Chapter 2

Vince

W hat the fuck was that noise?

I groaned and rolled over, still tangled in the towel I'd wrapped myself in the early hours. My head pounded as loud as the banging on my door.

It could only be one person.

"I'm coming, Theo. Just wait, will you?" I grumbled and rose from the bed.

I peered through barely open eyes, trying to find some clothes amongst the pile on the floor. I spied my sweatshirt and jeans in the corner, hastily pulled them on, and trudged to the door before Theo smashed it down.

Theo ran in and pulled me into a tight hug. Well, someone was cheerful this morning.

"I can't believe it! Look, Vince, look!"

My heart sank, and my stomach lurched. The moment I'd been dreading had finally arrived. Reluctantly, I held the outstretched hand of my best friend in mine and gazed at the diamond set platinum band on his finger.

I battled tears. Theo was never meant to stay on the shelf for long. He was as beautiful on the inside as he was on the outside, and it was only ever going to be a matter of time before someone swept him off his feet. Just a pity it was that wanker Glen.

"He asked me this morning over breakfast in bed. Isn't he just the sweetest? I'm so happy, Vince." And Theo looked it. His eyes sparkled, a beaming smile on his face.

I was happy for him. I really was.

"Congratulations to you both. I'm sure you'll be incredibly happy together."

I forced out the words, but finding the enthusiasm was difficult. The world as I'd known it for the last fifteen years, the friendship I'd shared with Theo, was gone. I'd known that once Glen got his talons into him, what we'd shared would be no more. Theo would be drawn into a world of cocktail parties and suave dinners. A world where I didn't belong.

Theo pulled back. "You don't seem very happy." His tone sharpened. "You know this is what I've wanted for a while, and Glen is, well, he's the man I want to spend the rest of my life with."

"I know that, and I am happy for you both. It was just a shock is all. I can't wait to plan the best wedding for you and Glen. The one we always talked about. The church, the groomsmen, the flowers. I haven't forgotten a word."

Theo stepped away from me, his hand on his chest.

"Oh, I don't need you to do that. Glen's taking me abroad somewhere hot and sunny to get married. He said he's already planned it all. Isn't he just wonderful?"

I had no words, and my stomach dropped. Glen had not only swooped in and stolen my best friend but had also hijacked the wedding Theo and I had planned. Not for him and me, of course. It had always been the wedding Theo had wanted with his Prince Charming.

Well, fuck it.

The whole weekend had been a complete shitshow. The only bright spot was Lexi marrying Robin. She'd looked like a queen, and I couldn't have been prouder.

She was the sister I'd never had, and when we were younger, we'd agreed we would plan and go to each other's weddings. I'd helped Lexi to make this her perfect day, from choosing the invitations, right down to the flowers at the church. But now that I thought back on the last six months, Theo had hardly helped at all.

All those teenage plans had gone awry with the advent of Glen.

"Well, I'm sure the wedding will be absolutely wonderful if Glen's planning it. Good luck with it all." I bit my tongue, holding back the words that threatened to spill.

Theo glared at me, a vein throbbing in his neck. "I must admit I expected a bit more excitement from you. My fiancé has just proposed, but you're congratulating me as if you're offering me condolences for a fucking death in the family. No need to be so snippy about the whole thing."

The nerve of the guy.

"Snippy? Fucking snippy?" Heat crept up my neck and cheeks. Theo took another step back, his mouth open. I rarely swore in front of him, so for me to use these words, Theo had to know I'd reached my limit.

But it was as if a dam had burst, spewing all my bottled-up emotions.

"I've had to put up with that stuck-up twat, looking down his nose at me for the last six months. The snide little remarks about how ‘poor Vince, with his little job in IT' not being able to keep up with the likes of him. The great plastic-looking fucking dentist, with his nasal voice and sparkling teeth. You bet I'm fucking snippy." I poked Theo in the chest.

"And as for you." Tears formed in my eyes. Finally, I saw my ‘beautiful' friend for what he was: a shallow, self-centred arse. "You've taken his side every single time. You've made me feel stupid, unwanted, and second-rate."

Spittle flew from my mouth. "I thought we were friends. We've known each other for fifteen years, went to school together, more or less came out together, planned all our weddings together and for what? For me to be cast aside when the mighty Glen came along."

The tears dripped down my cheeks. What I'd said couldn't be taken back. "At least Lexi kept to the plan. Not that you even bothered half the time to help with any of the planning, too busy flouncing around town on the arm of your darling dentist." My chest heaved. I'd never once spoken out against him, but I couldn't hold back the words any longer.

Theo smiled, but for the first time, the smile was bitter, cruel. "You're just jealous that he got me and you didn't. Did you think I never noticed the way you looked at me, how you pined over me every time I got a new boyfriend? You're pathetic, always have been, and if it hadn't been for Glen pointing it out to me, I'd never have thought back to all those times I caught you looking at me, all doe-eyed."

I gasped, a strangled sob breaking free.

"Don't think for one minute you'll be invited to the wedding. Hell, you wouldn't be able to afford it anyway on your tiny little salary. Glen was right. You're just dead weight holding me back. You'll never amount to anything. You'll always be the one left behind." Theo waved his hands up and down. "I mean, just look at you. Who in their right mind would want you?"

I winced. His words were vicious, but they were true. Who would want me? What made me ever think I would have anything to offer Theo or anyone else come to that?

I didn't know the answer, and as Theo's hurtful words sank in, the tears flowed freely. I couldn't think, couldn't speak. All I could do was push Theo towards the open door. He bumped against the frame, stumbled into the hallway and landed on his backside, but I didn't care.

I slammed the door shut and threw myself onto the bed, sobbing loudly. What had I just done? There was no going back now. I'd said things that couldn't be taken back, but I didn't regret them. He'd been hurtful, callous. Were they his opinions or Glen's? It didn't matter. They'd hit the spot, making me feel unwanted and inadequate. Theo had never given any indication he felt that way about me, but those cutting words had sliced deep.

I lay on the bed, crying into my pillow, cursing my best friend, or who I thought was my best friend.

I must have fallen into a fitful sleep. Another knock on the door woke me up.

"Vince, darling, open the door. It's just me. I've just seen Theo and Glen leaving the hotel, and he told me to check up on you," Lexi said through the door.

Maybe Theo hadn't meant all those words, but judging by the look on his face as he said them, I found it hard to believe. It was clear that Glen had poisoned his mind. Theo would never have said those evil things before meeting him.

"Go away, Lexi. I don't want to talk." My voice was still thick with emotion.

"Come on, Vince. Don't do this and shut yourself away."

"I can't talk to you right now." I wanted to wallow in my misery and obsess over the words Theo had hurled at me.

"I'm not going away until you open this damn door, Vince Murphy."

I closed my eyes and sighed. Lexi was true to her word. She'd stand there until I opened the door. I rolled out of the bed, shuffled to the door, and flung it open.

Lexi gathered me up in a stifling hug.

"Oh, baby. What happened? You look terrible."

I felt terrible. I fell into her arms and clung to her, the tears flowing unbidden again.

"He…he…he said that Glen had asked him to marry him, and I said congratulations. Then he said…he said I could have been a bit more enthusiastic, but it threw me, you know? Then he said that Glen was taking him away to get married, and I was hurt…and…and…then I said things I can't take back, and now we're not friends anymore."

Deep, heaving sobs racked my body.

Lexi led me to the bed, and I sat, picking at a stray thread on my jeans.

"Sweetheart, I'm sure he's still your friend. We've all been together far too long to let anyone come between us. Especially Glen. I know how you feel about Theo, but you knew it was bound to happen."

"I know." I grabbed a tissue from the bedside table and blew my nose. "He said some horrible things, though, and I just don't know where we stand. I don't know if they were his words or Glen's, but they cut deep."

"Tell me exactly what happened." She took my hand in hers and brushed the hair out of my eyes.

I relayed as much of the conversation as I could remember. When I got to the part about Glen taking Theo away to get married, Lexi looked at me in horror.

"That absolute bastard! What about our plans? We had it all planned out."

"I know, and when I said it would be great if Glen was planning it, he told me I wasn't excited enough, that I probably wouldn't be able to afford to go on my tiny little salary."

I shook my head in disbelief, still hurt by Theo's words, but I was done with him. I would never forgive him.

"I'm going home, Lexi." I took her other hand in mine. "You looked beautiful yesterday, and I'm sorry this ruined your weekend."

"Hey, you didn't ruin my weekend. That twat Glen did. Fancy doing that at my wedding? He could have waited at least. What was he trying to do? Upstage me? You wait until I see him next."

Lexi was fierce when she needed to be, and I had no doubt she'd give him a piece of her mind.

She pulled me into a hug and kissed me on each cheek. When I shut the door after her, I picked up the clothes heaped on the floor. What a crappy weekend it had been.

In no time at all, I was packed and ready to go home, and it wasn't even ten o'clock. I'd be home by eleven at the latest, but by the time I'd stopped at my favourite fast-food restaurant, it was getting on midday.

Feeling fat, ugly, and friendless, I threw the unpacked bags into the spare room and crawled into bed. The night before, I'd vowed to lose weight, move on from Theo, and find myself a man.

Well, fuck that. Another day wasn't going to make a blind bit of difference.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow would be the start of the new me.