29. Rex
TWENTY-NINE
REX
Bryce finally left me after he followed me to the groom’s room on the top floor of the winery, where I pulled the wristband out of my jacket’s breast pocket. I wrapped it around my wrist under his watchful eye, then sighed as he turned and strode back toward the staircase.
Panic nipped at my heels.
There were staff members everywhere. Through the vast windows looking out on the vineyard, I could see a woman run across the front of the driveway with a stack of flowers almost as tall as she was. Another rolled a cart toward the kitchen, dishes clattering over the concrete pathway. Three security guards watched from the corners of the driveway as vehicles approached; the first of the guests were arriving.
I was running out of time.
I pulled my phone out and dialed Donny—he rejected my call.
Swearing, I grabbed my tux jacket and checked the top floor for any sign of Donny. He wasn’t in the bridal suite, which was a mess of makeup and hair styling tools, discarded bathrobes, and stray bridesmaids.
“Where’s Donny?” I asked.
One of the bridesmaids shrugged almost like she couldn’t care less. “Probably being murdered by Blair after Tammy showed her that video of you and him planning to call off the wedding. She ran out of here a few minutes ago.”
“That’s not—” I growled, cut myself off, and spun to exit the room.
I wasn’t planning anything. I was just trying to help my brother make the right decision. We’d grown up with a father who was physically present, but absent in all the ways that mattered. Resentment had dripped down the walls of our family home and seeped into our bones.
I’d fought against that poison. I’d tried to keep everyone together. I’d done the Christmas stockings and Easter egg hunts for the family when my mother was too sad or too broken to try anymore. I’d held us together with thin traditions and the force of my will. I’d worked myself raw to make sure Mom and Donny had what they needed. I sacrificed—for them.
And I wouldn’t give up now. I wouldn’t let Donny make that mistake—if not for his sake, then for the sake of his future children. They deserved better than what we had, and I’d make sure he saw that. That he understood the burden I’d tried to shield him from.
I’d already checked all the rooms on the top floor, and the floor below was closed off. Which only left the ground floor of the vast vineyard estate. Too big to search, especially when I needed to talk to Donny before he confronted Blair .
I ran into my mother on the landing. “Oh, Rex!” she cried. “You need to talk to Donny.”
“I’m looking for him, Mom.”
She grabbed my lapels. “Don’t let him break up with her. I want at least one of my sons to be married.”
For the first time in my life, disgust trickled through me at the sight of my mother. I pulled away from her and frowned. “You care more about him being married than him being married to the right woman?”
She waved a hand. “Rex, stop it. Go find him and make sure he’s at that altar when the time comes. This wedding is going to be perfect. It has to be after that viral disaster yesterday.”
“Even if he doesn’t want to marry her?” I prodded.
“They’ll work it out,” she said, shooing me. “Your father and I did. But all these people… Rex, honey, what will they think if he calls it off? He’ll never find another Blair.”
I paused. “Is that what you thought when she and I broke up?”
My mother sighed. “Rex, please. You’re my darling boy, but Donny is Donny. He’ll be back to playing football, and Blair will be by his side, and everything will be perfect.”
“Everything will look perfect. On the outside.”
“Same thing!”
I blinked at her, and it was as if a veil was lifted from my eyes. Was that what she thought? I opened my mouth to respond, then closed it again. What was the point? My mother was convinced that staying married to my father had been the right thing to do. She’d stayed with him to keep up appearances, because that’s what really mattered to her.
That’s what really mattered to Blair .
And I realized that some of the blame that I’d laid at my father’s feet belonged to my mother. They both stayed in their toxic marriage. They both contributed to the dynamic. My father’s resentment made us feel like we were walking on eggshells all the time. His anger was explosive, and I bore the brunt of it. Then he died, and I carried on holding us together.
For what?
For my mom to save her precious reputation? For her to be able to force Donny into the same misery?
Abigail’s words came back to me. She’d told me that Donny needed to take care of his own problems, that it wasn’t my responsibility to save him all the time. She was right. Of course she was right. But I couldn’t just cut Donny off when we’d grown up in that house together. When he was under the same pressure as I was to pretend that everything was okay.
“I need to go,” I told my mother, and raced down the stairs.
That’s when my phone buzzed. Donny’s name flashed on the screen. Hey. In the coat check. Just saw Blair. Need to talk to you.
Finally, I knew where my brother was. Relief spilled over me for a split second before my limbs were moved by adrenaline. Was he okay? Had he come to his senses and broken up with Blair? Would this all be over soon so I could get back to Abigail?
God—Abigail. I needed to talk to her too. My heart beat hard at the base of my throat, my breaths unsteady and harsh. Everything was just a little too much right now. My vision shimmered at the edges, and I felt like everything was going to fall apart.
Just like when Dad died. Unless I held the world up together with my own hands, it would crumble. Unless I fixed this , nothing would be right. I had to work and work and work and rush around and coddle and sacrifice—and only when everything was okay again, I could think about myself.
With wide strides, I made my way downstairs and around the corner to the coat check. I charged in, my eyes set on seeing Donny there in his tux. But there was no tux, only a woman in a wedding gown.
I stopped short. “Blair?” She turned around with tears streaking down her cheeks. I blinked. “Where’s Donny?”
She stepped closer and her chin trembled. “He left.”
So he’d done it. He’d ended things with Blair. Mom was not going to be happy. And neither were Blair’s two million followers.
But Donny would be. It might be difficult for a while, but eventually, he’d find the right girl for him and he’d move on. I wanted that for him. I wanted him to find the right woman, because for the first time in my life, I knew what that felt like. I had found the right woman in Abigail. My perfect match.
“What did he say?” I asked, eager to hear more about my little brother’s act of bravery. Just knowing that he did it inspired me to take the leap too. I need to get to Gabe.
Blair brushed her cheeks clean. “It’s not what he said. It’s what I said.”
Huh? “And what did you say?”
“I told him the truth,” she started with a distinct look in her eyes. A look I couldn’t quite trust. “I told him that ever since we arrived in New Elwood, I’ve realized that I made a mistake. And I feel so foolish. How could I not see it before?”
My heart was still beating weirdly. I couldn’t focus on Blair’s words. I needed to talk to Donny, then Abigail, then Gabe. I shook my head. “See what?”
“You, T. You,” she said, but I wasn’t following. Or maybe I just didn’t want to follow. She blinked at me, big eyes full of tears. Her chin wobbled. “You’re not just the best man. You’re the only man. I don’t know why it took me this long to see it. I never should’ve left you. I should’ve been with you. I should be marrying you.”
She never should have left me ? I distinctly remembered that conversation, when we sat down in the coffee shop that used to be where Magnolia was now, and I told her that I didn’t think we should be together. That we wanted different things.
Now, as Blair teetered toward me on her wedding day heels, I didn’t know what to say. All I knew was that she was wrong. There was no scenario in which I would ever be back with her. I’d found my person. And if she could be honest with herself for ten fucking seconds, maybe she’d see that. “Blair, I?—”
She stepped up to me and placed her finger on my lips. “Shh! You don’t have to say anything. I love you too.”
Love? I didn’t love Blair. But before I could utter those words, she quickly replaced her finger with her lips. Shock made me freeze for a split second. Her overpowering perfume engulfed me as I felt her lipstick on my mouth.
Then I flinched back—but it was too late.