Page 3 of Scarlett and the Big Bad Billionaire
“That’s not the only reason,” Bryce protested. “I think you’re real cute and all. I really like you.”
My mouth fell open, and for a minute I could hear nothing but a ringing sound in my ears.
“You…likeme,” I said.
“Yes. I do. And that’s why I can’t marry you, Scarlett. It wouldn’t be fair to you. I’m sorry about the timing, but one of these days you’re going to look back on this and realize I did the best thing for both of us. I think we should go back to being just friends.”
Bryce’s voice seemed very far away now, and his face blurred before my eyes. I didn’t know how to respond.
Even if I could have found the words, my tongue seemed to have lost the ability to form them.
“Scarlett? You understand why I have to call it off, don’t you?” Bryce was saying from somewhere deep in a hole. “I’ve already packed my stuff and moved it out of the room. Please don’t hate me…”
* * *
Ten hours later
“I hate him,” I said, not for the first time tonight. Wouldn’t be the last either.
“We all do, honey,” Maddie soothed. “He’s a cotton-headed ninny muggins, and you’re better off without him.”
Maddie had replaced all her favorite swear words with toddler-appropriate variations since becoming a mother, but I appreciated the furor and loyalty behind the silly phrase.
I rested my forehead against the cool surface of the outdoor bar. It smelled like beer and pineapple.
“What I don’t understand is why he even flew here with me in the first place if he knew he wasn’t going to go through with it.”
“He told Joey he didn’t want to embarrass you since you’d already had your bridal shower. And he thought he could do it… up until this morning.”
“It’s like my dad and mom all over again.”
They were never married?” my younger half-sister asked, clearly shocked.
“No, no, theywere, but he left. They all do eventually.”
“Not all of them,” she said. “Not Joey. He knows I’ll track him down and deep fry his Rocky Mountain oysters if he eventhinksof leaving me alone with two kids under five.”
“You wouldn’t get the chance to mutilate him because I’d do it for you,” I vowed before slurping what remained of the brightly colored drink in my glass. “Besides, you can’t go to prison—you have to be there for the kids, whereas I will apparently never be having any.”
Maddie gave me a chiding glance as she offered me a sip of her club soda. “Last cocktail, okay? You’re not used to drinking so much. You’re just piling misery on top of sorrow. Besides, I can’t stay awake much longer, and Mom wants you to do brunch tomorrow morning before she and my dad leave.”
Unlike me, our mother had managed to find a great guy after her marriage to my father ended. A couple years after she’d married David, Maddie had been born, and my life had become infinitely better.
At the moment though, I didn’t want to face any of them—not even my sweet half-sister who wanted me to be sensible instead of ordering every umbrella drink on the bar menu.
“Nooooooooo,” I whined. “No brunch. No Eggs Benedict and sad eyes and ‘I’m sorry’s’ and ‘better luck next time, kiddos.’ I wish I could have gotten a flight out today. Then I wouldn’t have had to spend two hours at my ‘un-reception’ assuring everyone how okay I am and trying not to spill on this dress so I can re-sell it.”
My reception dress was a clingy red knit that matched the beautiful bougainvillea growing all around the property of the resort hotel. It was the only thing I’d packed for my destination wedding and honeymoon that wasn’t beachwear or resort casual.
Come to think of it, maybe Ishouldhave just changed into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. It wasn’t like I was going to impress anyone at this point.
I guess I’d had some thought of maintaining dignity or some such nonsense. That concern was long gone tonight, thanks to Captain Morgan and the crew.
Maddie patted my back. “Well, for what it’s worth, I think you should keep it. It looks amazing on you. Bryce didn’t deserve that dress, and he didn’t deserve you. He’s boring—and he smells like hot dog water.”
I lifted my head. “What?”
“He does. I didn’t want to say anything about it when I thought you’d be spending the rest of your life with him, but it’s true. I don’t know how you stood it. I’ll tell Mom and David you don’t feel up to brunch. You can just see them when everyone gets home.”
