I shrugged and focused on chewing the cracker that tasted like dust.“He’s cocky and deserves a few good dunks.”
Her eyes narrowed, pinning me in place.“You usually encourage his cockiness.”
I grabbed another cracker and stuck it in my mouth even though I swore it was absorbing any moisture left on my tongue.
Another splash sounded, followed by Wyatt sputtering.“Brady, I swear if you kill me, I’m going to haunt your distillery.”
Chardonnay didn’t even crack a smile.“What happened?”she hissed.
I stiffened.“Nothing.”
“You forget… Iknowyou.”She leaned in.“I’m your big sister.It’s my job, and you know I take my jobs very seriously.Something is going on, and if you don’t tell me, I’ll ask Odette, and we both know if I plant that seed, it’ll only grow.”
My throat tightened as I looked at Wyatt, who was flipping his hair off his forehead.“We don’t want the same things.”
Char took my hand, squeezing it.“Is that why you’ve been staying at Meadow’s?”
I turned to her, eyes wide, shock flooding through me.“You know.”
“Sweetie, the whole town knows.We all just know not to say anything.”
My lip quivered, the skin on the bridge of my nose pinched tight as I fought back tears.Here I thought we were fooling everyone, and the only one I was fooling was myself.I hadn’t been ready to accept it.Hadn’t been ready to talk about it.
“He doesn’t want to marry me,” I said as Brady hit dead center, and Wyatt plunged into the water.
“He never wanted to get married, even I know that.You never did either.”
“I know, but… I guess… I changed my mind.”
Char’s hand tightened on mine.“You’re allowed to change your mind.But he’s also allowed not to change his.”
“Which is why I broke up with him.”
Her hand tightened even more, and I absorbed the comfort, using it to try to combat the tears threatening to pour over in a flooded mess.
“I want more.I want to find the perfect dress with you, Mom, and Sherry.I want to stand up in front of our entire family and sayI do.”
Char nodded, her expression softening.“You don’t have to explain that to me.”
“I still love him,” I whispered.“I love him so much it hurts.”
Her eyes moved toward Wyatt, who was throwing his arms up in victory after Brady missed his latest throw.“I know you do.And I know he loves you, too.”
A new splash echoed, followed by Wyatt’s dramatic gasp for air and a muttered curse.A crowd had formed, and cheers exploded.I couldn’t even look.It was too much.His laugh, his charm, his ridiculous antics… All of it used to feel like mine.Now it was just a reminder of all I had lost.
Chardonnay exhaled, her arm wrapping around my shoulder and squeezing me close, just like she did when we were kids and I had a nightmare.“We like to believe love is enough, but if it’s a wedding you want, to be a wife and not a girlfriend, to make that promise to each other in front of your family and friends, then maybe it’s not.But if there’s even a sliver of hope that this is just fear of missing out, then you owe it to yourself to find out.Better safe than regretting this decision for the rest of your life.”
“What if it’s not fear?”
“Then you’ll find your way through.You always do.”That was because I always had Wyatt at my side.Without him, I didn’t know what I was capable of.
Char squeezed my hand one last time before letting go and clapping for her man.“Go easy on him,” she said just as Wyatt disappeared beneath the water again.“I think he’s being punished enough.”
After an hour, Brady finally put the ball down and stepped away.The crowd had more than tripled in size, and the high-fives ensued as Brady walked toward Char and me.Wyatt climbed onto the platform and threw his arms up.“That’s all you got, old man?I thought we were just getting started.”
“We are,” Brady called over his shoulder.He reached into his pocket, retrieved his wallet, and slipped out another hundred.He handed it to me.“Free throws for everyone!”Brady announced, and a line formed.
“You play dirty, Noah,” Wyatt said, calling Brady by his last name.“Grasso, you going to allow this?”he asked, locking eyes with me for the first time since he climbed into that tank.
