Page 37

CHAPTER 37

THE CUTEST THING EVER

EMORY

The tightness that's been building in my stomach all day is a fully cured block of concrete now.

Lily and Brant's wedding is tonight, and the museum just announced it will be closing in five minutes for a private event. I wander one more slow lap, looking at the fossils and artifacts I've already seen a dozen times today. As soon as the last visitors leave, the staff rushes to take their place.

They cart in chairs and tables from hidden storage rooms, and it's not long before the central space of the museum—the area they call The Canyon—is filled. Then the decorators swarm through, draping ribbons and floral garlands to transform the February reality of the natural history museum into an idealized spring day.

As they hurry through the decorations, I walk through to make sure everything is perfect. They might have done hundreds of weddings, but they've never done one for my best friend. I expect to feel relieved once I'm satisfied that everything is perfect. But I don't.

There are two rooms set aside on either side of The Canyon. One is a bridal suite for Lily and her bridesmaids. The other is the groom's suite for Brant and his groomsmen. The others will arrive soon, so I make my way toward the bridal suite. But as I do, my eyes are fixed on the darkened entrance on the groom's side.

There are only a few hours until my best friend fulfills her dream. And only a few hours until my heart shatters.

It's not long before I hear Chloe's voice echoing through The Canyon, but Silver is the first one through the door of the bridal suite. He's wearing a black and yellow bowtie with a cartoon image of Sting, the hockey team's mascot in the center of the knot, and he skitters right to me, obviously knowing who gives the best scratches. "Aren't you the cutest thing ever! You are!" I scratch him in that spot just behind his ear that causes almost all dogs to go crazy.

"Um, hi? Bride here. The one who is glowing with love. Shouldn't I be the cutest thing ever?"

I look from Silver to Lily and back to Silver. "What do we think? No, you're still cuter, Silver." Lily shoves her hands at her hips, pretending to be mad at me. "But you can be tied for second with Chloe." I cross the room and pull her into the biggest hug I've ever given.

"Can you believe it?" she asks.

"Of course I can believe it. I didn't expect you to marry the goalie of a professional hockey team, but I always knew you'd get married. And you're getting the family you always dreamed of."

Her face fills with so much light, I can't do anything but smile. "I am! But what about you? You never talk about Kayden."

Because I know I can't mention him without her guessing my feelings. Having someone else know about those would make them real, and that would just make this hurt so much more.

Before I have to say a word, the stylist walks in, wheeling her enormous case behind her. Chloe and I both stare wide-eyed as she takes over an entire table. I thought I had lots of hair products and makeup, but I'm pretty sure this woman travels with an entire Sephora store.

By the time she finishes with the three of us, I wonder if there's a single unused hair pin left in the entire state of Utah. My hair is pulled and pinned so tight I'll have a headache for a week, but when I see the look on Lily's face as she sees Chloe and me in our dresses, I know that I would take this pain for a month if I needed to.

"You two…" She turns her eyes toward the ceiling and blinks out a rapid-fire code to keep the tears at bay. "I love you both so much."

"Stop that," I scold her. "You are not to say anything like that until we're all drunk at the reception afterward and no one cares about our makeup. Until then, you are not allowed to think about how much you love us, or Brant, or how happy you are." I point at a museum display case. "This old rock is the only thing you're allowed to think about. Got it?"

"That's an arrowhead. A Clovis point, so that means it's probably around thirteen thousand years old."

Lily, the stylist, and I all turn toward Chloe. She has her arms folded over her turquoise blue gown. "What? We studied Utah history last semester. I liked that class."

"Is there a special reason you liked that class?" I'm only teasing, but when her cheeks turn red even under her makeup, I know I hit her battleship.

"What don't I know?" Lily asks. "You're my best friend, and you're my almost-daughter. Neither of you is allowed to keep secrets from me."

I shrug. "Chloe told me she thought that teacher was hot."

Lily narrows her eyes. "Ms. Fletcher teaches that class. The same teacher I had, and she was already old then. You two are keeping a secret. Spill it."

I try to look at Chloe so we can get our stories straight, but her glare is so hot it's physically painful and I have to look away. Thankfully, a light tap on the door reminds us of the outside world. I flash Lily my best innocent face as I open the door just a crack in case it's Brant.

It's not.

It's Kayden.

Not just Kayden. Suit-wearing Kayden. Suit-wearing Kayden with his glasses on. This is a full DEFCON 1 moment, so I do what any reasonable person would do. I slam the door in his face.

"Emory? What are you doing? Brant's not with me. Can I come in? Or can you come out?"

I lean my back against the door like I'm guarding the room with my life. This is silly. I've seen him in a suit before. I've seen him wearing his glasses before. But together? Oh my god! I'm shocked that arrowhead hasn't burst into flames from the heat rolling off me. Lily and Chloe both stare at me in silence. At least I've distracted Lily from Chloe's secret crush. Mission accomplished?

There's another knock, and I know I have to do something. "It's bad luck for the maid of honor and the best man to see each other before the wedding."

"That's not a thing," he answers from the other side of the door.

"Definitely a thing. Lily is nodding her head in agreement, and you have to listen to her because it's her wedding. There are very strict rules about this."

Lily gives me a look that asks what the hell is going on? I shake my head, trying to tell her to back me up, but it must not work. "I am not agreeing with her," she says so he can hear her. "You can come in. As long as Brant really isn't with you."

I glower at her and take a step away from the door just as Kayden slowly pushes it open.

He sees Lily and Chloe first, and I can't imagine a bigger grin on his face. "You two are gorgeous. I really think Brant might faint when he sees you. He's already so nervous that he's worried he'll pee himself. He made me get on my knees to make sure there wasn't a wet spot on the front of his pants. Be sure to tell him I told you about that. I want him to suffer for doing that to me. Hey, you want me to get a picture of you, Chloe? That way you can send it to a certain someone?" He winks at her, and her cheeks are as pink as her lipstick now.

"Kayden!" Chloe and I both shout at the same time.

It takes him a few seconds, but he finally notices the confused look on Lily's face. "I mean, no one. A certain no one. She could send the picture to a certain no one because there's no one special she would want to send this picture to. Why would there be anyone? She just… Emory? Some help?"

His eyes go wide as he turns toward me, and my stupid heart beats even faster. My even stupider brain wonders if maybe he does feel something for me, but I hit those thoughts with the back of a shovel and bury them as soon as they spring up.

This dress is tight on me. So tight that I was afraid it would show all the rolls and lumps of my body no matter how many layers of shapewear I squeezed into. But at our first fitting, Lily swore it looked great on me, and the more I've seen it since then, the more I agree.

That's the only reason behind the look on Kayden's face. I know it. He's just reacting with his dick. Knowing that he's physically attracted to me should make me happy. It does make me happy. But I wish there could be more.

"I…" The noise he makes as he swallows is so loud I can hear it. The way Lily and Chloe go quiet makes it clear they heard it too. Kayden's eyes sweep over my body, stopping briefly at my breasts, as if I needed more proof of what this is for him. "The guy… Brant? The guy named Brant is ready. We're all ready. I just came to see…" He takes his glasses off and rubs the inside corner of his right eye. "To see if we should have the guests take their seats."

I look at Lily as I answer, because looking at Kayden is impossible. "Yeah. We're ready."

He doesn't say a word. Just walks out, pulling part of me with him.

What will it be like when this is over? When he's with another woman? When I see him beside her? Holding her hand? Kissing her?

My gaze stays frozen on the empty doorway long after he's gone.