Page 83 of Take Me to the Wedding

“Are you all right?” Lilly asked.

“Of course. Sure. Just clumsy.” I withdrew my hands and placed them in my lap, where I shredded, shredded, shredded. Except I was just wringing my hands because there was nothing there to shred.

I felt that for a brief moment, my world had been lit up, wonderful and bright, full of hope that I’d finally found what I’d never dared to dream I would find.

But then, I thought bitterly, I never belonged in that world anyway.

* * *

Caleb

“Hey, beautiful.” That evening, I walked up to Sam at the rehearsal dinner and whispered in her ear as she stood on the edge of a stone patio, overlooking manicured gardens. She wore an elegant black dress and heels, her hair up, and my heart flooded with joy at seeing her. It had only been a few hours, but I missed being with her, talking with her, touching her. I wanted to shout out to the world that we were together. I wanted to sit with her, hold her hand, and whisper words in her ear that would make her laugh or blush as we celebrated Ani and Tyler’s love.

Tables filled with candles and flowers surrounded us. Strings of fairy lights were strung on trees and overhead. The sun was still golden in the sky, slanting across green hills and fields. It was a beautiful, warm evening without a cloud in the sky. I was happy to be with my friends at such a happy time. Hell, I was happy like I’d never been before.

Sam started from deep in thought. She was holding a drink, and her hand shook as she set it down on a side table meant for discarded dishes.

When she turned, I could see the tightness in her face, the rigidity of her posture.

“Hey,” I said, reaching in for a kiss. She turned her head at the last second, and I ended up kissing her cheek instead.

“Hey, hi.” Her gaze swept anxiously over me. “Nice suit,” she said, noticing my jacket and tie.

“Thanks. You okay?” I thought of something to say to make her less worried. “I checked in with my folks. Wynn’s had a busy day, but they’ve got everything ready for the farmers’ market tomorrow. They’re thrilled to have the company—and the help.”

“I spoke to her too. She’s having a great time.”

“You don’t look relieved.”

“No, I just?—”

I took her hands in mine. They seemed cold, despite the warm evening. “I’ve been thinking about you all day,” I said in a quiet voice. “I wanted to ask you if it’s okay with you if we go public.” I did air quotes with my fingers.

“Go public?” she asked absently.

“You know.” I moved my hand back and forth between us. “As a couple. I mean, I’ve been grinning all day, so I think the guys might suspect something. And I know you didn’t mind my folks knowing. But I wanted to make sure you were okay with it.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lilly enter the patio. She wore a formfitting silky, flowery dress in dramatic colors—reds, pinks, greens. Even from here, I could see that her bright pink lipstick, matching, was picture perfect as usual. She saw us and waved. It struck me at that moment that she looked intent, hovering at the periphery, edging in.

Sam cleared her throat. “Caleb, I don’t think that?—”

Just then, Brax walked up. “Hey, you two. Sam, this guy can’t stop smiling all day.” He placed his arm good-naturedly around my shoulder. “But no one will tell me whether you two are officially together. What’s the scoop?”

Ordinarily, I’d laugh this whole thing off. But something was different. Sam was on edge, stiff and nervous. Suddenly the warm evening felt humid and hot. I yanked viciously on my tie.

“Oh, we’re just friends.” Sam waved a dismissive hand. “But at least we’re not enemies anymore.”

Brax looked surprised—but not as surprised as I was. “Just friends, eh?” he asked.

“Sorry, but just friends,” she repeated firmly.

My jaw dropped because I was flabbergasted. Completely thrown. As soon as Brax moved on, I waited for Sam to say something to explain. But she was silent, her gaze cast into the distance.

“What was that about?” I finally asked, surprised and hurt. “It’s one thing to keep our relationship quiet but another to completely deny it.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. I touched her shoulder, begging her to turn and look at me. “Samantha, what is going on? Did something happen? Because it’s like you’ve done a one-eighty on me.”

“I just—I’m sorry, Caleb. I just need some space this weekend. To—think about things.”

---