Applause broke out, and I blinked, coming out of my Skye fog. I watched as Alex pulled Sadie into his arms and kissed her. I put my finger and thumb in my mouth and let out a loud whistle as the happy couple walked down the aisle between the white wooden folding chairs. The next hour or so was spent taking pictures with the wedding party, watching the bride and groom share their first dance, and then making toasts.
I found my mind wandering back to Skye as I sat at the large round head table with Alex, Sadie, Mr. Burke, Mrs. G, Peyton, and Maddox, and Charlie who I’d walked down the aisle with.
Charlie, aka Charlotte James, was everything any man would want. She was a former model turned doctor. And I wasn’t talking about catalog modeling; she was on the cover of Teen Vogue, and now she runs one of the premier rehab centers in the world. Her clientele was filled with athletes in the NFL, NHL, MBA, and MLB.
All of that, and she was down-to-earth and funny to boot. She was what was referred to as a unicorn. Usually, I enjoyed flirting with her every chance I got, but just like with Mia, I had no desire to turn on my charm.
I felt like I’d lost my superpower. Like I was Samson and my hair had been cut off. Or Superman, who was soaking in kryptonite.
I didn’t feel like myself, and it was unnerving.
After the table quieted down and all of the couples at our table seemed to be in conversations with each other, I would usually have looked at this time as my time to strike. Instead, I found myself checking the time to see how much time had passed since the last time I checked. I’d been to enough weddings to know that it was bad form to leave before the cake was cut. Especially since I was in the wedding party, but I had to admit I was tempted.
“Oh, I heard your podcast with Ben Whitaker; it was amazing!” Charlie enthused.
“Oh thanks.”
“He’s not usually himself when he does media, but you and Selena really bring out the best in your guests.”
It didn’t surprise me that Charlie knew Ben, considering most of her patients were professional athletes.
“That’s really nice to hear, thanks.”
I turned my attention back to my plate when Bella ran up to my chair. “Can Hannah and Lexi come to Christmas next week?”
“Sure, but they have to ask first.”
“Yay!” Bella cheered.
“You guys are having Christmas in July?” Charlie asked as Bella ran away.
My chest tightened, but I forced myself to smile. “My mom is ill; she’s only got a few months at the most, so she won’t be here for Christmas or—"
“Oh my god!” Charlie put her hand over her mouth. “I’m so sorry. I heard about that. I shouldn’t have ask—”
“No, it’s fine. Bella saw her therapist this week, and I guess the holidays came up, and they talked about the fact that her grandma won’t be here. So Bella asked this morning if we could put up the Christmas tree tomorrow and celebrate. That sort of snowballed, and so next week we will be having Christmas, birthdays, Thanksgiving, Easter, and any other holiday that Bella wants to have.”
“Wow.” Tears glistened in Charlie’s eyes. “That is the sweetest, most heartbreakingly precious thing I’ve ever heard.”
She sniffed back emotion as she placed her hand on my knee and squeezed. It might be an innocent gesture of support and comfort, or it might be more. I wasn’t going to find out because I wasn’t interested in a supermodel turned doctor.
I was seriously fucked.
