were you expecting?” I asked.
She let out a weary laugh and her ice-blue sequined romper shimmered from the force of it. “At this stage, all I want is to survive.” She watched as Ben and Noah talked near the buffet, Gennie busy dancing between them. “Is that wrong? Am I a bad bride?”
“You’re aperfectbride,” I said. “This stuff is exhausting. That’s why you get a vacation when it’s over.”
“You had the right idea eloping,” she said with a pointed glance.
I groaned into my wineglass. “I haven’t had a good idea once this year.”
“That’s not true and you know it.” She rubbed my arm. “That’s why I’m hoping you’ll forgive me.”
“Forgive you for what?” I asked. She smiled and glanced across the deck. When she didn’t respond, I followed her gaze to—Ryan. Standing at the top of the stairs in a crisp navy suit, his white shirt open at the throat. I was too far away to know if it was the shirt with the tiny flowers like the one he’d worn the night we got married, but I raked a stare down his chest just the same. His hands were loose at his sides and his scruff thicker than I remembered. Like he hadn’t trimmed it in a few days. Maybe not since Vegas. Since we’d been together. Since— “Grace.What did you do?”
She took a step away, saying, “I’m sorry but you’ll thank me later.”
I glared after her, growly, raspy noises rolling up my throat as she went. Then, as if I was experiencing life underwater, the breeze stopped, the noise faded away, and my gaze bobbled back toward Ryan. My husband.
He crossed the deck in a few quick strides and then he was here, standing before me with his palms open as he reached for me. “Muggsy,” he breathed.
I crossed my arms over my chest and glanced away. We couldn’t do this in front of Ben and Grace’s families. “What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I promised I’d be here,” he said, “and I never break my promises to you.”
For a second, he was mine once again. He was my friend and my partner and the person who knew me best. Who loved me best. For a second, I believed him.
But that second ended and I remembered I was a very convenient pawn. The truth of it sliced through me all over again and I stepped back, putting a hand between us.
“You won’t break a promise, but you’ll use me to drive away your competition,” I said, trying my damnedest to keep my voice down. “Got it. Glad we cleared that up.”
He pushed a hand through his hair and his wedding band glinted in the evening light. A burst of hope flared inside me, but it burned out as quickly as it came. It meant nothing. It couldn’t. And I wasn’t going to be a fool again. I wasn’t going to build castles from these crumbs.
“Emme, please. We need to talk. I just want?—”
“There’s nothing to talk about. We got what we wanted out of this and now it’s over.”
“No, it’s fucking not, Emmeline. If you’d just give me a minute to explain and?—”
“Even if I was inclined to let you manipulate me with another story, don’t you think you should stop and look around first?” I asked, surprising myself with the cold venom in my voice. “Do you have any idea where we are right now? Do you understand that this isn’t the time or place? It’s nice that you came all this way and that you’re trying to make a sappy statement about your promises, but I’m here with my friends tonight. I’m sorry if Grace led you to believe I wanted to see you, but I don’t and I’m not doing this with you.”
I walked away without a backward glance.
chapter thirty-five
Ryan
Today’s Learning Objective:
Students will be the life of the party.
Well,I really was fucked.
I knew that coming in here—and Grace had held nothing back as far as death threats went. But the detached way Emme looked at me drove that fact home hard. Watching her walk across the deck hit like a dagger to the gut.
That didn’t mean this was over yet. I wouldn’t let it be over. Not until she gave me a minute to explain and many more minutes to apologize, to throw myself at her mercy. Not until she took off those rings and told me we were done.
