Page 15 of Harrison's Wedding

Sebastian looks at Heather, sitting next to him. “You all right, Heather? You look like someone just told you that you have to walk over hot coals.”

“Oh, that’s not what I have to do? What a relief!” She cringes at Sebastian. “I don’t know why I’m so nervous.”

“You’ll be fine, angel; it’s only a big deal because you’ve been putting it off.”

I put my arm around her shoulders and pull her into me, feeling her relax as I do so.

“Yeah, I suppose,” she says noncommittally.

“Harrison’s right, I’ll keep you safe from the big, bad Ariana, even though you’ve left me to fend for myself for the last month!” Sebastian grins at her.

Her body stiffens again before she says, “As if you need my help dealing with her.”

“I could say the same to you. Come on, where’s the Heather I know and love that gives zero fucks what anyone thinks of her?” Sebastian nudges her, and she relaxes against me again.

“You’re right. I’m being stupid. So, no girl tonight, Seb?”

“Are you ready to leave Harrison for me yet?”

“Nope, not today, darling. Try again tomorrow,” she teases him.

“Well, then, no. I can get laid anytime. Apparently, us all hanging out is a rare occurrence these days,” he shrugs.

His words hang in the air, and I frown at both of them. It was over two years ago that Ariana left, and the only thing that can be gained from holding onto this grudge is to push Gabriel away. I open my mouth to say this when the elevator makes a sound and the doors slide open, depositing Gabriel, Ariana, and Hayden in the apartment.

“Look who we found in the lobby!” Gabriel grins at us, jerking his head in Hayden’s direction.

Ariana is clinging to Gabriel and looking nervous. She looks over at us, and I give her a reassuring smile. Hayden sits next to Sebastian and the other couple sits next to him on the section of the sofa that is at a right angle to us.

As soon as everyone is seated, Sebastian asks, “Would you guys like anything to drink? We’re drinking Glenfiddich whisky.”

Gabriel nods and says, “Sounds fine to me, Ari?”

“Yeah, that sounds nice, thanks.”

Gabriel frowns at her words. I don’t think I’ve ever once seen Ariana drink anything other than vodka, so I wonder if she didn’t want to voice a request for something different.

“Sounds good to me, too,” Hayden adds.

We sit in silence as Sebastian gets the drinks, and the silence continues once he’s handed them out. The newcomers take a sip of their drinks and you could hear a pin drop in the room.

“Food should be here in about thirty minutes. I got Chinese; I hope that’s okay,” Sebastian says awkwardly.

“Sounds good, Seb,” Gabriel replies.

The room falls silent again, and I hate this. I can’t think of a time that it’s ever been like this between us. We’ve always been able to have fun, easy conversation, even during times that were stressful for everyone. This weird tension is uncomfortable, and I take a sip of my drink, wondering if we’ll ever get past it.

I catch Heather’s eye and she frowns at me before smiling brightly and asking in a pleasant tone, “So. Who’s going to play me at pool?”

Hayden replies quickly, “I will. Do you think you’ve got what it takes to beat me?”

“You? Yes. Sebastian? No,” Heather laughs at him.

They get up and walk over to Sebastian’s pool table. He follows them a few seconds later and begins setting up the table while they decide who’s going to break with a game of paper, scissors, rock.

Heather wins and declares, “I’ll break.”

I watch as she leans over the table to take her shot, smiling as her hair falls in front of her face and she flicks it back over her shoulder. She hits the white ball, which smacks into the triangle at the other end of the table and the number four rolls into the corner pocket.

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