Chapter 39
Ford
“She owes you nothing,” I growl at Asher. “And Harper’s with me because she wants to be.”
“Right, like you haven’t been pining for her your entire life,” Kenzie retorts, a smug smirk stretching across her face.
“All she had to do was give you one sultry look, and you ditched your best friend for her mediocre skills in bed.” She turns to Harper, raising an eyebrow.
“Asher’s told me how lame you were in that department. ”
A collective gasp ripples through the room, and my fists clench at my sides.
“Everyone here knows the only reason Asher is with you is that you’re so desperate to become Harper that you’ll do literally anything.
And I mean anything.” Kenzie’s jaw drops, and I shoot her a glare.
“Yeah, Asher’s shared plenty about you behind closed doors. ”
Harper stands beside me, placing a hand on my arm. “Don’t, Ford. This isn’t the time or place.”
“But she—”
“It’s her rehearsal dinner.”
“Stop being so damn fake!” Kenzie screams, her voice cracking on the last word.
Her stiletto heel drives into the polished hardwood floor with a sharp crack that echoes through the suddenly silent room.
Her manicured fists clench so tightly that her knuckles blanch white against her spray-tanned skin, trembling at her sides like she’s barely containing herself from throwing something.
No one knows how to react to her childish tantrum. She looks like a toddler in a fake-designer dress, face flushed crimson to the roots of her highlighted hair, mascara-rimmed eyes wild with indignation. And this is who Asher chose over Harper?
“How am I being fake?” Harper asks, bewildered.
“Just be the terrible person I know you are deep down!”
Harper blinks at Kenzie, letting the words sink in. “That’s what you really think of me?”
“Yes!”
“Then why pretend to be my best friend all these years, Kenzie? What was the point?”
“To beat you!”
To her credit, Harper doesn’t mirror Kenzie’s tone. She stays calm, even though if anyone could ruin Kenzie’s reputation in this room, it’s her.
“And that’s what you think you’ve accomplished here? You’ve beaten me?”
“You tried hard to sabotage my wedding. Yeah, I think I’ve beaten you,” Kenzie sneers.
“Enough!” Alex stands, voice firm.
“It wasn’t Harper,” Tracy adds, joining her cousin. “She didn’t try to sabotage your wedding. It was us.”
“No,” Harper interjects.
Kenzie whips around, gaping at her future in-laws. For the first time I’ve ever seen, she’s speechless. It’s a refreshing change.
“Why would you do that?” Dorothy asks.
“Because you forced us to be part of the wedding party,” Alex replies. “Kenzie, we don’t like you. Unlike Harper, we’ve always seen you for the conniving person you are.”
Tracy nods in agreement. “We don’t want you to marry Asher. We don’t want him to marry Harper either, because he’s not much better than you, but no one wants you in our family.”
“What exactly did you do?” Harper asks, curiosity piqued.
Alex grimaces, raising her hands defensively. “Okay, I know you told us not to, but we kind of started it before we told you, and then it just became fun.”
“We only did what she mentioned… and a few things she hasn’t discovered yet,” Tracy adds.
Kenzie stomps her foot again. “Don’t play dumb, Harper. You knew about this. You were part of it!”
“Are you stupid?” Alex shoots back. “She told us not to when we floated the idea to see if she wanted in. She didn’t.”
“And she told us not to do it,” Tracy says. “But our dislike for you outweighed her request.”
“Unlike you, she’s not pretending to be someone she’s not. Harper’s genuinely nice.”
No one knows how to respond, and I feel torn between sitting down or storming out. I knew Kenzie forcing Harper to show up tonight was a trap, but it’s nice to see it blow up in her face.
“You don’t know her like I do,” Kenzie stammers. “You’re falling for her act!”
“Kenzie, give it up. She came to your bridal shower and now your rehearsal dinner because she didn’t want to disappoint anyone. You forced her to, and she’s being the bigger person,” Tracy points out.
Alex sighs. “And she’s not the one causing a scene at these events like you are, even though she has every right to. You slept with her fiancé. Then you stole her wedding: the venue, the date, the dress, the colors, and the groom.”
“I didn’t do this to get back at Harper,” Kenzie insists.
“Your password to everything was HARPER,” Alex counters. “Seriously?”
“Honestly, I’m surprised you haven’t tried to steal her family, but none of them actually like you, so it’s kind of a moot point.”
Sighing, Harper surveys the room. “You shouldn’t have done that. Anything that can be fixed before tomorrow should be.”
Kenzie sinks into the chair beside Asher. “You really had no hand in any of it?”
“Kenzie, you win, okay? You’ve beaten me. You won a game I was never playing. I was genuinely your friend and never saw you as competition, but it’s clear now you were never mine. Our entire relationship has been about competing for a prize I don’t want.”
“Aren’t you mad at me for it all?”
Shaking her head, Harper sighs. “No. I’m really not. You have Asher, and I don’t want him anymore. I haven’t for a while.”
“Then why sleep with my best friend if you don’t care?” Asher shouts.
I clench my fist, but Harper keeps her hand on my arm. She silently urges me not to act, and I restrain myself from giving Asher the black eye he deserves for his wedding.
“Nothing I do has anything to do with you or Kenzie, Asher. I don’t know what kind of games you two play, but I’m not playing.”
The devastation on Kenzie’s face is both surprising and confusing. She finally got what she wanted: she won. Yet, she looks ready to burst into tears.
“Coming tonight was a mistake, but I’m glad you found out the truth, Kenzie. Your goal was to humiliate me, and I’m sorry if you feel like you didn’t accomplish that. But I think it’s best if I leave.”
“I’ll be right there,” I say to her as she walks toward the door.
Once she’s out of earshot, I turn to Asher.
“Get this through that thick skull of yours. Harper isn’t yours anymore.
You fumbled her because you wanted to pick up Kenzie, and you have to live with that decision.
But Harper isn’t with me out of spite. Everyone here can probably agree that you and Kenzie deserve each other. ”
When I step out of the room, I don’t see Harper. I hurry outside to find her leaning against my pickup, arms crossed, staring off into the distance.
I close the gap and cup her face, looking into her eyes. “Are you okay?”
“She never was my friend, was she?”
“No, baby, she wasn’t.”
Sighing, she nods and rests her forehead against my chest. “Can you bring me home? This was… some night.”
That’s putting it mildly. I kiss the top of her head and open the passenger door for her.
Hearing her tell Asher and Kenzie that she doesn’t care and doesn’t want him anymore, in front of people she once considered family, reassures me that she’s over Asher. It’s clear there’s still hurt, but I can help her work through it.
I’ve waited for her so long, and I’ll help her through the rest of it. We’re meant to be together, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make it happen.