Head in his hands, shoulders hunched like he’s carrying the whole damn castle on them.
His tie’s half-loosened, hair a beautiful kind of disaster.
When his eyes find mine, something in him shifts, like he’s convinced himself I’m not coming, and seeing me unravels him just enough to let the hope through.
A faint smile ghosts across his mouth. “Should I brace for a dramatic monologue?”
Before I can stop myself, I blurt, “You look like you got into a fistfight with Derek and lost.”
One eyebrow lifts, but he doesn’t move.
I cross to him, awkwardly tucking my skirt under me as he wordlessly offers a hand to help me sit on the ground beside him.
“I went looking for you,” he says quietly. “Someone said you were with Peacock and…”
“Were you jealous, Mr. Ashford?”
His mouth twitches. “Let’s just say, when the bridesmaids start giggling about someone’s codpiece, a man gets concerned.”
That cracks a grin out of me despite everything. “Relax. It was just a pep talk. Not a rose-garden rendezvous.”
He exhales, finally meeting my gaze properly, like he’s weighing whether to believe me, and whether he’s even allowed to.
“I heard you had a run-in with Helen?”
His expression doesn’t flicker, but his jaw tightens. “Let me guess, Karl?”
“Karl,” I confirm.
I glance down, fiddling with the hem of my dress. “You do realise how wildly cliché this is, right? The best man falling for the maid of honour?”
He grins, slow and devastating. “Technically… you fell for me. Remember? Boob-gate?”
I groan, covering my face. “God. I knew you saw my boob.”
He shrugs, unapologetic. “Hard to miss, babe.”
Babe.
That stupid little word hits me like a defibrillator to the chest.
I laugh, helpless, heart full, but inside, I am not okay.
The quiet stretches, but it’s different now. Not awkward. Just… poised. Like something’s about to tip.
“Karl told me what you said to Helen…specifically,” I blurt before I can lose my nerve.
“Specifically? What was that then?”
“You…err…you basically declared your love for me.”
He exhales through his nose, almost a laugh but not quite. “I didn’t mean for anyone else to hear that.”
“But you said it.”
He looks at me like it costs him something. “Yeah. I said it.”
My pulse trips. “Why?”
