Chapter Five

Chapter Five

“The vicar is cute.”

Stood at the back of the church, I frowned as I turned to Sabrina. “What?” I asked, keeping my voice low.

“I’m just saying, you don’t often come across a vicar so young and cute,” she whispered with a shrug. “Maybe you should go talk to him after the ceremony is over.”

“About what?”

“Feel him out. See if he’s single.” She paused. “If you don’t feel any inclination to become a vicar’s wife, you could sniff out what his stance on flings happens to be.”

Adjusting the position of my headset, I sighed. “You think I should suggest a round of premarital sex to a vicar? Seriously?”

“Why not? They don’t all frown on stuff like that.”

“Maybe not, but I’ll pass.”I cut my gaze back to the couple at the altar.

It had taken a year of hard work—not to mention numerous meetings, hundreds of emails, and an ungodly amount of phone calls—to get to this moment, but finally we were here. And I was loving it. Seeing all our work and creativity come to life, seeing the joy on our clients’ faces as their dream wedding became reality, was like a shot of bourbon every time.

The bride was smiling so wide it surely had to hurt. The groom was looking a little teary—as was her father.

The church décor was perfect—Sabrina and I had made sure of it. We’d come here early and set up the flowers, ivory aisle runner, and the tulle pew end bows. Meanwhile, other members of our team had taken care of setting up the tables at the party venue.

Amped up on caffeine, adrenaline, and sheer determination to ensure all went as planned, I’d been on my feet since dumb o’ clock, going back and forth, doing this or that, and double-checking things. Okay, triple-checking them—I liked to be thorough.

Even now, my focus was split in a dozen directions—the food, the lighting, the band, the table set-up, etc., etc. Luckily, I’d always been a person who thrived under pressure.

So many things, big or small, could make an event go tits-up. Unreliable vendors, natural disasters, family arguments, or even a typo on someone’s timeline since it was essential that everyone’s was in sync. But so far, all was going swimmingly well.

There had been no delays, no mix-ups, no mistakes. Our team, as always, was functioning like a well-oiled machine. And I was doing an excellent job of pretending that Grayden and Felicity weren’t sitting in one of the pews.

When they’d first entered the church, I’d unwittingly met Felicity’s gaze. Her arm linked through his, she’d shot me a little smirk. Grayden had studiously avoided looking at me, and I knew he’d done it so as not to set her off.

Their young daughters—who I’d met many times while dating him—had subtly offered me weak smiles, as opposed to Felicity’s teenage son from a previous relationship. Nineteen-year-old Blaise had sneered at me like I was shit on his shoe. Nothing new there.

I’d smiled at the little girls but blanked the others, having no interest in interacting with them in even the smallest way. They were idiots if they thought some smirks and sneers from them would bother me.

Several of the guests were obviously aware of my history with Grayden—their gazes often bounced from me to the spot where I knew he sat with his family. I ignored it. Ignored as they whispered to others, most likely enlightening them to the aforementioned history.

Instead, I focused on the bridal party, set on ensuring that every phase went smoothly. I’d worked very closely with Kaelie and Theo throughout the entire process of planning their big day, and I’d grown fond of them. They had been a delight to work with from start to finish.

Some clients had very clear ideas of what they wanted, but those ideas weren’t always realistic. I would try to educate and guide them in different directions. The majority of the time, they listened—just as Kaelie and Theo had. Other times, they stubbornly refused to budge … and I’d find myself wondering why they’d honestly believe I could have elephants brought to a hotel venue for people to sit on for photographs.

“Just so you’re aware and it doesn’t catch you off-guard,” Sabrina quietly began, leaning into me, “that little witch keeps tossing smug-ass grins at you.”

I felt my smile flicker. “I wouldn’t expect anything else, given Felicity’s general character. As we’ve covered, she’s a tool.”

Was it difficult to be in the same space as Grayden again while he had another woman tucked up against him? Yes. More than I’d care to admit. Because it was one thing to know he was once more with Felicity. It was another to see them together.

Not that I stood here wishing he’d chosen me instead of her. It was simply that my annoyance at how I’d invested so much time and emotion in a man who’d so easily walked away … it lingered like a bad smell.

Initially, I hadn’t been able to imagine the two of them being all cozy like this. There’d just been so much animosity between them when I was with Grayden. That was how it had seemed, anyway. Maybe I’d been wrong, though. Maybe they’d reached for anger back then to avoid facing the hurt they felt at being apart. Or something.

If so, it basically meant that what we’d had was a lie. It meant he hadn’t truly hated her as he’d claimed, and nor had he really loved me as he’d professed. It meant I’d believed a bunch of bullshit. That pissed me off.

Refusing to dwell on it—because what was the point?—I returned my attention to the ceremony. Watching the bride knuckle away a tear, I smiled. The happy picture before me gave me that usual pinch of envy, but it wasn’t as potent this time. Because I could have this, couldn’t I? If I just said yes to Dax, I could very soon be in Kaelie’s shoes.

Sort of.

I’d likely not feel the dreamy contentment plastered all over her face, because I wouldn’t be besotted with my husband the way she was with Theo. But my hormones were besotted with Dax, so there was that.

I still hadn’t told Sabrina about his proposal, or anyone else for that matter. Only Alicia and Brooks knew. We hadn’t talked about it much since; they both understood me, understood I needed to make the decision on my own. The fact that the clock was ticking away meant I’d better hurry the fuck up with that.

Three days. I had only three days left. And my answer could not afford to be half-hearted. Once I’d given my word, I wouldn’t be able to go back on it.

Realizing the ceremony was coming to a close, I caught the photographer’s eye and gave a firm nod. A member of the groom’s family, he’d never done a wedding before and was extremely nervous.

I spent the next few hours floating from person to person—gesturing for the food to be brought out, signaling the band to play, giving the father of the bride an encouraging back-pat before he did his speech. Fortunately, this was one of the occasions where no last-minute challenges cropped up, so every stage seamlessly flowed into the next.

If there were times my chest twanged when I saw Felicity and Grayden either laughing, holding hands, or dancing together—reminding me of what a fool I’d been—I pretended them away.

If there were times she tried approaching me but was neatly intercepted by him, I pretended them away, too.

If there were times when I caught him looking at me, his eyes dull and regretful, I ignored them as well.

I didn’t, however, ignore when Blaise accidentally-on-purpose threw a prawn at me—despite that I managed to dodge it. Having used a napkin to scoop it off the floor, I gave him a condescending, pitying smile. “Now I’d expect something like that from an eight year old, not someone of your age.”

His cheeks flushing, he jutted out the dimpled chin he’d inherited from his mother. He also had her wide-set blue-hazel eyes and russet-brown hair. “You shouldn’t be here. You’re not welcome.”

How devastating.

There was so much I’d love to say to this belligerent little shit who, if what his younger sisters told me was true, happened to be a major bully to them. But I wouldn’t be baited into doing that here. I wouldn’t spoil the wedded couple’s day or damage my company’s reputation.

I gave him my back, only then realizing that the bride was hurrying over, her smile wide, her gaze wary as it danced from me to him.

“Hi, Blaise,” said Kaelie. “Enjoying yourself?”

“Whatever,” he mumbled before stalking off with a sulky stride.

“Teenagers.” Sighing, Kaelie turned to me. “Sorry if he’s being a pain. I did suggest to some people that they not show to make things less awkward, but they chose to ignore that. Which annoys me, because I didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

“I adore you for worrying, but I’m truly fine.” I shrugged. “Grayden and I simply weren’t meant to be.”

Kaelie gave me a gentle smile. “My opinion? He’s a fool for letting you go.” She squeezed my hand. “Thank you so much for making mine and Theo’s day so perfect.”

Just as the bride returned to the dance floor, Sabrina materialized on my left and asked, “Everything okay?”

“Yes, Kaelie was just thanking us for making her big day all she’d dreamed it would be,” I fudged, deciding not to mention the Blaise thing for now.

“I’m glad she’s so happy, but I gotta be honestI am so not looking forward to tomorrow.” Sabrina’s nose wrinkled. “Clean-up sucks.”

“Yeah.” Venues often allowed us to return for clean-up duty the day after an event, though sometimes they wanted it done once the guests had trickled out. Luckily, this wasn’t one of those times, but that didn’t mean we would arrive home at a nice hour. Our team was always the first to arrive and also the last to leave.

As such, soon after the bride and groom left later on, I asked my team to politely usher the guests out of the venue and into cabs while I dealt with collecting the wedding gifts.

As I was loading them into our company van in the parking lot, I heard heels click-clacking the pavement behind me.

“You know,” began a high-pitched voice that grated on my nerves, “some people were surprised that you didn’t ask another event organizer to take over. I wasn’t, though. If there’s one thing I can say for you, it’s that you give your company all you’ve got.”

Turning to face Felicity, I would have thanked her for the compliment if I wasn’t sure she was about to add a bitchy comment.

She smirked. “You gave Grayden all you had, too, didn’t you? And still, it wasn’t enough.”

And there it was.

“You couldn’t hold onto him.”

I shrugged and deadpanned, “Your pull is just too strong, he couldn’t resist.”

She pressed her red-painted lips together. She was a beautiful woman—no doubt about it. One of those people who made the size-zero thing look good rather than unhealthy. But her looks were spoiled by the slyness of her character—it shined through in the cruel curve of her lips, the mean glint in her eyes, the cocky set of her shoulders.

She stuck out her chin, much as her son had done earlier. “I warned you that Grayden would come back to me. I told you it’d be better for you if you let him go; that you’d only get hurt it you didn’t.”

Yes, she had. She’d showed up at my old home twice to make this perfectly apparent. And it turned out that she’d been right. “It was very magnanimous of you,” I said, my voice dry. “I will always appreciate it.”

Her eyes flared. “You think I don’t see you’re bitter that I won?”

“And what did you win, exactly?”

“The man you love.”

Not the man we love, I noted.

I could have corrected her belief that I still loved him, but nothing I could say would make her believe anything other than what she wanted to believe. So instead, I pointed out, “But you didn’t really win him, though. You merely won the game you played. He went back to you, yes. But not until you threatened to move away with his kids.”

“Is that what he told you?” Felicity huffed. “I suppose he did it to spare your feelings. Well, he lied.”

“He did, huh?”

“Oh, yes, very much so. He never wanted a divorce. He fought it hard. And during the years we were separated, he asked several times for us to reconcile.”

“Let me guess,” said Sabrina, appearing out of the shadows, “he stopped showing any interest in doing so when he met Addison.”

Felicity snapped her mouth shut.

“You didn’t like that, I’ll bet,” Sabrina went on. “Not at all. It showed that you didn’t have the same level of power over him anymore. Addison had it. So you did your best to take it back, only it didn’t work. You have him just like you wanted, but the power is still hers. Because he misses her, doesn’t he? You see it. I see it. Everyone sees it.”

Felicity plopped a hand on her hip. “Then why,” she snarked, “if he doesn’t truly want me, does he fuck me every night?”

Sabrina gave her a pitying look. “Let’s face it, sweetie, he’s probably picturing Addison.”

I winced as Felicity’s cheeks went scarlet. The woman likely didn’t believe it to be true—actually, neither did I—but the idea that someone else might hold that opinion certainly hit her right in the ego. “Felicity, how about you go back to your family.”

“How about you not try telling me what to do,” she bitchily countered.

I raised my shoulders. “What’s the point in this? Really? As you said, you won. Congrats. Go party it up.” I turned back to the pile of gifts on the ground.

“Hey, we’re not finished.”

I didn’t respond. I took a neatly wrapped box from the pile and loaded it onto the van.

“I have more to say to you.”

And I just didn’t care.

“Don’t you ignore me.”

Fingers wrapped around my arm and pulled hard, nails digging into my skin.

Oh, the fuck no. Feeling my face harden, I went nose to nose with her. “Let. Go.” My voice was low. Calm. Eerily flat. “You don’t want to take me on, Felicity. You see, I wouldn’t kick your ass here and now—I’m working, after all. No, but I’d come for you. I’d find you. I would wipe the fucking floor with you, and I think you know it.”

Her eyes flickering, she loosened her hold on my arm. Yeah, she knew it. She was full of attitude and snark, but she had no fight in her to back it up physically.

“Last chance,” I warned. “Let go.”

Her expression tightened, but she released my arm and stepped back.

“Felicity!” Grayden called out.

I looked to see him steadily approaching, his apprehensive hazel gaze darting from me to her.

Swallowing, he held his hand out to her. “Come on, the kids are wondering where you are.”

She gave him a dazzling smile that held a bite as she went to his side. “I was just telling these ladies that they did a fantastic job with the event,” she told him, lightly stroking her fingers through the short, cognac-brown strands of his hair.

“And we were just thanking her for her compliments,” said Sabrina. “Bye, bye now.”

Grayden swiftly guided Felicity away. He glanced back at me over his shoulder, but I avoided meeting his gaze, uninterested in interacting with him in even the most basic sense.

Sabrina wrung her hands, as if to shake off her anger. “There’s going to come a day when I slap her super hard, and you’d better not try to stop me.”

I lifted another gift from the pile. “So long as you don’t do it during work hours, I don’t care. She’s not worth it, though. Don’t let her rile you.”

“I can’t always help it.”

I added the box to the van.“Understandable. Now, fancy giving me a hand here?”

Together, we transferred the wrapped gifts and pretty bags—and there was a lot of them—to the vehicle.

Hearing my phone beep, I fished it out of my pocket. My lips flattened when I saw it was a text from Grayden: I’m sorry, I tried keeping her away from you.

“Why are you making that face?” asked Sabrina.

I showed her the message.

She cursed. “Are you going to respond?”

“No. I never do.”

She did a double-take. “He texts you on the regular?”

“He used to. Now, it’s more like every few weeks. Only ever to say something mundane—he might ask how I am or make a random comment like, Oh, you’ll love the new Trace Lacroix movie, it’s awesome.”

Her eyelid twitched. “In other words, he thinks up excuses to contact you but might as well be saying, Hey, I exist—don’t forget me or move on too fast.”

“Yes. The only reason I haven’t blocked his number is that I want him to feel my utter apathy toward this shit.”

She sighed. “I wasn’t lying to Felicity when I said I could see he misses you. Anytime he looked your way, there was so much longing on his face I could almost feel sorry for him. No way has he been able to hide from her that he wishes things were different.”

I scratched my neck. “I feel sorry for his girls.”

“Me, too. On the one hand, they’ll be glad to have him living with them again. But they’ll see he’s unhappy, and they’ll probably take that on; probably think they’re not enough to make him happy. Kids do that.” Sabrina paused. “I noticed the girls very discreetly waved to you earlier.”

“They’re little sweethearts. The entire time I was dating Grayden, Felicity made them feel so torn, wanting them to hate me. They felt guilty that they didn’t.”

“Her son still isn’t your biggest fan, going by the looks I saw him tossing your way today.”

“Hmm, he threw a prawn at me earlier.”

“What?”

“Are you really surprised, given that Blaise is basically a male version of Felicity? He lives for her approval. He takes on her opinions. If she likes someone, so will he. If she loathes him, he will too. If she doesn’t approve of a girl he dates, he’ll dump her immediately just to please Felicity.”

Sabrina grimaced. “Sad, isn’t it?”

“Very.” Again, my cell chimed once. Glancing at the screen, I saw it was yet another message from Grayden: You looked beautiful today, by the way. “Unbelievable.”

“What?”

“It’s Grayden again.” I read the text aloud.

Her mouth went flat. “He’s trying to prod you into talking to him.”

“So it would seem.” Ass.

She shook her head, her nostrils flaring. “If he really cared for you like you deserved to be cared for, he wouldn’t do this. He’d respect your ‘no contact’ wish and let you go.”

“You’re getting riled up all over again.”

“How can I not? What he’s doing is so fucking selfish. Well, I’m no longer in danger of feeling sorry for him—that ship has sailed.”

I closed the van’s sliding door. “Let’s forget about them. They’re not important.”

“Too right they aren’t. But I’m going to say one last thing before we switch topics.”

“Okay.”

“If he leaves her and comes crawling back to you, you’d be a fool to give him another chance. Don’t get me wrong, you’re my bestie; I’d support you if you made that choice. But I’ll never believe he deserves you, and if you marry him I will wear black to the wedding. And I don’t mean a hot or classy number either. Think The Woman in Black. That’s what you’ll be faced with. I will make sure I look creepy as fuck. Small children will cry and run from me.”

I felt my lips quirk. “You have no need to worry. Even if I still loved him, which I don’t, I wouldn’t take him back.”

“You’re sure about that?”

“Yes. I don’t blame him for putting his kids first—I never will, never could. For their sake, I’m glad he did. But he’d promised me that, no matter what, he’d never go back to Felicity. I believed him. I believed in him. In us. In all the other little promises he made.”

She gave a nod of understanding as she said, “And he broke your faith by so carelessly making those promises without being positive he could keep them.”

“You don’t toss around promises like that so offhandedly. You just don’t. I can’t be with someone whose word I can’t trust. And so I’m done with him. I’ll never, under any circumstances, take him back. I wouldn’t want to.”

Sabrina curled her arm around my shoulders. “He quite simply isn’t good enough for you. You’ll find someone who is, and then everything your exes did will cease to mean anything. I can say that from personal experience. Tamara made me realize all I’d missed in my past relationships—the hurt and regret just vanished like magic. Because if any of those relationships had worked out, I wouldn’t now have her.”

I sent her a playful snarl. “You two are so in love it’s sickening. Ollie and Marleigh are just as bad—I get cavities in my teeth just seeing how sweet they are together.”

“They are beyond cute. And now they’re having a baby! I’m so excited to be an aunt. Hey, just think, when they finally walk down an aisle, you and me will be sisters-in-law.” Sabrina dropped her arm to her side. “She’d better make me her maid of honor.”

“I think Harri will get that privilege—they’re super close. They have been since they were babies.”

“I don’t care. I’m selfish that way.”

I snorted. “Now … let’s round up the rest of the team. We need to go get some sleep before we embark on clean-up.”

“Oh, I’m all for that.”