Текст книги "Finding Me "
Автор книги: Mariah Dietz
сообщить о нарушении
Текущая страница: 15 (всего у книги 19 страниц)
It takes me a beat to realize that I need to respond and then take a step forward and extend my hand. “It’s very nice to meet you, Tim.”
His head cocks to the side slightly, and his lips curve down even though he’s trying to smile at me. “Yes, yeah, you … you too,” he stammers, making me feel uneasy.
The living room is filled with Landon, Jameson, Kendall, Fitz, Wes, Jesse, Abby, Erin, and Tim. I have no idea where Max is, or why Erin’s here when he isn’t, but I know that Fitz is aware of the mention of Max’s name, and is scrambling to understand why Max’s dad is visiting Kendall and Jameson. I’ve shared very little about Max with him. Anyone would be confused.
We move to the kitchen where Jameson takes to mixing drinks that I warn Fitz about and introduce him to several of the most important people in my life.
“I’ve got to grab my charger from the rental car,” Fitz says, excusing himself quietly over the laugher of Jameson and Wes, who are sharing stories of the slick kitchen floors that are finally starting to become manageable. Erin disappeared upstairs shortly after we sat down and started talking about things that were before her time and no one seemed to object to her leaving.
“Harper.”
I hear Fitz call and stand up from the story that Jameson’s sharing about Wes talking in his sleep after hearing about how often Wes has been staying with them over the last year.
“Uh, there’s a blond woman outside that looks an awful lot like you, but she said she’s looking for someone named Ace. I’m pretty sure it’s a girl because she said she … Do you know an Ace? And do all Californians happen to look like you, or is this another sister?”
“Someone’s looking for Ace?” Erin appears at the top of the stairs, and I suddenly realize why the switch of my name has been occurring. I don’t know how I didn’t notice that it was only in her presence that the others called me Harper, but now it seems so obvious.
She descends the stairs, looking more curious and angry with each step.
“There you are!” I turn my head to see Jenny and Adam push open the front door, wearing matching smiles on their nearly newlywed faces.
“You’re Ace?” Erin asks, her eyes slicing through me with a hatred that’s undeniable. “I thought your name was Harper?”
“It is,” I reply lamely. I’m at a complete loss for words because I have no idea what she knows of me. Is her loathing because I had hurt Max or out of jealousy? I have no idea.
Max appears in the front door, and both Erin and I turn to him. His eyes move from me to her and back to me again before his head tilts and his eyes silently ask me what’s going on.
“Hey, Max!” Jenny’s words sound awkward and forced.
“That’s Max?” Fitz’s voice rings clearly, making me cringe.
“She’s Ace!” Erin screams in response, stomping down the few remaining steps.
The voices from the kitchen stop and Jenny’s eyebrows rise with confusion and surprise. I have no idea which of my sisters knows about her, or what they know. I focus on Jenny for a second, needing to see a familiar face that isn’t going to be filled with accusation. Her eyes slowly drift around the room before landing on me.
“My bad.” She grabs Adam’s hand and edges her way back to the front door.
I silently plead with her to stay and her head shakes once before she lifts her thumb and pinky to her face in the shape of a phone. “Call me!” she whispers, and then they disappear, closing the front door.
My hands feel clammy as my attention turns back to Erin, hearing her take a few steps closer. She looks furious, glaring at me with disgust. “I can’t believe this. You’re Ace!” It isn’t a question. It’s a revelation of some sort.
I consider explaining once again that my name really is Harper, but that seems irrelevant and tedious at the moment, especially when I consider that I don’t know what she knows.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!” she screams at Max this time.
“There was no need to make a big deal out of it.”
I hang on to the word it again, trying not to focus on the fact that I keep feeling a little more insignificant to him.
“She’s staying in your house!”
“She’s Kendall’s sister,” Max states.
“She’s your ex-girlfriend!”
“She’s only staying a few more days.”
I know that if I was in her position I’d be blazing holes through his attempt to rationalize things right now. Well, actually, I’d probably leave and then mentally blast holes through his defense, but her anger seems to recede a bit.
“We’ll let you guys talk,” Fitz says quietly. Placing a hand on the small of my back, he leads me to the front door.
“What in the hell’s going on?” Fitz growls as we reach the yard. “You’re staying with your ex-boyfriend? What the hell, Harper? Have you lost your ever loving mind?”
“It’s not a big deal,” I insist, falling back into my comfortable placating mode by trying to smile at him.
Fitz shakes his head a few times, his eyes looking to the ground. “Does he know you’re not over him?”
“I am over him. We’ve both moved on. We’re trying to be friends now.”
“That’s bullshit,” Fitz says, shaking his head a few times.
The front door bangs open and Erin strides past us without a glance, leaving me slightly relieved until Max races after her, pleading for her to stop and listen to him. She doesn’t pause. Instead, she climbs into her car and slams the door before reversing down the street like a Nascar driver. Max hops in his truck and quickly follows after her.
The rehearsal dinner seems to run smoothly, at least what parts I am aware of. After Max had gone, Fitz and I went back inside and the group that was left standing in the living room looked confused and unsteady as they greeted us with forced conversation.
Although I know they all heard the ensuing drama, no one has spoken a word about it, which seems almost hypocritical since I’ve been called on the carpet so much for not talking about things. Granted, there’s a time and place for everything, and a wedding rehearsal would not be the best place to hash out my ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend fighting over my discovery.
My thoughts are distracted with Max for the first half of the night, and then with the knowledge that my dad is missing this event for the second half. He only got to walk two of his five daughters down the aisle, and the thought causes a crippling fear that I don’t work to push back. Instead, I finally attempt to focus on my family and the love that’s surrounding me.
“Surrender to what is. Let go of what was. Have faith in what will be.”
–Sonia Ricotti
Fitz lets out a low whistle as we pull up to my mom’s house. “Explain to me why you sleep on an air mattress again.”
“You sleep on an air mattress?” Kendall looks repulsed as she repeats Fitz’s words.
I shoot him a warning look and slide out of the car. My hair is wrapped and pinned to the crown of my head in a similar fashion to Kendall’s from visiting the hair salon this morning.
Fitz’s eyes widen with a challenge. The entire drive out here was practically an unveiling of sorts as Fitz told Kendall about my life in Delaware. It started innocent enough; he asked how I’ve been sleeping. Because Jameson was driving, Kendall turned and watched our exchange and apparently recognized that his question was laden with concern. Fitz is familiar with the nightmares that plague me, and though Kendall had known about the one I had that she’d starred in, she didn’t seem to realize that they were a constant battle, not until I nodded and told him that I’d been sleeping well. Then Fitz’s eyes rounded and his chin tilted as he asked if I’d slept well the entire time. I have been. I think I’ve been too tired to have nightmares here, or perhaps it’s because I can see those that I often dream of.
Kendall didn’t allow my loose confirmation to pass. She instantly joined in, asking how often I’ve been having nightmares and what they’ve been about, which led to revealing Kitty and why I’ve been seeing her and how that began. Somehow the subject of cooking came up, and before I could curb the conversation, Kendall was telling Fitz about what a good cook I am, and my love for soccer, and swimming, details that Fitz and I have never discussed. They talked to each other more than they actually spoke to me, comparing details and notes, which at times varied widely and earned furrowed brows of confusion and detailed examples from the other.
I know Jameson sensed my restlessness. He tried several times to help me out and change the subject, but it never worked. They ignored both of us as though we weren’t even there. After listening to it all, I feel fully exposed and slightly embarrassed by the secrets I’ve harbored. I’d never done it intentionally. I just didn’t know how to leave behind the memories without leaving pieces of me behind as well.
We each grab our garment bags from the trunk and head inside where there’s already a crowd of people congregating, finishing off last-minute details of setting up for the wedding. I’ve been struggling to envision how this was all going to happen with the swimming pool and the patio taking up such a large amount of space in the backyard, but everyone’s dismissed my concerns, assuring me that Mom knows what she’s doing.
Kendall strides over to two of our aunts from Texas, her smile growing as she greets them with warmth. My skin feels itchy at the prospect. I’m not ready to see them all and to be asked how I’m doing. I take a deep breath and brace myself in anticipation, waiting for their attention to turn to me.
“Ace!”
My heart constricts at the familiar voice, and I turn to see Sharon. Her eyes are glassy with tears, but her familiar smile is prominent as she takes the last few steps toward me and wraps me in one of her hugs, one arm securely sitting in the middle of my back and the other at the base of my neck. It feels maternal and comforting, like she knows I’m hurting right now. I don’t know if she realizes that part of it is due to her son or not, but she seems to realize my pain all the same and holds me tighter, drowning out the voices around us.
“Hi, sweetheart.” Her words are soft and comforting, followed by a couple of broken breaths that reveal this is just as emotional for her.
My arms tighten in response. We remain embraced for several moments, neither of us saying anything until my mom’s voice sings out a request for help in moving some large vases to the backyard.
As Sharon’s arms release me, my mom’s replace them. She holds on to me for a few long minutes of silence before whispering in my ear that if I need some time I can go up to my old room, reminding me that my poker face has apparently vanished for good.
I smile at her with appreciation but shake my head and turn to introduce her to Fitz. I can see the surprise and relief wash over Fitz’s smile as it grows when I say the word mom, and it causes my eyes to prickle with tears again. Next, I introduce Fitz to my aunts and cousins and other family members and close friends that are here to help get things ready.
The house is full of people, love, and noise, just like it’s always been. Looking around, I’m not sure that if my dad was still here if they would be. I know that many are here to support my mom through this period, even more than they are to prepare for the wedding, and though it makes my heart ache, it also expands with gratitude.
“Hey! Bosse women, upstairs!” Kyle hollers as he comes through the patio doors, wiping a sheen of sweat from his brow as he heads over to where Kendall and I are still standing with Mom, Fitz, and now Jameson.
“Mindi’s waiting for you guys. I’d go. She sounds a little worked up,” he says, jerking his head in the direction of the stairs.
“I brought some tequila. That will help her,” Kendall says with a smirk.
“Who’s this?” Kyle asks, ignoring Kendall and looking to Fitz.
“This is my good friend, Fitz, Fitz, this is my brother-in-law Kyle.”
Fitz offers his hand with a smile that looks slightly forced. I’m sure meeting this many people is already wearing on him, but I doubt anyone else can tell.
Kyle’s eyebrows rise as he looks at Fitz and then back to me, keeping his hands at his sides. “I have to go help Caulder move some things,” he says and then stalks off, turning at the door to look back at us one final time before he disappears.
“What crawled up his ass?” Kendall asks, still watching the door Kyle disappeared through.
“Probably Mindi,” Jameson replies, making both Kendall and I break into quiet laughs. Jameson looks to Fitz and nods his head, beckoning for him to follow him through a crowd of people before Kendall and I head upstairs to seek out our older sisters.
Our parents’ room has been turned into a dressing room. Garment bags, piles of tulle, shoes, and discarded clothing are strewn over nearly every inch of the room, with Jenny standing in front of our mom’s armoire. Her hands clutch the bodice of her white gown that looks like it came directly from a fairytale. I look up to see her eyes trained on me. They’re wide with concern and nerves, and something else that I can’t fully grasp before she looks over to Kendall.
“I think they switched our sizes, my dress is too tight! I can’t put it on!” Mindi cries, coming out of the bathroom in a flesh colored strapless bra and matching thong with a yellow dress thrown over her shoulder.
“You’re wearing beige underwear? Poor Kyle, what are you doing to that man?”
Mindi’s eyes flash to Kendall like laser beams, and I notice Savannah smile as she steps out of the bathroom wearing a lavender dress that touches her calves.
“I’m wearing beige underwear too,” I say, dropping my purse and garment bag on the bed.
“You’re supposed to wear an ivory dress, you should be,” Kendall says, turning to a few bottles of alcohol that have already been opened before Mindi can shoot her another glare.
I unzip my bag and pull out the dress that I’m supposed to be wearing. My sisters had selected ivory for me since I have the most olive-toned skin, saying it would wash all of them out. Mindi’s not much bigger than I am, you could never tell that she’s had three kids, but she’s a little taller, and her hips and shoulders are both slightly wider than mine.
She takes the dress from my hands and replaces it with the yellow one as she mutters incoherently and strides back to the bathroom while Jenny whistles and Kendall calls out after her about having a great ass.
Savannah and I quietly laugh as she comes over to greet me with a hug, and then Kendall hands us each a flute of champagne.
“To Jenny, our middle sister on her wedding day!”
We toast our glasses and drain them, filling my empty stomach with bubbles that work to combat my nerves as I try not to focus my thoughts on whether or not Max will come.
I stand in front of the mirror wearing the butter-yellow dress that was intended for Mindi that was apparently made to my size by accident. Mindi’s beside me applying a light shade of blush across her cheekbones. My eyes take her in wearing the ivory dress that is elegant and sexy on my sister’s frame. They move from her reflection to my own, comparing small details one at a time. I’ve gained most of the weight back that I’d lost in the first few months of being in Delaware. My calves are toned as are my arms from the classes that I’ve been taking at the gym, just like Mindi’s are, but hers are toned from chasing and carrying around three kids. Her eyes are as clear as the sky and her lips are painted a pinkish-red that looks beautiful against her creamy skin. My own eyes are the same dark shade of brown they’ve always been. However, looking at them now, I see hints of my dad in my reflection—hints that I’ve never seen before.
“God you have dad’s eyes.” Mindi’s whispered breath repeats my very thought. “You look beautiful, Ace, as always.” She wraps an arm around my shoulders and presses her face beside mine, and for the first time in what may be forever, I don’t spend the seconds focusing on our differences. I stare at us, seeing our similarities, and feel beautiful at what I find. My hair’s not as bright and my eyes aren’t an attention stopping blue, but it doesn’t matter because I have my dad’s eyes and his coloring mixed with our mom’s. I can see both of them and each of my sisters in small details of my reflection, but most of all, I see me.
Mindi’s lips curl, and she presses a kiss to my temple. “You’ve always been stunning. Don’t look so surprised.”
She steps away and Kendall’s reflection appears a few steps back. She’s wearing a darker shade of lavender that looks absolutely beautiful on her.
“How are you doing?” she asks.
My eyes turn from the mirror and look at Kendall’s as she steps up beside me. “I’m good.”
“Good as in you aren’t ready to talk about things yet, or good as in you’re trying to placate me?”
“She might be good, as in just good.” Kendall and I both turn to Savannah, her eyes intently stare at Kendall, not noticing me seeing the same emotion that Jenny’s had held when we came in. I look back to Kendall, who’s staring back at her with a silent refusal.
“I still have feelings for Max.”
My sisters’ stare-down breaks instantly at my admittance. Their eyes are wide with shock, yet their lips are turned up in matching smiles that tell me they already know this.
“Did I just hear you right?” Mindi asks, poking her head out of the bathroom.
“Yes, you did,” Jenny says from behind us.
“What are you going to do?” I can tell by the way all of my sisters turn to look at Savannah that she’s asking the question everyone wants to.
My fingers slide down the satin material of my dress as I shrug. “I don’t think it would be right for me to say anything. He’s moved on, and he’s made that abundantly clear to me.”
“Ace, I’ll give you that he’s tried moving on. He’s tried really hard, but he hasn’t.” Kendall’s hand peels one of mine from my dress and her fingers thread through mine. “You just need to talk to him. I know that’s really scary, but that way at least you won’t have any regrets.”
A heavy breath leaves me and goose bumps stretch across my skin at the prospect of doing so.
“You won’t know unless you try.” Kendall’s finger slides against the outside of my ring finger, tickling the spot that my tattoo resides as a constant reminder of the love I’ve carried for Max. At times it’s been a painful reminder, but at others, it has been a lifeline for me, reminding me that it was all real.
“There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.”
–Friedrich Nietzsche
“Do you see him?” I whisper, leaning closer to Kendall and receiving a look of confusion from my escort, Ian, a groomsman that I’ve neglected to learn anything more from than his name.
Kendall cranes her neck forward, whispering something to Savannah as Mindi leans back. We’re standing in order of age, which is killing both Kendall and me since we can’t see around anyone to know if Max has shown up. She recruited Jameson’s help as soon as we finished our conversation about Max. I’m not sure what they told him to try and get him to come. I’m not even sure that they were able to get a hold of him. The last hour has passed in a blur of posing for pictures and trying to ignore the panic in my heart so my smiles looked genuine.
“There’s a couple of empty seats next to Wes,” Kendall whispers, but I can tell by the lack of conviction in her tone that she also knows this doesn’t mean much.
The music begins and I thread my arm through Ian’s and crane my neck around my other two sisters to watch Mindi and Kyle head down the aisle arm in arm.
“Ace.”
I turn around to see my mom standing beside Jenny. They both look beautiful, and excited, and a little sad.
“Remember, sometimes you have to listen to your heart and block this out.” She taps her finger against my temple, bringing me back to last year and the morning after I slept with Max and went home when I found him pacing across the floor with anger burning in his eyes. Anger that I later learned was regret, an emotion that will torment you.
I slide my arm free from Ian and hug my mom with a fierceness that fills me with a strength I haven’t felt in a long time. “I love you too, mom.”
“I love you too, sweetheart. I love you so much.”
Jenny swipes away a tear before it can fall down her cheek, and her lips quiver between a smile and frown as her eyes turn away from us.
“Your daddy’s sittin’ in heaven right now, watchin’ his little girls that have somehow become women, and I know he’s proud of each of you, just as I am. You girls and your sisters are my world.”
The front door behind us pushes open and Max appears, wearing a black suit. He’s missing a tie and a couple of buttons on his shirt, but I barely notice because I’m staring at the black Converse shoes that have made my heart stop.
When my eyes return to his clean shaven face, his cobalt eyes are focused on mine, making my heart start again at a rapid speed that makes my head feel light.
“I’m sorry.” His eyes lock on me as he says the words, but his head turns to Jenny and my mom. Slowly, his gaze follows suit.
“We’re glad you came,” Jenny says, wiping another tear from her eyes as her smile becomes firmer.
Max nods once and then hangs back. Ian clears his throat beside me, bringing my attention to the fact that it’s our turn to head down the aisle. I look back once more, catching a last glimpse of Max before we take a step forward and walk out to the kitchen and follow the path to the backyard.
As we make our way toward Adam, my sisters, and Kyle, my eyes scan the faces of the gathered crowd, sliding over smiles from those that I love, and others that I barely know until I see Fitz. His face is smiling, but I can tell by his tight stance and how his shoulders are squared that something’s bothering him. I slowly turn away from him and catch Wes, Landon, and Jameson sitting together in a pack near Sharon. Each of them is smiling at me without reservation. Then I catch sight of Jesse and Abby sitting beside Jack and Ethel Janes and feel my smile grow as she swats at Jesse and wipes her eyes with a tissue. Finally, I look to the front as we cross the last few feet and my eyes dance across three of my older sisters looking proud and happy to have me here causing a chill to run through me.
Ian releases my arm, and I look to Adam as I clutch my bouquet with both hands and catch the slight nod he directs my way as I move to stand beside Kendall.
The ceremony ends with Adam dipping Jenny with a kiss that fills the backyard with cheers and whistles that have all of my sisters and me smiling between laughs.
We’re herded to the far end of the yard for more pictures where we remain for over an hour as guests are directed inside while tables and chairs appear in a setting for the reception.
As we’re needed less and less in the shots the photographers choreograph, we’re drinking more. Flasks and glasses are passed around with toasts to every subject under the sun.
“He’s wearing Converse.” Kendall turns to look at me, her eyebrows raised in confusion.
“Max,” I whisper, watching her eyebrows rise even higher. “Am I being crazy and reading into things?”
Her head shakes as her hand grips my arm. “It has to be a sign. You always wear yours.” We stare at each other for a moment before a smile spreads across her face. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m being crazy! I’m thinking his shoes mean something.”
“It’s Max. Everything means something.”
“Or I’m projecting my own desires and it’s grossly skewing my outlook.”
Kendall’s eyes close and her head shakes. “Don’t talk yourself out of this. Maybe it is coincidental, but really, I think everyone here knows it’s not.”
“I don’t know what to do! I feel like if I try and explain how I feel, my words are all going to come out wrong.”
“So show him.” Kendall’s eyes dance with excitement. I stare at her for a few beats knowing that she’s insinuating I kiss Max, and how wrong that would be. I also realize this may be one of my last chances to tell him how I’m feeling and I refuse to miss this opportunity. I slowly nod in agreement, eliciting a squeal from her as her arms wrap around my neck. The others look over to us for a moment before they turn back to the photographer, and Kendall and I fall against each other with giggles bubbling through us.The doors finally open, and the guests stream out of the house, filling the backyard once again. I impatiently search the crowd, seeing less familiar faces intermingling with the occasional familiar one, until the last of the guests emerge.
“Where is he?” Kendall demands as Jameson and Wes join us.
Jameson nods at the same time a throat clears that has Kendall and I turning to find Landon behind us with Max a short distance away.
Butterflies take flight, their wings feeling longer with the addition of alcohol as I watch his strides cover the next few feet so he’s standing in front of us. I want to study his face and see if his features will be unguarded and reveal anything to me so I can best figure out how to tell him how I’m feeling. I’m building the nerve to do so when a hand rests on my arm, breaking my focus.
“Ace, Kendall, we need one more!” my mom looks as reluctant to say these words as I am to hear them, but we turn and follow her toward the rest of the wedding party that’s now surrounded by our extended family.
As soon as the photographer gives us the green light to go, the DJ announces it’s time for Jenny and Adam’s first dance. A sweet ballad streams through the speakers, and I stand frozen on the outskirts of the dance floor, taking in every detail of this moment. Adam leads my sister to the rented dance floor with an arm wrapped around her waist. His face is bowed to hers as she smiles at something he whispers for only her to hear. When he reaches the very center, he releases Jenny and keeps walking to the other edge of the space. I have to stand on my toes, and crane my neck to see what he’s doing, but can only see the back of his tuxedo until he turns and I see Lilly holding his hand.
A collective sigh travels through the crowd, watching as he leads her back to Jenny. He lifts Lilly with his left arm and wraps his right around his bride, and as the song starts over, they fall into a graceful rhythm together.
I turn as a hand squeezes my shoulder and find Jameson beside me with a warm smile spread across his face, enunciating the small silver scar on his chin.
“I know this smile. Don’t tell me you’ve had another epiphany.”
Jameson laughs and tightens his grasp, pulling me closer to his side. “I’m proud of you for wanting to tell Max how you feel. I’m glad one of you is smart enough to do it.”
Jenny turns and I see her eyes searching the crowd, a move that reminds me so much of Danny and how his eyes always seek mine at his matches, that it fills me with guilt. Her eyes meet mine, and I shove my impending thoughts aside and smile in return, but my heart’s racing so fast it makes my breathing increase and my palms to grow sweaty.
The crowd around us breaks out in cheers, drawing my attention to the fact that the song has ended. I catch the end of a kiss shared between Adam and Jenny as others begin filling the dance floor while a faster beat runs through the speakers.
“Come on!” Abby’s voice cries from my other side. She reaches forward and gives my arm an aggressive tug. We join the crowd on the dance floor where my nerves slow down and my smile grows as we begin dancing.
I stay with her as others leave to visit and new ones come to share in the fun, allowing the onslaught of fears and emotions to subside as I immerse myself into the comfort and warmth of Abby as we laugh and dance with each other.
Wes slides in behind Abby, and the two do a grinding move that has me bent over laughing because I can’t get over the fact that she’s married and pregnant and dancing like this. Wes’s face is covered in a matching grin that expands when Jesse starts waving his hands and firing off Spanish words and English threats. He’s followed by Landon and Jameson. Kendall and Max trail after them, their hands connected in a warm embrace that melts my heart.
“Why aren’t we dancing?” I turn, hearing Kyle’s voice and see his arm slung around Fitz’s shoulders who looks rigid and uncomfortable, making me laugh once again.
I step forward and pull him from Kyle and while holding his hands begin dancing, trying to get him to loosen up. He stares at me stoically, refusing to move a single one of his muscles to comply with my movements, but it doesn’t deter me. I continue dancing in front of him as a new song plays, one that is on one of his favorite playlists and that I’ve heard him sing along to on numerous occasions. This time I sing it, and when I hit the chorus, his face cracks into a smile and he shakes his head, but I feel his muscles loosen.
Kendall and Abby join around Fitz, making his cheeks darken and his eyes to shine with amusement.
Eventually, I give in and leave Fitz and begin dancing with Savannah, who’s having a difficult time breathing because she’s giggling at nearly everything. My eyes continue, drifting to Max, who’s now dancing with Shelby, and I briefly wonder if he realizes who she is since he couldn’t recall her name a few days ago.
His eyes travel from the crowd in front of us to me, and our eyes meet, making the muscles in my body forget what they were doing seconds ago as my moves become slower and stiffer.
“Alright, my turn for a dance, little lady.” I turn and find my Uncle Wyatt, a husband of one of my mom’s sisters, who has always been stuck on calling me little lady.
The wedding continues and as it does, I continue to search for Max, but each time I find him, an outside force seems to break us apart when either another person approaches one of us or the speeches and toasts begin. By the end of the reception I’m so done with waiting, and watching from a distance that I’m ready to steal the microphone from the DJ and just share my feelings with everyone.
“What are you doing?” Kendall’s voice is a raspy whisper, startling me. The devious smile plastered across her face tells me it was her intention.
