26. Abigail
TWENTY-SIX
ABIGAIL
Blair needed me to stand in while they adjusted the lighting at the altar so she’d look her best during the live stream. Our build and coloring were similar, and she needed to do her hair and makeup, so she pushed me toward the video team.
In the ceremony space, a dozen workers rushed to get the chairs set up. Shouts echoed through the building, and the distant din of the reception hall could be heard—caterers and sponsors jostling for space, some of Sinclair’s staff trying to control the chaos, and even a full-on security team to hold down a perimeter around the vineyard. The live stream from the fire had caused a swell of excitement, and a bunch of rabid fans were trying to sneak into the wedding.
“Do exactly what they say,” Blair commanded me. Her blond hair was in rollers, and her makeup had already been done for the “getting ready” content she’d filmed this morning. Apparently, she’d have to have that makeup removed and another face applied for the actual ceremony. She turned to the woman holding a big, expensive-looking camera. “Make sure the lighting is perfect. This is my big moment, and I need to look my best.”
“Of course,” the photographer replied.
“Yesterday you ran off at the first sight of fire. That’s unacceptable, Victoria. I need your full commitment.”
The photographer, Victoria, lowered her head. “I’m sorry, Blair. I didn’t want my equipment to get damaged. This is my livelihood.”
“Your livelihood?” Blair scoffed. “How about me? How about my livelihood? You wouldn’t have a job if it weren’t for me. Remember that.”
“That’s a little harsh,” I cut in.
Blair whirled on me. “Zip it, Compost Bin.”
I reared back. “Might I remind you that this gorgeous venue was made possible by me? I don’t appreciate the name-calling.”
“This is the least you could do,” Blair replied, then pranced away toward the exit. Victoria gave me a sympathetic look, then told me where to stand so she could adjust the lighting and take a couple of test shots.
We were in a big, light-filled ballroom that had been set up with an aisle and a ton of fresh flowers piled near the wall, waiting to be set up in bouquets at the end of every row of chairs. The walls were sandstone, and the rafters above were old wood, pockmarked and hefty and beautiful.
Sinclair might have been Enemy Number One in town, but he had good taste.
I looked up when Rex entered the room. He stood at the other end of the aisle, and although I was the one standing at the altar, for a second, I imagined what it would feel like to walk down the aisle toward him.
The workers rushing around the room faded. Victoria’s shutter clicking became a distant, almost imperceptible sound. Rex grinned at me, then started a slow, step-by-step walk down the aisle, his hands clasped in front of his chest as if he were a blushing bride holding a bouquet of flowers.
I laughed. Warmth flowed through me, and Rex flashed me a grin like he felt the same. I’d never shared a wavelength with someone like this. A relationship had never felt so natural—and this one hadn’t even been real at first.
But it was real now. The thumping of my heart was real, and the way I wanted to scream his name from the rooftops was real.
“I was looking for you,” he said as he approached my spot on the altar dais. He climbed the three steps toward me and took my hand.
I rocked forward but stayed on my mark. “I’m not supposed to move,” I said, nodding to Victoria.
The photographer straightened. “No, this is good. Rex, you’re about the same height as Donny, right?”
“He’s an inch and a half taller.”
“Noted,” she said, and adjusted one of the big studio lights at the edge of the altar before checking her camera again. “Stand right there and face each other. Good. Now hold hands again. I want to make sure the framing of this shot is right.”
Slipping my hands into Rex’s, I gave him a smile that felt a little shyer than it should’ve. We weren’t actually getting married. But at the end of an aisle, in front of all those empty seats, with the smell of fresh flowers all around and the towering ceilings above—it felt as real as my own wedding day, way back when. But better, because it was Rex in front of me.
The shutter of the camera clicked, and Rex asked, “You ready for round two?”
For a second, I thought he was thinking of marriage. Round two for me could be with him. Then I realized he meant Blair’s and Donny’s round two.
I nodded. “I asked Sinclair about his compost situation, and he looked at me like I was insane.”
Rex laughed, then tugged on my hands so I rocked forward a little again. I inched closer to him, and Victoria said nothing. “The cops are outside,” he told me.
“Already?” I exclaimed. “What happened?”
Rex laughed and reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “Just a precaution. I spoke to Bryce Lawson on the way in; he said the security team was already overwhelmed with people trying to sneak in through the perimeter.”
I held back my groan at the name of the guy who’d taken great pleasure in throwing me in jail the last time. “This is crazy,” I said, gesturing to the wedding at large.
“No, this is incredible, Abigail. I can’t believe you pulled this off in a day. This venue is better than the botanical gardens, and I know a big part of that is you getting this settled with Sinclair so quickly.”
I demurred with a shrug. “It pays to have contacts in this town.”
“It pays to be the kind of woman who can make it happen.” His thumbs stroked the back of my hands. “You’re amazing, Abigail. Fearless and resourceful and intelligent.”
My heart felt like it grew three sizes. I gulped. “That’s a funny way of saying impulsive and reckless.”
Rex lifted my hand and kissed the back of my palm. In the background, I heard Victoria say, “Nice!”
Rex lowered my hand again and pulled me closer, one hand wrapping around my waist. “You can call it whatever you want, but being exactly as you are is the reason I?—”
“Hey!”
We both turned at the sound of my brother’s voice. Gabe strode through the side door, wearing a white shirt, black vest, black bowtie, and black pants. His hair was combed back, and he was ready to take his spot behind the bar at the reception.
Gabe gave us a funny look, and Rex took a step back from me. “Needed to stand in to get the camera setup ready,” Rex explained.
“I think we’re good,” Victoria said. “Thanks, guys.”
Gabe visibly relaxed. “Oh. Right.”
I cleared my throat and arched my brows at Rex. He gave me a look that said, I know, I know .
What was the point of pretending right now? Rex had made it clear that he was all-in. Unless…he wasn’t?
“Just brought in the last case of champagne,” Gabe explained, coming closer. “Was wondering if you guys needed a hand with anything before I get busy behind the bar.”
“Nah,” Rex said, climbing down the steps of the altar toward him. “I’m going to find Donny. He was looking a little pale this morning, and I’m worried about him.”
Gabe nodded, and Rex nodded at both of us before walking out. I felt…a little numb. But there was a lot going on, and now probably wasn’t the right time to talk to Gabe. Rex already told me he had a lunch date planned. He could talk to my brother then, when things were calmer.
Still. It didn’t feel good.
“You two looked pretty cozy there,” Gabe noted, shoving his hands into his pockets.
I rolled my eyes. “Stop fishing, Gabe.”
He shrugged. “Just an observation.”
“Don’t you have a bar to tend?”
Gabe put his hands up, then followed Rex out the side door. I slumped into a seat and groaned—and then my phone rang.
Blair.
“Victoria told me you were done. I need you to go see Eduardo in the reception hall. We’re setting up the flower arch, and he needs you to stand in for the video setup.”
“Fine,” I said, grateful that she’d be out of my hair—and my house—by the end of the day. I was sick of being nice to someone who didn’t deserve it. Deep in the hidden part of me, I felt my patience with Blair and her antics wearing thin. Rex might call me fearless and resourceful, but I knew when I was close to snapping.
Every time she was rude to me, the little voice in my head that drove me to be impulsive would whisper, Do it .
I didn’t know what “it” was, but I knew it would be bad. I had to resist. I was trying to be a better person. I was trying not to end the day in lockup.
I glanced at the side doorway once more, wondering if Rex was telling the truth about his lunch with my brother this week. Travis used to make promises all the time, right before he cut me off at the knees and told me I needed to change who I was to make myself worthy of him .
Was Rex any different? He’d backed off the minute Gabe spotted us. How would he go from that to us being official? How would he react if my brother got mad at him? Would he really choose me over Gabe?
My phone buzzed. It was Blair, sending a text asking me why I wasn’t at the reception hall yet. I didn’t even know when she’d gotten my phone number or how she knew where I was.
Then I shook my head, took a deep breath, and told myself everything would be better by this time tomorrow.