Page 33 of Coming Unraveled
Suddenly she feels her shoulder yanked as she twists around to meet the gaze of her sister.
“Cassidy, what…?” she begins, but Cassidy quickly shuts her down with a stern look.
“Don’t. I know that you saw them next door and I know what the gossip tree is saying. But ignore it. Stick to the plan.”
And in a flash, her sister spins around and exits just as quickly as she came, leaving Everleigh to wonder if her sister knows more than she lets on.
Can she keep to the plan? Can she try to seduce the man she knew she was in love with? Or would her past hurt and fear keep her from claiming something she had thought would never be a possibility?
Just when she begins to get into the correct frame of mind a nurse from next door comes barreling down the walkway.
“I have something for you. I was told it was urgent.”
The young woman flits off back down the walkway after tossing the letter in Tamara’s direction who promptly hands it to Everleigh.
Her finger slides across the lip of the envelope, breaking the seal as her heart begins pounding in her chest.
The heavy paper weighs brutally in her hand as she unfolds it, letting the words sink in.
“What’s it say, Ms. Everleigh?”
I’m Sorry.
Two simple words that hold significantly more meaning than they should. Everleigh flips back and forth on the secrets that they hold. She lets Tamara’s stare linger as she contemplates its importance.
Finally, she comes to a conclusion and smiles coyly.
“It doesn’t say much, Tamara.”
But all Everleigh can focus on is the anticipation and adrenaline coursing through her veins.
Game on, Brooks. Game on.
THE LONG NAVY CHIFFON dress swirls around her ankles and calves, caressing her skin as if its satin. Each step brings her closer to her destination, to that point of purpose, but she can’t focus on her goal. Instead, she feels the eyes penetrating her back, specifically one set of eyes that sends shivers down her spine.
She hasn’t seen him, didn’t seek him out for fear that she would rush up to him and seal his mouth with hers, or worse yet, confront his date and make a fool out of herself. And as the saying goes, ‘Mama didn’t raise no fool’.
She finally makes it to the front of the church, luckily without tripping on her feet, and she takes her spot as her sisters, Avery and Sydney, quickly follow. Her brothers stand handsomely on the opposite side of Harlan as they all anticipate Cassidy’s arrival. Only their mother has seen the custom creation by Monique Lhuillier, so all of the sisters are just as eager as Harlan.
As Sydney takes her place in line the music changes to Pachelbel’s Canon in D by the pianist sitting in the corner, Cassidy’s song of choice since she was a little girl.
The large wooden double doors at the back of the church open with a whoosh and a glare of sunlight before her sister and her father walk in, arm in arm. The crowd all gasp in wonder as Cassidy begins her descent down the aisle, all eyes on her. Except for one pair Everleigh feels honed on her.
She tries to keep focused on her sister, but the feel of the magnetism draws her eyes away from her and towards the man sitting in the third row, his gaze permeating through her skin. Everleigh feels flush and heady by his stare as if he’s imagining something more than what he is seeing. He looks at her as if she’s the only woman in the room. Mirroring the way Harlan looks at Cassidy as she steps towards him, the way a man in love looks at his other half. And for the first time, Everleigh doesn’t feel herself shy away from that thought, instead, she feels herself embracing it.
But the moment ends too quickly as the crowd takes their seats, ready for the ceremony to begin, and she catches Brooks assisting the woman beside him, draping an arm across the back of the pew, tugging the woman closer.
Tears begin to coat her lower lashes as she thinks of all the inapprehensible damage she has done to their relationship all due to her fear. She just had to have the papers filled out, she just had to push the annulment, and she just had to push him away. Why isn’t she able to see that they could have worked through this, could have figured it all out. The chemistry has always been there, now she gets her wish and pushes him into the arms of another woman, a better woman.
Assuming she’s crying over the wedding, Avery hands her a tissue from the box placed in the pew, and she whispers her thanks. The ceremony is short and sweet and everything Everleigh wishes she could have. Cassidy beams at Harlan as the priest announces them as husband and wife and the crowd cheers wildly as he cradles her face in his large hands and kisses her as if she is the most precious thing on Earth.
As the joyful couple skirts down the aisle, stopping only a few times to kiss each other, the bridesmaids and groomsmen all follow behind. In an attempt to keep her emotions at bay, Everleigh keeps her focus on the flowers in her hand which is casually draped through her brother Austin’s arm. They don’t make it far before they have to stop behind the kissing couple.
She senses it before she feels it, the electricity, the spark, the power of his touch as he reaches out and strokes his hand down her arm, bringing their hands together and squeezing gently. The moment is quick, just a blip in time, but as her body jerks with Austin’s movements, breaking the touch, she can’t help but feel a sense of something more. Something more, lost and left to the wayside. Her attention turns away from the flowers for a moment and their eyes connect briefly, a silent message she’s unable to detect racing through his eyes. Brooks’ touch and his expression confuse her. One offering everything she never knew she could have, and the other a confession of regret. Neither of which she thinks she can handle now.
Luckily, Austin breaks her free of her musings as he whispers, “Are you ok?”
She turns her attention away from her heart’s desire and looks up to her brother with a fake smile in place, “Yep,” she lies.
