Page 57 of Broken Player

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted wavy dark hair identical to my own, and I relaxed a little bit more. Justiceand Charlie were waving at us from where they'd just pulled up and stepped out of Charlie's car. Quinn and I walked across the expansive circular driveway until I could pull my sisters in for a four-way hug. With arms wrapped around me from every angle, I finally felt strong enough to face this day.

"Just say the word, and we'll get you the hell out of here," Justice offered, squeezing me a little tighter into our makeshift circle.

Sighing, I step back and drop my arms. "No, I need to do this." Quinn shook his head, and Charlie narrowed her eyes, probably picking up on the fact I saidneedinstead ofwant. I'd have to watch that more carefully. A bride should want to marry her future husband, not be dreading it or forcing herself to keep moving forward like I was.

"Should we go in? You can meet my future in-laws," I suggested, thumbing over my shoulder toward the monstrosity of a house behind me.

"Can't wait," Charlie muttered under her breath, but the other two stayed quiet and followed in my wake.

Before we could reach the front doors, they were flung open, and a bubbly woman in a skirt suit wearing a headset and carrying a clipboard stepped out. "Welcome! Come in, come in! You must be Ryan," she gushed, shoving her hand toward me. I slipped my hand lightly into hers, and she shook it vigorously before dropping it and gripping her clipboard, gesturing further into the house.

Before I could get a word in, she started talking again, her words moving so quickly they were almost hard to follow. "I'm Daphne. Mrs. Rutherford hired me to handle everything for your wedding tomorrow." She walked slightly in front of me, leading me through tons of halls and rooms until we stepped through a wide set of patio doors that were already open to the massiveyard. Surprisingly, I hadn't seen any of Yates's family or the man himself. The house was eerily empty, but now I knew why.

Everyone was out back setting up. There were already a couple of huge white tents looming in the distance. Fabric-covered chairs were being placed strategically around round tables, and I was pretty sure I saw a dance floor being laid down in one of the tents. Rubbing my arm, I glanced around. This was all becoming too real very fast. My heart rate picked up, and my breaths were coming in shorter and shorter pants. If I couldn't calm myself down, I was in danger of freaking the hell out. And just as that realization hit me, Jacqueline strode up to us, her spine ramrod straight and her chin up in a haughty way, like although she was shorter than almost all of us, she thought she still looked down on us.

She definitely didn't look happy to see me if the downturn of her thin lips was any indication. "Ryan, nice to see you again," she said begrudgingly, and I plastered on my fakest smile.

"You, too, Jacqueline. You've done such a great job with everything. Yates and I can't thank you enough. I'm just sorry he couldn't join us this morning." I figured being diplomatic and gracious would be the best ways to get through this even though I had no clue what Yates felt about anything. I did know he'd go along with my speaking for him because he had just as much interest in selling the shit out of the fact we were in love as I did.

"Yes, well, it's not like I had much choice, is it?" she huffed. "Besides, his work isveryimportant." She gave me a pointed look as if I should know better and also that I better not fuck up her son's future. Instead of rolling my eyes like I wanted to, I looked behind her and saw what I was assuming was a florist setting out red rose centerpieces, and I tried not to cringe as hard outwardly as I was inwardly. Ihatedred roses. They were so cliche, and in my mind, there was nothing original or romantic about them. If this were my forever wedding, the lastthing I'd want was red roses, and her picking them for me showed just how little any of these people knew me.

"No, I suppose not, but I appreciate your help just the same," I acknowledged, gritting my teeth.

Quinn bumped his shoulder into mine, and the motion caught Jacqueline's attention. "Who's this?" she asked, tilting her head to the side as she studied Quinn and my sisters. She was looking at them as if they were a new species she'd never seen before.

"This is my best friend, Quinn, and my sisters Charlie and Justice," I introduced, pointing out who everyone was. Quinn gave her a little wave, and my sisters shot her twin nods of acknowledgment. No one in this group had the warm fuzzies toward one another, but we just had to get through today and tomorrow, and then my people could avoid Yates's people for the most part.

Unfortunately, things wouldn't be so easy for me. But that was the price I'd agreed to pay.

"Pleasure," Jacqueline finally choked out with a complete lack of sincerity before turning on her heel. She tossed over her shoulder, "If you'll excuse me, I've got too much to do to stand around entertaining you and your friends. Try to be on time to the rehearsal dinner, and for the love of god, wear something more respectable than that." She stopped to eye me up and down in a way that made my blood boil like she judged me and found me unworthy of breathing the same air she did.

I didn't bother with a response. Daphne, who reminded me of an excited puppy, didn't shoot me so much as one sympathetic glance before she trailed along at Jacqueline's heel like she was hoping for scraps.

"Wow," Quinn marveled. "She's something alright." He pulled out his phone and started texting furiously.

"Who are you texting, Quinny?" I asked.

He snorted. "Maddox. He'd never believe this bitch." He held up his phone, snapping a not-so-discrete picture of Jacqueline's back and Daphne scurrying after her before tapping at his phone again.

I turned to my sisters. "You two want to get the hell out of here?"

They exchanged worried glances before Justice finally spoke up. "Thought you'd never ask."

"Burgers and beer?" Charlie was already pulling her keys out of her purse while Justice swiped at her phone.

Sighing, I tugged on the soft fabric of Quinn's t-shirt. "Let's go."

We all trudged back through the house and into the cars. Quinn's phone vibrated every couple of minutes, but once we finally started driving, he had to ignore it. I hadn't expected he and Maddox to become such good friends so soon, but it made warmth spread throughout my chest that they hit it off so well. Everything about being around Maddox just felt comfortable, the way a relationship should be.

But we didn't have a relationship. At least not more than a friendship with a mutual attraction. After this little excursion to see the progress on the wedding, I had to admit I was starting to freak the hell out. What the hell was I doing? This might be my only chance to be with the guy I'd loved since I was ten years old. Was I really so quick to throw that away?

I rested my forehead on the warm glass. I watched the scenery go by as my unfocused eyes stared out the window. My mind was swimming with scattered thoughts, and I had no idea what to do. Every minute that ticked by felt shorter, like time was speeding up. The panic starting to well up inside of me didn't bode well for me making it through this. Based on the identicalwhat the fuck is she doinglooks on Charlie andJustices' faces back at the estate, I knew I was in for one hell of an intervention over lunch.

I just hoped they waited until I had a couple of beers in me before they started in because I wasn't sure I had the strength to defend my decision right now. Because if my inhibitions were down, I didn't think I'd be able to lie to them or myself anymore. I might just blow the whole thing up. I was suddenly glad Maddox hadn't come with us because one look into his soulful brown eyes, and I had a feeling I'd make a run for it.

My stomach twisted into knots at the thought of hurting him. I was being unfair to him, asking him to stick around and stand by me through all of this, and I understood why he felt like he couldn't be here today. But that didn't change the fact that I missed him desperately.

We pulled into a low brick building with a black and white sign outside. Raising my eyebrows, I turned to Quinn. "Couldn't have picked a better place for you, could they?"

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