Chapter 2

RHIANNON

I couldn’t stop wondering why he had been seated at that empty table for close to thirty minutes, staring down into his phone and not once going to greet either bride or groom. I would almost have thought he was some kind of sacred being with the way no one except some men in black approached his table and whispered things to him. He hadn’t come with anyone. Talked with anyone. Looked at anyone…

“You’ve been staring at that guy for almost thirty minutes, Ria,” Ashley’s voice reeled me back to reality—by her side and not miles away at the bar with a man I barely knew. “Are you sure you’re even hearing a thing of what I was saying?”

“What? Of course! I’m… hearing you.” I countered, my tone fading on the last words. Only the words she uttered when I wasn’t shamelessly staring.

“Really?” she raised an accusing brow. “What did I say before now?”

“I don’t know, something about Hailey—”

“A-ha!” she snapped. “You weren’t listening one bit!” And then she moved her chair closer, her face riddled with intrigue.

“Who’s the guy?” she whisper-asked, nodding towards him. I turned, only to meet his gaze again and feel that weird goosebump sensation that made me avert my eyes in an instant.

“I don’t know him. He’s just—”

“He’s hot,” Ash grunted under her breath, her bottom lip dragging between her teeth in some sort of sensual way that I almost wanted to hit her for.

“You’re staring at him like he’s a piece of savory meat you wish to devour,” I frowned.

“Not half as much as you staring at him, madam,” she coiled back against her stool, her eyes glimmering with mischief and lips curled in a sinister smirk as she peered me down, causing a blush to run up my cheeks.

I mean, I wasn’t staring…that hard.

And he was staring at me, too.

“You know, people say good things come out of terrible situations,” she began to say, and I just knew where she was headed with that sentence.

“Dead the thought, Ash,” I told her, picking up the glass of martini that had been begging to be downed for almost half an hour. “That guy looks way above my league.”

I might have been looking for a “Prince Charming” to sweep me off my feet, but I wasn’t so desperate. Especially for a guy like him.

Even though he looked so fine…

“He’s watching you,” Ashley whispered to me, holding back a girlish giggle as I turned to look at him again. He was watching. Staring. I could barely read the emotions in his eyes as they pierced me, but I couldn’t ignore the rush of heat that crawled up my neck.

“You should go say hi,” Ash prompted. “Who knows, he may be your ‘Prince Charming’ in disguise.”

And I pondered for one moment. Maybe it wouldn’t have been a bad idea to say hi. I mean, the guy looked as lonely as a stinging cactus, and he wouldn’t mind company, would he?

But still I said, “I can’t, Ash. Guys like that don’t need company.”

Fully embellished Adonis features, beautiful black hair, tattooed arms, and a forever icy gaze—he definitely needed a ‘by himself’ moment I shouldn’t disturb.

Ash nudged further, like it was a one-time opportunity that I might never get if I missed it. I didn’t want to, but I wasn’t usually the one who made the first move to talk to a guy. I got a timely save the moment Hailey stepped into our conversation.

“Hey, Ria,” she beamed. “You owe me a dance, remember?”

“Yeah, well, I don’t really feel like dancing right now, Hailey,” I responded. “How about later on?”

Her face fell, but she immediately masked it with a small smile and a shrug.

“Anyway, I hope you both are enjoying the moment?” She glanced from me to Ashley, who wore a notable look of disgust on her face.

“Yeah. We’re totally having a bummer watching you and your groom lock lips with each other and feel no guilt at all, Hell-lie. It’s some frame-worthy sight,” Ashley muttered out with a snicker. I slapped her arm.

“What she means is that we’re happy for you, Hailey,” I rushed to clarify. “She just doesn’t know how to express her excitement properly in words.”

“Yeah, well, I’m pretty sure I heard her call me Hell-lie,” Hailey said, her eyes narrowing at Ash. Ash’s derisive stare wasn’t helping matters while I was trying to get the two off each other’s nerves.

“But anyways, please stay till the end of the wedding, Ria,” her pretty smile came on again. “I have a very amazing gift for you being here I wouldn’t want you to miss.”

And with that, she left, disappearing into the crowd of people. Ashley snorted.

“She definitely sounded like a bitter, conniving witch,” she mumbled. I was sure at this point the entire room could feel the aching hatred Ash had for Hailey. “I won’t be surprised if this ‘gift’ is the last straw she uses to break you to pieces.”

“Stop all these conclusions, Ash,” I sighed. “Hailey really isn’t a bad person like you’ve labeled her to be.”

And she really wasn’t. Just a pretty, naive girl who believed in one true love and being materialistic. The girl could barely harm a fly.

“Yeah, right,” she shrugged, taking a long chug of her drink. My gaze drifted to the guy’s table, curious to see if he still had his eyes on me, but he wasn’t there anymore. He wasn’t anywhere around.

Did he leave?

But as I was still searching with my eyes, I saw Hailey mount the small podium, a drink in hand, a mic to her mouth, and the widest smile on her face.

“Hello everyone,” her voice boomed through the entire place, capturing most attention and silencing some chatter. “I’d like to have your attention for a moment, please.”

And she did. Gradually, the entire room fell into a deafening silence.

“I want to thank you all for being here at my wedding to celebrate with me,” she continued. “And for your kind gifts. I really cherish them, you all.”

A small chatter erupted, and I was left to wonder what this was about.

“Most especially, I want to thank my favorite, only sister, through whom I had the opportunity to meet the love of my life and be married to him, Rhiannon Clay!” She gestured to me from where she stood.

What in the world was she doing?

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Ashley gritted, at the same time, I began to receive stares, and the chatter increased.

“If you hadn’t proved yourself unworthy of love in the first place, I never would have met my Declan,” she giggled, like it was the most thrilling thing in the world and didn’t care that her words pierced me like an unexpected arrow, hooking her arm with said Declan, who wore nothing but an expressionless face.

But I could see it. The pity in those eyes when they found mine.

Someone tell me this was about to be some stupid April Fool’s joke.

“Many of you know my sister as an awesome, five-star baker, and she is, but to me…” Something shifted in her eyes at me. Something different. Something…mocking. “She’s a self-sacrificial nun who would always care a little too much, even at the expense of her own happiness. That’s why I love her so much.” Something in me ripped open as I stared at her. My thoughts were all over the place as I tried to pin down why she was doing this. Why her previously warm, angelic smile had morphed into a malicious, heavy grin.

She was thrilled, even as she raised her glass in the air, holding my gaze, and I felt a hand wrap around my arm.

“A toast to you, my darling sister,” she said, before taking a slow sip from her glass. No one did the same, not even Declan.

“Eat your ass, b*tch!” Ash cursed, throwing her a middle finger at her and turning to me.

“Time to go, Ria,” she pulled at me. I didn’t move. I couldn’t, because everything was too difficult for me to comprehend.

Why did she do it?

She managed to pull me out of there, into the hallway, and I couldn’t stop replaying everything in my head over and over again.

Why did this feel like some messed-up dream I needed to wake up from?

I didn’t know when my tears began a free fall until I tasted them—the salt and pain of betrayal. And I was still struggling to hold my ground and not crumble from all the swirling emotions when I bumped headfirst into someone’s chest.

A man.

And when I looked up, I saw him. Prince Charming in shiny armor. And he was frowning down at me.

“Let me drive you home, Ria,” he offered. And I didn’t take time to wonder why he would offer me a ride home, or how he knew my name, before letting him lead me out.

If this were a dream, I might as well just let him ride me off in his carriage and ease off the memory.