Page 8

The only hug I ever get from my family.

Other than my two girls, he is my safe space, and more than that, he gets what it’s like to live under the ever-heavy expectations of our parents. Still, he has always been the favorite and the one they go easier on.

“Hey, Katherine,” he whispers into my hair.

He’s at least six inches taller than me, and I’m not petite at five-eight.

“You’re the only one who can get away with using my full name. Do you know that, East?” I pull back and throw my arms around his neck, planting a kiss on his cheek.

“And you’re the only one who calls me East. Just don’t do it for the next twenty-four hours, yeah?” He winces and tips his head inside. “She’s on one.”

I press my lips together, anxiety rolling through me. “In what way?”

“The caterers messed up and didn’t provide enough entrées, so she’s had to place a last-minute order, and they have three hours to deliver them.”

“Oh, dear,” I mock. “It’s almost as if her gluttonous rich friends will go hungry.”

He quirks an amused brow. “It’s a concern for sure.”

“Kate!” I hear Violet’s voice echo through the foyer. “Don’t loiter on the porch. It looks bad.”

Ugh.

My brother lifts my bag from my shoulder, and we turn to walk inside.

“I’m only here for you. You know that.”

He smiles over his shoulder at me. “Likewise.”

CHAPTER THREE

JENSEN

“There’s got to be a reason.”

My best man, Tim, smiles at me through his grimace. “Yeah, it’s only a half hour. I’ll call the driver again and see if they got caught in traffic.”

I nod and fight back the knot forming in my stomach.

Everyone is here and waiting, looking at me, and now starting to whisper amongst themselves.

I know what they’re thinking: she’s not coming.

The difference is that I’ve been thinking about it for the past twenty-four hours since she stopped answering my calls. But deep down, I’ve known things haven’t been right between us for a long time.

Fuck.

I ball my hand into a fist at my side and feel the edges of my nails dig into my palm, anything to break me from this nightmare.

I’ve felt her backing away from me, putting up her walls. We were supposed to be forever, goddammit.

No, Jensen, you’re spiraling—she’s probably held up on the freeway or something, just like Tim says. Although the church is a short five-minute drive from where she was staying, and there aren’t any freeways, only country roads.

The priest looks at me again and then at his watch, clutching his Bible to his chest.

Yeah, say one for me, buddy.

He rocks forward on his toes and then back onto his heels, looking at me again. “You know we have that baptism later this afternoon. Normally, I wouldn’t hold two ceremonies on the same day, but I know how much this date meant to your wi–girlfriend.”