“What?” she asks, her voice tinged with humor.
“Are you breaking up with me, too?” I say, my tired laugh a mix of relief and pain.
Mandy chuckles. “Yeah, I guess I am.”
My laugh deepens, spreading through me like a fire until it’s so deep my body is shaking. Mandy laughs too, and for a moment we marvel in the loss of our pretend engagement, knowing it’s not really aloss.You can’t lose something you never had.
She turns me around and grabs her makeup again. Her bright gaze holds mine sternly.
“That’s enough tears,” she says, applying the makeup underneath my eyes again. Her comforting touch makes me smirk. “We have a wedding to go to,” she says warmly. “Andyou,Trey Kelly, have a boyfriend to win back.”
“I don’t think he wants me back, Mandy. He was pretty clear about that.”
She moves to my other eye and does the same thing. Her touch is no longer cold.
She caps her makeup and straightens my tie.
“Do you remember when we both were trying to get TJ Watt to sign a deal?” she asks softly.
“Remember? How could I forget?” I say with a smile. “You were relentless.”
She smiles brightly. “And yet he signed with Nutri-Go,” she says.
“Yeah, but—”
“You are a good salesman. Not because you know how to pitch a product, or because you’re good looking. It’s because you thrive in the fire, the chaos. You are relentless, too, Trey. And the eleventh hour never scares you,” she says with a grin. “When the chips are down, that’s when you sell your best.” She shrugs. “So dry your tears, get off the fucking bench, and run the damn game, Trey.” She pats me on the shoulder. “Just take the shot. You’ve got nothing to lose.”
She’s right.
I’ve already lost everything.
Except the hope burning in my heart that refuses to die.
When Austen said this was going to be asmallwedding, he wasn’t kidding. The courtyard of theGustaveis spacious, but there are barely ninety chairs strewn across the stone patio, all facing the large A-frame wooden arch that’s covered completely in ivy. The wall of the building is covered in moss and flowers, and there are candles strewn on all the pillars surrounding the altar—which is more or less a platform—and along the aisles.
“Wow…” I say as I take in the sight. It’s so different from the last time Austen got married, that’s for sure. I glance around the crowd, most of them unfamiliar faces, except for Austen’s parents and Alex and…
“Kelly!” Mack says with a grin, moving to pull me into a hug. Alex casually strolls up beside him, his green eyes roving over me skeptically. He glances at Mandy.
“How you been, man?” Mack asks, pulling back.
Alex twists his lips. “Mandy.”
She gives him a knowing gaze as she fixes her hair, showing off her bare hand.
“I’ve, uh… been better,” I say honestly, glancing at Alex. “I was hoping we could, you know talk about—”
“Surprised to see you two lovebirds here. Together. Aftersomeonecalled and threw a fucking fit about my fucking photo dump, causing a fight—-and I quote, ‘ruining their relationship,’” Alex bites at Mandy, completely ignoring me.
Mack glares at him, smacking him in the chest.
“What the fuck?”
Alex doesn’t even bristle, nor does he look bothered.
“Oh, that’s a funny story, isn’t it, Trey?” Mandy shoots me a smirk, and I know exactly what she’s doing. My heartbeat quickens, my chest tightens, and my throat feels dry, but this is what I need to do. And maybe it’s a little easier, knowing she’s here to back me up. Like the amazing friend she truly is.
“Actually, there was no engagement,” I say, holding Alex’s gaze. “At all.”
