Page 125 of Just One of the Groomsmen
I just wanted to know he’d be with me, no matter what I chose.
Hell, I just wanted him to hold my hand in town and tell everyone I was his so thatI’dbelieve it.
“This love stuff is bullshit.” Addie froze. She hadn’t meant to say it, but it didn’t make it untrue.
She’d loved Tucker Crawford for so long, and she’d realized the love was changing and deepening, although she hadn’t stopped to analyze it.
The knowledge burned through her now.
I fell in love with him.
How could I let myself fall in love with him before being sure he’d love me back?
Driving the thirty minutes home seemed overwhelming, not because of the time or the distance but because of everything she’d have to face there.
The rest of her friends were constantly checking in on her like she was some kind of sad, broken girl, and while she was, she couldn’t handle it anymore.
A quick swipe sent the contacts on her screen rolling, and she tapped the name that took her first spot, her heart in her throat as she pleaded for the person on the other end to pick up.
“Alexandria? Would it completely put you out if I came and stayed with you for a few days?”
Chapter Thirty
It was funny how three days away from home could make everything look so different.
The fact that the town square had been transformed for a wedding probably had something to do with it.
Tulle had been draped like curtains in each section of the gazebo, white lights twinkling through the fabric, and floral arrangements arched over the spot where the couple would be wed.
Basically, the beautiful execution made Addie’s attempt seem even more pathetic, and she was definitely deleting that picture off her phone.
She parked her truck and observed the bustle of people going back and forth. The rehearsal dinner was about to start, and she needed to get out of her truck, but once she did, she’d have to see the guys—and then she’d have to seetheguy—and she still didn’t feel ready.
Not now that she knew she was madly in love with him.
The last few days were exactly what she needed. She and Alexandria had talked like they’d never talked before. About the reality of making relationships work and about Addie’s two job options, which were officially options now, and about anything and everything.
Addie had expected her sister to tell her that if the closer job meant a better chance at landing her man, she should do that. Instead, Alexandria had shocked the hell out of her by saying that until Tucker put himself in the equation, Addie needed to take him out of it and then make her decision.
“I’ve always admired how strong you are,” Alexandria had said. “Eli’s been working so much over the past few months and honestly, I felt completely lost without him for a month or so. Then I wished I’d been more independent like you, but I’m too stubborn to come out and say it. That’s also why I got a bit too invested in the dentist.”
“Well, the fancy underwear worked for a little while, even if it worked on the wrong guy,” Addie said, then frowned. “I mean the right guy. You know what I mean.” The pain that’d become her constant companion rose up to remind her it was still there, raw and achy. “In the end, I guess it takes more than that to be sexy.”
Alexandria shook her head. “He’s an idiot if he doesn’t see how amazing—and yes, sexy, too—you are.”
“Thanks. Same goes to Eli.”
“Oh, he knows,” Alexandria said with a smile, going all dreamy eyed. “We’ve been working on us, and things are really good. And now that we’re over the rough patch at his work, I’m going to take online classes and see about finishing my degree.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah, so girl power and all that jazz.”
“Wait. Am I a girl in this situation?” Addie asked with exaggerated shock as she pointed at herself. “Because you always said that—”
Alexandria had shoved her, and they’d laughed, but then her sister had told her again that she was a strong, independent woman, and Addie felt like she could face anything.
Until she was looking out across the square and a familiar head came into view.
