Chapter Twenty-Three
Sadie
It was time to get ready for Melinda and Drake’s engagement party.
I took a deep breath and clutched the beautiful dress I’d bought for the occasion to my chest. It had been a stretch on a teacher’s salary, but I was good with my money and had a healthy savings account. That and my car being paid off helped a lot.
I put the dress on and smoothed it over my toned curves.
It was a wrap dress, with a plunging neckline that showcased a bit of my cleavage.
It was also short. It hugged the line between elegant and showing too much, but I loved it.
It was the exact cornflower blue color of my eyes.
Harrison had always said he loved my eyes.
I shook my head, wishing I could banish him from my thoughts forever.
But I couldn’t seem to do it.
I spent extra time on my hair and makeup, making sure everything was perfect.
I’d had a spa day this week with Melinda, so my nails were freshly manicured.
I looked down at the high heeled sandals that went so well with my dress and admired the polish on my toes. I’d picked the perfect shade of pink.
I put a hand on my abdomen as I locked up and walked to my car.
I was trying to calm the nerves that were rocketing through my body.
On the way over, I turned my playlist up loud and sang along with Gracie Abrams and Chappell Roan.
When I parked, I reminded myself of how far I’d come since Harrison had broken my heart.
I wasn’t that same young girl who’d been blindsided by his betrayal. No, I was a grown, confident woman now.
Still, the thought of seeing him again made that confidence falter. If I had my way, I’d never be within a hundred miles of him. But life doesn’t always work out the way we’d like it to.
The party was outdoors in a field on Melinda’s parents’ acres of property.
There was a huge, white event tent set up.
I stood outside for a moment, taking in how beautiful everything was.
There were Edison lights strung strategically throughout the tent and in the surrounding trees bordering it.
It was a beautiful night, not too hot or humid, which was a miracle in Georgia even in spring.
I walked in and immediately saw Carrie and Blair with their husbands.
I waved and walked over. Before I could even say anything, Carrie hurried over, hugged me, and whispered, “He’s not here.
It looks like he’s probably not coming.”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The relief I felt was immediate, but then I instantly wished it wasn’t like that. I wished I wasn’t affected by him at all anymore.
“Thanks, girl. You know me so well.” I smiled as I pulled back from the hug and then made myself comfortable at their table.
“I’ll get you a glass of wine,” Blair’s husband Scott said, and he was gone before I could even thank him.
Before long, we were talking, laughing, eating, and having a good time like we always did together. Melinda and Drake kept glancing over at our table longingly, but they were too busy moving around the tent and speaking with everyone to actually have any fun yet.
“You didn’t want to bring Patrick?” Carrie asked.
Carrie’s husband Thatcher had set me up with a nice guy he played golf with.
I’d been out with him a few times, but it was becoming clear to me that I saw him as a friend more than anything else.
I shook my head as I took another sip of wine.
I’d lost track of how many glasses I’d had so far, which wasn’t the best thing in the world.
Oh, well. I think I was just so relieved Harrison wasn’t here I was letting loose for the evening.
“No. Patrick and I are just friends, I think.”
“The dreaded friend zone,” Thatcher sighed, exchanging a glance with Carrie. “I really thought you’d hit it off with him.”
“I like him,” I protested. “I really do. There’s just no zing. No chemistry.” I shrugged. I swallowed hard as I thought about the chemistry Harrison and I had together once upon a time. Unfortunately, I hadn’t experienced anything close to that with any of the guys I’d dated since him. Dammit.
Suddenly the music changed from low-key, pleasant background music to Melinda and Drake’s favorite song, “Carry You Home” by Alex Warren.
“Would the wedding party please make your way to the dance floor?” the DJ asked from his booth.
“Let’s go!” I twirled out onto the dance floor. Carrie, Blair, and I were laughing and dancing while Scott and Thatcher followed behind us. We walked up to stand with Melinda and Drake in front of the DJ booth. “What’s going on?” I asked.
Melinda grinned. “He’s going to introduce the wedding party, and then we’re all going to start the dancing portion of the night.”
“The fun begins,” I nudged her with a grin.
“That’s right,” she nodded.
“Everybody put your hands together for Melinda and Drake!” the DJ announced.
We screamed and clapped for them as they hit the dance floor and danced to their song.
“Okay, y’all,” Melinda’s mom was suddenly right beside us. “Let me get you all coupled off.”
She started pairing everyone up the way they were going to walk into the wedding in a few months.
There were some of Melinda’s cousins and Drake’s friends I didn’t know as well that she lined up.
Then came Carrie and Thatcher, followed by Blair and Scott.
Then there was me. I felt safe in the knowledge that Harrison wasn’t here.
“I’ll walk in by myself this time, huh?” I asked her with a big smile as the strains of Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September” started playing. The DJ announced each of the pairings of the wedding party.
“Oh, no, honey. Here’s Harrison. He was just running late.”
My smile evaporated and my heart dropped. What the hell? Who comes this late to a party?
“Sorry I’m so late.” I heard his voice before I saw him as he apologized to Melinda’s mom.
“No problem, dear. Come over here, please. The DJ is just about to announce you and Sadie.”
I didn’t have time to get too nervous before he was beside me. That and the alcohol that had left me pleasantly buzzy worked together to keep me from shaking as I turned to face him.
And there he was. The boy I’d loved when I was thirteen who’d turned into the man who’d devastated me when I was nineteen.
At twenty-seven he was more handsome than ever.
The man I’d thought I was going to marry was lean and fit, muscular in a way that spoke to him being a former athlete.
His honey-brown hair had darkened into a deeper shade, more like caramel now.
But his eyes were the same deep, beautiful brown they’d always been.
They were the same eyes that had looked at me with love for years.
The eyes that had hidden lies for the last several months of our relationship.
I felt sick as I stared at him, feeling something like horror.
I’d prepared myself to see him, then relaxed when I thought I wouldn’t have to. Now I felt blindsided.