“Is that—”
“Jack,” she says. She looks left and right to see if anyone’s noticed the stranger who’s appeared at the reception, then turns to me. “I can’t believe he’s here.”
“Go talk to him,” I urge. I want to offer to go with her, to make sure she’s okay, but by all accounts, Jack’s a decent guy. I don’t blame him for coming to find her.
“I’ll—I’ll call you,” Sloane says, her voice wavering slightly.
I watch as she walks away, exchanges a few hushed words with Jack, then leads him out of the party.
They disappear down the path, and I’m hit with a gut punch.
Don’t be an idiot, I tell myself. Jack has every right to be here. Sloane needs to clear the air.
Closure. Whatever she needs.
I pull out my phone and text her.Take your time, I type.
I look back toward the reception. I can’t be here anymore. It’s not the same without her here.
It won’t be the same when she’s gone.
***
SLOANE
Heart pounding, I lead Jack down the gravel path, away from the reception, away from the curious onlookers.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, nausea roiling in my stomach.
“I could ask you the same thing,” Jack says. His tone is hard to read.
“How did you find me?”
“My parents know the Sandersons, the family who got a call that their boat was found here. Felt like a pretty good clue,” he said. “When I drove down by the waterfront, the parking attendant told me everyone in town would be here.” He shakes his head. “I can’t believe you haven’t even called.” Jack looks tired. Beaten down. I’m suddenly aware of my outfit, and how my ring finger is bare except for the white ring of skin that hadn’t seen the sun for ages.
Tears sting my eyes. “I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I know I should have called. I just—” How can I tell him that the idea of contacting him felt almost as suffocating as the vows we’d been about to make? “I don’t always know how to…talk to you.”
Jack shakes his head again and looks away. “You won’t believe what I’ve been dealing with the past few days. The guests who arrived from out of town. All the gifts piled up.” He pauses, and I know what’s coming. “My mother.”
I take a deep breath in. “How is she?”
Jack raises an eyebrow. “How do you think?”
I think…apoplectic.
“How are you?” I ask softly.
“I’ll be okay,” he says, although his voice is laced with hurt. “I just wish…”
“I should have said something sooner,” I say.
There’s silence between us, filled in only by the happy music thumping from the party. “So should I,” Jack says.
I take a steadying breath. “You felt it too?”
He nodded. “It just felt like we were too far in.”
The words land deep inside me. All this time I’d wondered if I’d imagined it, but hearing it from Jack’s mouth feels…settling. I wish we could go back in time and be brave enough to say it to each other. Jack looks back toward the reception, where the DJ has just increased the volume of the music. “I can’t believe you’re at awedding.”
