Chapter 15
Chapter fifteen
Two Hours Later
Dinner drags on longer than I ever imagined.
Julian is halfway through another explanation about the timing of tomorrow’s events, gesturing wildly while Fred listens with exaggerated patience.
Miranda laughs softly at something Marisol whispers to her, and Lupe discusses flowers with Véronique as if their arrangement holds the fate of the ceremony.
Plates were cleared over an hour ago. Candles burn low while wine continues to appear as if the staff senses no one is quite ready to leave. From the outside looking in, the evening looks perfect. Warm light, soft laughter, the easy rhythm of old friends sharing a long meal.
I’m playing my part. Smiling when someone looks my way. Lifting my glass when appropriate. Chatting with everyone around me. Yet, inside, my chest is equally compressed and hollow all at once.
Servers move quietly between chairs, gathering the last of the dishes. Someone mentions tomorrow’s weather. Another toast rises somewhere near the end of the table.
Exhausted from keeping up appearances, I fix my eyes on my wine glass.
Across from me, I can sense Zach watching. If I meet his gaze, the fragile composure holding me together might shatter before we leave.
Her name keeps echoing in my mind.
Lila.
It shouldn’t matter. People date. People fuck. For most of my adult life Zach and I did both with other people. We were simply friends who knew each other too well to complicate things. At least that’s the story I’ve told myself whenever the thought drifted too close to the truth.
Except we weren’t.
We were always something complicated and electric and unfinished. Something neither of us dared to name because naming it meant risking everything else.
Now we’ve crossed the line in the most spectacular way possible. I keep hearing Marisol’s voice again.
He can’t seem to hold onto anything that matters.
I twist the stem of my wine glass between my fingers and focus on breathing slowly. Maybe I misunderstood. Maybe it meant nothing.
Maybe—
No.
The worst part is he didn’t tell me.
I thought he trusted me with his secrets. Now I’m wondering if I mistook honesty for comfort. Especially if there were corners of his life I never knew existed.
“Sky?”
Marisol’s voice pulls me back into the present. I blink and realize everyone is standing. Dinner is finally over.
Chairs scrape softly across the floor as we begin drifting out the doors in clusters. Julian wraps an arm around Marisol’s shoulders and kisses her temple. The girls are already halfway to the hallway arguing about whose turn it is to brush their teeth first.
I rise carefully, smoothing my dress down with deliberate movements.
Don’t look at him.
Don’t look at him.
Don’t—too late.
Zach pushes his chair back. His eyes find mine immediately. Concern flashes across his face.
I look away.
“Goodnight, everyone.” I force a smile. “Big day tomorrow.”
A chorus of agreements follows.
As everyone hugs and kisses goodnight, I slip into the hallway, hoping I’m quick enough to avoid Zach.
The corridor outside the dining hall is quieter.
Stone floors. Soft lantern light. The low murmur of distant voices fading behind me as I move deeper into the castle.
My heels click on the stone as I head for the staircase leading to the guest rooms. I’m nearly there.
If I can get to my room before Zach catches up—
“Sky.”
His footsteps close the distance behind me quickly, long strides eating the hallway. I reach my door and fumble with the key just as his hand lands beside my shoulder.
“Skylar.”
I close my eyes. “Please don’t.”
“Don’t what?” His breath warms my neck.
“Don’t push me right now.” My voice sounds steadier than I feel. “Tomorrow is Marisol’s wedding. I don’t want to ruin her day.”
His silence stretches behind me, but he doesn’t move. Then he finally says, “Clearly, something is wrong.”
I turn slowly to face him. Up close his expression is impossible to ignore.
Concern. Confusion. A trace of hurt.
“Yes, but we can talk later.” I flick my eyes away.
“Sky.” This time, the way he says my name makes something in my chest twist painfully. “We’re best friends first. If something is bothering you, I need to know.”
The gentleness in his voice makes my resolve wobble. I shake my head once. “Please don’t push.”
“Shutting me out hurts worse than anything you might say.” He doesn’t move. Or step back.
I close my eyes briefly. When I open them again, I push the door to my room wider and step inside.
“Fine.”
He follows me inside. Candlelight from the bedside lamp glows softly across the bed where we spent last night tangled together. The memory of it flashes through my mind with cruel clarity.
I turn to face him. “Who the fuck is Lila?”
Her name thuds like a stone. For a second he simply stares at me. Then he starts laughing.
Not a quiet chuckle. A full, startled chortle.
“You think this is funny?” My voice cracks despite my effort to keep it steady.
His laughter dies instantly. “No…Sky—”
“Marisol said you were seeing someone last year,” I continue, words rushing out now. “Someone serious. Someone you liked so much she and Julian thought you might finally settle down.”
He stares at me, stunned.
“You never mentioned her to me,” I finish quietly. “Why?”
Silence. Then he exhales slowly and rubs a hand through his hair. “Oh. My, God.”
“What?”
His eyes meet mine again. “Lila isn’t a woman.”
“What?” My heart stutters.
“She’s my assistant’s dog.”
My brain struggles to process the sentence. “A dog.”
“Yes.”
“A dog.”
“Yes.”
Tears spill before I can stop them.
Zach steps forward immediately. “Hey—”
“I thought…” My voice breaks. “I thought you kept something important from me on purpose. To hide it.”
His face softens instantly. “No. Never. I made her up.”
“What?” I’m so confused I don’t know what to think.
“Julian and Marisol have been riding me for years about you,” he says quietly. “About how I let the best thing in my life sit right in front of me without doing anything about it.”
My breath catches.
“So I invented a girlfriend.” He rubs his forehead.
I throw up my hands. “And named her after your assistant’s dog?”
“In my defense,” he says carefully, “Lila was in the office. Seemed easy enough.”
A shaky laugh escapes me through the tears. Relief floods through my chest so fast it almost makes me dizzy.
“Hey.” Zach pulls me into his arms.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
“You actually thought I was hiding someone.” He pets the back of my head.
I clutch his shoulder. “I thought you lied to me.”
“Sky.” His arms knot around me. “If you want to know the truth, ask.”
I pull back enough to look at him and nearly start crying again. “You could have told me.”
“How about I tell you this: I’ve been in love with you for years.” Zach thumbs my jaw.
“You could have told me.”
“Yeah, so could you.”
Fair point.
My fingers curl into his shirt. “So what happens now?”
He kisses the tip of my nose.
“We finally stop pretending.”