Chapter 2

Jeremy thought I'd finally come around. His tense shoulders relaxed, and he reached over and ruffled my hair.

I felt the warmth of his palm and my throat went dry.

"I canceled the wedding."

Chasing after Jeremy alone, on my own, for all these years had worn me out completely. When it came time to pick a college major, I'd given up on my own dream because of one line from him: "The three of us from Fort Haven can't be split up."

After graduation, I'd turned down more than one promotion just to spend time with him while he built his company.

But he'd never once stayed for me.

The thought sent a sharp ache through my nose and a dull throb through my chest. I kept my head down, tears pooling in my eyes. Finally, I couldn't help but ask, quietly, "Jeremy, do you actually like me?"

No one answered for a long moment.

I looked up. There was no one in front of me.

Stacy was sitting on the carpet, relaxed, playing the game console Jeremy never let me touch. Jeremy stood beside her, laughing, calling out moves.

Whenever I was around, all he ever said was that I was clumsy and would drag his rank down. But right now, the console kept chiming with the sound of failed rounds, over and over, while Jeremy rubbed Stacy's shoulders one moment and her wrist the next, worried she might be upset about losing.

I felt a little dazed and pushed the ache in my eyes back down. It didn't matter anymore. I'd be gone by tomorrow night.

After dinner, Jeremy drove Stacy home. I kept packing.

The next morning, Jeremy didn't come back until late. The moment he walked in, he said, "Remember to move Stacy's seat to the head table for the wedding."

I didn't quite follow, so he kept going. "She said she wants to wear a bride's dress similar to yours. The one she tried on last time. She really liked it."

I couldn't help but laugh. "The bridesmaid's going to be dressed up more than the bride?"

Jeremy frowned. "Does it really matter that much to you?"

Did it, though?

At the dress fitting, Stacy had insisted on tagging along. She'd walked in arm in arm with Jeremy, and the staff had mistaken her for the bride on sight. She kept saying she didn't want to steal my spotlight, all while trying on a dozen bridesmaid gowns and liking none of them.

In the end, she'd picked one even more elaborate than my own dress. Before I could say a word, Jeremy had already swiped his card, cheerfully, and told me, like it was the most natural thing in the world, "Stacy's had a rough few days. Think of it as a gift for her."

The look the staff gave me made it hard to hold my head up, and in the end, it was Stacy who took the dress off and said she'd only been joking. I'd been so touched I'd thrown in even more gifts for her welcome basket.

Looking back on it now, it was almost funny. There was nothing Stacy wanted that Jeremy wouldn't give her, even if she'd only said it as a joke.

I snapped back to the present and asked him, "Didn't you get any calls last night?"

The wedding planner should have already tried to reach him.

"My phone was off."

He assumed I was checking up on him and got defensive. "I just crashed at her place because it got too late. Nothing happened! What are you even thinking?"

What was I thinking, indeed. Stacy's apartment was a studio. There was only one bed in it, not even a couch.

I sighed and decided I didn't want to say anything else.

Seeing my silence, Jeremy's tone softened. "Connie, come on. Don't be like this. It's the wedding tomorrow. Can't we just be good, please?"

I didn't answer. I got up and went to the kitchen for water. He followed and wrapped his arms around me from behind.

"I know you've been in a mood these last couple of days. After the wedding, I'll take you to the beach, okay?"

I pried his hands off me.

"I need to go into the office."

"It's Saturday. You're working?"

I needed to hand off my responsibilities, but I didn't feel like explaining that to him anymore.