Page 88 of All Signs Point to Malibu

“Great, yeah,” I say awkwardly. “Just wanted to make sure we were both on the same page.”

“Absolutely.”

She sounds so sure that there’s no room for any glimmer of hope on my end. I nod, leave the house, then glance back as I walk away hoping maybe it was all bravado, maybe she’s had a change of heart, but she simply closes the door and turns out the interior lights.

Resisting the urge to knock on the door and call bullshit for fear that I’m the one who’s full of shit for thinking I have the capability for any kind of follow-through, I climb into my Jeep and drive away.

As I travel down the quiet highway toward home moments later, I see the billboard ad for the life coaching event in two weeks. I stare at the photo of Hailey, illuminated by the street lights, lost in those mesmerizing blue eyes and captivating smile and my gut tightens.

“You cannot be falling for Hailstorm.”

SIXTEEN

HAILEY’S DAILY RULE FOR SUCCESS:

It’s the final moments of preparation that mean the most.

Liam and Sonia couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day for a wedding. Staff finish setting up for the ceremony, positioning chairs in front of the flower arches in the courtyard of the Banks Resort, and soft music plays over the speakers as I scan the preparations from the bridal suite balcony. Dressed in my maid of honor dress, hair and makeup done, I just want this day over with. The last few weeks have been...enlightening. I realized that I need to let this happen so the future I saw for Liam doesn’t become a reality. So I’m not the one who destroys his happiness.

I don’t have feelings for him anymore and that has never been so clear as it is now, when my feelings for Warren are hitting like a brick to the forehead. He’s nothing like I expected and so much more than I’d allowed myself to believe.

Reaching out to him the night before to help with the favors had been a last-ditch attempt to see if maybe the spark between us was something...or could be... But he’d obviously come from a date, and he confirmed that the night between us didn’t mean anything.

But then so did I.

After this wedding, we will go back to...what?

I haven’t seen him today, but I know he’s in the groom suite getting ready with Liam and the other groomsmen. My heart races thinking about seeing him in a tuxedo amid all the love and gooey emotions. I hope he’s not a distraction to my main mission—get the vows locked in.

My cell phone chimes and I glance at the selfie of Sonia—looking completely perfect in her wedding dress—with a message that reads:

Photos are done. We’re ready to go. I’m getting fucking married!

Yep. Better get fucking married so I can stop sweating and fighting the mild anxiety attack that something will go wrong.

The bridal party is here. The venue is ready. Guests are arriving. Party favors have been placed on the tables. In an hour, I can relax.

I leave the room and knock once at the groom suite next door, before using the key card to enter.

Warren’s the only one inside. He paces, his cell phone in his hand. Dressed in his tuxedo pants, white dress shirt, sleeves rolled and buttons undone, he’s the most gorgeous, aggravatingly undressed man I’ve ever seen. I want to scold him for the lack of polish when it’s so close to go time, but I’m drooling over the sight of his forearms and chest. Polished is overrated. His dark hair is gelled in a predictably messy look and he obviously forgot the memo to shave, but damn if that lingering stubble isn’t the most tempting thing I’ve ever seen.

He stops when he sees me enter and his gaze sweeps from my face to my strappy stilettos, all the way back. When his heated, lust-filled expression meets mine again, my cheeks flush with heat. So much for the other night not meaning anything.

We are both so full of shit.

“You almost ready?” It sounds anything but the casual, unfazed tone I was aiming for.

“Yeah,” he says though he looks anything but. The confident-bordering-on-egotistical guy I know is nowhere in sight. He looks panicked, slightly green, and sweaty.

“What’s wrong?” My heart stops. “Oh my God, did you lose the rings?”

He shoots me a look. “Don’t get your hopes up.” He reaches into his pocket and produces the wedding bands.

I breathe a genuine sigh of relief. I’d told Sonia they were safer with me, but she insisted we let Warren perform his best man duties. “I told you, I’m not trying to stop this wedding.”

Warren’s barely listening as he scans his phone again and looks frustrated.

“Seriously, what is it?”

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