Page 56 of The Best Man Wins

“I could!” His skepticism makes me stubborn. “I would’ve taken that over standing at the altar waiting for someone who never showed up—!”

“Settle down,” Ace murmurs.

I realize then that people are looking at us. I’m making a scene. Again.

Crazy lady in aisle two. I should have never taken this assignment. I should have never left my bed. At least then I wouldn’t be sitting side by side with Ace, having this conversation.

“Look,” Ace sighs. “After I left you…I went to LA.”

“Good for you,” I say blandly. I don’t want to hear this story. I don’t care. Still, maybe out of habit or politeness, I ask, “How’d that go?”

“Terrible. I couldn’t land a single audition.”

“Sounds like life was really hard for you after you left me.” Not that I’m preening or anything. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“The truth is…I didn’t belong there.” Oh no. His hand is on my thigh now. Those blue eyes look into mine intensely, and I feel that fluttering sensation in my chest. “I belong right here. With you, Susie.”

Cue dry lips, tight throat. I take a sip from my coffee to distract myself, but my hands are shaking, and a little a bit of the liquid dribbles over the side of the cup and onto the saucer.

“You can’t just…say that,” I tell him.

“I can. And I did.”

“No, I mean…” I lift my hand. “You can’t come crawling back to me just because your first plan didn’t work the way you wanted it to. I’m not plan B. I don’t want to be the woman you settle for.”

The edge of his mouth tucks away into the corner. “Please. We were both settling.”

Now my mouth is agape. “Excuse me?”

“Susie. Don’t pretend this is all my fault. You were so in love with the idea of being married, you would’ve said yes to the first guy who got on a knee.”

“That’s not true!”

Ace sighs and leans back in his chair, as though my inability to see things his way is positively exhausting. “You were obsessed with the idea of having a perfect wedding. You showed me your wedding dream book on our third date.”

“I’m a wedding planner. Of course I have a dream book. You said you thought it was creative.”

“Yes. A creative way to rearrange your mania. Face it, buttercup. You were never in love with me. You were in love with the idea of getting married. And I was just the right pretty face at the right time.”

“But you proposed—”

“Yes. Because you kept pointing out wedding bands you liked.”

My mouth falls open, but no words come out. “I…pressured you into a wedding?”

“You want to be married. You didn’t get it and now…you’ve learned from it. It was a learning experience. For both of us.”

A learning experience. The way he says it, it’s like he did me a favor leaving me at the altar, only to come racing back into my life a year later.

Ace reaches out and takes my hand. A smile cuts across his mouth. “Come on. What do you say? Perhaps the second time is the charm…”

Ace is close suddenly, very close, his lips only inches away from mine. Startled, I jump back. I upset my coffee mug, and it jumps out of the saucer, spilling out on the table.

Ace gets to his feet quickly. God help anyone if his slacks get coffee stains on them, after all. I try to clean it up, and he grabs a handful of napkins, shoving them at me.

“Do you need any help?” he asks, only after I’ve cleaned most of it up.

“No, I’ve got it.” I mop any residual coffee and toss the soiled napkins in the trash can.

---