Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 36185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 181(@200wpm)___ 145(@250wpm)___ 121(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 181(@200wpm)___ 145(@250wpm)___ 121(@300wpm)
He’s looking past me. “Hey, Tara.” His voice drops a whole octave. “Lexi.”
Lexi stops midstride behind me, and I stop at the door to the dressing room. Looking at her, I see that her face is red. “Ben,” she mutters.
She avoids looking at him and rushes past me inside the room to lay down the flowers she’s holding. I put down the bouquet I have and act like I’m fixing a few flowers as Ben moves into the room. “Lexi, can we talk?”
She walks past him. “We have nothing to talk about.”
Stunned, I look at Ben. Was Cruz right? Did Ben break Lexi’s heart? I look at Ben as I walk past him, and there is sadness on his face that he hides quickly. I have to jog to catch up to Lexi. “What was that?”
She picks up her pace, and so do I. “Oh hell no, what was that?”
She shrugs. “We had a thing. It’s over.”
I pull her to a stop. “What do you mean you had a thing? Why is this the first I’m hearing of it?”
She crosses her arms over her chest. “Look, it wasn’t a big deal. It was when you and Grant were together, but it was nothing.”
“Lexi—” I start, but she holds up her hand to stop me.
“Please, Tara, let’s unload the flowers so I can get out of here. I didn’t know he’d be here.”
Thinking back to last night, I murmur my thoughts out loud. “I think he’s here because of you. He said last night his family didn’t want him here. He asked about you.”
She shakes her head like she’s trying to tune out everything I’m saying. “It doesn’t matter. Can we unload the van so I can go?”
I grab her hand. “Lexi, I’m sorry. I had no idea… you didn’t tell me.”
I know it sounds accusatory, and I try to soften it. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
She shakes her head again. “You were dealing with Grant and your sister. You didn’t need to deal with my shit too.”
“Lexi… come on. I could have… I should have been there for you.”
A blank look comes over her, and I know she’s got her emotions on lock down. “It was nothing. I’m fine.”
She’s not going to spill. I know that much about her. I release my hold on her. “Fine. Come on, I’ll grab the last of it and put it on the cart. You don’t even have to go back in. But when I get home, we’re going to talk about this.”
She almost looks relieved as she nods her head and leads me to the van. She helps me load everything on the cart, and even though she offers to help me, I refuse it. I can figure out how to get this all inside. She’s obviously hurting, and I’m not going to cause her to deal with any more than she’s already dealing with.
I hug her bye and thank her for taking care of the store. Fuck, I owe her so much. I had to bring in her and five other people to man the store today, and I silently curse my sister again for planning her wedding on my busiest day of the year.
“I love you,” I tell Lexi through the window.
She smiles, but it’s not as bright as it was before. “I love you too. Take care of you, friend.”
She drives off, and then I struggle to take the cart inside. Ben meets me at the door and helps. I huff as I get it over the threshold. “You going to tell me what that is about?”
“Where did she go? I’ve given her space, but I’m done with that.”
Shocked, I look at him. “She’s working the shop today since I had to be here.”
“Fuck.” He groans and runs his hand through his hair.
“Morning. I missed you this morning.” I feel Cruz’s arms around me, and then he’s kissing the side of my neck. I tense automatically, and he turns me to look at him. “Hey.”
I force a smile I’m not feeling. My hair is in a wild bun on the top of my head. I have on jean shorts and a T-shirt, and besides brushing my teeth this morning, I probably still have last night's mascara smeared under my eyes. “Hey. Can you help me get these to the dressing room?”
He looks between Ben and me and then releases me. “Sure.”
Ben strides down the hallway without a backwards glance. It kills me not to know what is going on with my best friend, and as soon as I get out of here, I’m going to find out.
Cruz starts pushing the cart on his own, and I catch up with him, leading him to the dressing room. As soon as we enter, Brynn and her friends look at me, and Brynn starts in. “Where have you been? There’s so much to do and you’re late. Tara, why do you look like that? You do know the wedding is in two hours.”