Mr. Swoony (The Nest #3)

Chapter 14

Fourteen

Eloise

“Where do you want to go?” Jade asks, continuing to drive out of Winnetka.

“I feel like you two are Thelma and Louise up there, but who can I be?” Kyleigh asks from the back seat.

I turn to face her. “I’m so sorry you got hit.”

She shoos me off. “It’s my brother’s fault. Can I tell you how sorry I am that he ruined your wedding?” She cringes.

“And do you want to explain exactly why Conor is objecting to you marrying Tristan?” Jade asks, side-eyeing me and pulling onto the freeway.

I keep my attention on Kyleigh. “You don’t need to apologize. Something tells me Conor always does what he wants no matter who tells him differently.”

“Truth.” She rolls her eyes.

Turning around to face forward, I lean back into the seat. “I didn’t want to involve you guys, but since you’re in the getaway car, I’ll bring you up to speed. I met Conor at my bachelorette party last weekend.”

Jade makes a sound of frustration, and her hands tighten on the wheel. “I was so mad when the airline told us they couldn’t do anything to get us home. I’m sorry. You had to wear that sash and shirt.” Her shoulders sink further and further.

I shake my head. “You don’t have to apologize. But I was alone in some random people’s VIP section that Penelope got us into, and Conor was in the VIP section next to ours. He came over.”

“Did he hit on you?” Kyleigh leans forward and peers between us. “What a sleaze. And now he ruins your wedding? Turn this car around. I need to give him a piece of my mind.”

“Relax, killer,” Jade says.

I shake my head. “He didn’t hit on me. I think he felt bad for me. It was pretty easy to tell I wasn’t having the best time, and he came over to cheer me up. Then Penelope got wasted, and he saved me from having to put her on a luggage cart to get her out of the cab and into our room.”

“He went to your hotel room?” Jade asks. “How am I just hearing about this right now?”

I stare out the window, watching cars whizz by us. “I was embarrassed, I guess. I let him help me with Penelope, then these girls were camped outside the room trying to get a picture of us together. So, we devoured the minibar, and he found my list.”

“List?” Kyleigh leans in farther.

Jade glances at her and back at the road. “Eloise and I wrote down a bucket list of thirty things to do before we turn thirty.”

“Oh, I like that.” Kyleigh smiles.

“And I found mine when I was moving out of my apartment. Conor read it and asked me to go stargazing with him.” I bite my lip in fear of their judgment.

“And you went?” Jade asks with some hesitation.

“I did. Nothing happened between us. It wasn’t like that. It’s hard to explain.”

Kyleigh’s phone rings, and she pulls it out. “It’s Rowan.”

“Yeah, Henry’s been calling me nonstop. Tell him his baby is fine.” Jade pats the dash.

“Is that why we’re driving so slow?” I shake my head at her.

“I have to be careful. Henry would kill me if anything happened to his car.”

“Henry wouldn’t care. There are two things he cares about—you and Bodhi,” I say.

She smiles, and jealousy rakes up my spine. “True.”

“Hey, we’re okay. Henry’s car is fine. I’ll be in touch after we decide where we’re going. You just worry about Conor.” Kyleigh is so even keeled and matter-of-fact. There’s no hint of anxiety in her voice, and I envy her feeling so solid in her relationship. I probably wouldn’t have left the church if I’d felt the same in mine. “I’m okay, I don’t need to see a doctor, and yes, I’ll put ice on it. Okay, see you at home. Love you.” She hangs up and slides between us again. “What did I miss?”

“How is it there?” I ask.

She waves me off. “That’s not important. They’ll handle it. You concentrate on yourself.”

Jade laughs. “That’s not Eloise’s style.”

Kyleigh touches my arm. “I can’t imagine what you’re going through right now. And I don’t know what happened with my brother and why he would think it was a good idea to do what he did, but I’m assuming, since we’re not at the church, that you didn’t want to marry Tristan?” She poses it like a question.

“You’d be correct and…” I turn in my seat. “I can’t ask Jade because she’s been in love with Henry since she was seven, but with Rowan, how did you two get together?”

Jade pulls off the highway. I’m pretty sure she’s going to her house.

“Oh, well…” Kyleigh’s eyes meet Jade’s in the rearview mirror. “It was a one-night stand, turned into more that turned into feelings.” She and Jade exchange a look again. “Are you saying that you and my brother… I mean, was it love at first sight?”

“No, but there was a connection. Chemistry I haven’t felt with anyone before. Not ever. Not even Tristan. Which is bad, I know.” I cringe and flop back in my seat, bringing my hands to my face.

Jade pats my knee. Well, actually just layers and layers of my dress. “Maybe you should let this all settle and see how you feel after tonight. It’s a new day tomorrow.”

“You’re probably right.” I straighten and face the window.

“Okay, that’s ridiculous. Listen, Eloise, I know I don’t know you as well as Jade, but when you first came into my store, you said you were a people-pleaser. And right now, you’re pleasing Jade by agreeing to let all these emotions settle. What do you want?”

“I hate to interrupt, but she just walked out on her fiancé. A fiancé she was very committed to.” Jade pulls down an alley and presses a button to open the garage of the house they’re renting until the renovations are done on the house that was her grandma’s. “And don’t worry, Bodhi is at my parents’.”

“Exactly. She finally decided to live for herself. So come on, tell us what you want to do. Order a bunch of junk food and devour it? Want to take off the dress and burn it?” She holds up her hands. “I might tear up, but it’s fine. I get it.”

“I wouldn’t do that to you.” I huff out a weak laugh. Though I’d love to torch this thing. It represents all the power I handed over during the course of my relationship. Who gets married in a dress they don’t even really like?

She reaches between the seats, grips an appliqué, and tugs, making beads scatter through the car.

“Okay, it’s Henry’s car, remember?” Jade turns the key in the ignition, shutting off the car.

“You hate this dress,” Kyleigh says. “Let’s just rip it apart.”

Jade turns to face Kyleigh. “What is going on with you?”

“Come on, Jade, you know exactly how freeing it is to finally put everyone else’s wishes and wants for you in the rearview mirror. Let’s give that to Eloise.”

Jade glances at me, and a smile creeps up her lips. “Did you love Tristan?”

“I thought I did.”

“But? Is Conor the only reason why you called it off?”

I shake my head.

“I didn’t think so.” She pulls out her phone and holds it up to her ear. “Hey, yeah, you can’t come home tonight. Yep. All safe in the garage.” She laughs. “Oh, I’m good.” She looks at me. “We’re all going to be good. Go have a guys’ night.” She laughs again. “Love you too.”

Hearing her and Kyleigh on the phone with their partners solidifies that Tristan isn’t the man I want to be with. I don’t want to live in fear of judgment whenever something doesn’t go as planned.

“I’m jealous, girls. You have some great men.” I sigh.

They turn to one another and nod. “We do,” they say in unison.

Jade takes my hand. “And you will too. Now, let’s go burn the dress.”

She smiles at me, and we all exit the car, heading into Jade and Henry’s rental house. I forgot how good it feels to have real friends who have my back.

“Wait,” I say when we walk inside. “My mom. Sam.”

Jade shakes her head. “I’ve got it. You go with Kyleigh, and I’ll handle it.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Hey, I’m the maid of honor. It’s my job.” She winks and heads to the staircase.

“Thank you.”

“You’d do the same for me.” She squeezes my forearm and walks up the stairs.

“All right then—rip it, burn it, or both?” Kyleigh asks, distracting me from my thoughts.

Although my mind is full of lingering worries about what the aftermath of my decision to leave Tristan will be, I push those thoughts aside and try to finally think about what it is I really want.