Page 70 of Promise Me Ever After
Some movement at the door diverted my attention. I glanced over again, eager to see whether Alex had finally arrived.
When I saw who walked in, my vision swam, and I lost the ability to breathe.
Russ.
And standing in the doorway, holding his hand, wasEliza.
My lip curled, a knot forming in my stomach.
“What. The. Fuck.”
As if summoned by my reaction, Mum placed a hand on my shoulder. “Georgie,” she warned.
I spun around to face her, shaking her off. “What is he doing here? And more to the point, why did he bring her?”
“He’s Fraser’s friend. They work together. You can’t expect him not to invite them.”
“Did he even give a fuck about my feelings? And what about Darcy? Why didn’t she stop him?” I babbled on, not even knowing what I was saying. “Doesn’t family loyalty take priority over a cheating bastard?”
“Calm down, sweetheart. You don’t want to make a scene.” Mum’s measured tone did little to soothe me. It antagonised me even more.
“Are you telling me Darcy was okay with this?” I scanned the room to see if I could see the blushing bride.
“She didn’t want to exclude him completely.”
I bit my lip. Darcy had witnessed first-hand the aftermath of Russ’s infidelity. How she could even think to have him as any part of her wedding day, I couldn’t fathom. The knot in my stomach grew as I watched the couple circulate, stopping to chat to friends and relatives.Myrelatives. Russ smiled and laughed, while Eliza at least had the decency to look somewhat sheepish. He clutched her close to his body. Did he sense she wouldn’t be welcome and was protecting her?
Neither of them were welcome.
Keeping my eyes firmly fixed on them, I addressed Mum. “And his choice of plus one? Surely we could have left her out of the equation.” I crossed my hands over my chest and huffed out a breath. “Where’s Darcy?”
“I’m not telling you when you’re in this state. If anything, it was Fraser who insisted he should be here.” Mum’s mouth set in a line. “I had no idea he suggested Russ should bring a guest.”
“You knew all about the invite and didn’t think to warn me?” My hands fell to my sides. “You, Darcy and Fraser decided he had the right to be here and Georgie’s feelings be damned?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s been months since you split up.”
“Split up?You make it sound like it was a joint decision we shouldn’t get married.” I pointed over at the happy couple. “Seeing her spread-eagled across my sofa kind of accelerated that.”
“Georgie!”
“Sorry, Mum. But it’s true. It wasn’t a mutual agreement and seeing them both here this eveningreally fucking hurts.” I blinked away angry tears. Where the hell was Alex?
Mum shook her head. “Just keep your distance, darling. You probably won’t even notice them. Now I must go and find your father before he eats all the wedding cake.” She walked away, carving a path through the assembled guests, waving and greeting people as she went.
“Here.” Curtis slid a shot glass across the bar. “Sorry, couldn’t help overhearing, but thought you could use this.”
The tequila burned a path down my throat. I slammed the empty glass down on the wood and Curtis tipped the bottle to refill it. The warmth of the second shot infused my bloodstream and tempered the anger. Not quite enough to forget Russ and Eliza were here.
“Have you been looking after my girl?”
Alex’s familiar tones were like oil on troubled waters. I spun around to face him. His gaze raked the full length of my body and he trapped me against the bar, his hands resting either side of me. I inhaled the scent of his aftershave, the clean, fresh notes familiar and calming.
“You look incredible.” He leaned down and swept his lips across the skin just beneath my ear. “I can’t wait to help you out of this later knowing what’s underneath.”
Ripples of lust simmered down my spine, the anger dissipating.
“Ahem, if you keep that up, I’ll have to ask you to get a room.” Curtis coughed.
