Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 69413 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69413 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
“Oh, you’re close, honey,” she said, raising an eyebrow playfully. “Alpharetta, Georgia. Born and raised. Just a hop and a skip above Atlanta.”
“Georgia,” I said. “I’ve been to Atlanta a few times. It’s a beautiful place.”
“And it sure isn’t anything like this,” she said, waving a manicured hand around. “Snowy mountains. Never thought Chase would be getting married here.”
“How do you know Chase?” I asked. “I’m Landry, by the way.”
“Very pleased to meet you. I’m Marianne,” she told me, smiling and shaking my hand. “His grandmother and I were the best of friends during college. We’re both southern girls, even though she up and moved her ass to California after we graduated. I’m so proud to see Chase getting married today. Don’t you just love weddings? I already feel a good cry coming on, and they haven’t even started.”
I smiled politely, shifting in my seat. My eyes kept glancing backward to see if Jamie had walked in, but now that I was talking to Marianne, I at least had a distraction.
“I’m not the biggest fan of weddings, these days,” I admitted.
“Why the hell not?” Marianne balked.
I just shrugged. “Been to too many lately. Wanted one of my own, and had a proposal turned down.”
Marianne frowned, reaching out a hand to rest her palm on the top of my hand. “I’m sorry to hear about your struggles. Must have been recent.”
“Not too recent, anymore,” I said. “It was about a year ago.”
She chuckled. “If you ask me, that’s not much time to get over someone refusing a proposal,” she said. “That’s a tough one, kid.”
It made me feel strangely warm and cozy inside being called “kid” by Marianne. I was in my forties now, and it wasn’t often that I got to feel truly young anymore.
“I’ve kind of given up on love, if you want the truth,” I told her. “I recently met someone who I probably could have fallen quickly in love with, back in the day. But I’m older now. I know it’s not the path I’m meant for.”
“Not possible,” she said quickly, with a shake of her head.
“What do you mean?”
She clicked her tongue. “You can try to give up on love, but I promise it’ll never give up on you.”
I bit the inside of my cheek.
She’d said it with so much confidence, so much certainty.
“I’m not sure I understand.”
She let out a low chuckle, and just then, the string quartet at the front corner of the room started up with music. Almost all of the chairs were full now, and the wedding was about to start.
“My lifelong husband and high school sweetheart Gerald died six years ago, unexpectedly, from a sudden heart attack. Healthiest man I ever knew. Healthier than me, by far. But after three years of feeling like my life had been swallowed up and spit out, I found love again. Buying potatoes at the farmer’s market, for heaven’s sake.”
“That’s beautiful, Marianne,” I said softly. With the backdrop of beautiful classical music, her little story was even more moving.
She gave a nod. “Close yourself off to love, and you close yourself off to life,” she told me, fixing two radiant green eyes on mine. “I learned the hard way. Oh, goodness, they’re starting to walk out, sugar! Hush up for the ceremony.”
As I turned backward again, I saw that everyone was finally taking their seats, getting ready to watch the aisle. My eyes scanned the seats for Jamie, but I couldn’t find him. It was another minute before I finally saw the tuft of his hair, tucked in the far back corner of the room, as he sat down in one of the last remaining seats.
Something settled instantly in my heart.
Knowing he was safe.
Knowing I hadn’t completely ruined his day, just because I’d had no clue what to do with him or say to him earlier. Being in the same room as Jamie felt better than being without him, and it was a scary thing to realize.
No more falling for people, I’d told myself a year ago, and I had meant it.
You fall so hard, so fast, and it always ends up with you hurt.
So then why did it feel impossible that Jamie could ever hurt me?
After the music had been playing for a bit, Marianne let out a soft sob as Chase’s mom walked down the aisle next to him, leading him down to where Adam stood at the front.
I glanced over to Jamie and saw him wipe away a tear, and as expected, Marianne had tears streaming down her face as well. I even spotted Parker and his new fiance, together at the back of the room, their eyes welling up. Shawn, Nathan, Emmett, and the rest of the Fixer Brothers crew were all smiling and crying at the same time. The whole room seemed to erupt into emotion.