Page 2 of Dumping the Puck (Men of Havoc #4)

1 year later

Lord. How could I be this fucking stupid?

I knew the kind of man Cameron Bicknelle was when he asked me out. But I stupidly thought that by accepting a date with Cameron, his brother Kayce would tell me not to go, that he’s been secretly in love with me all this time, like I was with him.

That never happened.

Cameron however, wooed me. Wined and dined me for months. I never saw him with another girl, and he convinced me that him being a playboy was just the active rumor mill. It worked. I fell in love with him. Or so I thought.

And today, on my wedding day, I regret everything. All of it.

Because his mistress showed up at my hotel last night. With photos, text messages, emails, gifts. And now I have it all, sitting with it in my bridal suite. None of my bridesmaids know a thing and I won’t tell them. Because he slowly got me to leave my true friends behind. His friends were better, smarter, funnier.

And I let him do it.

The only person I have here for me is Kayce Bicknelle, his brother. And the true love of my life I never got over.

I’m surrounded by Cameron’s friend’s wives. All of them in the perfect blush pink dresses, fawning over me as I sit in the cupcake dress, staring blankly at the mirror. Not one of them has noticed my tears. And I’ve heard their whispers behind my back, even on my wedding day.

The only thing holding me together is knowing what’s going to happen when the wedding march starts to play, and my last bridesmaid is in place.

“Girls! We will be walking in two minutes! Time to line up!” The all too chipper wedding planner that Cameron’s mother hired comes in to gather us up.

I don’t move.

“Come on, honey! No one can get married without the bride!” She directs at me, telling a joke like she’s on a stand-up comedy tour. She's only encouraged by the girls' snickering.

“I just need a moment. Could you please send Kayce in?” I stand up, walking over to look out the window at the beach spread out before me.

I hate the beach. I hate sand, the ocean terrifies me, and it’s so sticky-hot all the time.

“If you need him.” She purses her lips, clearly disagreeing with me.

As soon as I’m alone the tears start to flow freely. The dress feels too tight, too heavy, and too fucking much . Like it’s all of a sudden suffocating me.

“June?” Kayce peeks through the door.

“Get…it..off…me…” I sob out between gasping breaths, clawing at the dress that I can’t seem to get off.

He runs over to me, grabbing me by my shoulders. “Hey, hey. Look at me.”

I stop and do as he says, looking up at him.

“Breathe with me, June. Breathe.” He takes a deep breath in and says, “In.” He lets it out. “Out.”

We repeat the exercise two or three times until my breathing returns to normal.

“Good, you’re good. What is going on?” He’s clearly confused as I’ve never told him anything negative about my relationship with Cameron. In fact, we steer clear of any conversations regarding Cameron.

“I can’t. I can’t do this. I can’t marry Cameron.” My voice increases in pitch again.

“Hey, hey, whatever it is, we’ll get through it.” He pulls me into his arms and holds me tight. “I promise, I’ll do whatever I can.”

“Please, just get it off.” I hop back and forth on my tiptoes, trying and desperately failing to get this damn dress off me.

He obliges me and spins me around to pull down the zipper. I let it fall from my body and jump out of it as soon as I can. Standing back and looking at the pile of tulle on the floor like it might come back to suffocate me once again.

I’m not even aware that I’m standing in front of Kayce in the white lace bra and underwear set that I got from my bridal shower.

I don’t notice until I catch the way he’s staring at me.

“Johnny, can you do me a favor and then after I promise I will tell you everything.” I sob into my hands, the jogging in place, hopping from one foot to the other hasn’t stopped. The nervous energy needs somewhere to go.

“Anything for you, June.”

“I need you to buy me time, go out there with the girls, convince them to start and then follow them down without me, up to your brother. Tell him that I know, and then turn these on.” I hold out the remote for the TVs for him.

I convinced the wedding planner that I had a special surprise for Cameron. And in a way I do, but it’s not the one she’s thinking of.

“June, I -”

“Please.” I rush toward him, grabbing his hands in mine and squeeze them tight. “I’ll meet you in your truck after and tell you whatever you want to know as long as you get me far away from here.”

He nods, dropping the keys in my hand and walking away to where the girls are gathered in the lobby as I watch through a sliver of an opening in the door.

I can finally let out a breath of relief when the music starts for the girls to walk down the aisle. I throw on the leggings and tee that I had on this morning, grab my purse and run out of the bridal suite, straight to the Silverado that will be my safe haven.

I probably owe it to Cameron and his parents to have this conversation with them face to face, and probably not publicly, but the closer I got to walking down that ugly ass green carpet to him, the more my stomach turned. So I took the coward’s way out. I sent Kayce to handle my mess for me. Exploiting the fact that he’s always there for me.

God, I’m just as bad as Cameron. Using people to my own advantage.

I approach Kayce’s black Silverado, parked near the back of the parking lot. I smash the button to unlock it about six times just to be sure it’ll be ready for me.

When the familiar click sounds and the door pops open, I hop in like my ass is on fire and slam the door shut. The panicked feeling is coming back. Panic that someone is going to come out here and find me to drag me back inside and force me to marry Cameron.

I press myself back into the seat, trying to blend in. Then I wait for what feels like an eternity.