7. Sutton

seven

Sutton

I 'm not sure how I survived the ride back to the hotel when neither of us said a word. All I know is I've made a complete fool out of myself with Ryan. Over the last day, I was starting to convince myself he had feelings for me. But in reality, he already has a girlfriend that he bought a house for in a town that holds so many wonderful memories for us. And to top it all off, he had a mini replica of the house in a snow globe—that's our thing. Now, he's had one custom-made for the love of his life.

The cab for the rental truck begins to feel like it's closing in on me. Once Ryan pulls into the hotel parking lot, I jump out of the car before he can turn it off and dash into the hotel lobby, only to come face to face with the bride and groom and the rest of our family and friends.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"The snowstorm wasn't as bad as they thought. We caught the first plane here. Now, you and Lucy will have plenty of time to tie up the loose ends before the wedding." Seth glances over my shoulder. "Ryan and I will share a room while you two hang out in the bridal suite and talk about whatever bridesmaids and bride-to-be talk about."

I follow Seth's gaze to find Ryan standing behind me. He opens his mouth and then closes it again as he nods at Seth. I don't miss the look that passes between Lucy and Seth before she grabs my hand and leads me away from the only man I will ever love who doesn't love me back.

Lucy doesn't stop talking all the way up to the room—which I'm thankful for because I feel like I am seconds away from breaking down. I was wrong when I said Ryan crushed my dreams on my college graduation day. This feels a thousand times worse.

Everything I've been feeling over the last twenty-four hours has been in my head. Ryan isn't attracted to me. He has a girlfriend who I'm sure will be at the wedding. Instead of breaking down and crying like I want, I pull out the wedding list from my pocket and hand it to Lucy. I remember every smile and every touch from Ryan these last few hours, committing it all to memory because that's all it can ever be.

"This is amazing! I can't believe you guys got all of this done in such a short time." Lucy throws her arms around me and squeezes me tight. "You're the best friend anyone could ever ask for, and in three days, you'll be my sister for real!"

Her happiness is contagious, and I find myself smiling despite my recent heartbreak until her words sink in. She's marrying my brother, which means that for every milestone they or their children achieve, Ryan and his wife will be there.

"Um, It's been a long day. I think I'll call it a night." I step out of her embrace and step toward the bed—the same bed I shared with Ryan last night. The same bed that I'm sure still smells like him.

"Okay, I'll see you in the morning. I'm going to stay up a little later and see if I can get us into the spa tomorrow for a makeover before the bachelorette/bachelor party."

Ugh, the bachelorette/bachelor party. I wonder if Ryan's girlfriend will be there. Maybe I can hook up with one of the good-looking brothers who own the bar. Their sister, Sadie, told me all about them today when Ryan was reviewing the drink menu for the party with the bartender.

It seems Sadie's brothers are all single. And like the old saying goes, to get over one guy, you have to get under another, in this case, maybe four guys. I've read enough smut books to know how RH/Why Choose stories go. I also know it's going to take a lot to get over Ryan—I guess it will be go big or go home for me tomorrow night.

I spend most of the night tossing and turning as visions of the four handsome guys take turns making love to me, but whenever I see their faces in my dream, they all look like Ryan.

Getting over Ryan is going to be harder than I thought.