The Bridesmaid & The Ex (Wedding Games Book 2)

by Daphne James Huff

  Yet she was much less forgiving to Austin. He’d had his chance with her, and he blew it. Her fury at the universe for pushing Austin into her path was second only to her anger at herself for how giddy she got every time his deep amber eyes focused on her. She peeked through her hands to see him doing that right now and cursed her heart for being a big vat of Jell-O instead of the rock-hard, dried out chunk of brown sugar she needed it to be.

  Then, like the sudden sizzle of butter in a hot pan, worry spread itself through her chest. She dropped her hands to her sides and stood up. Had she forgotten to close the refrigerator door properly at the bakery?

  “We should probably get back,” she said. She couldn’t do anything about her feelings about Milo or Austin, but she could at least make sure the wedding cake wasn’t ruined. “Can we stop by the bakery on the way? I just need to check something.” She could call Tiffany but didn’t want Austin to hear Harper admit to possibly having made a mistake.

  Austin nodded, turned away from the counter, then stopped in his tracks.

  “What’s that?” He pointed toward the refrigerator.

  “A refrigerator. Don’t you have those in LA?”

  He clicked his tongue. “That photo of the four of you. Where are you?”

  Harper walked around the island and pushed past Austin to get a closer look. Her arm tingled where her skin had brushed against his T-shirt.

  You can’t count on him, don’t even think about it.

  The photo was held up with a Clingmans Dome magnet, halfway hidden behind a grocery list and a The Brew House coupon. She shouldn’t have been surprised that he’d been able to spot it. His eye for detail had been downright annoying back in college, but today, it might actually be useful.

  “That’s Eli’s parents’ cabin. We went right before I graduated high school, just the girls. Gosh, I’d forgotten about that trip. Sienna looks so young.”

  “You all look happy,” said Austin as he pulled away the magnet and held the picture carefully. “Where is it?”

  Harper had to think about it. “It’s about an hour and a half from here. We only went that one time all four girls, it was more a place for Eli and Audrey to escape to.”

  She gasped as the words left her mouth and turned to Austin.

  “Do you think…?”

  His eyes were wide with excitement. “We have to at least take a look, right?”

  Harper nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

  “I’ll drive,” he said, and held out his hand for the keys.

  “Absolutely not.”

  Ten

  5 Days Until Dream Wedding

  Austin gripped the door handle and tried to breathe normally. “Do we need to be driving so fast?”

  Harper looked over at him, her eyebrows sky high. “I’m barely ten above the limit.”

  “Just watch the road!”

  “Austin, please, I could drive these roads blindfolded.”

  He wouldn’t mind a blindfold right about now. The roads here were so different from the ones in LA. The giant highways were always packed to the gills. Traffic always crawled and even the shortest commutes took forever.

  Here, the two-lane highways that snaked through the mountains were almost deserted. It was rare that they saw another car coming from the other direction. But every time Austin saw headlights appear from around the curve of the roads, he struggled to catch his breath.

  Add to that a speed limit that was far too high considering that short guardrails were the only barrier between them and falling down the side of the mountains, and this drive was one of the most stressful experiences of Austin’s life.

  He’d always hated letting others drive, not trusting that they wouldn’t get distracted. Without the focus needed to drive, his mind went to all of the dangerous possibilities for a car speeding down a highway. But one look at Harper’s face at the empty apartment, and he knew there was no way she was relinquishing control of her car.

  Before they left, Austin called Bruce to let him know he needed to drop something off at the bridal salon for tomorrow’s filming. Bruce hadn’t even asked where he’d been this whole time, which should have been a relief, but only put Austin on edge. The demanding producer never missed an opportunity to yell at someone. Whatever Sienna and Fox were doing must be keeping everyone very busy. Meanwhile, Harper called Tiffany to tell her that if anyone from the production called, to make up a huge baking emergency that Harper was too busy dealing with to come to the phone.

  But, so far, no one had called. Harper seemed to have realized this at the same moment as Austin. The car slowed down the tiniest bit, and she turned to him. “Do you think Sienna and Fox have it under control?”

  “We’ve been gone for hours. The only reason no one has noticed we’re not there is if there’s something super interesting happening.” He crossed his fingers that it was true, and that they’d get to the cabin in one piece.

  “And it’ll be another two, at least, before we’re back.” The car started to pick up speed again.

  “I thought you said this place was an hour and a half away?”

  She didn’t say anything, but the car barreled even faster down the narrow road.

  “Harper, please.” He closed his eyes, unable to look at the trees as they rushed by in a blur. He regretted not grabbing the Dramamine he’d packed before flying out to Wellspring. He hadn’t needed it all week, but then again, he hadn’t been passenger to Harper driving Grand Prix style through the Blue Ridge Parkway either. His stomach churned. “I think I may be sick.”

  “Not in here. I make deliveries in this car.”

  She let up on the accelerator and drove at the legal speed for more than a few seconds. Austin relaxed his grip on the door handle and opened his eyes.

  Harper was staring straight ahead, her hands clenching the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles were white.

  “Hey.” He reached out and touched her arm. “I’m sure she’ll be there. She probably just needed to get away for the day to relax.”

  Harper shook her head, and a tear fell from her eye. “She would have told me. This is so unlike her, just to bail and not say anything. That’s not what the Hudson women do.” She wiped a hand under her nose and sniffed. “It’s what the men do.”

  And what Austin had done. The crush of guilt that he’d been pushing away all day suddenly settled in his shoulders like a production camera was strapped on him. He wanted to say the words. He needed her to hear them. But as the miles flew by, he kept his mouth shut.

  What could he say, really? I’m sorry just didn’t seem like enough. I’ve always loved you and still do was just way over the top. She’d laugh in his face and tell him it was too late.

  He had to accept that there was no plan he could devise that would make things better with Harper. The best he could do was to help her find her sister and save Wedding Games from total disaster. He would tuck away the new memories of her from this crazy adventure, and she’d go back to being just another cast member the second they got back to the inn with Audrey.

  “You’re being awfully quiet.” Harper glanced at him. “That used to mean you were thinking big thoughts.”

  “More like too many thoughts.” He rubbed his hands over his face. He’d been counting on a boring day doing cast interviews. All the running around combined with resisting the urge every other second to pull Harper into his arms was starting to wear on him. “Would you be super mad if I shut my eyes for a power nap?”

  The corners of her mouth ticked up. “I forgot you used to take those in between classes. It was like your superpower. You could fall asleep in seconds then wake up fifteen minutes later like you’d slept all night.”

  He grinned. “It’s definitely comes in handy in my line of work.”

  “Fetching coffee for big shots like Bruce?”

  “More like saving the world.”

  She laughed, and the sound was like a direct current straight to his heart. “Wow, barely four years in C
alifornia and you’ve already got the big LA ego.”

  “Hey, you were the one who called it a superpower.”

  He smiled at her, and after a second’s hesitation, she smiled back. Suddenly, he wasn’t so tired anymore. Austin sat up in his seat and tried to focus on the road to keep his queasy stomach from getting worse.

  “I thought you were going to take a power nap.”

  Austin chuckled. “Yeah, well turns out I’m going to take in this gorgeous scenery instead.”

  And it was gorgeous. The random tiny waterfalls on the side of the mountains, strange orange flowers that seemed to pop up randomly throughout the forest, the rare breaks in the tree lines that gave Austin a view of the surrounding area.

  It was nothing like California. And while the state he’d called home since college was beautiful in its own way, it couldn't compare to the lush green of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Or the natural beauty of Harper’s smile.

  “I love driving through this area. The ebb and flow of the road makes it easy to process certain things. Sometimes I take a drive when I’m struggling with something. It’s the worst for deliveries though.”

  The small glimpse of vulnerability shocked Austin. It was like seeing the old Harper again. Austin wondered if he’d see more of this side of her the longer he spent with her. Austin secretly hoped that Audrey wasn’t at the cabin when they got there so he could find out, then felt like a horrible person. Harper was worried sick, and all he could think about was eking out a few more hours with her.

  He stared out the window as he processed Harper’s words about the twisty roads. And if it wasn’t for the motion sickness Austin was battling, he would agree with her. Now that Harper was driving the speed limit, he could appreciate the hypnotic back and forth of the car as they went up the mountain and then down—even if he wanted to barf.

  “Do you think anyone is going to be waiting for us at the cabin?” Austin asked.

  “I’m hoping Audrey is.”

  Austin shook his head. “I mean, besides her. I know Eli and his parents are back at The Emerald Inn, but are there any aunts, uncles, or cousins that I should be aware of?”

  “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

  Austin let out a short breath through his nose and tried to stay calm. Whatever vulnerability she’d hinted at was closed off tight again. “Yes. Yes, I would.”

  Harper laughed and looked away from the road long enough to send a saucy wink his way.

  She was messing with him. Flirting maybe? The idea of Harper letting down her guard enough to playfully wink at him made his heart soar. He wasn’t expecting things to go back to the way they were—that was impossible. But maybe they could rebuild their friendship.

  The idea was both exciting and disappointing. He missed Harper, but he didn’t want friendship. He wanted more. He wanted to go back to that day when she’d so boldly confessed her feelings and pull her into his arms and kiss her senseless.

  He wanted to go back and knock some sense into twenty-two-year-old Austin and tell him not to be an idiot.

  “The answer is no, by the way,” Harper said after a few minutes of silence. “The only people who have keys are Eli and his family.”

  Austin’s stomach fell. He hadn’t even considered that they’d need keys to get in. It felt like such a rookie mistake. He was making every mistake. “How are we going to get in?”

  “Relax. I swiped Audrey’s spare key from her junk drawer before we left.” She pointed to her purse that was on the floor of the passenger seat. “You didn’t think I’d suggest we drive all the way of to the cabin without a way to get in, did you?”

  Austin hadn’t thought of it. He was not on top of things like he should be. Harper was thinking of every detail while he bumbled around and tried not to get sick in her car. Everything was all mixed up.

  When Austin didn’t respond, Harper started laughing. “Oh my goodness. You didn’t even think about the keys.”

  “I was a little distracted,” Austin mumbled.

  It only made Harper laugh harder. “Oh, I like this version of Austin who isn’t perfect and forgets things. It makes the rest of us look better.”

  “You’ve always been my better half.”

  The words were out before Austin could think twice about it, and Harper instantly sobered. Her posture was rigid as she stared out the front windshield. Both hands gripped the steering wheel, and the silence between them was heavy.

  Austin so badly wanted to know what was going on inside her head, but he didn’t dare speak, so he turned on the radio without asking. When she didn’t comment on his choice of music, he knew she was completely lost in her own thoughts. The next thirty minutes dragged on. Each time the clock on her dash ticked over another minute, Austin felt like it had been about eight hundred seconds.

  Eventually, Harper spoke. “The cabin is just a couple minutes away.”

  Austin sat up straight in his seat. Good. Her attention needed to be on Audrey, not Austin’s dozens of mistakes today. He looked out the window as Harper turned off the highway and onto a small side road. A few short moments later, they were bouncing onto a dirt road. It led them deeper into the woods, and Austin bit his lip to keep from asking if it was the right way. Finally, Austin spotted a mailbox and a steep gravel driveway and let out a sigh of relief.

  It was so steep that Austin wondered if Harper’s older vehicle would be able to make it up safely. But she didn’t hesitate and turned toward it. “Uh, Harper?”

  She pressed down on the accelerator, and gravel from the driveway flung out under her tires. “Yeah?” she said through gritted teeth, not taking her eyes from the driveway.

  “Are you sure your car...” Austin cleared his throat, unsure how to express his concern without starting another argument about who knew Wellspring and its surrounding areas better.

  “My car is awesome.”

  With one final push, and a satisfied smirk from Harper, the car jerked forward and they were at the top of the incline. The car shuddered to a stop in front of the cabin. It was no match for the luxury of The Emerald Inn, but it was bigger than he expected.

  “We’re here,” Harper announced with a tremble in her voice.

  Austin followed her out of the car and looked around. Harper’s car was the only vehicle here, and his heart sank. Their search would, once again, come up empty.

  He wasn’t sure if Harper had already come to the same conclusion, but she fished the keys out of her purse and unlocked the front door in record time. She didn’t say a word as she went through every room, opening every door and cabinet.

  Austin trailed behind her, each silent step heavier than the last. Just like Audrey’s apartment, the cabin was empty. All the lights were off, and there was a slightly stale scent in the air. No one had been to the cabin in weeks, maybe months.

  Harper threw her purse on the ground with a curse. “I really thought she’d be here.”

  He opened his mouth to say something reassuring. Something like they could keep looking, or that they’d find Audrey. But nothing felt like enough. He wasn’t enough.

  Harper turned to Austin, her shoulders sagging. “Come on. Let’s go back. We’ll just explain to Bruce what happened and hope that it’s not as bad as we think it’s going to be.”

  Austin was pretty sure it was going to be just as bad, or worse. He’d be fired, the show would be ruined, and who knew what horrible things Bruce could do with the footage they’d already gotten. The last thing Austin wanted to do was go back to the inn, but he followed her out to her car anyway. He had the hour-and-a-half drive back to The Emerald Inn to come up with a new plan to save the show—and his last chance at Harper’s heart.

  Eleven

  5 Days Until Dream Wedding

  Harper slammed her hands against the steering wheel for the third time. This could not be happening. She’d bought this station wagon instead of her dream car because it was supposed to be practical. It had trunk space for deliveries, four-wheel drive for
the mountains, and a reliable engine.

  Or at least, she thought it was reliable.

  Less than a mile from Eli’s cabin and the stupid thing started making a loud noise. At first, Harper just ignored it. Ninety-five percent of her problems usually worked themselves out if she left them alone long enough. But then the noise got louder, and Austin’s fidgeting more frantic, Harper pulled over to the side of the dirt road that led to the cabin and turned the car off.

  “When was the last time you got a tune up?”

  “Uh, the last time I had a day off, which would be never. I have a business to run.”

  Austin frowned. “Regular maintenance saves money in the long term.”

  Harper’s jaw clenched tight. Starting a fight right now wouldn’t be helpful.

  But it sure would make her feel better.

  “If you know so much about cars, go out and fix it.”

  Without a word, Austin opened the door and stalked to the front of the car. He waved a hand at her and she popped the hood.

  Harper fought the urge to roll her eyes. Of course he knew about cars. He knew how to fix everything. His brain was like a dictionary of random facts. In college, whenever he started dating a new girl, he’d absorb all her interests and hobbies. The super focus and planning he put to use in his classes worked even better for being the perfect boyfriend. The girls loved it, loved him, and had no idea he spent his Thursday nights with Harper watching Battlestar Galactica, his real favorite show.

  Austin’s head disappeared behind the hood, and Harper wondered what his favorite was now. She wondered what random movies and shows he’d had to learn about to make Jennifer follow him around the way she did.