“You’re telling me,” Travis said in agreement, glancing around. He nodded at Grady, Tommy, and Ben before settling on Brock. His face split into a grin and he started over. “Hey! Groom guy! What the fuck is with this backwoods sausage fest!? Aren’t we supposed to celebrate your dwindling time as a free man by ogling strippers and shit?” He put the brown paper bag down on the table and embraced my brother in a one-armed hug.
“Guess I got enough of a stripper show when you brought the Vegas escorts by O’Riley’s,” Brock responded smoothly, the corners of his lips twitching. “Hey, Grayson—this is my buddy Travis.”
Grayson and Travis appraised each other for a moment, flickering recognition passing in each of their eyes. “Hey, do I know you from somewhere?” Travis asked, tilting his head slightly.
“By proxy, yes,” Grayson said, his voice low and almost threatening.
“Ah right, you’re Everly’s man right?” Travis asked. Grayson clenched his jaw and nodded once in response. “How the hell is she? Haven’t seen her in a while! I think the last time I saw her was at the 2014 Music Awards.”
“She’s good,” Grayson answered unwillingly. He seemed uncomfortable or pissed off—I couldn’t tell which one.
“Everly Daniels was the lead singer ofAutumn Fields,” Travis explained to us, a huge grin on his face. “She left the music scene a year ago. I haven’t seen her since!” He turned to look back at Grayson. ““Will she be at the wedding?”
Grayson remained silent for several beats before answering. “Yeah, she will.”
“Fucking eh! It’s a small world after all,” Travis didn’t seem the least bit concerned that he was seriously aggravating the fuck out of Brock’s friend. He picked up the brown bag again and pulled a bottle of whiskey out. “Anybody want a shot?”
Elle
“Thanks for coming to the rescue today,” Tessa smiled at me from across the wooden table in Brock’s kitchen. We had spent the past three hours assembling centerpieces; tying twine and a piece of triangle material with the letter “m” to each Mason jar. On the day of the wedding, the jars would be full of water and wildflowers, placed on round disks of wood that Brock had cut specifically for this purpose with tea light candles to add a soft, romantic glow to each table. “I should have known that planning the bachelor party would be too much responsibility for Braden,” she added, shaking her head.
“It was no problem,” I shrugged, biting my lip. “Honestly, Braden pretty much had everything figured out except for the decorations and I’m pretty sure that’s not a requirement. I mean, it’s not like the guys would have shown up and said ‘gee, there’s no decorations. How lame!’”
“Was he on his best behaviour at least?” Tessa asked, arching a brow.
“Yeah, he was. It was…good. Hanging out with him I mean.” And it had been—I had almost forgotten how it felt to spend time with Braden Miller. Being around him made me feel alive and carefree, but it also made me acutely aware of my feelings for him, which is why I couldn’t be around him.
I wanted him. My body, my heart, it craved him in the worst way. The only thing holding me back was my mind—Iknewgoing down that road again would lead to more heartache and pain. I wasn’t sure if I could handle it, but I also wasn’t sure ifhecould handle it. He was doing well right now, he wasn’t drinking, he wasn’t running from his problems. I didn’t want to push him back when he fought so hard to be where he was.
I didn’t voice any of it—but Tessa seemed to read between the lines. She smiled knowingly. “How’s everythingelsegoing?” I knew she was referring to Alex.
“I cancelled on him today,” I admitted. “He was supposed to come out but Braden called. I told him there was a wedding emergency I had to deal with.”
“Elle!” Tessa frowned. “Why wouldn’t you just tell him the truth?”
“Because I don’t think the truth should be told over the phone,” I shrugged. “Despite how I feel about…well, everything…Alex is still my boyfriend, and he’s my friend. I still care about him, and I’m not going to break his heart over the phone.”
“You had an opportunity to talk to him when he came down,” she pointed out.
“Yeah, and I choked. I didn’t want to hurt him. And how could I anyway? You saw how he was at the smash-up derby. It would have been a dick move to tell him ‘hey gee thanks for talking me out of a panic attack, but I want to break up’.”
“Oh, so just wait until the wedding. There’s a plan,” Tessa snorted. She leaned forward, her eyes zeroing in on me. “You realize that weddings bring…things…out in people, right? Like feelings? What if he proposes to you?”
“Alex wouldn’t be that stupid,” I said confidently. “I haven’t even told him that I love him back yet.”
“Because you don’t,” Tessa huffed, sitting back in her seat. “But you’re kind of being a bitch about it. I mean, youknowthat you don’t love him, and you’re still stringing him along. Why?”
I fell silent, my heart squeezing painfully. She was right—I was being a bitch. I was stringing him along and I needed to stop it, but I was afraid of what stopping it would truly mean. I was afraid that if I broke up with Alex, I’d end up back in Braden’s arms.
“I guess he’s a safe guard,” I admitted, my voice raw. “He is the logical choice. He doesn’t have a history of hurting me. But I’m fighting with my heart, Tessa. I’m desperate to feel something other than the fondness I have for him. I keep telling myself I just need time, time to get used to the idea of falling in love…but seeing Braden again…” I trailed off, conflicted.
Seeing Braden again drudged up everything again—the way I felt when I was with him, and the girl I once was. Tessa’s words kept washing over me though, planting seeds of doubt that grew into weeds. I knew Alex wasn’t it for me. My heart wasn’t in it; my heart longed for something dangerous. Something that would undoubtedly blow up in my face.
“Elle, you don’t need a safe guard,” Tessa said gently. I looked up at her. “Fate is going to do what fate does best—whatever is meant to be will just happen. There’s no sense in fighting it or trying to put it off.”
“You’re right,” I sighed, my eyes dropping to the table for a minute. I looked up again, catching her watching me. “I promise I’ll talk to Alex, but Tessa—your wedding is inseven days, we’ve got enough on our plates without adding that conversation to the mix. It will have to wait until after, there just isn’t enough time.”
“Yeah,” Tessa exhaled, looking at the ceiling. “This week is pretty busy, isn’t it?” she asked with a small smile.
