Page 82 of Loving You

Screwchampagne, I wanted the tea. Wedding tea was the best.

I hurried to hoist up the thick spandex and adjusted my dress over it so I could zip it up and get out of there.

“Jackson is dancing with Lea,” Jenna cried. “You need to come out here and see this. Photos won’t do it justice.”

I relaxed a little, knowing it was probably for the best that there wasn’t any tea-worthy drama on Ellie and Jake’s big day. Kate made the exact kind of sound a mom would make at that moment, and then all I heard was the sound of her heels clicking along the tile as she fled the bathroom.

Snorting, I shook my head as I groped for the zipper at my back. Stupid dress was way more trouble than it was worth.

“April, you okay in there?” Rachel asked, close to my stall door.

“Yeah, go ahead and watch the cuteness. I’ll be right behind you.”

“You sure you don’t need any help?”

I felt the zipper glide into the right position for me to zip it without breaking an elbow. “Yes, I’m sure. I didn’t realize what an adventure it would be to pee in this thing when I bought it. I’ll wash my hands and be right there.”

Rachel laughed, mumbling something about wondering when I’d learn that beauty didn’thaveto equal pain. Then she called out, “Hurry up so you don’t miss it!” before I heard the door click shut behind her.

Seconds later, I emerged triumphant from the stall, then glanced down at my super-high heels. They were killing my feet, but the fact that Eric once took me against a wall wearing these and nothing else meant it wasn’t a matter of needing tolearnthat beauty didn’t have to equal pain. It was whether I’d evercare,because these painful shoes were just plain sexy, and I rocked them.

Thankyouverymuch.

Figuring I should rejoin the party before whatever song Jackson was dancing to with his little sister ended, I washed up and left the bathroom.

But no sooner had I taken a step than I was knocked back, my body smacking into the wall with enough force to temporarily wind me.

What in the actual fuck?

With my eyes squeezed shut—so I could quickly toss up a prayer that whatever just happened wasn’t what I feared it was—I sucked in a breath. But then my wrists were suddenly trapped between two strong hands, and all the air rushed from my lungs.

I didn’t even have to open my eyes to confirm it. Iknewthose hands.

I’d felt those hands grab me in this way more than I’d like to admit, andgoddammit, had I really been stupid enough to think I was free from this?

Truly, how dumb was I? How many times did Cliff go from sad drunk to mad drunk only a few hours later? Why had I thought he’d leave here and go put himself to bed like a normal fucking human?

Of course he hadn’t.

“Did you really think it would be that easy?” he hissed, his hands still a vise on my wrists, his body flush against mine as he pressed me into the wall.

Where the hellwaseverybody?

Oh, right, watching Jackson and Lea be the cutest siblings on the planet. Where I would be, if it weren’t for this stupid dress. The dress that Cliff was now eyeing like it was a hindrance to his goals in life, andnotin a sexy way.

The look in my ex’s eyes as he stepped back, extending his arms to pin me against the wall, was sick, twisted, and ten kinds of fucked-up. How I’d ever believed this man loved me was beyond comprehension, but the way I’d let myself relax after he pathetically left here earlier was even more mystifying.

He was a bad guy, plain and simple, so of course he wasn’t done with me yet.

“What do you want?” I asked quietly, hating that the music outside was so loud that screaming from the hallway where we stood would be completely futile.

Not only was most of the staff occupied with the wedding, but the only guests of the B&B tonight were also guests of the wedding itself. They surely weren’t milling around in here when they could be outside having fun.

And the realization that I’d told Eric I’d be a while had me almost ready to scream again, but it’d probably do more harm than good. Our beautiful staircase that faced the front doors was between this hallway and the doors that led to the reception area, so there was no way anyone would hear me unless the music stopped.

Ah, yes, the front door… If anyone would’ve come in and left it wide open, it would be this drunk asshole.

“I told you,” Cliff answered me, his breath absolutely putrid. “I wantyou. And even though you told me to leave you and your new boyfriend alone, I walked by that piece of shit bar of his and decided I had a better idea.”

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