I hover awkwardly, unsure what to do with myself. “I might use your phone now, if that’s okay.”
He nods toward the table. “Passcode’s 1-2-3-4.”
“Really? That’s not very prudent.”
“I don’t have much to hide,” he says, stirring milk into my mug and passing it to me.
I tap in the passcode, then open the internet app. “Do you mind if I send an email, actually?” I ask. “I’ll see if my friend can come and pick me up.” I picture Kerry-Anne sliding into her white BMW, assuring anyone who asks that she’s just going into town to pick something up, still in her bridesmaid gown but shifted into her new role as special ops secret runaway bride collector. There is no one who could execute the task with as much discrete precision as Kerry-Anne.
I sign into my email in the browser and open a new message.I’m okay. Don’t worry about me,I type into the subject line, add Kerry-Anne’s email address, then hit send without requesting a ride. I’ll figure something out, I just need my friend to know I’m okay. As a finance exec, she checks her inbox constantly, so I know she’ll see it right away, and discretely let Jack know I’m okay. I’ll owe her drinks for life for being the messenger.
I sign out of my account before handing the phone back to Ryan, who’s sitting at the table, studying me with those steady brown eyes.
I suppose I owe him the story.
I slide into the chair opposite him, and immediately Marshall rests his huge head in my lap, gazing up with the same gentle expectation as his owner.
“Thanks for this,” I say and pull the mug toward me. Then I take a deep breath. “So…I guess you’ve gathered today was supposed to be my wedding day.” I glance down the hallway to where I can just glimpse the dress hanging over the tub.
“I thought so,” Ryan says. “What happened?”
How do I even begin? “I…left the wedding. I got in a boat and drove away.”
“Okay,” he says. “Wow.”
“Wow indeed.”
“Did something…happen?” he asks. His eyes are curious, but wary too.
I think of the necklace tucked under my shirt. And everything before the necklace. And how in the world I let it get this far. The thousands spent. The guests who travelled. The impossible expectations.
I tried, Lord knows I tried. It was just that what was perfect on paper had never clicked in for me. The fancy parties, the hotel suites, the country club membership. The unspoken rules that came along with each of them. The family hierarchy, and my predetermined role in it.
There was a time I’d thought that belonging to the Fordham family would do something to fill up the gap my mother had left, but instead, it had just made her absence more noticeable, like an ignored cavity left to fester.
My stomach churns with nausea at the thought of it.
“Had you been unhappy for long?” Ryan asks. He must notice the color draining from my face, because he reaches across the table and gently covers my hand with his.
“You know what?” he says, voice low and steady. “We don’t need to talk about it.”
I exhale. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”
“Can I get you something to eat?”
I shake my head. I should be starving, given that my last meal was a bowl of Greek yogurt with raspberries and granola from room service, and that was hours ago, but the thought of food only makes me feel more sick to my stomach.
“Okay,” he says. “I’m going to call my friend at the coast guard office, see what they can do about your boat. Do you want to check to see if your friend has responded first?” He passes the phone back to me, and I open my inbox. Kerry-Anne’s response is in all caps.CALL ME. I swallow. I love my friend, but even facing her right now feels impossible. I look up at Ryan. “Is there a hotel in town?” I ask.
“There is,” he says, his expression shifting slightly with concern. “Why don’t I make my call, then we can see about getting you a room. Or I can drive you somewhere else, if your friend isn’t able to come get you.”
He steps outside onto the porch, and I hear the muffled sound of a voice on the other side.
Where would he even take me? The condo Jack and I share in Seattle is three hours away. He seems like a nice guy, but that’s a huge ask. And what would I do there? Pack a bag and…go where?
Ryan returns inside. “I left a message,” he says as thunder rumbles outside. So much for the rain holding off for the wedding. Maybe, like me, Mother Nature had some surprises planned for today.
Seconds later, rain is teeming down against the roof.
