"You have no idea what you're talking about," Celia said, her voice rising slightly before she caught herself. "Just because I value my family's input doesn't mean I don't make my own choices."
"Input is one thing. Letting them run your life is another."
"Unlike you, I don't think everything is about me," Celia snapped, the perfect bride mask slipping completely now. Her sister was angry, and in a way, Kelly was thrilled to see it. At least it was an honest and real emotion. "Some of us care about making other people happy."
The implication was clear. Kelly was selfish for wanting autonomy, for living her life on her own terms. It was the same criticism her family had leveled at her for years, packaged in different words but carrying the same message.
Be smaller. Want less. Accept what we give you.
"Being yourself isn't selfish, Celia," Kelly said quietly. "It's honest."
Something flickered in her sister's eyes, something that might have been understanding or even envy, but it was quickly replaced by anger.
"Save the self-help talk for your podcast," Celia said coldly. "Some of us have a real wedding to prepare for."
Without waiting for a response, she turned and walked away, her back rigid with indignation as she rejoined her fiancé at the head table. The perfect bride once more, serene and untroubled.
Kelly stood alone for a moment, fighting the familiar ache in her chest. Why did she do this to herself? Deep down, she’d known they’d never change.
But I have hope.
Cold comfort when I’m all alone.
She scanned the room for Ben, needing his steady presence, his calm amid the storm of her family dynamics. She spotted him across the room, chatting easily with Trevor's father. They were laughing about something, Ben's head tilted attentively as the older man spoke.
Watching him, so at ease in this social setting, Kelly felt a new emotion surge through her. Ben had been so supportive, so understanding about her investigation into Lori's death. But he had never mentioned his father's famous cases. Never told her about the Brysons, about the danger his family had faced.
She knew what it was like to live in a small town with a notorious local crime. She would have understood. But he hadn't trusted her with that information, hadn't volunteered it even as they'd grown closer.
Maybe she trusted him, far more than he trusted her. And that hurt.
After last night, she’d thought they might have something special between them.
Maybe Ben Reilly wasn’t so different after all.
Chapter
Twenty-One
Ben grippedthe steering wheel of the rental car, his knuckles whitening with each silent mile that passed. Kelly sat beside him, turned toward the passenger window, her profile etched in stark relief against the passing streetlights. The twenty-minute drive from the restaurant back to the condo stretched into an eternity of awkward silence.
He had tried small talk about the food, the wine, even the weather, but each attempt had been met with single-word responses or, worse, nothing at all. Something had happened at the rehearsal dinner, but he was damned if he knew what it was.
All he knew was that the tension radiating from her was loud and clear. Her shoulders were tense, her hands folded tightly in her lap. Gone was the woman who had laughed with him last night, and in her place was this closed-off stranger who seemed to vibrate with barely contained emotion.
What had happened in the short time they'd been separated? She'd gone to the restroom, and when she returned, she'd been different. Distant. Cold.
"Almost there," he said, breaking the silence as they turned onto the street where the condo was located.
Kelly nodded but said nothing. The slight movement was the only indication she'd heard him at all.
The evening had started well enough. Despite Kelly's anxiety about the event, they'd arrived on time, and Ben had done his best to act as a buffer between her and her more critical family members. He'd thought he was doing a good job until she disappeared after talking with her father. When she returned, something fundamental had changed.
What on earth had her father said?
Ben pulled into a parking space near the condo entrance. Kelly was out of the car almost before he'd turned off the engine, grabbing her small clutch and striding toward the building without waiting for him. He watched her go, confusion and concern battling for dominance in his mind.
By the time he caught up, she was already unlocking the condo door. He followed her inside, keeping a careful distance as she tossed her purse onto the counter with enough force to send it sliding across the smooth surface and into the wall.
