Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 107453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
All they know is I’m hysterical over something as inconsequential as a piece of lace. I cradle the veil tighter and take off my shades, setting them in my lap. “It’s a family heirloom,” I explain, my voice still heavy with emotion. I don’t say anything more. I don’t want to admit how I really feel about today. “Thanks for getting it,” I say to Ledger.
His blue eyes, normally steely, soften the slightest bit as he squints against the sun, then gives a crisp nod. “No problem.”
I turn to the guy who carried me out of the church in his arms. “And thanks for rescuing me.”
“Happy to do it,” Dev says, then gestures to the water streaming by. “And I’m happy Ledger hustled like I’ve never seen before.”
“She needed the veil. I got the veil. Case closed.”
My gaze strays to Ledger’s wingtips. My breath stops. “Your shoes are sopping wet. They’re ruined. I ruined them. God, I’m a mess,” I say, then I drop my head in my hands, and for a hot, awful second, tears sting the backs of my eyes.
But they don’t come.
Instead, something ignites in my chest, then glows brighter, bolder, and sparks into a loud, joyful laugh.
Soon, I’m cracking up on the side of a road, gripping my veil while I’m parked on my ass in a white wedding gown covered with grass stains. Flopping down on my back, I stretch out in my dress and stockinged feet, right next to my older brother’s two best friends. I stare up at the wide-open sky and all its endless blue, enjoying the view immensely, feeling lighter at last.
I can’t believe I was about to walk down the aisle.
I can’t believe Aiden left me so he could screw other people.
Mostly, though, I can’t believe I broke down over a piece of fabric. “Did I really make you chase after a veil?” I ask in between more laughs over my own ludicrousness.
Ledger tilts his head at me, quirking one eyebrow, his gaze full of intrigue. “Honey, you didn’t make me do anything. I chose to chase a veil,” he says, all gravelly and matter of fact.
But it’s the honey that stops my pulse. Did he just give me an affectionate nickname?
Yes, yes, he did.
I sit up. The tightness in my chest has vanished. I look down at my wedding dress with its messy hem, the skirt streaked with dirt and dusted with little twigs. My tiny ankle tattoo of a bird is visible through the white sheer stockings. If only I had my lace-up black boots on. They’re in the trunk though. I’d asked Garrett to put them there for the reception at a nearby restaurant because I hate dancing in heels.
The reception. I groan silently. I don’t want to mention yet another problem to my two knights. But what am I going to do with hundreds of plates of chicken and rice? With all that cake? With the wedding singer? With my mother and her wishes for today? My stomach dips, but I don’t want to think about any of it right now. “Well, thank you. I appreciate it. And I will get you some new shoes,” I say, apologetically.
He waves a dismissive hand. “Nope. I knew what I was getting into.” He gestures to the stream. “Water.”
I glance around at the hillside. “And looks like I watered this bush here with my tears, so maybe I helped the earth today,” I say, trying to make light of things.
Ledger tips his chin to the white and pink flowers. “Oleander doesn’t really need water. That’s why they plant it on highways and the sides of roads.”
With an aggrieved groan, Dev cuts in. “What he means to say is thanks for thinking of the plants.”
Ledger stretches, reaching for the ends of his pants to roll up the water-soaked cuffs. He doesn’t thank me for thinking of the plants, and that’s A-OK. Instead, he says, “They’re also poisonous so don’t eat them.”
“Useful intel if we were on the run from all of humanity,” Dev replies.
“Don’t knock zombie apocalypse prep, Dev,” I say, and I’m tempted to nudge him in solidarity for teasing the man I’d long ago nicknamed Stern Brunch Daddy. Just the right amount of disciplinarian when you want him to be.
But I’m not sure we’re at that level yet, even when Dev says, “You’re right. Ledger will be helpful as our amateur botanist when we run from the brain-eaters.”
With a sigh, Ledger adds, “If we’re going to get to the amusement park, I better buy a new pair of flip-flops now.” He points to the 7-Eleven one hundred feet away.
“Do they have flip-flops at 7-Eleven?” Dev asks.
Ledger shrugs, like fuck if I know. “Guess we’ll find out.”
“Sounds like an adventure,” Dev says to me. “You like adventure?”
I haven’t been on an adventure in ages, it seems. Aiden never wanted to have an adventure. “Love it,” I say.