Chapter 3
3
Ashley
His name was Marshall Devlin, and he was Rebecca’s dad’s business partner, one of the three partners of the security firm Mr. Black owned.
Talk about some hot tea. That was scalding.
It hadn’t been hard information to find out. The gathering guests, waiting to be seated, were pretty chatty. Of course, half of them wanted to talk about her being out there, instead of back with her father or Rebecca, but that meant they were barely paying attention to her own questions. They were like vultures, waiting for her to slip some juicy bit of gossip for them to devour.
Especially Rebecca’s side of the family. Blech. As she left the area to head back to her dad’s dressing room, she was pretty sure she saw Rebecca’s dad, so she took a turn down another hall to avoid him. She couldn’t understand why Rebecca’s parents weren’t stopping this craziness. She was pretty sure her dad was even older than Rebecca’s dad… didn’t that bother them?
Though, if she was being honest, the age gap wasn’t her biggest problem with the relationship. No, her biggest problem was Rebecca was supposed to have been her friend, yet she’d broken up Ashley’s parents’ marriage. Yeah, she knew her own dad had an equal part in it, but Rebecca had broken the unofficial bond of the Sisterhood.
She still didn’t know or understand why.
What would Rebecca think if Ashley hooked up with her dad? Snorting, Ashley shook her head. Rebecca would probably have a meltdown. Maybe she could even get Rebecca’s mom the proof that he’d cheated. Blow up the marriage and probably his business as well since it sounded like Marshall wanted out. Heck, maybe she could get pics of Rebecca’s mom cheating, too.
Watch their marriage fall apart, the way Slut-becca had made her parents’ marriage fall apart. Rub it in Slut-becca’s face that she wasn’t the only Daddy-fucker. Messed up? Sure. But Rebecca had done it first.
She was so caught up in imagining what Rebecca’s meltdown would look like, she barely noticed she was back at her dad’s room. It wasn’t until she had walked in and he practically jumped on her, she snapped out of her reverie.
“There you are!” His eager relief made her stomach start to churn again.
“I’m here.” She side-stepped him.
She hadn’t let him touch her since the day she’d found out about his affair, and she wasn’t about to start now. Knowing his hands had been all over her former best friend… Nope. No touchy. Fuck that noise.
Uncle Kellar shot her a sympathetic look, then glanced at his watch.
“Just in time, too. The wedding coordinator should be here any minute.” His voice was carefully neutral.
Sometimes, Ashley liked to think he was also disgusted with his brother’s behavior, though he hadn’t said anything about it explicitly. At least, as far as she knew. He was here as her dad’s best man, just like he’d been for her parents' wedding. She’d seen the pictures.
She didn’t blame him. They were brothers. She didn’t have a sibling, but she always figured you had to be there for the other person, regardless of how you felt about them. Kind of like how her mom had insisted on Ashley showing up for her dad. Of course, she’d considered Slut-becca to be ‘like a sister,’ and look how that had turned out.
Her stomach turned over again.
Saved by the knock on the door. The wedding coordinator opened it without waiting for an answer, fixing them all with the steely gaze of someone who was determined that everything run on her schedule.
Ashley’s dad straightened up when she looked at him, as if trying to prove he was ready to go where she ordered.
“Time to go. Ashley, you need to get to your seat. Wiley, Dave, you come with me.”
Though his feet were already moving, her dad looked over at her.
“Ashley, are you sure you don’t want?—”
“I definitely don’t,” she said harshly, moving past him at a much faster pace.
The coordinator stepped back to let her by, and she couldn’t be certain, but she thought she might have seen sympathy in the woman’s eyes. Great, even the wedding coordinator knew the backstory behind this pathetic farce.
She knew her dad wanted her standing up with him. It would probably make him feel as though she’d given her stamp of approval. Well, fuck that. He was lucky she’d shown up at all, and she wouldn’t even have done that if her mother hadn’t insisted. She wasn’t here today for him , and the sooner she could leave, the better.
This time, he didn’t bother trying to call after her as she hurried down the hall. Whether it was because he’d given up or he was too focused on the fact he was about to get married, she had no idea.
Slipping in through the door just before the ushers closed it, Ashley made her way over to the far side of the seats, in the very back. There was no way she was sitting in the front with family. Her whole dad’s side of the family, except him and Uncle Kellar, were there. Her Aunt Jeanine and all her cousins. He’d have to live with being represented by them.
She didn’t actually know a lot of the guests since they were there at Rebecca’s parents’ invitation. A lot of ‘important people’ in the social circuit, some of whom she vaguely recognized from parties her parents had thrown. All of them had known who she was.
Placing her hands in her lap, she kept her expression composed. No one was going to know she was screaming on the inside. Truthfully, the lack of expression, as well as her chosen seat, would send the message of disapproval pretty clearly. She’d do more, except she knew it would upset her mom to hear about it if she did.
And she wouldn’t put it past her dad to call her mom to tattle on her.
Just get through the ceremony and dinner, then you can run.
There was no way she was sticking around for the dancing or any of the rest of the celebrating. Her mom had already agreed that attending the ceremony and staying for dinner was enough, though she’d voiced the hope that Ashley might do the full thing. Why her mother still cared what would make her dad happy she had no idea, but here they all were.
She hadn’t been in her seat more than two minutes before her dad and Uncle Kellar walked through the doors, heading to their positions. Slumping in her chair, she made sure her dad couldn’t see her. The way his jaw clenched when he got to the end of the aisle and realized she wasn’t in the family rows was probably the only satisfaction she would get today.
After that came Rebecca’s mom, walking on her own, and beaming as though this was a normal wedding, then there was a succession of bridesmaids. Even though her dad only had Uncle Kellar, Slut-becca had insisted on having her five cousins as bridesmaids. The two of them hadn’t been great at making friends. They’d become friends with each other, and that was all they’d needed.
On one hand, that made Rebecca’s betrayal so much worse, but on the other, at least Ashley hadn’t had to watch other friends choose between them. If any theoretical friend had chosen to be part of Slut-becca’s wedding to Ashley’s dad, they would have been instantly dead to her.
The doors closed, and the music swelled before they opened again, and Slut-becca came through. Yeah, that virginal white dress was a lie. The fact she’d chosen one that was high-necked with lace sleeves didn’t make up for sleeping with a married man. She clung to her father’s arm, beaming with happiness.
Ashley only caught a glimpse of Rebecca’s dad’s expression, which was stoic. He really was hot. Ashley had noticed that previously, of course, but with the thoughts that had been going around her head after overhearing Mrs. Black and Marshall, his hotness had taken on new meaning.
Maybe if she got drunk enough, she’d flirt with him a bit. Just to see how he responded. And, okay, maybe a little to get under her dad’s and Rebecca’s skin.
If nothing else, it was a fun fantasy to help her get through the damn ceremony.
Sadly, they’d nixed the part where the pastor asked if there were any objections. The whole thing would have been a lot more fun if they’d left that part in. Still, despite her revenge fantasies, Ashley’s stomach cramped all over again as the ceremony became impossible to ignore.
When it was time to kiss the bride, she looked away, unable to watch as her dad kissed her former bestie. Tears sparked in her eyes, and she quickly rubbed them away with her finger.
No crying.
No making a scene.
No letting them see how they’d gotten to her.
Her dad didn’t care enough, and Rebecca was vindictive enough to enjoy it.