Page 5 of White Horizons

While word has traveled over the last year that Will Ashton has a home on this lake, for obvious reasons, the wedding can’t be there even though there is plenty of room. Too many people would discover just how accessible their home is. Instead, they reserved the Horizons Valley downtown park, where there is a small outdoor performance venue that overlooks the lake. Of course there will be security, but at this point the two of them are so deliriously happy the whole world could attend and they wouldn’t care.

“It’s so cute and perfect for them.” I look at the large white columns at opposite ends of the stage. In a way it resembles a really large cement gazebo, but it also reminds me of an outdoor community theater stage where small productions are held or live music is played during festivals. Also, there are always weddings in this park, so to our knowledge no one suspects a thing, especially this time of the year with fall on full display. The colors across the lake are breathtaking, and I’m certain the pictures are going to be to die for.

A cool breeze wraps around us as we climb out of the car, and I pull my coat tight. The air smells brisk, crisp, and like leaves. I love it and inhale deeply to try to calm the anxiety inside me.

“Are you going to try to talk to Clay tonight?” Cora asks as we walk around the tent to the back of the park where the stage is located.

I spot him standing next to Ash and the wedding planner, and my stomach turns. I really shouldn’t be feeling this way about another guy, but when it comes to him, I just can’t seem to help myself. There’s something about him that I can’t put my finger on, but I always get a visceral reaction to him. He’s not dressed in his usual attire of jeans, now in slacks and a button-down, and my heart squeezes. He looks so good it makes me feel off-kilter.

“I don’t know. I don’t know if I see the point. He’s completely ignored me for the last year, and I’m not really sure why.”

She lets out a low laugh. “I can tell you why. Maybe it’s because you messed around with him on one of yourbreaks”—she uses air quotes—“from Justin, leading him to believe one thing, only you somehow forgot to tell him about the one tiny detail that is Justin, and then you got back together with him. It’s obvious he found out you have a boyfriend.”

“Maybe, but wouldn’t he have asked me or something? Our night together was very intense. It didn’t feel like a one-night stand, but he’s definitely made it that way. There was a brief moment where I thought we could have been more. Apparently I was wrong.”

“More?” Her eyebrows rise as if she’s shocked by my statement. “And when was that? Because if I remember correctly, Justin just showed up one day and you acted as if nothing had happened or changed at all. You fell right back into the same old unhealthy pattern.”

The harshness of her words has me stopping and pulling on her arm. “I thought you liked Justin.”

She stares at me for a moment and then lets out a deep sigh. “I do, but standing on the outside, after all this time, I don’t like this arrangement anymore and I want more for you. You deserve better.”

“How can you say that?” I look at my best friend as if she’s somehow wounded me. She’s been there from the beginning. She understands us.

“Because of that right there,” she mumbles, looking straight ahead.

I turn to see what she’s looking at and find Clay is staring right at me. His expression is blank, but his eyes are on fire. Even twenty-five paces away from him, I can feel the heat, and I feel drawn to it. Our eyes lock and hold, and my heart rate picks up.

“Justin has never looked at you the way he does,” she whispers.

Only, I can’t decipher this look. Is he angry with me? Is he angry with himself? And then I have to ask myself again: why do I care? I’m with Justin. The thing is . . . my nerves have started racing exponentially more than they already were, pinging around and wreaking havoc.

It’s then that the wedding coordinator spots us, and she claps her hands together excitedly, breaking the moment.

“All right! Now that everyone is here, we can get started,” she says while smiling.

Our group tonight is small and intimate as we don’t want to be out too long and have Avery and Ash spotted. Aside from them, it’s Cora; myself; Juliet, who is Clay’s sister and basically family to Ash; and her son Bryce. The minister is here, along with the wedding coordinator and some of the crew who are already setting up for the event tomorrow.

Cora grabs my elbow, and we continue walking toward them. Needing a second to compose myself, I look down at the ground as my thumb starts rolling the ring on my pointer finger. It’s a terrible habit I have, a fidget, but it’s one I’m welcoming right now.

I have a feeling this weekend is going to be a lot harder than I anticipated.

4

CLAY

If ignoring someone were an Olympic sport, I would definitely be earning a gold medal this weekend. I’m not proud of this, but at the same time, what is the point of trying to be someone I’m not? I’m not a fake, and attempting small talk with her would make me one.

Last night was brutal.

I knew we were paired together—after all, she is the maid of honor and I’m the best man—I just didn’t realize how much we would be together. I had to watch her walk down the aisle, then I unfortunately kept finding myself staring at her as she stood across the altar from me, and lastly, I had to let her take my arm as I escorted her away at the end. It was too much, too close, and as hard as I tried, I’m certain everyone could tell she and I were off. There was tension, and it was so thick it could have been cut with a knife.

And don’t get me started on her. She started off a little skittish but then ended the night just downright livid. Why? Who knows. I take it she’s used to getting what she wants, but I don’t owe her anything, and really, I don’t care. I have nothing to say to her. Should I have let this go by now? Absolutely, but I got played by her, and tell me one person you know who that would sit well with.

Thankfully there were other people back at the house for the dinner, which kept us both occupied. Only one time did she try to approach me, and I gave her a look so scathing she frowned and then stormed off.

Whatever.

Here we are a day later and I know I should be paying attention to the ceremony, but my eyes refuse to tear themselves away from her. Why is she like a magnet to me? Why can’t I just stop obsessing about her?

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