“Jonathan kissedme. He found out you were married, and was hurt and angry, and I just happened to be there.”
Marigold stared at Natalie as her heart slid toward her stomach. “He knows?”
“Yeah.”
“How’d he find out?”
“He called your lawyer.”
“Is thatreallywhat happened?”
Something inside Natalie seemed to harden. She lifted her chin to look Marigold in the eye. “What are you implying? Do you really think I’d tell him?”
“I don’t know what to believe anymore…” Marigold thoughtabout all the ways Natalie had encouraged her relationship with Jonathan. “You basically set us up. Why would you do that if you wanted him for yourself?”
“I… I panicked.” Natalie closed her eyes and winced at the memory. “I did something really, really stupid, and I was terrified he’d find out. So to cover my tracks, I told him there was someone I wanted him to meet.” She opened her eyes and let her gaze fall to the ground. “To be honest, I never thought it’d go so far. You’d never dated anyone for more than a few weeks. I figured you’d lose interest at some point, and I’d get my chance later on, once he’d forgotten about… certain details.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I moved to New York for him,” Natalie said, so quietly Marigold could barely make out the words. “Instead of going to grad school in Scotland, I moved to New York because I thought I might have a tiny shot. I lied about having this great job, and when it seemed like he was close to figuring out the truth, I freaked out. I didn’t want to seem like some unhinged stalker, so I told him I had someone in mind for him. To throw him off the scent.”
Marigold fell silent as she took all this in. Natalie’s feelings for Jonathan had been so strong that she’d given up her dream of living in the UK—something she’d always fantasized about—to follow him to New York. Marigold couldn’t think of a time she’d wanted anyone or anything that badly. “I don’t get it. So what if you moved to New York for him? Wouldn’t he have been flattered?”
Natalie let out a short, dry laugh. “No, you don’t get it. Not all of us can get away with stuff like that. If you did it, it’d be romantic. But I’d just look crazy.”
“Butwhy? What’s the difference?”
Natalie shot her a look. “Are you serious?”
“Um, yes.”
“Because you’re beautiful and charming, and everyone falls in love with you on sight. But that’s not what life is like for the rest of us.”
“Bullshit.” Marigold felt her cheeks growing hot. “That’s a myth you’ve told yourself. You divide the world into the lucky and the unlucky, which allows you to give up on things before you’ve even started. You did it with Jonathan, you did it with your book—you let your fear of failure convince you that you’re not good enough for anything, so there’s no point in trying.”
Natalie’s eyes widened. They’d never spoken to each other like this, but now that Marigold had started, she found that she couldn’t stop. “I’m not any more special or deserving than you are. I’m just not a coward.”
“What on earth is going on out here?” Olivia asked as she burst through the door of the inn. She looked at Natalie, then did a double take when she saw Marigold. “Holy shit, you actually made it.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINEOlivia
“Here I am!” Marigold threw her hands in the air. “Did no one believe I’d really come back? Is that why I just walked in on my maid of honor and my fiancé making out?”
“I’m sorry…what?” Olivia looked from Marigold to Natalie in disbelief, waiting for someone to speak. She felt like she’d wandered onstage in the middle of a play, some absurd production she wouldn’t have sat through let alone participated in. Natalie was sweaty and sniffling in a wrinkled bridesmaid’s dress, and Marigold seemed to be wearing the same clothes she’d left in yesterday. But she was here, on Sandpiper Island—that was what mattered. They’d deal with the rest of it later.
“I walked in on Natalie and Jonathan kissing,” Marigold said wearily.
That can’t be right, Olivia thought. She turned to Natalie, certain that she’d say something to explain, to clarify.Loyal-to-a-fault Natalie was too meek to make a move like that, even if she wanted to.
But Natalie simply reddened and looked away, muttering, “Why don’t you ask Marigold where she’s been this whole time?”
Olivia turned to her sister. “Where were you?”
Marigold glared at Natalie before answering. “I was in Canada. I had a very short relationship I never told anyone about. We eloped, realized it was a mistake, and got a divorce, but I never signed the paperwork. That’s why there was an issue with the marriage license.”
Olivia could normally process new information with lightning speed, but this was too much. Her brain whined in protest like the fan inside an overheated laptop. “You were married. And you flew to Canada to finalize a divorce. Yesterday. The day before your wedding.”
“Yep,” Marigold said.
