Page 61 of Shy Girl
“Good.”
He wore a freshly-pressed white shirt and tie with swim trunks underneath that made me wonder if he'd just come out of a business meeting online. A line remained between his eyebrows, as if he were thinking so hard about something it couldn't go away now. Despite his distracted air, he gave me a warm smile as we waited together. He loosened the tie as we stood there, giving him a rumpled appearance.
“Are you ready for tonight?” I asked. “I imagine it's no easy thing watching your daughter get married.”
Anthony blew out a long breath. “Is any father ready to give up his only daughter? No, I imagine I was never ready for this day.”
I laughed quietly. “I imagine not.”
“Grady is a wonderful man, at least. I don't think I would give her up to anyone less worthy.”
“I agree.”
A soft, ocean breeze drifted in from an open window not far from the elevator where we waited. The number glowed a bright red 14 now. Upstairs, Grady and the boys waited for me. I was almost late on purpose—I wanted to make sure all of them were there before I arrived. Because once the C-tape was available to all of us again, I wouldn't have the patience to wait.
None of us had seen it in the years that had passed since high school graduation. We'd watched it one last time the night we graduated, then I'd tucked it away until a few weeks ago. Now, I couldn't wait to watch it. To feel the thrill of adventure, the sting of pain, and the swelling of pride.
“So,” Anthony said and drew me back. “That girl you brought with you. Dagny Taylor is her name?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Lovely woman. I hope you're keeping her close.”
“Very, sir.”
“How long have you been with her?”
My response stuttered in my mind. Could I lie to a man like him and tell him she was my girlfriend? Wasn't itVictoriaI was trying to fool? Lying about Dagny felt . . . wrong. Dagny was clean and straightforward and honest andgood. The things that set her apart from Victoria were the very things I didn't want to create by lying to other people about our relationship status.
Besides, it wasn't about her being the girlfriend. It was about not being single when Victoria was with someone else. But fate had flipped the tables on me. When I returned home, I wouldn’t think about Victoria again. I’d be damned if I didn’t see Dagny every single day, though. A new fire started in me at just the thought of Dagny. One that so far eclipsed what I once felt for Victoria, it made her look small. I wasn’t about to let it die out.
Dagny and I were just getting started.
“What we have is pretty new, to be honest,” I finally said.
His brow lifted. “Oh?”
A sweet smell drifted into my nose a second before the elevator arrived. Someone else stood next to me on my other side in a pair of quiet flip flops and a shimmery, loose dress that slipped around perfectly tanned legs.
“There you are,” drawled Victoria, like a cat just waking up from a nap. “I've been looking for you.”
She stood a hand’s breadth away. She didn't touch me, but she might as well have. Something like the cold kiss of death filled the space between us.
“Hey,” I muttered.
Anthony motioned for her to go in first. She obliged, but not before dragging me in with her, our fingers interlocked. When I tried to pull away, she squeezed and held on tighter. Anthony followed us into the elevator, and Victoria's arm slipped through mine.
“So good to see you again, Jayson,” she said brightly. “It's like fate just keeps putting us in each other's paths. I can't believe we're about to do this today. Best Man and Maid of Honor? It's like we weremeantto be together on an aisle. Maybe this won't be the only one.”
That cloying tone had returned to her voice again, the one that set me on edge. Whatever she said in that tone before she hadn't meant, because it was the same tone that drew me in in the first place. But I still hesitated in pulling away.
And why?
The question ran through my head, stalling my withdrawal. Stunned by the speed in which she'd shown up and taken command of my thoughts, I just stood there for a moment and said nothing. Anthony glanced at us from the corner of his eye, but kept his head forward.
“Aren't you supposed to be getting pedicures right now?” Anthony asked.
Yes!I almost cried.Pedicures. Thank you.
