“Are you really bringing that up right now?” I ask. “It seems pretty unimportant,” I nod over at Holly, where Ben’s attention and efforts should be focused. He may be a handsome kid with a good head on his shoulders, but I’ve had a lot more relationship experience than he has. My experience has taught me that when a woman has one foot out the door, you get on your fucking knees.
“I think now is the perfect time to bring it up,” Ben answers, proving to be less intelligent than I thought. “I've gotta be honest, I knew something was up between you two.”
“And this matters why?” I ask.
“Yeah, Benjamin. Why do you care who Charlotte is sleeping with?” Holly asks.
Tread lightly, son. The ice is thin.
“Because it’s my dad!” he blurts out.
“I didn’t know you were her ex!” I fight back.
“Oh, sure,”
“You know what, I’m not doing this right now,” Holly shakes her head and takes off.
“I think you should go after her, Ben,” I tell him.
“You’re just trying to distract me from the elephant in the room,” Ben argues.
“No, I’m trying to make sure your wedding isn’t about to get canceled!” I snap. Then I head back in the direction of my cabin. “You know what? Blow off some steam, come to your senses, and figure it out,” I say as I stalk off.
I run my hand through my hair. I need a drink. Or to scream. Or hit something.
Despite knowing that things were a bit off, I never imaginedthis.
I don’t think any of us imagined this.
Well, other than Charlotte. Charlotte, aka Charlie. She knew the entire time what the circumstances are. She knew that she was planning his wedding, and that Holly had no idea who she was. She knew we were getting…close, and she kept that from Ben. And that’s not the only thing she kept from me.
“I’m not done talking to you!” My cabin door flies open the second I shut it, and Ben is standing right behind me.
My jaw clenches and I turn around slowly, the same heat rising in me as when he’d do something stupid as a kid and I knew there were going to be consequences. I’ve never laid a hand on my son, but judging from his clenched fists, he might try to lay one on me.
“Ben—” I start as steadily as I can manage.
“No. I’m talking first,” he says. For the sake of this not getting too heated, I bite my tongue hard enough to fill my mouth with the taste of copper. “Where do you get off fucking my wedding planner?”
“Where do you get off telling me who I can sleep with?” I ask. It’s the start of a tennis match.
“She’s my wedding planner!” he shouts.
“I’m aware! Which is why I didn’t say anything,” I shout back.
“And my ex!”
“Which I didn’t know!”
“Right,” he scoffs, and I take a step closer.
“I’m not lying to you. Would I be this upset myself if I had any idea that the woman I am seeing was Charlie?” I ask.
“Oh, so now you’reseeingher?” he asks. “It’s not just a weekend affair?”
“We hooked up way before your fiancée even hired her, so it’s not my fault,” I say. “And yes. We have been seeing each other.”
“Unbelievable,” he chortles. “She’s not what you think, you know,”
