“But will they look bad?” Nancy refastened a roller that was threatening to fall. Olivia had tried to convince her that a round brush and a blow drier would give her the curl she wanted, but she insisted her hair looked best when she “put it up” for a day—and she was going all out for the wedding.
“I think they’ll be fine,” Olivia assured her. “They won’t be right up against each other. See?” She held the two fabrics a few inches apart. “You won’t notice they’re not exact, especially with all the shades of pink and peach in the flower arrangements.”
“I don’t know….” Noelle shot her an accusing glower. “I thought they’d match better than that.”
She said this as if it was Olivia’s fault they didn’t, although it had been Noelle’s choice. She’d wanted to save money on the chair covers so she could get a pair of very expensive heels that wouldn’t even show beneath her dress.
Noelle wanted this to be the wedding of the century, which was so unrealistic. But it wasn’t only the color of the chair bows that was bothering her. She’d been hostile all morning. Olivia could feel the animosity; she just wasn’t sure of the cause. Was it the difficulty of pulling off an event like this? Or was it that Noelle knew Kyle had called her last night? That he’d come to the bar to get her?
Maybe she’d been the cause of a fight….
Or was Noelle upset that she was hanging out with Brandon?
The suspicion that her sister was once again jealous of the man in her life—even though she and Brandon weren’t as romantically involved as Noelle thought—made Olivia nervous. After everything Noelle had done to get Kyle, including, possibly, a purposeful pregnancy, she had no business even noticing Brandon.
“Regardless, it’s too late to change now,” Olivia said. Normally she would’ve gone to greater pains to reassure the bride, but she meant that statement in more ways than one. Noelle had made her decision. And in the process, she’d hurt and embarrassed Olivia, cost their parents a great deal of money by demanding such an expensive wedding, made a public fool of Kyle and humiliated herself.
Now she was carrying Kyle’s baby.
It was time for her to quit being so selfish.
“We could do without the bows,” her mother suggested, obviously trying to placate Noelle.
“Is that what you want?” Olivia turned to her sister, making it clear by her tone that she didn’t care either way.
Noelle pressed her fingers to her eyes. “Ugh! This is turning into a nightmare! Some wedding planner you are. I thought having a wedding was supposed to be fun.”
“I think it helps to be in love,” Olivia murmured. Fortunately Nancy didn’t hear. Abby was showing her where they’d set up the table for all the candy.
“I am in love!” Noelle insisted.
“With Kyle or Brandon?” Olivia asked.
Noelle’s lips thinned and her eyes grew so cold they gave Olivia chills. “You’re trying to ruin my wedding!”
Seriously? Was that all she was concerned about? There was so much more at stake!
“I’m afraid you’re going to ruin Kyle’s life,” she responded, realizing, for the first time, that what she’d suffered might turn out to be paltry by comparison.
*
“How’d it go today?” Brandon asked as he let her in.
Olivia was so tired she could scarcely move. This week had been emotionally draining. Add to that her late night at the bar, and a day spent in her sister’s company, and she was ready to crawl into bed. She hadn’t even taken the time to have lunch. She’d been running too late, so she’d gone all day without a meal. But they had to be at the rehearsal dinner in an hour. She’d eat then.
“It was weird,” she told him.
He went into the kitchen as she dropped onto his couch.
“It’s always weird when your sister is marrying the man you love,” he said.
Love? Or loved? She couldn’t decide anymore.
She thought back on the last seven hours. Her sister had grown more and more hateful throughout the day. Olivia felt sorry for their mother, who’d worked extra hard to stay positive and enthusiastic in the face of their long, sullen silences. “It got even weirder than that,” she said.
“In what way?” He brought her a sliced orange, which she accepted gratefully.
“I’m beginning to feel sorry for Kyle, if that makes any sense.”
“Makes all the sense in the world to me. I feel sorry for him, too.”
She offered him a tired grin. “That’s harsh. Just because she stalked you for a few months?”
A chuckle let her know he understood she was teasing. “It was the creepiest thing I’ve ever been through, seeing her face staring in at me through the window.”
“I suspect she still has a thing for you.”
He tried to shrug it off. “Don’t say that.”
“It’s true. Our…relationship is driving her crazy. I’d tell her we haven’t slept together, but I don’t think she’d believe me.”
“She’s getting married. It shouldn’t matter to her either way.”
She savored the sweetness of the orange he’d given her. “Unless she’s only in it for the shoes.”
“The shoes?”
“The trappings, the party, the celebration, the attention. This wedding shines a bright light on her and announces to everyone in Whiskey Creek that Kyle, a guy highly admired, prefers her to every other woman, including me.”
“The sad truth is…he doesn’t.”
“I don’t even care anymore.” Pushing her plate away, she leaned back and closed her eyes. “All I want is for this wedding to be over.”
“You’re exhausted.”
She didn’t answer. She told herself she could rest for fifteen minutes. Then she had to get ready. She had to get through the rehearsal dinner. But Brandon nudged her before she could drift off. “Come on. Nap on the bed. It’ll be more comfortable.”
“I can’t move,” she objected, but that didn’t deter him. He simply scooped her up and carried her down the hall.
When he took her to his room instead of hers, she didn’t have the energy to protest. At the moment, she was worthless as a sex partner. She just hoped he’d curl up beside her, lend her his strength and his warmth. But the next thing she knew, she was facedown on his pillow, breathing in the scent that lingered there—the same scent that clung to his body—as his fingers massaged the tight muscles in her neck and shoulders.