You Kissed Me First

26. Wedding

CHAPTER 26

Wedding

KATIE

It’s been three days since I’ve seen or heard from Dominic. I thought that’s what I wanted, but the longer that passed, the more it hurts.

If this is what love actually feels like, then I’m grateful I’ve never truly felt it before.

I arrived last night, but thankfully I was able to avoid everyone.

This morning, I don’t have such luck.

Nessa: My room in ten minutes. You’re my maid of honor, so you will be here to get ready with us. No excuses.

I wasn’t planning to give her any excuses. I’m just afraid to run into Dominic. As soon as I got home, I realized I had made a mistake. I shouldn’t have run out of there the way I did, but how can you take something like that back?

I figured he might call, but he didn’t. I’m too chickenshit to call him. What if he realized I am a legit crazy person and wants nothing to do with me?

I’d rather not know. At least right now, I can pretend he’s still pining for me.

Putting on my robe, I head the several doors down to her room. When I knock, she opens it right away.

“Finally. What took you so long? Get your ass in here. We are getting pictures taken.”

“Hello to you too, Nessa. My drive was fine. I arrived late last night and slept well. How are you?” My sarcastic tone only makes her laugh.

“Hey, Katie. How are you?” Abby asks as I settle into the chair next to her.

I give her a small smile. “I’m okay. How about you?”

She shrugs. “Alan is still acting weird. He’s all about talking now. He even suggested we see a couple’s therapist to make sure we are on the same page. What about you and Dominic? You left the ship before us?”

“I couldn’t sleep and really needed to get home. I had some things I needed to get taken care of before I came here,” I tell her honestly.

I was able to get everything all packed up. After dropping some things at my parents’, I headed this way. It’s been an emotional week. The only good thing is I’m finally off my period. Hopefully that means I can keep my hormones in check.

“Ah. He looked real sad, but wouldn’t really say why he didn’t leave with you,” she whispers.

“I didn’t want him having to rush off because of me, is all.”

Part of me is relieved he didn’t immediately admit to our relationship being fake, or even worse, tell everyone we broke up.

He could have said anything he wanted, and I would have had to go along with it because I left. I didn’t give him a chance to discuss how we would end it.

“I’m sure you’re excited to see him today then. I know he has been moping around the past couple days. I think he misses you.” Abby giggles.

“Of course he does,” Samantha chimes in. “He has been a miserable ass without you, Katie. Trust me, the guys are going to be happy you are here if only to put Dom in a better mood.”

I blush, wanting to believe what they are saying. Could he really be missing me like I’m missing him?

“Casey, you’re up next for hair. Katie, you didn’t bring your dress down here. Let’s go get it.” Nessa grabs my arm, pulling me from the room.

As soon as the door shuts, we start walking. “What’s that about? I could have gotten my dress myself.”

She glares at me. “We are going to have a talk, missy.”

I swallow hard. I knew she’d be pissed, but I didn’t expect her to want to hash this out before her wedding.

We get to my room, each taking a seat on the bed.

“I’m sorry I was ignoring your calls. I have a good reason, I promise,” I tell her.

“Oh, so it wasn’t because you abandoned Dominic on a ship all by himself, confused as fuck about what he did to make you run?” She quirks an eyebrow, crossing her arms across her chest.

“Of course not. I mean, I told you why I left, but that’s not why I haven’t been answering.”

She gives me a look like “I’m waiting.”

So I sigh. “I was laid off from the newspaper, which I told you, but I haven’t been able to find anything else. Unless I want to deplete my savings, I can’t afford to stay in my apartment, so I’ve been packing so I can move back in with Mom and Dad.”

She gasps. “Katie, why didn’t you tell me?”

My eyes are tearing up now. “I’ve been such a mess. I didn’t want to bring you down. I felt like it was one thing after another. First, I caught Barrett cheating. Then the newspaper laid me off. Then the only job I could manage to find was a barista. I felt like a failure. I think that’s why I freaked out when I saw that text from that chick on Dominic’s phone. I couldn’t stand the one bright spot in my life to end on a sour note. I needed that trip to remain my positive.”

“Oh, baby girl.” Nessa pulls me in for a hug. “You’ve been carrying this all on your own. I’m your best friend and sister. You should have told me.”

“I didn’t want to put a damper on your wedding. Besides, I’m fine. I’ll be fine. Mom was able to get me an interview with the local newspaper. It doesn’t pay much, and it’s part-time, but at least I’ll still be reporting news. I think I’m also going to take on some freelance work. Really, I just need some time to get back on my feet.” I hug her back as fiercely as she’s hugging me.

“So you didn’t leave Dominic because you want to get back with Barrett?”

I pull back from her, eyes wide. “Fuck no. Why would you think that?”

“I don’t think that, but that’s what Dominic thinks. He thinks the space you needed was to decide if you wanted to take Barrett back. Also, you should ask him about Sasha. I think you jumped the gun on that one.”

I give her a small smile. “I know I did. I knew I was in the moment, but you know how you are so hormonal, and you can feel yourself getting worked up over nothing and overreacting, but you can’t stop it. It’s like a train wreck that you can’t look away from, but you can’t stop it either? That’s how I was that morning. It’s why I left. If I had stayed, I would have made it worse. I didn’t expect him to actually give me space though. I prayed he would call.”

She chuckles. “Communication. I swear I told you how many times to communicate with the man? This is why. Now I want you to promise me when he seeks you out tonight that you will listen to what he has to say. No more running. It was cute when you were a kid, but you’re an adult now. Stay and figure shit out.”

“All right. I can do that. Can it wait until the reception at least? If we talk before we get you down the aisle, I’ll cry, which will ruin whatever makeup you have planned for me.”

She smiles wider. “Oh, he’s going to wait until the reception. I can promise you that.”

DOMINIC

She’s gorgeous.

That’s all I can think as she walks my way wearing that beautiful baby-blue dress. Her eyes are wary, but she has a small smile on her face.

“Hey, Dom. You ready to get these two married?” Her tone is soft, almost a whisper.

My heart is racing. She said Dom, not Dominic. That makes me feel like we haven’t lost everything we worked for on the cruise.

“You look beautiful, baby doll.”

Her smile grows.

“All right, it’s time to walk. Remember to be counting in your heads. Do not walk too fast,” the wedding coordinator calls out.

Then the music starts.

I hold my arm out to her. When she slips her hand around it, I feel the electricity between us. This isn’t over for us. Not by a long shot.

When it’s our turn, we walk down the aisle slowly. I’m counting on her to keep us on pace because all I can do is think about how I don’t want to let her go.

At the end of the aisle before we part, I lean in, pressing a kiss to the corner of her mouth. Most of the other couples kissed on the lips, but I felt like that might have been too much for us.

When I pull back, her eyes are shining with tears. I curse to myself but step back to find my place next to my best friend.

“You ready for this?” I ask him, my eyes still on Katie.

“Today I’m marrying the love of my life. I couldn’t be more ready if I tried,” Grant murmurs.

When the wedding march starts, everyone stands. Then the doors open to reveal Nessa and her father. She looks pretty in her wedding gown, but she has nothing on her sister.

Glancing over, I see Katie holding a tissue to her eyes as she cries.

Then I notice Grant’s shoulders shaking as he wipes at his face.

My best friend is bawling as he watches his woman walk down the aisle toward him.

If it were Katie, you would be crying too.

The thought filters through my mind, but I know it’s true. I would.

Pulling a tissue from my pocket, I slip it into Grant’s hand. He startles a moment before he takes it, whispering a thank you without taking his eyes from his bride.

For a moment, I meet my mom’s eyes in the audience. She gives me a nod. She knew he would need it when she shoved them in my pocket earlier.

The ceremony isn’t a long one. By the time they kiss at the end, there aren’t many dry eyes in the house. It’s a beautiful wedding. You can tell how much Grant and Nessa truly love each other.

As they exit, I move up to take Katie’s arm again.

“That was perfect,” Katie murmurs through tears.

I reach up, folding my free hand over hers where it sits on my arm. “It was.”

“I know we need to talk, but can we do it later?” she whispers as we exit the chapel.

“Of course. Do you need a ride to the reception?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “Abby asked if I would ride with her. Maybe you could give Alan a ride. I think she needs some girl time.”

“Sure. Anything you need.”

Then I watch as she walks away.

Only a little longer.

“Why do I recognize the girl hanging all over Barrett?” Katie asks Abby as I slide into the seat next to her.

The seat I was assigned by Nessa.

I glance in Barrett’s direction then laugh.

“What?” Katie asks.

“That’s Maria. She used to date Vince back in high school. Then she dated Barrett’s cousin Greg. I guess now she’s with Barrett.” I shrug.

“Wait. Let me get this straight. So she dated Barrett’s best friend in high school and then his cousin? Did she sleep with them too?”

Katie has a confused look on her face, but it’s so adorable.

“Oh, for sure. They are tunnel buddies.” I laugh.

“Tunnel buddies?”

“You know. They all have had a turn pounding that tunnel.” I wiggle my eyebrows.

She bursts out laughing, making my heart lighter. “That’s disgusting. Do they all know?”

I nod. “Of course. You probably recognize her because she was still banging Greg back at the engagement party. She was his date.”

She shakes her head. “That’s messed up, even for Barrett.”

Before I can say anything else, the event coordinator picks up the microphone.

“Can I have the best man and the maid of honor up here for speeches, please?”

Standing, I step behind Katie’s chair to pull it out for her.

“Thank you.” She keeps her voice low.

I press my hand to the small of her back, leading her to the front.

“Mind if I go first?” I ask her.

“Of course not. I hate talking in public anyway.”

I snort. “That’s right. I forgot about that.”

She gives me a glare, but the small smile ruins the effect.

Grabbing the mic from the event coordinator, she winks at me. She’s in on the plan.

“Hello friends and family. It’s wonderful to be here tonight with you to celebrate the joining of my brother from another mother, Grant, and his beautiful, blushing bride Nessa. As you know, we spent the last two weeks together on a cruise ship, and let me tell you, the antics were nothing short of crazy.”

Everyone starts to laugh, and I know it’s started. Katie looks up at me, confused, until she looks behind me and laughs.

Turning a little to keep her and the couple in my vision, I smile at the photo. It’s one of Grant in Nessa’s sleepwear the night of the scavenger hunt. I took it as we were headed back to the room.

“What happened to what stays on the ship, man?” Grant jokes.

“Sorry, man. I couldn’t let this one go. As you can see, Grant had a fun time getting to know his bride more intimately.”

The photo changes to one of Nessa grinding on him while she holds up her drink.

“As much as she had fun getting to know him.”

I can hear Nessa laughing. They had no idea what I was going to say, but they knew I was going to do a picture slide show from the cruise.

“Every single day spent with them showed me what it means to truly be in love with someone who is your other half. How grateful you should be when you find that person.”

The photos switch through a couple of them together and smiling. Then it switches to one of all of us.

“We had a lot of fun together, but this trip was more than a vacation away from reality. This is the trip that changed my life. Not only because I was able to travel to places I’ve never been, but because I got to spend it with someone special.”

Now there’s a picture of Katie and me on the screen. I hear her gasp.

“For fourteen days, I was lucky enough to spend almost every waking minute with someone I admire. Someone who I fell head over heels in love with. Someone who I can’t wait to get to know more.” Turning to her, I take her hands in mine, forgetting the mic. “Katie. Not one second of this was ever fake to me. It might have been an impulsive decision to claim you as mine, but I haven’t regretted it a single second. I don’t want you for a good time, baby doll. I want you for a long time. I’m thinking forever if you’ll have me.”

Katie’s eyes are teary as she looks up at me. She’s not speaking though.

My heart is pounding, waiting for her answer.

Then I hear it.

“Oh fuck.”