Page 19 of Nothing Breaks Like A Heart

"Don't worry about it. I'll figure it out. He asked me if I wanted to get together tomorrow. Apparently, he's staying on the island until Tuesday."

I was a little surprised Colin was staying that long, since Andrew and I would be on our honeymoon, and Jay was with his girlfriend. But maybe the three of them just wanted to explore the island. However, it now looked like Harper would join them. And it definitely seemed like she was in a better mood now, so I was okay with whatever was going on.

Harper checked her reflection one last time, satisfied. "Are you heading back now?"

"In a minute."

"See you out there."

After she left, I stared at my reflection in the mirror. My lips were glossy, my hair perfect, my dress impeccable. And yet, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

But it wasn't off with me; it was off with Andrew. Or more specifically, Andrew and Allison. She shouldn't be here at my wedding, and she definitely shouldn't have been dancing to a love song with my husband.

More importantly, he shouldn't have been dancing with her, smiling at another woman the way he smiled at me.

Jealousy clawed at my chest, making my breath come short and fast. It was an emotion I had never experienced before. I'd never even seen Andrew glance at another woman. And none of my previous relationships had stumbled because of another woman. It had always been something else. So this was a new feeling, and one I shouldn't be experiencing on the night of my wedding, and I kind of blamed Andrew for putting me in this position.

But I didn't want to get in a fight with him, and I wouldn't. There were far too many eyes on us. I also didn't want to give Allison the satisfaction of thinking I was at all bothered by her presence. I had to act like everything was fine. And I needed to do that because I couldn't hide out in the restroom all night. I returned my bag to the closet and left the room.

I was about to return to the reception, but a cool breeze blowing through an open door tempted me to take a little longer break. The thought of walking back into the crowd of people and facing the cameras and the endless questions made my skin itch. I slipped outside and followed the path toward the beach.

The farther I moved from the reception, the lighter I felt. The air was cooler here, tinged with the sharp tang of the ocean, and the sound of waves crashing in the distance softened the noise still echoing in my head. Shadowy darkness wrapped around me as the tall trees along the path swayed gently in the breeze. For the first time all day, I wasn’t performing for anyone, wasn’t smiling for cameras, or answering questions about how in love I was.

Then I heard voices. They were close, two people arguing just ahead. I froze, my pulse kicking up as I recognized one of them—Allison. The second voice, low and controlled, belonged to a man. At first, I thought it might be Andrew, but as I moved closer, staying behind the trees, I saw Colin.

"This is not your business, Colin," Allison said sharply, her voice carrying through the still night.

"You’re pushing too hard," Colin shot back. "You’re going to ruin everything. You need to stop."

"I’ll stop when I want to stop," she replied, her tone icy. "No one tells me what to do, Colin."

"What are you even doing here?"

"Same as you. Celebrating Andrew's wedding."

"Exactly. He's married, Allison.Married!You know what that means, right?"

"I know, Colin. I saw. I heard. And I don't care."

"You should care. You're playing with fire. And you know it."

"I know what I'm doing, Colin. In fact, I know a lot more than you do. Your best friend isn't being completely honest with you."

"What does that mean?" Colin demanded.

"Andrew didn't have to do this. He didn't have to take things this far. You must be concerned about all this, too. How could you not be?"

"Because I trust Andrew."

I stiffened as a branch cracked behind me. My stomach dropped, and I whipped around to find Ethan a few feet away, his expression unreadable. As he opened his mouth, I pressed a finger to my lips, motioning for him to stay quiet.

Then I heard Allison say, "Is someone there? Hello?"

Oh God! This was worse than hanging up on the woman. Now I was standing in the woods spying on her.Panic flared in my chest.

"Is that Allison?" Ethan whispered. "Is Andrew with her?"

"Colin," I murmured, hearing them move in our direction. There was no way to escape before they came through the trees.

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