But… Fuck. Me.
“Ryker?” Triston asks from my side, like he can’t quite game out what’s going on.
I don’t answer. I’m not sure I’m able. I didn’t know that seeing her like this would take me out at the knees.
Dimitri tries to pull her forward, but she doesn’t move her feet, her upper body just tugs forward.
“I can’t,” she murmurs so low, I don’t hear her words as much as I read her lips.
I am a fucking awful person. I know it.
But I might as well see us both to the other side of this. So I leave my spot were Triston stands at my side and take the two steps to stand in front of her.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to call her little bird. But I don’t think I can use that name anymore. It’s like twisting a knife in a wound. So instead, I use her name. “Sasha.”
She shakes her head, her lips pursing together as more tears fall from her eyelashes. Her mascara is starting to run.
“I know you’re scared, but you and me, we’re going to be just fine. Promise.”
Dimitri’s eyes narrow and I hear his teeth grind together.
She shakes her head again.
She always responds to my hand at her back, so I reach around her, wrapping my arm around her waist.
And then, with my other hand, I grab the excess fabric of the dress.
I hear Gris mutter an expletive, and I know even my brothers are unhappy.
With the slightest pressure, Sasha shifts the flowers to her other hand and unwinds her arm from her brother’s, starting forward.
But we only make it one step before she stops again. “Ryker.”
The muscles in my stomach and groin tighten.
“There is something you should know before…” She waves the flowers at the altar.
“Now is not the time?—”
“But…” I hear her voice crack, and I pull her tighter. “I’m not…right…and you might not want me?—”
I stop, her words blasting me square in the chest. She can’t be doing this. Telling me she’s not good enough.
The insecurity, in this moment, spoken with such sincerity, threatens to bring me to the floor.
“Trust me, luv, I do.” I drop the dress hem and wrap my other arm around her, pulling her into my chest.
I’m rarely publicly affectionate with anyone. But as Sasha melts into me, I rest my cheek on the top of her head. And that’s when I catch the crowd.
Every set of eyes has softened, small smiles playing on their lips.
My moment of sympathy has resulted in the entire room accepting the ruse. Noted.
Suddenly, I know exactly how to make Sasha comply and how to keep my brothers from finding out what I’ve planned.
I hug her tighter, wrapping my arms tight around her back. “I’ve got you, Sasha.”
When I say her name, she tilts her head back, red-rimmed eyes meeting mine. “I don’t think I can do this.”
