Chapter Thirty-One
Sadie
The next morning, I woke up with my face on Harrison’s bare chest and his arms wrapped around me.
I immediately sat up and got out of bed.
He kind of groaned and rolled over. I stared at him, then hurried into the bathroom, pulling on my robe as I went.
I splashed water on my face and stared in the mirror.
What had I done? Had I just made the biggest mistake of my life? Was I going to go out with him a few times and then find him in bed with his secretary or some other bullshit? I paced around in the bathroom, afraid to come out and face him.
There was a knock on the door. “Sadie? Are you okay in there?”
I rolled my lips inwards, not wanting to answer.
“I know you’re in there. I can hear you pacing back and forth.”
I walked over and whipped the door open. “I might be freaking out a little.”
“About what?” His brown eyes were kind. There was no trace of the arrogance that had crept into them during the time we were at Carruthers.
“Whether what we did was…”
“Awesome?” He grinned and planted a kiss on my cheek.
“Amazing?” He kissed my other cheek. “The best sex I’ve ever had?
” He kissed my forehead and then pulled me into his arms. “I think you cracked my soul open last night and stole every part of me,” he whispered in my ear. “I’m yours, Sadie, if you’ll have me.”
I looked up at him, cupping his face in my hands. “You don’t think it was a huge mistake?”
He shook his head, a sweet smile on his face.
“Not even a little bit.” He looked at his phone.
“I hate to alarm you, but I know Melinda’s mom and Drake’s mom have a wedding breakfast planned this morning at the banquet hall.
It’s in thirty minutes and is ten minutes away,” he cringed.
“Our alarms either didn’t go off or we slept through them. ”
“Oh my God!” I pushed him out of the bathroom, slammed the door in his face, and proceeded to get ready faster than I ever had in my life.
“We can’t ride together,” I bit out, as I clomped down the steps in my heels.
“Why not?”
I turned to look at him. “Are you serious? Is this how you want to out our possible reconciliation to the entire town? That we had a night of wild, passionate sex after Melinda and Drake’s rehearsal dinner?”
“It was wild and passionate, wasn’t it?” he asked with a dreamy look on his face.
“You’re missing the point.” I hurried down the rest of the stairs. “I’m riding with my parents. You can call an Uber.”
“Good morning.”
I jumped and let out a little shriek as I turned to see my dad watching us from their back deck. He was dressed, ready for the wedding breakfast, and drinking a cup of coffee.
He had a strange smile on his face, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.
It didn’t look altogether… friendly. “I think you should ride over with Tim, Harrison.” He took a slow sip of his coffee.
“He said he had some interesting and little-known areas of the quarry he wanted to talk to you about. Apparently, there are submerged mine shafts and caves that go back thousands of feet from the main opening. Seems like you could hide just about anything in one of those areas, and it would never be found again. Wouldn’t you say so, Harrison? ”
Harrison paled, and my dad’s smiley face made more sense.
“Yes, sir.”
“Tim’s about ready. He’s just grabbing a map of the interior cave system to show you on your way over to the wedding breakfast.” He got a thoughtful look on his face.
“Did you know that local police have always thought some of our missing persons cases could be solved if they could get divers into those areas?”
“N… no.” Harrison’s voice was raspy and he pulled at the collar of his shirt.
“Yeah. Apparently only specialized quarry divers are able to do those sorts of operations.” He turned to me. “Sadie, did I tell you Tim got his diving specialization for the quarry last year?”
I had to fight back a laugh. I knew there was no such thing as specialized quarry divers.
But Harrison didn’t, and it was freaking hilarious.
I wouldn’t spoil their fun. “That’s fantastic!
I bet it comes with a raise. Alright, then,” I turned to Harrison.
“Have fun with Tim. I’ll see you over there. ”
He grabbed my hand. “Are you sure you don’t want to ride with us?”
I waved him away. “Tim’s already bored me with all those cave and mining maps. I’d rather talk to Mom, Dad, and my sisters about any gossip I missed from last night.”
“Gossip sounds so fun,” Harrison tried, but Tim was already beckoning him forward.
“You’re riding with me, Harry,” Tim called, using the old nickname Harrison had always hated but had been too nice to ask my little brother to stop using.
He gave me a strained smile before walking towards my brother’s sports car.
***
The day passed in a blur. We went from the wedding breakfast that was closer to a brunch, to hair and makeup.
I had no clue what the guys did. They probably played golf or something.
From there we went to the church, where we all hung out together.
We ate a light dinner and before I knew it, we were all dressed and ready for the wedding.
Soon, the wedding planner had us out and lined up expertly.
I stood with Harrison. He leaned down to whisper in my ear.
“You look so fucking pretty, Sadie.” I blushed at the compliment.
I loved the dresses Melinda had picked out.
I’d worried that since it was October she’d pick out burnt orange dresses and we’d look like a bunch of pumpkins.
But she didn’t at all. She picked out strapless, tight-waisted ombre dresses with full gauzy skirts, in a color ranging from cream to somewhere between lavender and hydrangea blue.
They were the prettiest bridesmaids dresses I’d ever seen, and I was thankful for a best friend with good taste.
“Thank you. You look great, too.” He did.
He looked incredible in a tux. I’d always thought his thick football player muscles were the sexiest thing about him, but I’d been wrong.
He was still muscular, but not in the way that he had been when he’d had to spend hours upon hours each week in the weight room.
I liked this leaner version even better.
His chiseled jawline, styled hair, and tall, broad form made him look like a guy from the cover of a romance novel. It sent a little shiver down my spine.
When the bridal party music started and couples started walking down the aisle towards the front of the church, I tucked my arm through Harrison’s.
We waited our turn. We’d be the last ones to go down before Melinda met Drake, who was standing at the front of the church looking handsome… and nervous.
As we walked down the aisle together, I could hear people whispering in the pews.
I knew some of the things they were probably saying and chose to ignore it.
I heard my name and Harrison’s name several times as we walked by, but I held my head high.
By this point, I’d heard it all. It was my hope that if Harrison and I gave things another try, the town would support us.
“That was supposed to be us up there, huh?” he asked, looking down at me with sad, brown eyes.
“Yes.”
“It still can be, you know?” he said hopefully.
I just smiled. I wasn’t ready to commit to anything past going out to dinner and another night in bed.
“I can see you might still need some convincing.”
“You’re not wrong,” I admitted with a grin.
We’d reached the end of our walk. He squeezed my arm, kissed the top of my head, and walked over to stand beside Drake.
I went to the bridesmaids’ side to wait on Melinda so that I could take her bouquet when she was ready.
The wedding was beautiful, and when they said their own vows to each other, I cried like a baby.
Melinda was my fellow English teacher. I knew she had a poetic soul.
But the sweet vows Drake managed to write with his type A accountant’s brain made everyone, including Melinda, swoon. I was beyond happy for my friends.
Suddenly, it was over and before I knew it, we were at the reception.
It was back at the country club where we’d been the night before.
I wasn’t seated with all my friends yet.
Instead, I was placed at a small table to one side of Melinda and Drake’s table, while Harrison was on the other side.
We made up a straight line for everyone to stare at, and it was unnerving.
I knew I would only have to sit there until I’d given my maid of honor speech, and I was looking forward to when Harrison and I could sit with Blair, Scott, Carrie, and Thatcher.
I had a good view of their table and was surprised to see Thatcher on his phone.
I’d noticed this happening several times during the months leading up to the wedding, and I didn’t like it.
I frowned as I saw that Carrie seemed upset. Who could he possibly be texting this late at night on the weekend? It wouldn’t be work, that was for sure. A slight sense of unease came over me, and I found myself hoping my friend’s marriage was okay.
Then Blair made a heart with her hands at me. She knew I didn’t like being the center of attention and was trying to ease my nerves. My heart was practically beating out of my chest, but I managed to smile at her anyway.
I was nervous because I knew tonight was the night I had to stand up in front of everyone and give my maid of honor speech. Harrison also seemed nervous, but he hid it better than I did. I had to down a couple of glasses of champagne and couldn’t eat before I gave mine.
And then the wedding planner had told me to stand up, shoved a microphone in my hand, and said, “Start your speech, maid of honor.” I wanted to roll my eyes. She knew my name. She’d been my ballet teacher for years when I was growing up.