Page 91 of A Promise For Tomorrow

Liam is on the other side of the room. A tailor is working on the hem of his tuxedo pants. As usual, he looks uncomfortable. Colin and Kieran are making bets on how long it will take for him to ditch the jacket after the ceremony.

Ten minutes is my guess.He’ll be asked to put it back on for pictures and then it will be off again, the top two buttons opened by cocktail hour.

His eyes connect with mine in the mirrors. A small smile builds on his face as he messes with the cuff link on his left arm. We haven’t gotten the chance to talk after his night with Lindsay. She crept out of his room around 5 AM when I got up to grab a coffee and a scone.

She may be on our side, which I am grateful for, but I can’t tell if she is using Liam for sex…. or if there is something more to it. The beautiful blonde actually looked shy when she shut his bedroom door behind her. We stood in the hallway for a brief moment. I expected her to grill me on Diego’s case or throw jabs at me, but she tucked her hair behind her ears and wished me luck in dealing with a cranky Liam at the fitting. I surprisingly laughed, knowing that would be exactly the case.

Con looks dapper in his all black Armani tuxedo. He even made sure to trim up that wild beard of his. His shaky fingers grip the lapels of his tux, examining himself in the mirror.Aw, he’s nervous. He wants to look good for his future bride-to-be.

“That tux might not make it down the aisle,” I joke with him.

Colin, Liam, and Kieran all laugh at the same time. “She’s gonna tackle ya, brother,” Liam agrees, easing his best friend’s worries.

“We are all done here,” the seamstress announces, placing the last pin in my dress. “It will be steamed and ready for you on Thursday. As for your rehearsal dinner dress, I should have that up to your room and in your closet around noon today.”

“Thank you, Mary-Ann,” I say graciously.

She helps me down from the pedestal and over to the bathroom to get changed back into my swimsuit. We are spending the day Jet Skiing and boating. Tomorrow, Lexi and I are doing a spa day. My family comes in the day after that, as dothe rest of the guests attending the wedding. Even my college roommate Leah will be here. Then Wednesday night, we are doing the rehearsal dinner on the yacht. It will be the first time it officially hits the waters for a night out.

Guilt gnaws at my insides. Diego won’t even be here to entertain everyone the first timehisyacht gets used. There is so much going on emotionally in my brain. I need to tighten the lid on it. My best friend is getting married to the love of her life. This is no time for me to wallow in my own sorrows. The weekend was already a drama fest. We don’t need more of it.

“Slow down, love!”Liam shouts over the hum of the Jet Ski engine.

He wraps himself around my waist, hanging on for dear life. I hit the throttle a bit more, increasing his chances of having a heart attack by tenfold. A deep chuckle emanates from him as he draws himself closer to my body. The warm air nips at my face as my violet hair whips Liam in his. I’d say from an outsider's perspective this moment would be comical at best.

Lexi and Con zip by us splashing water at us.Fuckers. As bad as these last few days have been, and as much as it's killing me to keep a smile on my face, I am finding this moment therapeutic. Lexi is having a blast—as she should be. She’s been spending too much time worrying about me and not enough enjoying herself.

I ease up on the throttle, giving Liam a break from my hair beating him, then lean over my shoulder. Warm eyes greet mine.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself, love,” he remarks.

“I’m trying,” I murmur as I navigate us back towards the dock. “Are we going to talk about last night?” I peer at him over my shoulder.

He shrugs, backing up and loosely placing his hands on mywaist. “Nothing to talk about. We got what we wanted from each other. She left this morning.”

“I’m aware. We ran into each other in the hallway.”

“You were up at 5:30 this morning?” he asks, seemingly impressed.

“I was. I couldn’t sleep. Figured a cup of coffee would start my day. I ended up sitting on the front deck and got to watch the sunrise.”

The Jet Ski comes to a halt as Liam hops off to tie it up. He offers me a hand to help me up. Lexi and Con pull up behind us, followed by her brother and brother-in-law, then Simon and John. Life vests are abandoned and left to dry on the hooks. We collectively start making our way back to the beach for a casual barbecue dinner.

Simon slinks an arm through mine, pulling me away. “Sorry, I need to borrow her, Liam.”

I wave awkwardly behind me as he tugs me down the beach towards the food and towels. John collects a stack, handing them out to Simon and I.

“Thank you,” I say, wrapping it around myself and grabbing myself a plate with a cheeseburger. I add some ketchup and pickles and a nice scoop of potato salad on the side before making my way over to the lounge chairs.

Simon takes a seat after getting him and John some food and pats the space next to him.

“You and Liam seem to be in better spirits,” he instigates. John sits down on the other side of me, sandwiching me between them. It feels like gossip sabotage. They are greedy for the details.

“We needed to give each other closure. I think the other night we were finally able to close the door on us for good.”

“It’s a shame. That is a whole lot of man,” John snickers while taking a healthy bite of his burger.

“You two are insufferable. Yes, Liam is a catch.” I shake myhead, digging into the potato salad.Mmm. This is delicious.Love a good Dutch potato salad.

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