Page 24 of Always a Bridesmaid

He could see the faraway look in her eyes; she was obviously thinking of something specific and there was definitely a lot of pain there. He wanted to know what caused that pain, so that maybe he could ease some of it.

Reaching over, he rested his hand on hers, her bare skin smooth beneath his touch. He waited for her to move but she didn’t. Instead, he felt her tremble under his palm in a way that broke his heart. “We don’t have to talk about this if it makes you upset.”

She met his eyes and hers were glassy with too much wine and unshed tears. “I like to talk about my dad. They’re happy tears, you know?”

No, he didn’t. Whenever he thought of his father, anger came to mind. Rage was more like it. All the happy memories had become tainted over the years until when he looked back, all that remained was calcified resentment.

“I like talking about him,” she said.

“Then tell me about him.”

“He was my hero. He drove me to school every day, picked me up, took me to karate.”

“Karate? I figured a debutante would choose point shoes over a gi.”

“Ballet slippers don’t make for a good weapon when living in a big city.” She paused, remembering. “This one day at school, we had to dress as a book character. I decided to go as Hermione because she is brilliant,” she said, and he laughed. He could easily picture her as a strong independent, stubborn woman like Hermione. “But my cloak got caught on the door latch. I tripped and tore the back out and broke my wand. I was crying because I didn’t want to go to school. So he got out the stapler, super glue, and duct tape and fixed it. My dad always made everything right in my world. God, I miss him.”

“I didn’t know he passed.” Before he could help himself, he reached up and wiped away the first shed tear running down her cheek. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

Something close to panic flashed across her eyes and she jerked her hand away. “It was a while ago.”

“It must be nice to have warm memories about your dad.”

“Sarah told me that the divorce was hard on all of you,” she said, changing the subject to his least favorite topic. “How are you and your dad now?”

“About the same. Last time I saw him was when I signed my first contract, and he came to ask for money.”

This time she reached for his hand and a warm sensation rolled up his arms and through his chest like a pinball ricocheting off each rib. “What an asshat.”

He burst out laughing. It was the opposite of what most people would say to him in such a situation. A puzzle indeed.

“You know he never gave my mom a penny in support. Can you imagine working three jobs to support your kids?”

“I can’t.” He paused at her tone because the Upper East Side socialite who’d had zero financial struggles genuinely soundedas if she were empathizing. Not sympathizing, but as if she could relate. Which was ridiculous. Right?

“She had to sell the house to keep us all together. To keep Sarah riding and me racing.”

“Sarah told me. That’s awful. It must have been hard on you as the only boy in the house.”

“Why do you say that?” Because in all the years since his dad walked out, no one had ever stopped to think about the situation from that angle.

“I imagine there was a lot of pressure on you to be the man of the house, take care of your sisters and mom, while balancing the stress that comes with your sport. That’s a lot for anyone, let alone a fifteen-year-old. That must have been lonely. Having one foot in each world.”

“Is that how you felt after your dad passed?” he asked quietly.

She gave a barely visible nod. “I still do.”

Her answer resonated deeply within him. “Then you get why I need this wedding to be perfect for Sarah. Between my old man being absent and her bastard of an ex, Sarah can’t take another betrayal, which is why I have to ask… Out of all of our cousins, why did she askyouto be in the wedding party? You guys haven’t seen each other in years.”

Unlike most women he knew, she didn’t look offended in the slightest by this direct question. In fact, she looked poised and professional as if this was where she shined. “Honestly? Because she was afraid that moving one of the cousins up would cause drama among the family and the spotlight would be taken off the wedding and onto the drama. By putting me, a veteran bridesmaid in, it erases any bickering in the ranks.”

“A veteran bridesmaid? How many of these have you done?”

She snorted. Yeah, she was a little tipsy. “More than you could imagine.”

“You ever been the one in the veil?” A zing of unexpected jealousy raced through his veins.

“Not a once. I’m not one for the spotlight.”

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