Page 35 of Always a Bridesmaid
I love you. Always and forever.
Always and forever,Benjamin echoed every single time.
Had he ever meant it?
Surrounded by couples, each of them staring at each other with adoration, longing Violet thought she’d ridded herself of tightened her throat.
Addie lifted her head off Tucker’s shoulder and nudged Ford’s knee. They had some kind of telepathic conversation before Ford turned to Violet. “How’s your week been?”
“Productive. I finished the base coat on the walls of the bakery, so now I get to move on to the fun, bright accents part.”
Ford tapped his fingers on the table. “Cool.”
The rest of the table not-so-surreptitiously watched them, and Violet searched her brain for what to ask in return. “Um, how are the puppies?”
“Good.” Ford downed a swig of his beer, and she wondered if he was making a point of proving he found nothing wrong with his drink.
Man, this was painful. What happened to the easy joking vibe they had the other day?
Maybe it has something to do with you treating him like he’d trapped you in his house.
A glass of pink wine was passed to her, and admittedly it was nice to have a drink she enjoyed instead of tolerated.
Since she’d been working on self-talk and keeping it positive, she reminded herself it was okay to enjoy what she enjoyed. Both while planning the wedding that’d never happened and shopping for items to turn their townhouse into a home, Benjamin had gasped over the cost and remarked on her “expensive tastes.”
This from the guy who wore designer clothes and insisted on purchasing a BMW hardtop convertible. He’d claimed his recently-paid-off vehicle was beginning to have problems and of course they should put a down payment on the carand thenplan their nuptials.
After all, how could he pay for a wedding if he didn’t have a reliable way to get to work?
Which was why, after finding him with another woman, fueled by vengeance and more alcohol than she’d ever drunk in her life, Violet had stumbled into the garage of her townhouse, saw the new car and shiny golf clubs, and snapped.
She could still feel the reverberations of the pitching wedge in her hands as she swung and bashed the metal hood and windows. It’d been so satisfying to destroy a thing her ex had loved more than her.
The regret came afterward, when she was dealing with the massive hangover from hell and saw the destruction. When she realized her temper and obsessing over his cheating had gotten the best of her.
It ratcheted up several notches when Benjamin called the police and she was charged with criminal mischief in the first degree. It’d been the most mortifying incident of her life, but she’d pled guilty and paid her thousand-dollar fine, as well as the sum to fix the car.
Having the guy who promisedalways and foreverpress charges instead of giving her a break depleted that much more of her passion for photographing happy couples and families.
Another hard pill to swallow…? The realization that she shouldn’t have buried her head in her wedding binder like an ostrich in lieu of working on the day-to-day parts of their relationship.
Hindsight wasn’t just twenty-twenty; it was an eagle-eyed bitch.
“…bridesmaid update,” Lexi said, and Violet was jerked back to the present, where she smoothed her features in hopes her thoughts weren’t broadcast upon her face. A slim possibility, yet she could only imagine what this group—what Ford—would think of her lapse in judgment.
He’d probably call her unstable, and during the car-clobbering incident, she had been.
“I got us an appointment on Saturday afternoon at the bridal gown shop in Magnolia where I bought my dress,” Lexi continued. “Ford and Addie, I need you there by two thirty. Would you like to carpool with me?”
Ford snorted. “You mean you’d like to carpool so that we’ll be on time.”
“Fine. I was pretending to give you a choice, so thanks for shattering the illusion.”
“Anytime,” Ford said with a grin, and Lexi shook her head but flashed him a smile.
“And before you boys start bragging about how much easier you have it as groom and groomsmen, I also scheduled you an appointment the following Tuesday so the tuxes will match.”
“Wait, tuxes?” Tucker asked. “I was thinking of scrapping the penguin suits and going casual for my wedding. Jeans. Or maybe overalls, like the pair Addie’s so fond of.”
