Page 5 of That Time I Kissed The Groomsman Grump
ME: I was the last time we were together …
NAT: Thanks for the reminder.
ME:Shouldn’t we talk about it?
NAT: I won’t even be back in Abieville until July, and then I’m moving to LA.
ME: Yeah. I’m aware. Hope you invested in sunblock.
NAT: You sound like my mom.
ME: Ouch.
NAT: Let’s just agree we made a mistake. And at the wedding, we’ll keep the focus on Beau and Kasey. No stealing their thunder with our awkwardness. Okay?
ME:Fine, Nat. I can take a hint.
NAT: I’m not hinting. You’re staying. I’m going. Those are the facts. You said so yourself.
ME: Right. I did.
NAT: So. I’ll see you in July. No hard feelings?
I must’ve written and rewritten a dozen different replies, but I ended up deleting them all. I never told Natalie I hadplentyof feelings. Instead, I sat there picturing her face, watching the bubbles ripple and disappear. Ripple. Disappear.
In the end, she had a point.
Discussing things further won’t change the inevitable. Not then. Not now. She’s got her big cross-country plans, and I’ve got people counting on me to stay in Abieville. Natalie and I were dead in the water before the tidal wave of our attraction hit. Hoping for more with her would be like strapping anchors to my feet and trying not to drown.
So this week, I’ll keep my head down. No more smiling at Natalie. No more telling her jokes. Definitely no more laughing. Just one airport pickup. One rehearsal dinner. One wedding reception. I can get through that.
Shoving my phone in my pocket, I start packing up the rest of my food. Doc Swanson comes back into the lobby, hands stuffed in the pockets of his lab coat.
“Everything okay?” He raises one wild eyebrow.
“All good.” I rise from the couch. “Just a big week ahead. Lot on my mind.”
“Well, don’t worry about things here, Brady. You kids just have fun.” When he grins at me, I square my shoulders.
No more smiles. No more jokes. Definitely no more laughing.
ChapterThree
NATALIE
After five hours of narrowly escaping the use of multiple barf bags, I stumble off the plane and glance at the sign pointing passengers toward baggage claim. But Ireallyneed to pee. I couldn’t bring myself to use the lavatory that was three feet from where I was sitting because that would’ve meant unbuckling my seatbelt. And I don’t trust turbulence. At all.
So now I have to make a quick pit stop in the bathroom. Unfortunately I can’t avoid the mirror when washing my hands.GAH!I look like Sally Skellington fromThe Nightmare Before Christmasif Sally Skellington wore an oversized hoodie and old black leggings. I definitely chose comfort over style when I got dressed at the crack of dawn. Good thing my brother’s the one picking me up. I’ll just ask Beau to stop by our parents’ house so I can change before meeting Kasey for the fitting.
I finger-comb my blonde curls in a last-ditch effort to feel less like a drowned rat and more like a human, then I stride out of the bathroom. Head held high, purse strap draped across my body, I make my way toward baggage claim. I’m almost to the luggage carousel when I spot him.
Not my brother.
Brady Graham.
He’s twenty yards away and facing the other direction, but my heartbeat clocks him in an instant. His big shoulders are stiff and broad. Even the back of his head looks moody. You might not think the back of someone’s head could have a mood, but you’d be wrong. In stark contrast to the stiff, broad shoulders, his hair is swirlier than usual.
He’s a big, broad, moody swirl.
