Page 26 of Rebel Bride
Sniffing the lapel, I inhaled the citrus-cedar scent. It smelled incredible.
Aftershave? Or something more? Most tuxedos were rentals or were worn once then cleaned. This shouldn’t smell of anything but dry-cleaning chemicals, yet I detected it, a masculine scent different from Dash’s. More potent.
I stepped outside onto the patio. Hatch looked up from one of the wicker armchairs.
“Sleep okay?”
“Surprisingly, yes.”
“I’m guessing you haven’t had much lately.”
Maybe I’d said, or perhaps he assumed because that was the lot of a bride in the weeks before her big day.
“Okay if I sit?”
“Sure.”
I took a seat on the sofa across from him. “I borrowed your jacket. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all.” He placed his phone down on the table in front of him. He’d changed into board shorts and a Rebels T-shirt. The light of one of the tiki torches illuminated one side of his face while the other remained in shadow. I couldn’t help seeing that as a metaphor for his personality, or at least the sides he presented to me.
“Did you need something to eat?”
I couldn’t put him to any more trouble, though I was quite hungry. “I’m fine. I just wanted to check out the pool.”
“I might have lied there.”
“It looks like a nice garden, though.”
“Yeah, Aurora used to take care of it before she moved to Chicago to live with us. Now we have someone come in and landscape.”
“What’s that place back there?”
“That’s the pool house, so called because there’s no actual pool. Inside joke.”
I tried to smile but it got stuck. I could feel myself shutting down. While I had no doubt leaving Dash was the right move, why had I waited until the last minute? I could have pulled this stunt at any time but today, five minutes before I was supposed to hit the aisle?
Suddenly, Hatch was sitting beside me. A large, capable hand covered my small one, fisted in my lap.
“W-what?”
“You’re shaking.”
I snatched a breath, but my lungs wouldn’t fill. I tried again. Shook my head. A warm weight touched my back. Hatch’s other hand rubbed in a tight circle, and that sure, gentle touch brought me back. I inhaled, and finally something went in.
“I screwed up so bad.” My accent came out there. Sooo ba-yad. I didn’t care.
“Better to find out now, right?”
“I had five years to find out. But apparently, I prefer buzzer-beater decisions that destroy lives. I even gave up my job.”
“You said that before.” He was close to me, his thigh pressed against mine, like it didn’t matter at all.
Except it did. Because Hatch Kershaw was gorgeous.
I had always thought so. Dark angel gorgeous. But I’d never moved beyond an objective assessment of his attractiveness because of his attitude toward me. I found it difficult to completely appreciate outer beauty when the inner self so obviously hated my guts.
“I quit a month ago. Well, I gave my notice and stayed on to train someone else. Lainey. She has my job now.”
