got to the church late for the rehearsal and was running up to the steps on these stupid high heels, and then
I saw him sitting there.”
“This David guy.”
“Yeah.” Olivia closed her eyes. “It was like getting kicked in the gut. I was mesmerized. His face… just, wow. He’s got this
face, Paige. And the shoulders. And the rest of him… You can’t forget him. I was staring at his face when my heel hit a rock
and I tripped. Flew right into his lap. I was too star struck to even be embarrassed.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever known you to be star struck,” Paige said quietly.
“I never was before. Not with Doug, not with anyone. I’d skinned my knee and he patched me up.” Herlips curved bitterly. “He had me at hello. It’s a wonder I got through the rehearsal and the dinner. All the women looked
like they wanted to gouge my eyes out because he stayed with me. And we talked. We talked all night.”
“Did he know about Doug?”
“God, no. I didn’t want to look pathetic. I didn’t tell any of them. Mia didn’t even know. And frankly, sitting there with
David, Doug was the last thing on my mind. He never took his eyes off my face. I felt… important. Sounds stupid now.”
Paige’s brow creased in sympathy. “It sounds normal to me.”
“I guess I really wanted to feel important to somebody, you know?”
Paige squeezed her hand. “Yeah, babe. I know.”
Olivia’s eyes stung and she willed back what would have been mortifying tears. “It wasn’t all bad, though. I told him about
Kelsey. He’d known Mia for a long time, knew about our father. About the abuse. I was so sad to see Kelsey there, in prison
like that, even if she did do the crime. David suggested volunteering with teen runaways, to help give them a chance. To help
them not turn out like my sister.”
“And you do. It’s good work, Liv. You make a difference in those kids’ lives.”
“Thanks. So like I said, it wasn’t all bad. The rehearsal dinner was wonderful. It was the night after the wedding that went
wrong.”
“After it went really well,” Paige said, brows lifted meaningfully and Olivia sighed.
“I wish I’d never met him, because I can’t imagine it ever being that good again.”
“But you didn’t…”
“Not all the way.” She sighed again. “But based on what did happen, I think all the way would have freaking killed me.”
Paige was quiet a moment. “Maybe he just lied about doing all that nice stuff. Maybe he’s really a colossal jerk.”
“I wish. Since he’s been here, he donates his time to charity. Habitat for Humanity, fixing stuff at the local shelters. Eve
tells me about him all the time. She thinks David hung the moon. He really is a nice guy. He just… doesn’t want me.”
There.
She’d said it out loud.
I should be feeling better now
. But she wasn’t.
“Liv, did it occur to you that maybe he’s waiting for you to make the first move?”
Olivia scoffed. “In my fantasies, sure.”
“Liv?” Paige waited until Olivia looked at her. “If I were a guy and we’d parted ways under the circumstances you described?”
“Only after you got me drunk,” Olivia interjected, frowning.
“Like you would have ever told me otherwise? Duh. Of course I got you drunk. But as I was saying, if I were Wedding-Guy, I’d
be waiting for you to make the first move.”
Olivia remembered the tilt of David Hunter’s perfect chin before she’d driven away. It had felt like a challenge. But she
also remembered that one night vividly. She remembered the one word, that one name he’d said, even more vividly. “No.”
“Why not?” Paige asked, exasperated. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
“The same thing that happened the last time,” Olivia said darkly, and her body throbbed in places that had nothing to do with
her workout.
“And that would be a bad thing, how? You haven’t had anyone since. You’re under so much stress that you’re
I saw him sitting there.”
“This David guy.”
“Yeah.” Olivia closed her eyes. “It was like getting kicked in the gut. I was mesmerized. His face… just, wow. He’s got this
face, Paige. And the shoulders. And the rest of him… You can’t forget him. I was staring at his face when my heel hit a rock
and I tripped. Flew right into his lap. I was too star struck to even be embarrassed.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever known you to be star struck,” Paige said quietly.
“I never was before. Not with Doug, not with anyone. I’d skinned my knee and he patched me up.” Herlips curved bitterly. “He had me at hello. It’s a wonder I got through the rehearsal and the dinner. All the women looked
like they wanted to gouge my eyes out because he stayed with me. And we talked. We talked all night.”
“Did he know about Doug?”
“God, no. I didn’t want to look pathetic. I didn’t tell any of them. Mia didn’t even know. And frankly, sitting there with
David, Doug was the last thing on my mind. He never took his eyes off my face. I felt… important. Sounds stupid now.”
Paige’s brow creased in sympathy. “It sounds normal to me.”
“I guess I really wanted to feel important to somebody, you know?”
Paige squeezed her hand. “Yeah, babe. I know.”
Olivia’s eyes stung and she willed back what would have been mortifying tears. “It wasn’t all bad, though. I told him about
Kelsey. He’d known Mia for a long time, knew about our father. About the abuse. I was so sad to see Kelsey there, in prison
like that, even if she did do the crime. David suggested volunteering with teen runaways, to help give them a chance. To help
them not turn out like my sister.”
“And you do. It’s good work, Liv. You make a difference in those kids’ lives.”
“Thanks. So like I said, it wasn’t all bad. The rehearsal dinner was wonderful. It was the night after the wedding that went
wrong.”
“After it went really well,” Paige said, brows lifted meaningfully and Olivia sighed.
“I wish I’d never met him, because I can’t imagine it ever being that good again.”
“But you didn’t…”
“Not all the way.” She sighed again. “But based on what did happen, I think all the way would have freaking killed me.”
Paige was quiet a moment. “Maybe he just lied about doing all that nice stuff. Maybe he’s really a colossal jerk.”
“I wish. Since he’s been here, he donates his time to charity. Habitat for Humanity, fixing stuff at the local shelters. Eve
tells me about him all the time. She thinks David hung the moon. He really is a nice guy. He just… doesn’t want me.”
There.
She’d said it out loud.
I should be feeling better now
. But she wasn’t.
“Liv, did it occur to you that maybe he’s waiting for you to make the first move?”
Olivia scoffed. “In my fantasies, sure.”
“Liv?” Paige waited until Olivia looked at her. “If I were a guy and we’d parted ways under the circumstances you described?”
“Only after you got me drunk,” Olivia interjected, frowning.
“Like you would have ever told me otherwise? Duh. Of course I got you drunk. But as I was saying, if I were Wedding-Guy, I’d
be waiting for you to make the first move.”
Olivia remembered the tilt of David Hunter’s perfect chin before she’d driven away. It had felt like a challenge. But she
also remembered that one night vividly. She remembered the one word, that one name he’d said, even more vividly. “No.”
“Why not?” Paige asked, exasperated. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
“The same thing that happened the last time,” Olivia said darkly, and her body throbbed in places that had nothing to do with
her workout.
“And that would be a bad thing, how? You haven’t had anyone since. You’re under so much stress that you’re
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