Chapter 2
2
Zach
The look on Amy’s face when he and Kincaid first entered the room terrified Zach. He had seen her in all sorts of emotional states, but he had never seen her look like that . She was stark white, hazel eyes so wide, he could see the whites of her eyes around them, making her look like a ghost among the sage green of her bridesmaids’ dresses. Beside her was an older woman in darker green, who looked enough like Amy, she had to be her mother.
Now, Amy was wrapped up in his arms, sobbing her heart out against his shoulder, while her mother stared at them in consternation. She was the only one still on her knees, appearing unsure as to why Amy was crying on him and not on her.
“I’m going to go get us some vodka,” Carolyn said, briskly brushing off her skirts as she straightened.
Her words made Amy’s mother jerk out of her reverie, and the older woman slowly got to her feet. She looked like she was on the verge of falling apart, too, but she held it together.
“Can you stop in the ceremony room and tell the guests… tell the guests…” Mrs. Newhart’s voice trailed off. She wrung her hands in front of her, looking lost. What were they supposed to tell the guests?
“I’ll go find the event coordinator and tell her we need to move up the cocktail hour to now, ” Marissa said, interjecting when Carolyn made a face at the idea of having to be the one to tell the guests that the wedding was off. Though, most of them had probably guessed it by now, anyway.
Zach’s arms tightened around Amy. He wasn’t sure how much she was hearing of what was going on around her, she was so lost in her own headspace.
“Then I’m finding Patrick. Here.” As she said ‘here,’ she tossed the phone at Sam, who caught it.
Morgan stood beside her, watching Amy with pure sympathy, wringing her hands in much the same way as Amy’s mother. Marissa and Carolyn left the room together, talking in low voices before the door shut behind them.
Before anyone could do anything more, the phone buzzed in Sam’s hands, and she looked down at it. Scowled, hot fury blooming on her cheeks.
“That fucking dickweed.” She looked up, over Zach and Amy, to meet Kincaid’s gaze. “He just texted to say that Amy needs to be out of ‘his’ house by the time he gets home from Vegas next weekend. He can’t do that, right?”
Kincaid was a former police detective, not a lawyer, but he knew more about the laws than anyone else currently in the room.
“He can’t. She has rights if she’s been living there.” Kincaid’s hand came to rest on Zach’s shoulder, offering support. “She’ll need proof, but he can’t just kick her out?—”
“No.” It was the first word Amy had said since they’d entered the room, and it came out in a gasp. He could feel her head moving against his shoulder as she shook it. “No… I don’t… I don’t want to be there when he… when they…”
Another sob cut off her words, and she shook in his arms. His chest ached with sympathy, tears welling in his own eyes at the sound of her pain. He was a sadist, but not like this. There was no enjoyment to be found here. However, he’d sure as hell enjoy causing fucking Jeremy some serious pain. His focus needed to be on Amy, though. She didn’t want to be there when Jeremy and Noelle came home.
“I don’t understand,” Mrs. Newhart said, still wringing her hands as she looked between Amy and Zach. “What’s going on? Are you the man she’s been…”
“Yes and no,” Kincaid answered before Zach could. “Zach is my boyfriend. He’s also Amy’s Dom, but their relationship has been completely platonic. Whatever Noelle showed Jeremy, it was a lie. Or pictures that could be easily misinterpreted. Holding Amy like this is the most Zach has ever done with her.”
Zach nodded, jaw clenched as a little trickle of guilt flickered through him. There had been times when he’d fantasized about more… but he’d had Kincaid, and she’d had Jeremy, and fantasies weren’t cheating. Kincaid was right. He and Amy had never done anything more than exactly what they were doing right now, albeit with fewer clothes, but she’d been wrapped in a blanket for aftercare.
All they had done at the club that was at all intimate was aftercare. Then she would go home to Jeremy, where he’d reap the benefits of any arousal she might be feeling in the aftermath, though Amy usually came to the club to cry and relieve her stress, not to get horny.
“Do you know what a Dom is?” Sam asked, eyeing Mrs. Newhart warily.
“Yes, yes, I read Lexi Blake. I know what a Dom is.” Mrs. Newhart sighed, putting her fingers to her temples. “I didn’t realize my daughter… anyway. Not important.” She opened her eyes and huffed. “Jeremy is a shit.”
Despite the situation, Zach choked back a laugh. He liked Mrs. Newhart.
Amy’s tears were finally starting to slow. She hiccupped as she got herself under control, her breathing stuttering as it returned to normal. Rubbing her back, Zach rested his chin atop her head, glad Kincaid’s steady hand was on his shoulder. It wasn’t just the bridesmaids there if something happened; he could trust Kincaid to take care of anything and everything else while he took care of Amy.
Amy
Everything was awful, and it was all real.
She wanted to hide in Zach’s arms forever and never come out because coming out meant facing the real world. It meant facing her family. It meant facing her mom, who had never liked Jeremy and was probably dying to say, ‘I told you so,’ and Amy didn’t think she could handle that right now. At least she didn’t have to explain to her mom what kink was, though she was slightly disturbed that they read the same books.
Did that mean her mom and dad…
Nope, not going there.
Apparently, her brain was so desperate to think about anything other than her own terrible life that she’d rather think about her parents’ sex life. That was how bad things were right now.
“Amy, baby, look at me.” Her mom’s gentle tone helped give Amy the courage to open her eyes and turn her head. Her mom crouched down beside her and Zach, a sympathetic expression on her face. “I’m going to go help handle the guests, unless you want me to stay.”
Her mom was offering to shield her from everyone. Part of her wanted her mom to stay, but she didn’t need her, too. She had her friends. She had Zach. And even Kincaid was standing like a stalwart buffer between her and the door. Wes had disappeared entirely; Amy wasn’t sure when.
“It’s okay,” she said in a croak. “I’m okay. I… you should probably go tell everyone…” She choked a little, tears threatening to fall again. God, facing everyone and telling them that Jeremy had eloped with one of her own friends, one of her bridesmaids, on their wedding day… she couldn’t do it. “I don’t want to see them.”
“You don’t have to, baby,” her mom said soothingly. “Don’t worry, I’m going to take care of everything.” A hard expression crossed her face. “I’m also going to have a word with Carrie.” Carrie being Jeremy’s mom.
Amy choked on the idea of having to see any of his family today.
She just wanted to go home. But home was the house she’d shared with Jeremy for the past year. He’d never put her on the lease, promising he’d do so after they got married. That probably should have been a red flag, but it had made sense when he’d explained it, and he’d sounded so reasonable…
“Do you want to come to my place?” Morgan asked, stepping forward. “Asad and I would be happy to have you.”
“Or you can come stay with me, though Morgan and Asad might be better since they have an actual guest bedroom,” Sam said.
Mom’s expression changed, realizing that what seemed like a future problem was probably a more immediate issue. No, Jeremy wouldn’t be back until the end of the week. He and Noelle were in Vegas on what was probably supposed to be his and Amy’s honeymoon. He’d planned the honeymoon and hadn’t told Amy where they were going, but it made sense that he’d be there all week with Noelle.
Like the wedding, it had probably already been paid for.
“You can come home with me and your dad,” her mom said immediately. “You can stay with us as long as you need to.”
“I don’t think running away to a different state is going to help,” she replied tearfully. “My job is here. My friends are here. And weren’t you and Dad leaving for a cruise this week after you got back home?”
“Well… yes, but we can cancel. You’re more important.”
Immediately, Amy started shaking her head.
“Don’t cancel. I’ve already upended everyone’s plans enough, cost you enough money?—”
“Don’t think about that,” her mother said sternly. “That is not your fault.” She sighed. “But you have a point about your job and the fact that we wouldn’t be home.”
Amy didn’t exactly want to go crawling back to her parents’ house, anyway. It felt like a step backward at a time when her life was supposed to be moving forward.
“And apparently, I need to pack up my stuff this week and get it moved somewhere else.” Her brain was finally working again. Leaning against Zach’s strength helped. She always felt safe with him. “Maybe a storage unit.”
There was no way in hell she was going to be in Jeremy’s house when he came back with Noelle, no matter what rights she had. Absolutely the fuck not. She was going to take her stuff and get out.
“You can come live with us,” Zach offered. “We have a guest bedroom. And a pretty much empty basement.”
She hesitated because living with Zach sounded the most appealing. In some ways, she was closer to him than she was to any of her other friends. If she hadn’t been trying to respect Jeremy, she would have asked Zach to be her Man of Honor, but Jeremy had been completely weirded out by the idea, and she’d given in. Plus, she knew she was going to cry again. A lot. Zach was the only person she’d ever felt like she could really let go and cry for.
But she also knew things had been rocky between Zach and Kincaid for a while, and they were just getting good again. She didn’t want to come in, dumping all her issues on them when Zach was finally happy.
Twisting her head, she looked up past Zach at Kincaid, who was standing just behind him. At this angle, it was really hard to read his expression. Heck, it was difficult at the best of times. Kincaid could be very closed off. When he looked down and met her gaze, his face was completely blank at first, then his eyes softened as he looked at her.
“We do. You’d be welcome to stay as long as you need,” he said, reiterating Zach’s offer.
“I don’t think I can decide right now,” she whispered, letting her head drop back down. Her throat, nose, and eyes hurt from her heavy sobs. Her chest ached with the shame of being an abandoned bride. All she wanted to do was melt into the floor and not have to deal with any of this.
“You don’t have to, baby,” her mom said, reaching out to pat Amy’s hand. “You stay here for now. I’m going to go talk to the guests, then I’ll come back and… oh, here are your friends with the vodka.”
Vodka sounded good.