“How could I ever trust you again?” I fired out, seething. Braden was quiet for several long moments, then his face broke out into a smirk. “What? Why are you smirking?” I demanded hotly, slapping at his chest and trying to push him away.
“Because you’re not even mad that she’s hitting on your boyfriend, you’re out here yelling at me for something that happened years ago,” he answered, his smile growing. I opened and closed my mouth several times, searching for some kind of retort. I had none. “Face it Elle, you’re in love with me still. And I’m in love with you.” Hearing him say it out loud made my heart stutter in my chest. “And to answer your question—you can trust me, Elle. I’ll never hurt you again. I’ll spend forever proving it to you.”
His hands were still framing my face, and his eyes were on my lips. I knew without a doubt that he wanted to kiss me, and I knew I wanted him to. I closed my eyes, feeling his breath hot on my lips. But instead of kissing me, he sighed. “I meant what I said the other night, Elle.” He added, his voice hoarse. “You need to tell him it’s over.”
“Elle?” Alex’s voice broke the spell we were under. I pulled away from Braden, my face paling with shock.
“Alex—“ I started, but what I was going to say was written all over my face.
He looked up to the sky, running his hands through his hair, tugging at the roots. He shook his head, as if he was trying to make sense of it all. “I should have known,” he said, dropping his eyes back to my face. The hurt I saw etched on him nearly knocked me over. “You might have denied it until you were blue in the face…but I should have known when I saw you with him at the fair.”
He turned and started walking away, but I couldn’t let him go. Not like this. I needed to explain myself, to apologize for hurting him because that was never my intention. “Alex wait,” I called out, running towards him. He stopped walking but didn’t turn. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to hurt you. It was never my intention, I—“
“You don’t need to explain it, Elle,” he said, cutting me off as he turned to face me. “It’s pretty obvious what’s happening here. I’m not an idiot.” I was close enough to touch him. I stepped closer, my heart aching.
“I wanted to fall for you Alex,” I told him, tears in my eyes. “I wanted it so badly. You’re amazing—you’re compassionate, selfless, dependable…” I trailed off. “But I gave my heart away years ago, and I never got it back. And I know I should have told you sooner…but I didn’t know how. I keep telling myself if I had more time…”
Alex brought his hand up, stroking his fingers along the side of my jaw. His eyes were somber. “You should never have tried to convince yourself that you had to love me, Elle.”
Braden
Elle watched Alex’s headlights disappear down the Armstrong’s driveway, her eyes wide with shock. “What have I done?” she murmured, shaking her head as if trying to wake up from a bad dream. She looked at me helplessly. “I just…I just…” she started to gasp, as if she couldn’t draw in air quickly enough.
“Breathe, Elle,” I instructed, positioning myself in front of her and cupping her face with my hands. I tilted her head so that her eyes had no choice but to focus on mine. “Just breathe.”
She shook her head again, tears welling up in her eyes and trailing down her cheeks. “I just broke his heart, Braden. I just…God, I basically cheated on him!” Elle exclaimed, horrified.
I couldn’t think of a single thing to say, so I pulled her into my arms and let her cry. I let her mourn the loss of a relationship that she wasn’t truly ready to let go of—an ending prompted by my inability to stay away from her.
After ten minutes, Elle’s sobs tampered off and she started to breathe a little more normally again. She took a step back, unable to meet my eyes. “I’m sorry, Elle,” I said, my voice dripping with sincerity.
I hadn’t liked Alex because he was—in my eyes—competition, and I knew that Elle wasn’t in love with him…but I still hated seeing her in any kind of pain. She was hurting over the way Alex had found out about us, about her feelings for me, and I knew that she was thinking about how she’d felt whenI’dbroken her heart. It made me feel even worse than I already felt.
“There you guys are!” Becky’s voice rang out through the crisp summer night as she approached us quickly. Her pace slowed when she caught sight of Elle’s tear streaked face. “What did you do?” she accused, glaring at me.
“It’s not his fault,” Elle said, still trembling. “I—I think Alex and I just broke up.”
“Oh Elle, I’m sorry,” Becky responded, hugging Elle. She shot me another suspicious look, knowing that I was to blame for it.
“What’s happening inside?” Elle asked, falling into her maid of honor mode as she stepped back from Becky—a tactic I knew she used when she wanted to avoid processing her emotions. She’d done it in high school too. Rough emotional time? Focus on that to-do list and get shit done. It used to drive me crazy. Still did, apparently.
“We’re getting ready to do the garter and bouquet toss,” Becky answered.
“Great,” Elle exhaled. She went to walk inside, but I grabbed her hand and tugged her back. She brought her hands to my chest, stopping herself before she collided with me.
“We’re not done talking about this,” I told her, my tone serious and leaving no room for argument. Her eyes widened in response, and she drew in a shaky breath. I brought my hands up to her face and gently wiped away the slight black smear of eyeliner and tears that had pooled high on her cheeks, beneath her beautiful brown eyes.
I released her and the three of us walked back into the reception tent. Tessa’s right eyebrow arched in question when she saw Elle and me trailing behind Becky. She approached us, warily looking back and forth from Elle to me. “Everything okay?”
“Yes,” Elle answered, flashing a smile. Tessa went to ask another question—probably about where Alex was—but the sound of Tommy tapping the microphone to get everyone’s attention stopped her.
“Calling all single ladies! Get your fine asses out on the dance floor for the bouquet toss! That includes you too, Mrs. Thompson!” Tommy’s voice rang out from the speakers positioned all around, and a chorus of chuckles ensued after he had finished speaking. He gave Sue a wink and earned a smart smack on the back of the head from his father, prompting more laughter from the crowd. I laughed too, watching as Elle’s mom made her way out to the dance floor, shaking her head the whole time.
The chorus of Little Big Town’sLittle White Churchcame on, and Becky took Elle’s hand and joined the other single ladies. Tessa positioned herself in front of the crowd, bending her knees slightly as if she was about to bowl. “Three…two…one!” Tommy counted down and on one Tessa tossed the bouquet high over her head. It sailed through the air, and a wave of arms reached out to try and catch it. When the chaos cleared, I laughed when I saw that Sue Thompson held the bouquet.
“Who’s the lucky guy, Sue?” Tommy joked, sending Sue another wink. Sue waved her hand, her face heating up with embarrassment. “Alright fellas, you’re next. Anyone not hitched, step out to the dance floor!” As Tommy laid out the instructions, I rushed forward with a chair for Tessa to sit in. Once she was sitting, I joined the bachelors. “Go on Dad, that means you too,” Tommy added.
Bill Armstrong shook his head, wearing what I thought was a bemused smile. I suppose it also could have been a murderous one—you never knew with Bill—but he joined the rest of us out on the dance floor.
