“Not at all,” Cam replied at the same time that I said, “Wanna join in?”
“Thanks, but the rehearsal’s starting.” Bailey raised her eyebrows at Cam. “I believe you’re my partner?”
Cam grinned, adding a glazed-over look to his eyes as if he’d been completely taken by Bailey.
“Lucky me,” he said as he shoved my arm from his neck. Bailey’s lips curved at his flattery.
As Cam led her to their marked spot outside the main doors, he flipped me the middle finger without looking back.
Fucker. I grinned and lifted my chin at Karin. “Hey.”
“Heya!” Karin chirped and gave me a quick hug.
And that’s when I realized there was another woman behind Karin this whole time, so pale and slight that I’d missed her.
“Gabriel, this is Lena, your partner bridesmaid,” Karin said, her wide smile telling me she was up to no fuckin’ good. “Lena, this is Gabriel. You don’t need any introduction to him, obviously.”
Obviously.
The girl on the other hand, I had never met before. One look at her told me she was not a part of my usual crowd.
Lena wore glasses for one, and not the fashionable kind. It was clearly out of need instead of a statement piece, the practical type with strong black frames that shielded most of her face. I only managed to get a hint of grey eyes behind them. Her skin seemed like it had never seen the sun before, and her figure looked so frail that a breeze could’ve blown her over. Her pale hair was secured to the base of her neck in a tight knot.
But it wasn’t just her paleness; everything about this girl’s hunched posture whimpered, “Please don’t notice me.” It didn’t help that the dresses for the bridesmaids were a light cream either.
As a whole, Lena was the same shade as the walls of the church we were in. The girl could blend right into the limestone if she stood still enough.
I offered my hand. “Whatever Karin told you about me, I’m only guilty of half of it, I swear.”
The smile I accompanied that with would have gotten a blush from another woman, but Lena only dipped her head in a small nod, her eyes barely meeting mine. Her slim hand slipped into mine like a fragile white bird and darted back to her side before I even had time to respond.
I gave Karin a raised eyebrow that said, What’s up with that?
Karin returned a suspiciously sweet smile.
“Don’t worry babe, you’ll do great.” She gave Lena a quick hug before flouncing off to take her place behind Cam and Bailey—alone, because Theo Valentine the motherfucker had decided that his work was more important than his future sister-in-law’s wedding rehearsal.
I narrowed my eyes at Karin’s back.
Knowing Karin and her love for matchmaking, she was probably trying to set me up with Lena. A bad recommendation—for Lena—because Karin had shit taste in guys. Case in point again, Theo Valentine.
I offered Lena my arm and she slid her hand through awkwardly, her fingers resting on my bicep with barely any pressure. We didn’t exchange a single word as we got into position outside the main entrance to the hall.
“Crazy, huh,” I remarked. “I never realized this much work went into a wedding. What do you think of it?”
Lena offered a weak smile that looked like she was held at knifepoint to talk to me.
Then finally, she said in a voice so soft I had to strain closer to hear it, “The decor is very pretty.”
“Props to the wedding planner. She’s going nuts over there, but damn if she isn’t pulling this off.”
Another pained smile.
I blinked and looked forward again.
Not gonna lie, this was awkward. Karin had mentioned before that my partner was shy, but from the looks of it, Lena could hardly manage a conversation. Cam and Bailey were flirting up a storm behind us, which made the silence between Lena and me even more apparent.
I tried again, for Karin and Allie’s sake. “I knew the sisters from back in high school, what about you?”
Lena seemed to ponder it through before replying in a tone just as soft as earlier. “I met Karin at college.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yes. Through her, I met Allie.”
“That’s cool, so you guys meet up at the bar for drinks, or…?”
“Yes, sometimes.”
I waited for her to continue, and when it was clear she wasn’t going to, I tried again.
“I’m taking it that Karin didn’t give you much of a choice in your friendship,” I grinned. “Girl’s got the temperament of a Golden Retriever.”
“She’s very nice,” Lena said carefully, as if she wasn’t sure about my joke.
“Yeah, she is.” I cleared my throat awkwardly. “So what kinda stuff do you do in your free time?”
Lena dipped her head and said simply, “I read.”
“Sweet. What kind of stuff do you read?”
“Books, mostly. And magazines.”
I exhaled at her stiff responses.
You know what? It’s cool. Maybe she was having a shit day and didn’t want to make conversation. Maybe she had a boyfriend and didn’t want to give off the wrong signals.
Whatever it was, I’ll bite.
Instead of pressing, I turned my attention from Lena to the wedding planner, who was desperately trying to get us to listen to her instructions.
Apparently a wedding procession was as complicated as a ballroom dance. One step left foot, one step right foot, follow the off beat, not the main one, not too fast, not too slow…
“I’m sorry, but did you catch all that?”
I looked down, surprised at Lena’s sudden attempt at conversation. “Yeah, didn’t you?”
Lena shook her head once.
“Hey, don’t sweat it, I’ll lead.”
“Thanks.” She bit her lip. “Sorry. I’m not good at meeting new people.”
I shrugged. “Well, I’m not good at shutting up. Can’t all be perfect.”
Lena’s lips curved faintly, which made me smile in return.
At that moment, Bailey said something behind us that made Cam laugh aloud.
Lena’s fingers tightened around my arm, and she turned her head ever so slightly towards them.
I watched her reaction closely.
Hmm. Interesting.
“You graduated last year, didn’t you, just like Karin?”
A nod. “Yes, but we’re in different majors. Karin was in Art, and I was in Communications.” She swallowed audibly. “And now I’m…a journalist.”
“Damn,” I said, genuinely impressed. “So you cover news, world affairs, that kinda stuff?”
“Something like that,” she muttered, looking strangely guilty.
“That’s insane. Which agency are you at?”
A long, laden silence that dragged on painfully, then Lena finally whispered:
“The Tattler.”
I went still.
Hold.
The fuck.
Up.
“The Tattler? The Tattler? As in the tabloid?”
Lena pulled her hand from my arm as she gave the barest nod, like she already knew how bad I was gonna take it.
“Jesus fucking Christ.”
I stared at her, my ears ringing in shock. This must be a fucking joke—but Lena didn’t seem like she was playing around.
“What did you say your last name was?” I managed.
“I didn’t.” Lena clasped her hands at her waist, shrinking even smaller if it were possible. “But it’s H-Hastings.”
I blinked at the familiarity of that name. “Lena Hastings?”
An audible gulp. “Actually, it’s Helena Hastings.”
Holy. Shit.
This quiet, unassuming mouse was the Helena Hastings who wrote that viral piece that made me question my very fucking existence?
“You?”
I stared harder at Lena, half-expecting her to say something to prove me wrong, but the girl just stood there shamefacedly looking
at her feet.
Fuckin’ hell. The person I despised most in the world was standing right beside me, and her hand had been on my fucking arm.
I nearly turned and walked right out of there until I remembered I was in Ryland and Allie’s goddamn wedding rehearsal.
Jesus, I was gonna kill Karin after this. A tabloid writer at the most exclusive wedding of the year—what the fuck were the sisters thinking?
I gritted my teeth as I stared at Lena, who had not spoken a single word throughout my internal meltdown. She just looked down at the floor looking pale and scared.
A moment later the music for the processional rehearsal began, and I clamped my mouth shut as I looked ahead again.
I’d play my goddamn part for this wedding, but fuck if I had to talk to the bitch. Helena Hastings was not getting a damn word out of me to quote out-of-context in her next article.
On the music’s cue, the uniformed attendants by the doors to the main chapel pulled them open. I grabbed Lena’s hand and clapped it on my arm, and then I took off in strides so fast that she had to stumble after me to keep up.
“Slow down, asshole!” Cam called. “Follow the fucking beat!”
I popped my jaw and forced my steps to slow. Lena said nothing as she stared down at her shoes and tried to match her steps to mine.
I miraculously kept my silence all the way to the altar, all the way through the next three rounds of rehearsals, and all the fucking way until the wedding organizer announced a ten-minute break before the final run-through.
Then I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I jerked my arm from Lena’s hand and spun on her.
“How much did they offer you?” I said curtly.
Lena’s grey eyes went wide behind her glasses. Then just as quickly, her gaze shuttered and she glanced away. “I d-don’t know what you mean.”
“Like hell you don’t, you can’t hide your emotions to save your life.”
I looked around to make sure my friends were distracted with their own conversations before taking Lena’s wrist.
“Come with me.”
She didn’t protest as I dragged her to a secluded section behind the pipe organs, hidden from view of the rest of the party.
There, I let her go, and she stumbled against the wall for support.
I braced my palms on either side of her head, trapping her in.
“Talk,” I ground. “How much?”
Lena shrank back against the white stone wall, not meeting my eyes. “I don’t know what you’re saying.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. A tabloid writer, at the most exclusive wedding of the year? How much are your bosses offering for the details?”
“I didn’t tell anyone.” She twisted her fingers nervously, her eyes blinking at rapid speed. “I-If I did, it’d be all over the news by now.”
“Maybe you’re playing the long game,” I countered. “Maybe the rest of your pap crew will show up tomorrow. Or shit, who’s to say you won't be wearing hidden body cams? Are you wearing them right now?”
“No! I would never do something like that,” she said, her breaths coming in short and disjointed bursts. “It’s...it’s dishonest.”
“You gotta be kidding me.” I stared at her in fury and amazement, and she looked back up at me.
At least, she tried to. Her eyes kept darting away from mine as if she was physically unable to hold eye contact.
I had a sudden startling realization then, that behind those glasses Lena’s eyes weren’t gray, but a very, very light blue, and there were faint beige freckles dotting the tip of her nose. All pale, just like the rest of her.
It fucking pissed me off.
“Dishonest,” I bit. “And what about the shit you’ve been writing about me?”
“I had to keep my job,” was her half-assed explanation.
“Then it seems like you’re in the wrong field, Helena,” I said in a quiet voice that barely held in my fury, “because news flash? Dishonest is what you fucking are. Now talk. How much did they offer you? ‘Cause I’m gonna give you twice that amount to walk out that door.”
“I didn’t take the money.”
“So there was such a conversation.”
“Yes,” Lena blurted, “but I didn’t take it!”
I let her statement sink into silence. “You do realize how bad this sounds, don’t you?”
She didn’t reply right away, her fingers twisting anxiously at her waist.
“Karin and Allie trust me,” she finally said. “And so does Ryland.”
“That explains why I’m the last to hear about this, because I. Fucking. Don’t.”
What the fuck had my friends been thinking when they got a damned tabloid writer on board?
“This is my only warning to you,” I said in a low tone. “If our security catches you with a body cam tomorrow, or if we see even one of your friends on this grounds, I’m taking you to court and you can forget about ever showing your face in New York again. Are we clear on that?”
“Yes,” she said unsteadily. “But I didn’t tell anyone.”
“You better keep it that way.”
“I will.”
“Good.”
I didn’t move as I kept Lena trapped between my arms and the wall, letting my intimidation sink in with the silence.
There was only the faint sound of wedding music back in the main hall, mingling with our breathing. The afternoon sun streamed in from the stained windows twenty feet above our heads, making pink and blue light dance over her pale skin and her dress.
It was a perfect scene for a wedding, but the irony was that this woman threatened everything. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that Karin and Allie had let a tabloid writer into our midst.
I couldn’t help asking. “What the hell did I ever do to you?”
Lena knew what I referred to. She didn’t even try to deny that she was the mastermind behind that takedown piece on me.
“I’m sorry,” Lena whispered, keeping her gaze on my shirt buttons. “I’m sorry about what I wrote about you. I really am.”
I stared at the top of her blonde head in anger and confusion.
What was her deal?
I had so many questions, but the wedding organizer called for us to gather for the last rehearsal.
I pushed off the wall and headed back to the main chapel without waiting for Lena to follow.
For the rest of the rehearsal, Lena remained deathly quiet, and this time I didn’t attempt to make the silence less painful. Allie and Ryland had finally arrived, and as I watched my friends rehearsing their vows at the altar, I knew that I’d go to hell before I let their wedding be made a spectacle of—just like my life had been.
When the rehearsal ended, Lena slipped her hand from my arm and prepared to make a run for it.
I grabbed her wrist before she could flee and pulled her close.
“Remember what I said,” I murmured at the curve of her ear. “If even one word slips out, you’re done.”
The slim column of Lena’s throat worked as she nodded. I released her, watching as she slipped soundlessly towards the back rooms at the end of the hall.
“Man, that was rough,” Cam muttered as he strolled up to me, having missed my exchange with Lena. “I’m gonna be doing the march in my sleep tonight.”
“No kidding. And heads up, I’m doubling the security for tomorrow.”
Cam frowned. “What for?”
I rubbed the back of my neck wearily. “See that girl scurrying away?”
“Isn’t that your partner?”
“Yeah. She’s also a writer for The Tattler.”
“The fuck? Are you sure?” Cam stared at Lena’s retreating figure in shock. “Why did Allie and Karin—”
“That’s what I wanna know,” I said, so fucking done with all this. “I’m grabbing a drink after this. You in?”
Cam raised a brow. “No? It’s four in the afternoon.”
“Dude, give me some credit for doing all this sober.”
“Fine, but your ass better be here early tomorrow.” Cam shot a look of distaste in Lena’s direction. “We’ll have to do an extra sweep of the perimeter.”
“Watch me be late, and watch Allie forgive me for it.”
Cam rolled his eyes. “What do chicks see in you?”
“In me, nothing. But on the outside; this right here?” I pointed at my face and smiled coldly. “This is the moneymaker. Don’t believe me, just ask Helena Hastings.”
I sat in dead silence in the back of the taxi, grateful that the driver was not trying to make conversation with me. Maybe it was too early in the morning for him.
It was Saturday, the day of Allie’s wedding, and by now I should have been on my way to the church. Instead, I was heading downtown to my office to pick up the corsage I had left there yesterday. I had been so flustered after the rehearsal with Gabriel Easton that I’d taken the corsage with me when I went back to the office and left it there when I headed home.
My stomach flipped uneasily at the thought of seeing Gabriel again later. He absolutely hated me—and with good reason. I had written things about him that I was not proud of, and simply having me present was a risk to the wedding itself.
Ever since Karin told me that she was pairing me up with Gabriel, I had been dreading our eventual meeting.
“The goddess works in mysterious ways,” she’d replied when I asked her why. No amount of begging would make her change her mind and pair me with Cam instead, who was huge and frankly intimidating but did not have a reason to hate me.
I sighed. I hoped this was entertaining enough for her, because neither I nor Gabriel thought so.
And he was right about me anyway.
A journalist? Who was I kidding?
You’ve still gotta eat, a small voice inside me protested.
Usually that would assuage my guilt a little, but yesterday had been the first time that I met a person I had written about.
“What did I ever do to you?” Gabriel had asked me.
The flash of hurt on his face as he said that had made me miserable all over again. I may have had a reason for it, but it didn’t change the fact that I was hurting others.
“Breathe,” I whispered to myself as my heart started to speed up.
I closed my eyes and focused on the calming exercise that my therapist taught me; counting backwards from ten and breathing in and out slowly on every count. My pulse thankfully began to go back to normal after a few moments.
Charming (New York Heirs #3) Page 3
