Page 13 of Not Quite Perfect

I wanted Victoria in my life, but not as a member of this strange Brady-Bunch-style extended family. I didn’t want impersonal kisses hello on the cheek at family gatherings, or awkward, stilted conversations about our lives as we passed the ketchup or applesauce back and forth across the table. I wanted to be with her. I wanted our hellos to be filled with happiness and ease. I wanted long dinners together, where we filled each other in on our days.

My heart sped up, my pulse beating wildly in my neck. The longer I stood there, the more panic-stricken I became. I couldn’t stand to see her smiling face and know she’d never again be mine. I needed to put as much physical distance between us as possible—a literal ocean, if I could—which meant getting my ass on the earliest ferry tomorrow morning and forgetting all about this weekend.

“Oh, there you all are,” a slim, dark-haired woman rushed up to the group, a clipboard clasped in her hand. “All the guests are seated, and we’re ready to begin. Veronica, will you and your daughter come with me? I’ve reserved seats for Theo, Alex, and Drew in the front row on the left side. Mr. Carstairs, you and your son should go stand beneath the arch, where I showed you earlier.”

“Thank you, Cherie.” Veronica planted a light kiss on my dad’s lips. “I’ll see you in a few minutes, Richard. I’ll be the one in white with the veil.” She winked and stepped back, her lips lifted in a happy smile and her eyes bright with excitement.

My father breathed in deep, his chest filling with pride. “I can’t wait.” He turned to me then. “Shall we?”

My eyes strayed to Victoria, but she was already making her way toward the clapboard building where the florist was keeping the bouquets fresh. With my eyes fixed on her retreating form, I hadn’t been paying attention to the other men in our group. If I had, I might not have flinched when Alex clapped his palm to my shoulder.

Leaning close so only I could hear, he whispered, “I don’t know how you and my sister know each other, but if I find out that you hurt her in any way, I will end you. I don’t care who you are or what your dad means to our mother.” He squeezed as if to punctuate his point, and I swear I felt my muscles give under the strength of his grip.

I shrugged out from under him, and turned to face the larger man. I studied him while he studied me back, and I knew he’d have no problem making good on his threat. But he had nothing to worry about because hurting Victoria was the last thing I’d ever want to do.

“I wouldneverhurt her.”

When Alex’s eye twitched, I realized he’d expected me to deny knowing her. After all, I pretty much had with my blithe, off-hand introduction and explanation about the name discrepancy. I thought I’d done an adequate job covering up her surprise when my dad had introduced me as Richard—something I hated—but apparently it hadn’t been good enough.

He nodded once and moved to join his brothers. He’d only gotten a few yards away though when he stopped and turned back to me. With two fingers forming a vee, he pointed at his eyes and then flicked them my way. “I’ll be watching you.”

“I’m sure you will.” I tried not to roll my own eyes—too hard. I wasn’t some mustachioed villain intent on defiling the fair maiden as part of some nefarious plan to … well, I didn’t know what, but it was obvious this guy had an overactive imagination and saw danger where none lurked.

Still, I couldn’t be too mad about it. Alex was only looking out for his sister, a quality I could admire. One I hoped he’d use on the next guy who came sniffing around her skirts.

Wait, no.

I didn’t want him scaring interested guys away. I needed Victoria to be with someone who would cherish her. Someone who would love her the way I wished I’d been able to. It was the only way I could move on from what had been the most perfect night of my life.

Seven

Victoria

I stalkeda path back and forth across the porch, trying my best not to hyperventilate. Of all the men I could choose for my first—and last, I vowed with force—one night stand, I’d gone and picked the one who was about to become my step-brother. The world was playing an ugly, cruel joke on me and I didn’t like it. Not one bit.

“Are you okay, dear?” my mom asked, passing me my bouquet.

Bursting with blue hydrangeas and white roses, it was a smaller replica of the one in her other hand. It was also nearly identical to the last one I’d carried. My mom, bless her heart, was not a superstitious woman. Roses and hydrangeas were her favorite flowers, and by god, that’s what she was going to carry on her wedding day.

“I’m fine,” I answered, drawing in a deep breath in hopes of calming my shattered nerves.

It was a lie. I was anything but fine—but I would be. Eventually. I just had to fake it until I made it.

I glanced at the clock hanging above the door. That meant approximately six more hours of smiling and gritting my teeth in hopes that no one would ever guess my dirty little secret.

“You don’t look fine.” She stepped closer to inspect my face, and laid a hand on my forehead. “You’re not warm, but you’re white as a sheet.”

“I probably had one too many gin and tonics with Drew earlier. You were smart in sticking to mimosas,” I lied.

I knew better than to overindulge in my brother’s cocktails. His g-and-t’s were ninety percent gin, ten percent tonic. You only drank them when your goal was to get shit-faced. Now, I wished I’d had half a dozen instead of the two mimosas I’d imbibed. Maybe then the reality of my situation wouldn’t seem so grim.

Undeterred, she pressed on. “Is it Richard?” Her brows scrunched with worry. “I know things moved fast with us, and we didn’t get to introduce all you kids the way we would have liked, but—”

“No, it’s not Richard. He seems great. I’m sure you’ll be very happy together.”

The strange thing was, for once, I actually believed it. While I’d been blindsided by the fact that David was his son, I’d managed to keep myself from breaking down long enough to see how the elder Dick and my mom stared at one another. I didn’t know if those feelings would last—hell, they probably wouldn’t—but they were truly in love.

Which was, in large part, the problem.

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