I raise a brow. “It’s not Nick Mercer fromThe Wedding Date, right? That guy’s got to be pushing sixty by now.”
She laughs. “No, though he might put out if you play your cards right.”
I force a smile, already well aware that this surprise won’t be a welcome one. It’s probably Aiden, and that’s fine, but it’s not going to lead anywhere. I grab my place card, which informs me that I’m at table twelve. There are so many people milling around beneath the tent that it’s hard to even locate my table and...fuck.
I’ve found table twelve.
Thomasis the surprise. Sitting there in a tux, smugly proud of himself for pulling this off.
I know Kelsey thought this was what I wanted. I never said otherwise. But Thomas is the last person I want to spend this day with.
“Hi.” I attempt to smile, but I can’t quite manage it. “I didn’t expect to see you.”
I’m not going to make a scene, but Thomas knew I didn’t want him here.
He shrugs. “You said that it was too late for Kelsey to change the numbers, but I figured with that storm coming in, at least one person must’ve backed out.”
I guess I did tell him that it was too late to change the numbers, but what I really meant was that I didn’t want him to come. I chose not to ask Kelsey when I could have, easily, andhechose to ignore that fact entirely.
“I thought you’d be happier to see me,” he says.
I press my fingers to my temples as a dull throb kicks in between them. “Thomas, you dumped me on the night you’d planned to propose and were then seen publicly with another woman. Maybe I don’t want everyone here thinking I’m so pathetic that I took you right back.”
He frowns. “I already told you there was nothing going on with Sofia. She was just on the boat.”
Right.
“And I was only seen with her in one picture,” he continues. “This really isn’t the big deal you’re making it into.”
I sigh. This is par for the course with us—when he doesn’t get his way, he just kind of keeps on arguing until I finally give up.
“Look,” he says. “Can we go somewhere to talk?”
I slap my hand to my forehead. The reception hasn’t even begun, and he’s already trying to make it about himself.
“No,” I say firmly, “I’m the maid of honor. I need to be here when Kelsey comes in, and I’m going to stay here until it ends.”
He throws up his hands. “Fine, fine,” he says, and this is familiar too. He’s inserted himself where he wasn’t welcome, but now he’s acting as if I’m the unreasonable one.
“I’ve got to give my speech pretty soon, but please just—” I shake my head. I’m sick with nerves at the prospect of speaking in front of all of these people. I want to tell him to go away and I can’t. “I need to focus, so give it a rest.”
“Get ready, everyone,” someone says into the mic. “I understand Mr. and Mrs. Boudreaux are on their way in!”
The guests rise and for a moment I forget my irritation. The senior Mr. and Mrs. Boudreaux walk in first, followed by Judyand Mrs. Cabot...and Elijah, who glares at me, then Thomas, in turn.
Thomas stiffens beside me. “That’s the guy I saw you with online, isn’t it?”
“He’s Kelsey’s brother,” I say.
“Did you sleep with him?” he asks.
I roll my eyes. I might feel sort of guilty under other circumstances, but...I didn’t even want Thomas here. I’m not taking any shit about this. “Youbroke upwith me, Thomas. And, as it happens, we’restillbroken up. You don’t get to ask me questions like that.”
“I guess that’s a yes, then.” He pushes both hands through his hair. “Fine. I deserved it. I want to have a nice time with you here, and this is all going incredibly poorly. Can we just start over? Can you pretend you’re happy I braved three flights to get here in time, and I’ll pretend I’m not furious about what you might have done while I was gone?”
I give him a half-hearted smile. “It would be easier if you didn’t sound furious while you suggested it.”
He laughs and squeezes my hand. “I’m working up to it.”
