I cringe.She’s going to hate me now.She’s going to see through me and realize I’m just a selfish, weak little nobody who doesn’t deserve her friendship.
Somewhere deep down inside me, I knew I was just fooling myself into thinking I’d found somewhere I belong.
I’m not good enough for anyone to want me.
It hurts, but if Sebastian is a groomsman, then I can’t be a bridesmaid.I can’t risk him getting close and realizing how much of a failure I am, and I certainly can’t risk him finding out the truth.
“What?Why?”Audrey asks.
As I glance down the hall again, the door opens.
Sebastian’s massive frame stoops through the doorway.
Audrey’s sound of distress yanks my attention back toward her.She clamps a hand over her mouth and darts into the bathroom.
I stare at the swinging door in shock.Instinctual fear holds me immobile as Sebastian stalks toward me on silent feet.Incredulity spears through me.Large predators shouldn’t move so quietly.
Michael never moved with such stealth.He always made sure I knew he was coming.He wanted me to shake in terror as my schoolmates snickered in delight.
The sound of retching echoes from the bathroom.
Audrey needs help, but if I get any closer I’ll join her in hugging the toilet, so I spin toward the front entrance to the dining hall—away from Sebastian—and dart forward.
Thick fingers close around my forearm.I jerk to a stop.My ring skitters across the floor.
I forgot it was clutched in my fist.Forgot to put it back on my finger.Forgot who it belonged to and what it symbolizes.
I forgot my promise.
Too terrified and angry to move, I stare at the simple gold band and single gemstone as it slides to a stop on the white-and-gray marble flooring.
Sebastian releases my arm and takes a long, single stride toward it.His giant dress shoe gleams in the light.I swallow and stand frozen as he squats and picks up the ring I’ve worn ever since my friend gave it to me fourteen years ago.Pinched between his fingers, it looks small enough to fall off a child’s finger even though the only way for it to stay on mine is for me to keep my finger slightly curled.
As he stands, the world shrinks.He looms over everything.His impressive suit spans the horizon.The top of my head barely reaches the bottom of his ribs.His gigantic body fills my vision as he closes the distance between us and offers me my ring on his palm.
I’m always the shortest one in the room, but standing in front of him makes me feel impossibly small and fragile.
A discordant note thrums through me as I imagine all the horrible ways he could hurt and humiliate me, but when I lift my gaze to his face, the regret shining from his brown eyes and the unhappy slant of his lips are so far removed from what I expect, all thoughts melt from my brain.
“Don’t run away, Penelope.I’m sorry.I didn’t mean to scare you.”
His deep rumble travels down my spine and infects every cell in my body.
My nervous system responds before I do, and I fall on the worst of my habits as though I’m back in high school.
“I’m not running away.I’m getting help for Audrey.She’s sick.”
Covering my lie with a truth doesn’t make it any less of a lie, but I’ve learned people will accept anything as long as I add a bit of sugar on top.
When I told the biggest, worst lies of my life, everyone accepted them as fact because I sprinkled a bit of truth in the mix and delivered them with a smile.
No one ever cared enough to look closer.
Except Sebastian’s narrowed lashes and increased scrutiny say otherwise.I stare back like a deer caught in the headlights as he studies my features.He bends at the waist, invading my space and lowering his face closer to mine.
I don’t know how tall he is, but his stooped posture and nearness only make him seem impossibly larger.With a tilt of his head and a glance at his palm, he indicates my ring.
“This is important to you, right?”
