Chapter 2
Zane’s lungs felt as though they just might collapse in a blast of hot, humid Jamaican air.
Had he really just said what he thought he said?
No. This wasn’t real. He didn’t just drag Mabel Butler from their friend Anjali’s wedding in the middle of the ceremony to…to…do what?
Pledge his undying love?
A grunt of a laugh came from him, bubbling up in a sorely uncharacteristic way. Oh great. Was he on the verge of losing it to peals of laughter while Mabel stood there in a yellow dress, her best color, the skin of her slim, tanned arms and legs beckoning to him, with a look of shock on her face?
Shock and a death wish. If he didn’t pull it together and nip the laugh fest that was a-comin' in the bud, that stare of death would grow even more serious.
This was all so…unlike him. What had just happened?
Maybe he was taking losing all of his best friends to marriage in the past two years a little too hard.
Had everything hit him all of a sudden and he’d fallen off his rocker and pulled poor Mabel out of the wedding because he couldn’t stand the thought of being alone for the rest of his life?
Refusing to dig that deep at this precise moment, he steadied his breathing. Maybe he’d think about that in ten years or so.
That steadying breath made Mabel even more upset, because her already tight face squeezed into epic tightening, her lips clamping down so hard that her anger dimple showed and her baby browns flamed.
Yeah, he knew everything about Mabel Butler, even the comings and goings of that infuriatingly attractive dimple in her cheek and all its variations.
“I’m so sorry,” he offered. “It’s just—we’ve had this thing between us, and it’s getting worse.”
She blinked. “Worse?”
“Or better, depending on how you look at it. I can feel it—"
“Uh, you guys good?” Anjali’s voice called through the vines and leaves sprouting every which way. Unfortunately, the wedding had decided not to mind its own business. It looked like they’d stopped the wedding for them.
Mabel’s anger dimple deepened even more before she rushed from behind the screen, teetering on her high-heeled sandals that made her legs look even better than ever. Despite wanting to run the other way, he joined them, his jaw aching from clenching it too tight.
“Anj, I am so sorry! I didn’t know you’d stopped everything just because we stepped out a moment.” Mabel placed a hand on Anjali’s shoulder.
“It was kind of hard not to notice.” Anjali was usually pretty chill, but having to interrupt her wedding because of Zane’s…er…outburst seemed to be pushing her to the limit.
Mabel tossed a glance over her shoulder to Zane.
“We just…” She threw her arms up in the air.
“I don’t know. We needed a minute, and now we’re good, so let’s go back and get you two married already.
” The bubble of fake laughter did not bode well.
Either Zane needed to hop on the next plane out of there or the rest of the weekend was going to be grossly awkward.
Mabel didn’t look at Zane again but put her arm around Anjali. “I feel so bad about this. We just…I don’t know…”
Zane braced himself for what Mabel might say to explain, something like, Zane’s lost his ever-loving mind, and I was trying to make sure he didn’t go jump into the ocean over there.
Mabel couldn’t walk very fast in those sexy shoes of hers, so Zane was able to catch up to them quickly.
He joined them on Anjali’s other side as he tried to figure out what to say.
They rounded the corner to see the whole wedding party turned in their direction.
His father was at the front, his comb-over lifting in the breeze. He trained his fierce stare on his son.
Nice work, Zane. Now you’ve made three people have death wishes against you.
He noticed Parker walking toward them. Check that. Make that four people.
“I apologize, Anj.” Zane tried to make sure his voice was steady. Oh crap. Maybe she thought they were trying to break up the wedding or had concerns about it or something. Nah. Parker was a solid dude and treated Anjali well. They had a great relationship.
Zane started again. “It was my fault. And it had nothing to do with you guys.”
Anjali frowned as she navigated the grassy rise back to the wedding, holding her skirt in her hands, her bouquet tucked under one arm.
Parker joined them. “Is everything okay?” he asked Anjali before glancing at Zane, then at Mabel, then back to Zane.
Anjali nodded firmly. “Yes, all seems to be in order. Let’s seal this deal, baby.”
Within a few seconds, Zane and Mabel were back in their chairs as the other guests shot them looks of confusion. Mabel’s hands firmly slid down her dress as if to say, Okay, we are done with that whole business.
Except they weren’t. As much as he wanted to be.
Can I please just get over her and move on with my life? But Zane knew it was going to take a lot more than one excruciatingly embarrassing moment at a wedding for that to happen.
Maybe he’d have hope of getting over her if people would just leave him alone and forget all about those few seconds of insanity.
Right after the vows were said, the photographer began taking photos of the bride and groom. Zane couldn’t breathe in the heat, and his back was soaked with sweat. He drained two drinks brought in by servers carrying trays.
Apparently, there were going to be pictures of the entire group that he was supposed to be there for. But if he could bolt right then without everyone hating him even more, he would.
Attempting to avoid Mabel and everyone else, he stepped off the grass and into the sand. He walked near the water’s edge and stood, watching the waves lick closer and closer to his leather sandals.
Thankfully, his friends had the decency to leave him alone. At least in person, because then the texts began coming in, and reading them made Zane perspire even more.
Liam: Did you finally kiss her behind that shrubbery?
August: No offense, but your leaving when you did might have shortened your dad’s speech, so thanks for that.
August then sent a thumbs-up emoji.
Cady: You guys okay? We’re here for you if you need any help at all!
Mack: At least your backside looked good in those white jeans of yours. You gave the whole wedding party a good, long view of it as you walked away in a huff.
He wasn’t wearing white jeans, thank you very much. They were white linen pants, something Zane’s older sister, Lorelei, ordered for him when he’d complained that he had no idea what to wear to a wedding that was in Silver Plum, let alone Jamaica.
Tory: Sorry about Liam’s text. That was inappropriate. As was Mack’s.
Tory: And also? If you did kiss her, none of us would be mad about that.
Ruby: Weston and I agree with all of the other texters! And, yes, come talk to us if you need to. Hoping you do…
Zane wiped the sweat off his brow and growled. The worst part? It wasn’t a group text. Those were sent directly to him only. Which means they were talking about him and sharing the texts.
He spun around and looked across the way. They were in a cluster near the wedding party. A couple of them shot an amused glance in his direction.
Where was Mabel, and what kinds of texts were they sending to her?
Not much was clear in his life. He felt like he’d been sort of sleep walking in it for a while now.
Yeah, he’d made his way up to fire chief of Silver Plum, a job he enjoyed.
And he was on the paramedic team for the county because, thankfully, there weren’t enough fires in Silver Plum to give him full-time work.
Yeah, he had good, although frustrating, friends, parents, and a sister who loved him.
Despite all of that, he’d been a little down for a long time.
But one thing was clear. He’d behaved badly.
He’d made things about him instead of Parker and Anjali.
Now was not the time to remedy that, though.
This wasn’t the time or place to talk with Mabel about his feelings.
No way. It had been clear from her reaction that her feelings were about as opposite to his as you could get.
He just needed to get through the weekend, get back to work in Silver Plum, do his best to avoid Mabel as much as possible, and try to—finally—move on with his life.