Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
Scarlett
I inhale the fresh summer air and turn my face to the sky as my tears spill down my cheeks. “Lord, forgive me for my outburst in Your church. But thank You so much for saving me from marrying someone I had no business committing my heart and soul to. Amen.”
The church sits on Sunshine Lake. It’s always been such a peaceful place and I refuse to let Eric and this other woman ruin it for me. I start to walk down the pea-gravel path to the covered bridge leading to the lake’s edge and realize it’s time to ditch the heels. I slip out of them and hang them over my finger.
When I finally reach the sand, I start to hear people leave the church in the distance and I know my parents and Anna are handling everything for me. I’m also grateful they know me well enough to know I need to be alone for a while after the nasty shock I was given.
I find a rock large enough to sit on and I climb up. I stare out over the calm water and know I need this for my heart right now…the peace and quiet of the outdoors. Solace. As fancy as I might seem with my job as an interior designer and living in the city, I’ve always felt more at home with nature. Being near water especially seems to calm the chaos in my head.
I’ve been perched on my rock for about thirty minutes and the sun is turning orange. It won’t be long until sunset now.
A voice cuts through the silence. “I can still make this a magical day.”
I turn and see Zander Bailey in all his handsome glory standing on the shore with his camera in hand. I huff out a laugh that now sounds cynical like his did when I last saw him in his bar. “This is the heartless feeling you were talking about, huh?”
He moves a little closer. “If it’s any consolation, I wanted to be wrong about how bad love can hurt you. I wanted your day to be special.”
“So, make me feel less pathetic and tell me your story,” I say without looking at him.
I hear him move closer. “If it makes you feel less alone, okay. My girlfriend didn’t even show up to our wedding. Her best friend walked down the aisle to tell me she ran off with my best man.”
“Wow. That’s harsh. I think it may be worse than what just happened to me. What’s her name?”
“Does her name matter?” he asks.
“Yep.” I pop the p. “I want to hate the sound of her name for doing something so awful.”
He chuckles and this time it sounds surprisingly genuine. “Vivian.”
I nod. “Okay. I hate that name now.”
He gets solemn again and adds, “I hate him for hurting you.”
He sits beside me on what I’ve deemed my rock. He snaps a picture of the view.
“You shouldn’t let her ruin your love of photography,” I tell him.
He smiles at me. “Touché. You shouldn’t let him ruin this day for you. Like I said, I can still make it magical if you let me and have an open mind.”
“I’m all ears,” I reply.
“Trash the dress.” It’s all he says with a smile.
“Excuse me?” I ask, because I’m not following.
“It’s a photo op that some brides take part in once they’re married, and all the traditional pictures are done. They’ll trash the wedding dress by doing something not traditional. Jumping in the mud, painting, walking in the water. You name the idea, and we’ll do it,” he explains.
I glance down at my wasted dress. The one I didn’t pick for me anyway. “Absolutely. Tell me what to do.”
“How about we start by having you walk in the water. The sun is about to make for some amazing shots.”
I did as he said—I walked in the water. I splashed in the water. I pulled my hair down and let the unruly curls fall. I laughed and maybe started to heal a tiny piece of my shattered heart with the same man who claims to be heartless himself.
When we finish with the water, I ask, “What about paint?”
He raises his brow. “Water can be cleaned up, paint…not so much. Are you sure?”
“I am,” I say without hesitation.
“If you’re sure, I think I have some yellow paint in my truck,” he tells me.
We start to walk to the church where his truck and my car are the only remaining vehicles. We walk to my car first and find a note on my windshield. It’s from my dad saying all my stuff is in the trunk and my keys are in the ignition. There’s one more from Eric telling me to call him so we can talk. I rip it up and toss it in a nearby trash can.
Zander glances at me and I can’t help but ask, “Why do you have yellow paint?”
“We recently had to paint the floor where there are steps to help prevent people from falling or tripping by marking them with a noticeable color,” he answers.
“That makes sense. How can we use it to trash my dress?” I ask.
“Hold on, let me make a quick call.” He dials a number and puts his camera in the backseat of his truck. I hear him talking and then he quickly ends the call.
“Hop in. I have a friend that owns a studio on the other side of town. She said we can use it tonight because no one is there. We can grab food and drinks on the way.”
“She, huh?” I ask while batting my eyes impishly.
He rolls his. “Yeah, I have friends that are female. This one happens to be married.”
I laugh. “I was only picking at you. Let me grab the cupcakes I saw in my backseat and a bottle of wine. My dad’s way of trying to cheer me up.”
“I’m not really a wine drinker,” he says.
“Oh, it’s not for you. It’s mine,” I answer.
He throws his head back laughing. “You’re full of surprises, little sunshine.”
I pause with the box of cupcakes in one hand and the bottle of red wine in the other after throwing my strappy heels in the floorboard. I lean back in quickly and hook my keys on one finger before locking my car.
“Did you just call me little sunshine? Why little?”
He helps me in his truck, which smells tantalizingly like his cologne, and says, “I did.”
I glance down at myself before he can shut the truck door. “If you haven’t noticed, I’m a full-figured woman. Full hourglass figure.” I set the cupcakes on his console. “I have a little pinky,” I say while holding it up. “But otherwise…more than a handful.”
He grins and it’s the most handsome one I think I’ve ever seen. “Trust me, I’ve noticed exactly how much of a gorgeous woman you are.”
I feel myself flush with heat at his compliment. I’m proud of my body, and very confident, but to hear a man like Zander Bailey say he’s noticed how gorgeous I am…it does things to me it shouldn’t. Especially considering I just ended a three-year-long relationship in the most humiliating way.
“Then why?—”
He cuts me off.
“You took this hellish situation, this hellish day, and chased the last little bit of sunshine you could find, by a lake named after the sun no less. Now, instead of wallowing in your sadness, you’re showing it who’s boss. Hate to break it to you, but you’re now little sunshine to me.”
“Makes sense,” I tell him while laughing.
He taps the side of his temple. “Perfect sense,” he says, and winks before shutting his door.