Libby stepped forward in her long, teal bridesmaid dress, with a guilty expression that seemed to indicate she had drawn the short straw. “We,” she gestured between them, “decided to keep something from you this morning. We were hoping to fix it on our own, but it’s beyond that point.”
Becks frowned. “Keep something from me?” How far in her head had she been that she hadn’t even been suspicious that something was wrong? “What happened? Did the caterers not show up?” They were supposed to have coffee and pastries prepared for the guests as they arrived. Becks had been offered a Danish earlier, and had just assumed it had come from the caterers.
“No, no, they’re here,” Valerie insisted, stepping forward.
Her mom followed suit. “It’s Ritchie, baby. No one can find him.”
Becks blinked. Then blinked again. And again. “I’m sorry. What?”
“I sent my assistant over to the hotel this morning,” Valerie explained. “He was there and getting ready. All of the groomsmen were extremely hungover, but she helped to get them ready. She ordered them room service and forced them into the shower one by one?—”
Becks waved off Valerie’s tale of her assistant’s heroics that morning. “I don’t understand. Was Ritchie not there?”
“He was,” Valerie insisted. “He and Bryce”—the best man—“were the first to get ready. They went down to the restaurant for breakfast and…” Her voice trailed off.
“No one’s seen them since,” Libby finished for her. “We’ve all called them, numerous times. Hartley, Tyler, and Ethan are here,” she added, naming the other groomsmen, “but so far, no sign of Bryce or Ritchie.”
“Liam is on the phone with his tech friend from Pennsylvania,” their mom said hastily. “We’re hoping he can track down their phones.”
Becks stared at her mother, her best friend, and her wedding planner. Slowly, almost absently, Becks reached for her phone that was sitting on Pastor Anthony’s desk behind her. She dialed Ritchie’s number. It went straight to voicemail. She put the phone back down on the desk.
“Are you telling me that I’ve been…” She couldn’t even contemplate the words, they sounded so ridiculous. “I’ve been left at the altar?”
Ritchie wouldn’t do this to her. Would he? He’d been working so hard, all to get ready for their wedding. What had happened? He’d been texting her that morning.
Valerie rushed forward with a box of tissues. Becks took it and stared down at the square with printed tulips on the sides. Only… She wasn’t crying. She’d been stood up, abandoned by her groom-to-be, the man who was supposed to love and cherish her for the rest of her life, and she wasn’t crying. Why? Shouldn’t she be upset? Raging? Shouldn’t she be coming up with excuses for Ritchie? Looking for him in hospitals or checking the news for any car accidents in the area? Shouldn’t she bewantingto find him?
Instead, she let out a massive breath, like she’d been holding it forever. A weight she hadn’t even realized was there lifted off her chest, and a tear did escape her eye. But it wasn’t sadnessthat was filling her. Relief like she’d never known filled her chest like a balloon.
Becks closed her eyes, and in that moment, knew in her heart of hearts that she didn’t want to marry Ritchie. He was a good man, a really good man, and she did love him—but she didn’t want to marry him.
She had. She didn’t doubt that for a moment, but right now, right this second, as she stood in her pastor’s office in her wedding dress, she knew that she didn’t want to. Because, somehow, in a matter of days, she’d started to fall for someone else. Another man, a man who made her smile and set her body on fire, and hatedThe Princess Bridewith a passion but thoughtWeekend at Bernie’swas a comical masterpiece. A man who was bossy, and brash, and demanding, and so fucking serious that Becks wanted to make it her mission in life to make him laugh at least once per day. A man who looked ready to murder the inhabitants of her mother’s house just because Becks had scratched her own forehead.
A man who was so honorable he left her to marry another man because she had asked him to.
“Becks? Baby? Are you okay?” Her mom’s voice barely penetrated her thoughts. Because yeah, she actually was okay. Really, really okay. She had no idea what she was going to do next, but she knew it wasn’t going to be marrying Ritchie.
Another tapping on the door had everyone turning to see Liam opening it. He had his phone to his ear. “Hey, Keys got a trace on their phones. They’re still at the hotel! He’s working on getting a floor number, and then I’ll head over?—”
“No!” Libby, her mom, and Valerie all jumped at the volume of Becks’ voice. She tossed the useless tissue box over her shoulder. Picking up her skirts, she hurried forward towards her brother. “Give me your phone.”
“What?” he demanded, confused.
She heard someone else talking on the other end, but ignored that too. “Give me your phone,” she demanded again, reaching for it without his permission.
Liam didn’t argue as he relinquished it to her. “Keys can’t get ahold of him either—” he started to say but Becks cut him off.
“I don’t care.” She had no idea what it was she thought she was doing. All she knew was that Liam had Ghost’s number and she didn’t. “Call you back,” she said hastily to whomever was on the phone. She didn’t know if that was a lie or not, but it seemed like the thing to say. Once she hung up the call, she went into her brother’s contacts.Ghost/Prezwas the first one in his favorites.
Becks hit the button, and put the phone to her ear. A second later, Randy Newman’sYou’ve Got a Friend in Mestarted playing loudly down the hall. Becks frowned, as did Liam. They both looked out the door in unison.
Ghost stood at the end of the hall, covered in road dust and looking exhausted. He was pulling his phone out of his pocket, but paused when he saw Becks and Liam looking out of the doorframe at him.
Becks was so relieved she thought she might float away. She slapped the phone, still ringing, against her brother’s chest, and ran down the hall.
He was dreaming,he had to be. Because Becks couldn’t really be running down the hallway towards him in her beautiful?—
What the fuck was wrong with her dress? When he’d seen her wearing it the other day, her shoulders had been bare but for a small spaghetti-strapped halter. Why did it look like she had a rain poncho on now?
