Chapter Fourteen
Olivia
Four Years Ago
I’d been going through a late streak lately and apparently, that was not ending today.
My boss had cornered me on my way out the door when he—once again—felt that it was an appropriate time to make completely inappropriate remarks about my clothing, and now I was running straight past the steps of the small wedding venue toward the fenced-in area on the property where the ceremony was taking place.
Despite having graduated from college with a business degree, I’d spent the last two years since then waitressing.
Truthfully, I hadn’t been all that inspired by most of the jobs out there.
Without a passion to build a business on, my degree didn’t seem all that useful in the real world, and right now, I really enjoyed the restaurant industry, so I was in no hurry to leave.
Besides, I’ll probably be hit on inappropriately by men in business just as much as I am by the man who runs the restaurant where I work now.
A small blonde woman stood at the open fence and gave me an impatient look as I scooted by her and slid into an open seat in the back row of white chairs.
The wedding was packed, and I looked around for some of my friends from college.
Not seeing any familiar faces, I quickly glanced at everyone in my row.
Where the hell is everyone?
The bride, Jasmine, was a friend from college who I hadn’t spoken to in quite some time, and I’d been surprised when I’d received an invite to the wedding.
I’m sure I’ll find someone I know after the ceremony.
The man sitting next to me turned toward me. “You made it just in time,” he said, nodding to the fence that was being shut.
“Lucky me. Now I get to watch two people profess their love in front of all the family and friends who will be supporting them through a divorce in ten years,” I said.
He chuckled and raised an eyebrow at me. “I don’t think you’re supposed to say that out loud, especially at the wedding. Say it inside your head like the rest of us, at least.”
He smiled affectionately at me and my heart beat faster as I laughed. His smile was a needle-in-a-haystack kind of smile. It was big, without being too big for his face, and he had dimples that accentuated the shape of his lips. I tore my eyes from him before I could be accused of staring.
It had been several months since I’d appreciated the company of a man. Every guy I met on the dating app I used turned out to be someone who I could barely make it through dinner with. Maybe I should get a new app. Or forget apps and troll weddings for a date.
The officiant standing under the arch at the front of the ceremony stepped up to the microphone to welcome us to the Stewart-Reynolds wedding.
Weird, isn’t Jasmine’s last name Parker?
“I’m Kayden,” the guy next to me said quietly.
I glanced at him again, letting my eyes roam over his dark brown, slightly tousled hair and the square, dark-rimmed glasses covering his face.
His complexion was light, and his eyes were a deep brown that was nearly opaque.
He was pretty cute, in a librarian-who-probably-has-lots-of-spreadsheets kind of way.
Yeah, I should definitely start looking for dates at weddings.
I held my hand out with a small smile as the officiant prattled on. “Olivia.”
“It’s nice to be seated next to someone equally jaded, Olivia.
” Kayden smirked at me nervously as the fence behind us opened and the groomsmen started filing in.
I turned toward the aisle to watch them walk in.
I didn’t expect to recognize any of them since I barely knew Jasmine’s fiancé.
The smiles of the crowd across from me grew as the last man walked down the aisle and stood next to the officiant.
Okay, I don’t know a lot about Jasmine’s groom, but I do know that he’s Black and this guy is white.
I looked around the crowd again as the procession lulled. The bridesmaids started walking in and I panicked, looking back at Kayden. “Are you here for the bride or the groom?” I whispered, trying to sound as casual as possible.
“The groom,” he said, nodding to the front of the ceremony. “We were friends in college. You?”
“Um…” I said, as they closed the fence. “The bride. We also met in college.”
“You went to Notre Dame too?” Kayden asked. “I don’t recognize you. Were you in our class?”
I swallowed audibly as the officiant asked us to stand for the bride. I did not go to Notre Dame. I went to Georgetown, which is also where Jasmine went. Am I at the wrong fucking wedding?
The fence opened again as the music rose to a crescendo and standing at the gate with her father was a very beautiful woman with long blonde hair who was absolutely, one hundred percent, not Jasmine.
“Oh no,” I whispered, covering my mouth with one hand. I watched her walk past and then whipped my head around to face Kayden. “I’m at the wrong wedding.”
He blinked at me in surprise like he wasn’t sure if he’d heard me. “What?” he whispered.
“The wrong wedding,” I hissed. “This is so bad. I have to leave.”
Kayden gently grabbed my wrist and held me in place.
He leaned down to whisper in my ear as if we were two friends having a hushed conversation.
“I get that you’re probably panicking, Olivia, but take a deep breath.
If you walk out of the ceremony right now, every single face at this wedding is going to turn toward you.
Sit tight, you can escape before the reception. ”
“But I don’t belong here,” I said.
His eyes quickly searched my face. Based on his pensive expression, I got the sense several wheels in his head were turning. “We’ll pretend you’re my plus-one if anyone calls you out, okay?”
I covered my face with one hand as we sat down. Kayden let go of my wrist. “This is so embarrassing,” I said.
“No one knows except me,” he said with a friendly smile. “Your secret’s safe. Trust me, I’m not going to be drawing attention to us. The last thing I want is a bunch of strangers staring at me either. Enjoy the ceremony.”
He gestured toward where the happy couple stood, holding hands and staring into each other’s eyes.
I watched as they promised to love and honor each other for all the days of their lives in what turned out to be a blessedly short ceremony.
By the time the processional started, I was itching to get the hell out of there.
We stood up and as each row funneled out one by one I pulled my phone out of my clutch to look at the invitation. I swear this is the right place.
“Damn it,” I whispered as I reread the invitation. Kayden took one step closer to me and looked over my shoulder.
“Did you miss the wedding you’re supposed to be at?” he asked.
“No.” I sighed. “It’s next month. August twenty-second, not July twenty-second.”
Kayden looked at his phone for half a second. “That makes the wedding a Thursday. Are you sure?”
“Yep.” I shook my head. “No wonder I screwed it up.”
“Look at it this way,” he said, as our turn to step into the aisle came. He fell into step beside me like any good pretend date and offered me his elbow. “You’re not late for your friend’s wedding.”
I laughed and looped my arm through his. “That is a bright side.” We stopped in front of the venue where people were being ushered upstairs for a cocktail hour.
I reluctantly let go of Kayden and looked around, plotting my escape.
“Would you maybe what to stay and have a drink with me?” Kayden asked, putting his hands in his pockets as he looked at me over the rim of his glasses.
He nudged them back on his nose and smiled.
“Please. I’m at this thing all alone and it’s the third wedding I’ve gone to alone in the last sixty days.
The thought of sitting at the singles’ table all night is already making my palms sweat. ”
I searched his face, looking for the sleazy going-to-take-advantage-of-this-messy-chick vibe, but it wasn’t there.
In fact, he looked unsure of himself, like asking the question had taken great effort.
Perhaps I’d sat next to a genuinely nice guy.
Do those still exist? Okay, to be fair, I have no right to be this jaded at twenty-four but the dating pool in Boston seems pretty slim so far.
“One drink,” I heard myself say.
Kayden smiled shyly and held out his elbow for me again in a gentlemanly gesture.
I lopped my arm through his and clasped my hands together, looking up at him.
“I’m glad I sat next to you and not that guy.
” I tipped my head toward the man to my left who was looking one of the bridesmaids up and down like she was a five-course meal.
“Me too,” Kayden said. “I never would have let him pretend to be my plus-one.”
I laughed and followed him into the seaside venue, where the walls were made of reclaimed wood and covered in beach themed art and a sign that clearly said: Mike and Veronica.
I pointed to the sign. “So, Mike and Veronica went to Notre Dame, huh?” I asked.
Kayden laughed. “Yep, they met our senior year and fell madly in love. Might even beat your ten-year-marriage prediction.” He led me up a small staircase that opened into a large room with cocktail tables scattered about and large windows to the right that opened onto a balcony overlooking the ocean.
A large wooden bar with three lines of people waiting to order was straight ahead. “What can I get you to drink?”
“At this point, I’ll drink anything,” I said. “I’d love a glass of pinot.”
He led me to a cocktail table in front of the windows. “I’ll be right back.”
I looked down at my short, black dress; the one I’d picked because I knew Jasmine would have demanded that I show off the cleavage she’d always envied.
I glanced around at the other women, now wondering if it was too much for this crowd, given they were in formal evening wear that looked more conservative than what I was wearing.
Kayden came back to the cocktail table and passed me the wine glass.