Page 85 of Reckless Liar

“He’s not insecure. He’s the one who pursued me! He’s the one who...”

She shook her head. “Think about it. He gets upset because he wants you guys to go public. He’s been waiting years to be with you. Then you want to wait. You won’t even tell your beautiful, smart, totally understanding best friend about it. I think after a while anyone would get insecure about how much you were invested. And this is Xander we’re talking about. He’s been in love with you for years.”

“I know all this, Scar,” I reminded her. “We already talked about this. What’s your point?”

“Apologize again. If you still want to be with him, tell him again. Figure out a way to get the point across.”

“What? Like some grand gesture at the wedding? That sounds humiliating for everyone,” I scoffed.

Her eyes widened in horror. “Don’t you dare. No one is allowed to upstage my beautiful bride and I at our wedding.” She paused. “Talk to him. You love each other and both of you have had enough heartbreak to last a lifetime.”

I sighed and grabbed a dress sitting on the bed beside me. “Put this on. We’ll be late for your rehearsal if we keep dissecting my love life.”

She caught the dress in midair and frowned at me. “We’re not done with this.”

I chuckled. “Wouldn’t expect anything less from you.”

TheNavarro-Vegahomewasa sprawling beachfront log cabin boasting five bedrooms and as many bathrooms. Set on two acres overlooking Oyster Bay it had to be one of the nicest houses in Illahee. I’d been there once for a backyard barbecue and was surprised with the expanse of the property. I felt like a snob for thinking it, but Illahee was considered a lower income area compared to Ridgewood.

Scarlett led me into a large bedroom at the back of the house. She explained we’d be getting ready in there, while Emma and her cousin are on the other side of the house. They were insistent that they kept things as traditional as possible and not see each other until the ceremony.

The wedding planner, Pam, gave us a quick run through of what we’d be doing before the ceremony. I kept looking for Xander, but after not seeing him for thirty minutes I began to relax. I accepted a mimosa that Emma’s mother, Miriam, thrust in my hand as the wedding planner brought us out into the backyard to begin the rehearsal.

Out in the backyard, we retreated to the beachfront area where we’d be doing the ceremony. Emma was standing under the driftwood archway, managing a few young men who were decorating it with cedar boughs. A woman had her arm wrapped around Emma’s shoulder and was interrupting to add her opinion about how it should look. Still there was no sign of Xander. I turned to Scarlett to ask her if she knew where he was. Was he going to ditch rehearsal because he knew I’d be here? Did Scarlett give him the same heads up she gave me?

Emma and the other woman broke away and walked over to us. “Dulcie Navarro, I’m Emma’s cousin.” She gave me a big smile as I tried to hide my surprise hearing this was her cousin. They looked nothing alike. Emma was a tiny blonde thing, whereas this woman was a whole head over my five-foot-two stature. She shook her thick, wavy black hair out of her face. “And her maid of honor.”

“Ana Pryce, Scarlett’s BFF.” I nodded my head at Troy who was helping carry a large wooden bench with Emma’s father. “So, I heard you’re walking with Troy. Did you meet him yet?” I asked.

Her eyes focused on him, and a familiar light lit up in her eyes as she looked him over. “I did. Who is it you’re walking with?”

I bit my lip, “Xander. He’s supposed to be here now. But I haven’t seen him yet.”

“Wait,” she leaned closer. “That’s right. I met him earlier. Scarlett’s friend. He was here earlier. He was helping fix something or another. He left to get more of those leafy things for the seats. He should be back soon.”

So, he wasn’t a no show because of me. He was doing what he did best, helping others and working. I was simultaneously relieved and disappointed. Maybe he wasn’t missing me the way I was missing him. Did he not feel like it would be hard to be around me?

“Oh, good.” I mumbled, as Pam instructed us to get into our positions to rehearse the processional. I watched as Troy’s face lit up as he walked toward us. He gave me a quick, platonic hello before offering his arm to Dulcie. Despite my fears about seeing Xander, I smirked at the obvious chemistry between them. Just because seeing Xander at this wedding was going to be painful for me, didn’t mean that someone else couldn’t find a little happiness this weekend.

I stood where Pam told me to stand, trying not to worry that I still hadn’t seen Xander. She muttered something about people being late and turned to berate Scarlett for not telling him what time he needed to be back. But then I heard familiar footfalls. I’d know them anywhere.

“I’m here.” Xander called out as he ran to stand next to Scarlett. He stopped, placing his hands on his knees, and panting from exertion. “Sorry, there was,” he gasped to regain his breath, “an issue with the… uh” he waved his hand around in the air, “you know, the lumber for the benches. But I’m here.”

Pam gave him a pinched assessment, eying his dirty work shirt. “Perhaps you’d like to change before we get on with the rehearsal?”

He glanced at his shirt, where little wood chips were clinging to the front. “Oh, yeah, okay. I’ll be right back.”

He turned to Scarlett, giving her arm a quick squeeze. I thought of his hand on my arm, his fingers on my skin, his mouth against mine. I looked away, swallowing hard. As I watched his retreating form, a lump formed in my throat. In the two minutes he was here he’d avoided looking at me.

Scarlett stood next to me, lacing her arm through mine.

“He hates me,” I grumbled.

“He could never hate you.” Scarlett chided. She glanced back over our shoulders at the house a small smile playing on her lips. “Just give him a little time to work up the courage again.”

When Xander joined us a few minutes later, he wore a new, green button-down shirt I was sure Scarlett had made him wear. I noticed how the green brought out the gold flecks in his eyes. He’d gotten a haircut recently and his curls were much shorter than they were before I left. I looked for any signs that he wasn’t sleeping well, that he was as heartbroken as I was, but I couldn’t see any. He looked amazing.

When Pam instructed him to offer me his arm, he put his arm out, but avoided my eyes. With a pit in my stomach, I took his arm and drew myself close to his side. We both looked forward, awkwardly waiting for more instructions. I could feel his warmth through the shirt and the smell his soap. I closed my eyes, taking in the feeling of having him so near to me and yet knowing I couldn’t get any closer.

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