Page 77 of The Drummer's Heart

She dried her hands. “Gotta run.” Kenzie sped out the door.

I lingered for a few more minutes before forcing myself to leave the bathroom. Except instead of returning to my assigned seat at a table filled with strangers, I walked out another doorway, which led to a balcony. A set of stairs there led to the beach below. I took off my shoes and walked down to the shore.

Staring out at the ocean, I let the wind blow through my hair. I knew I couldn’t hide all night, but I wasn’t ready to face him.

A deep voice came from behind me. “If I didn’t know better, I would think you were avoiding me.”

I turned to find Atticus looking even more handsome than before, the ocean breeze tousling his previously coiffed hair. The sadness in his eyes brought down my guard a bit.

“I think I have been avoiding you,” I admitted.

“Why?”

“Because being here is overwhelming. And every time I look at you, I’m reminded of what I threw away.”

He took a step toward me. “You know damn well thatI’mthe reason we’re not together. Not the other way around.”

“Not entirely. If I hadn’t given up on us in the first place, wewouldstill be together.”

“You had your reasons at the time.”

“Well, none of them make sense to me anymore. How the hell could I have let you go like that?” I shook my head. “Anyway, this wedding is just bringing out a lot of emotions in me.”

He sighed. “I’m glad you didn’t skip the reception. I was about to text you, thinking you went back to the hotel, or maybeyou were already at the airport, headed back to New York. How long have you been out here?”

“Not long.”

“Where were you before then? I looked everywhere for you.”

“I was hiding in the bathroom after your speech.”

He nodded slowly. “So youdidhear it?”

“Yeah. I did.”

“I wasn’t planning on going off the rails like that. It wasn’t part of the script or anything.”

“We’ve never really stuck to the script, have we?” I smiled sadly. “Nothing turned out the way it was supposed to.”

“Well, Idofeel like you were supposed to be here with me at this wedding. I’ve felt it from the moment I first sensed your presence earlier.” His eyes traveled the length of my body. “You look incredibly beautiful, Nicole. I wasn’t prepared for how it was gonna feel to see you in the church. I couldn’t take my eyes off you.”

“I came because of you,” I admitted. “Sure, it was nice to do Emily a favor. But she could’ve gotten another stylist. This was an excuse. I’ve missed you so much.”

Atticus reached for me, pulling me to him. The smell of the ocean was quickly replaced by his woodsy scent. I let myself melt into the warmth of his arms as the waves crashed around us. “Please stop running from me tonight,” he whispered against my neck. His breath heated my entire body. “Feel however you need to, say whatever you need to, even if it hurts me—just stop running.”

“Okay, definitely not sneaking a smoke out here like I thought,” someone said.

I pulled away from Atticus, and we both turned to find Ronan standing there.

“Uh…” I muttered. “We were just—”

He held up his palms. “No explanation needed. I was only checking to make sure my dude was okay after his…demurespeech and all.” He turned to Atticus. “Saw you leave, so figured I’d see what you were up to. Now I know.”

Atticus nodded. “I’m good.”

“I can see that.” Ronan smirked. “I’ll let you two be.”

As he walked away, I turned back to Atticus. “We should go inside. I don’t want them to think you’re being rude. It doesn’t matter if I’m not in there, but you’re a member of the wedding party.”

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