I don’t want him to die, but not a single one of my revenge daydreams involved him gracing the cover of a sports magazine, abs on display. That was painful enough to see in the supermarket last fall. And I certainly never planned on seeing his sun-streaked hair and sparkling blue eyes across a crowded room again.
Gulping, I drag my gaze away from the table where he’s sitting with the other groomsmen and stride to an open chair in the corner. Seating chart or no seating chart, if Kaci wants to live, she’ll mind her business and let me sit by myself in this extra chair.
Kaci immediately spots me, waltzes over, and forcefully squeezes my shoulder as she leans in to whisper, “So, on a scale of one to ten, how are you feeling?”
“Let’s just say, if I had a few extra minutes to plan, I’d have faked my own death.” I hiss back.
“It’s not that bad,” she whispers, eyes locked on her fiancé, Jackson, as he strides into the room. They are disgustingly cute, always making little lovey faces at each other. I’m so insanely happy for her.
I am.
Insane.
Just insane for being here.
The last thing I need is to draw more attention to myself. I certainly don’t need Elijah thinking I’m upset. I remove her hand from my shoulder and mutter, “I’m fine. Start this dinner thingy so I can get it over with.”
“If everyone can be seated, I’d love to make a toast.” Axl, one of Jackson’s teammates, announces, raising his glass. Everyone follows suit. Since I’m still in the corner chair where I put myself in time out, I don’t have a glass in front of me. I cross my arms, content to sit this one out.
Nobody speaks.
Every single head turns in my direction.
“Koren,” Axl asks, “would you like to sit at the actual table? There’s a seat and a glass here for you.”
“Of course there is,” I grumble in a gritty voice. I jump up, realizing they all heard me. I cover my mouth with a fist, pretend to clear my throat, and force a sweet tone. “Of course, I would love to.”
I drag my heels in my walk of shame straight to the only open seat. How convenient. It’s right next to my sister. And, oh lovely, Elijah. I roll my eyes. My plan to sit in the corner failed.
Death by DIY.
That’s what I should have done.
I’m not sure what I could have rigged up, but it’s the most believable. It could have been so simple, so clean. An accidental fall leaves practically no mess. Well, except for the body. Scratch that. Drowning is better. No body required. Perfect. Yeah, that’s totally the way to go.
I will remember that for next time.
Crossing my arms again, I sink into the chair, staring straight ahead as the heat of everyone’s gaze reminds me to grab my glass. I lift the champagne flute in front of me. Finally, Axl begins.
“All right, everyone, I'll keep this short. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Axl. I’ve had the honor of being Jackson’s teammate. What you need to know about him is that he was always a bit of grump until he met Kaci. From the day he met her, it was clear to all of us, he was a goner. Kaci, I don’t know what you did to him, but you made this guy a better man. I couldn’t be happier for you both. Let’s raise a glass to love, teammates, and finding your forever person. Instead of ‘cheers,’ let’s click to love!”
How cringe.
One of my arms is still crossed smugly over my chest. I avoid all eye contact while people clink my glass and say, “To love.” I’m about to set my glass down, when Elijah lifts his toward me and pauses.
He actually expects me to clinkto love?
Ahem! The audacity.
When I don’t meet his glass, he says softly, “Koren.”
Smirking, he waves his glass toward me, looking finer than a Calvin Klein supermodel. I’m supposed to be okay with saying that word to him? To the man I almost said marriage vows to? My stomach drops to a whole new level of low, and my throat tightens. I don’t remember what planet I’m even on anymore. “Er,” I manage to squeak out.
I execute the slowest side-eye in history.
One of my brows hikes north, and I glare.
Everyone’s now waiting for me to make the final clink. The irony isn’t lost on me. I think I toasted to love with him before. Yep, pretty sure we said that word to each other many times. That didn’t end so well. I’ll never do it again.
