Wilma Clemmons smiled fondly at the couple. “Nadine, it’s your turn.”
When she looked up, her eyes collided with Jeremy’s—he stood just beyond Michael’s shoulder, as his brother’s best man. He glanced away, but not before she saw the flash of pain cross his face.
She cleared her throat and lifted her chin to speak to her future husband. “I promise to love and care for you always. I will try in every way to be worthy of your love. I’ll be honest with you, kind, patient and…” she paused to catch her breath. “Forgiving. But most of all, I promise to be a true and loyal friend. I will celebrate your triumphs, and love you all the more for your failures.” She shrugged. “Not that I expect many.”
The guests laughed, and so did he.
The justice of the peace gave them their blessing and then turned to the crowd. “Before I pronounce them man and wife, I need to ask—is there anyone here who has a reason these two shall not marry?”
Watching Michael closely, Nadine saw guilt.
Her skin crawled and the gap in her heart widened a little more. She could feel the eyes of the guests at the back of her head and panic set in. Like standing in quicksand, she felt if the minister didn’t say something quickly, the earth would open up and swallow them whole.
Jeremy gave her a long hard look, and then he stepped forward. His mouth opened and closed as he breathed deeply.
No, no, no! she silently cried. Don’t say it. Don’t tell me you love me. Not here. Not now.
But he didn’t confess his love—instead Jeremy spoke to his brother. “Michael, don’t you have anything to say to Nadine?”
Her head whipped around. What was he doing? Michael had just promised to marry her. Shut up, Jeremy, shut up!
“I said what I came here to say,” Michael said, ignoring his brother, his eyes beseeching hers.
The blood rushed from her face and her stomach rolled. What was this about? Her gut instincts told her one thing but she didn’t want to hear it. She shook her head in denial.
“Tell her, Michael, or I will.” Jeremy stood proud, unmoving.
“Tell me what?” She didn’t know if she’d spoken the words aloud, but she saw her father moving toward her. He reached her side, and put a comforting hand on her back.
Michael’s shoulders tensed, his expression belligerent. “Shit, Jeremy, couldn’t you just leave it alone?”
Jeremy stepped up and pushed his brother on the shoulder. “Couldn’t you just walk away?”
Michael shook his head. “You’ve lost me, bro. Walk away from what? Nadine? She’s my wife now. You had your chance with her and blew it.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about. Confess. If she forgives you then so will I.”
Nadine glanced at all their faces. Her father’s. Her brother’s. Her best friends. Michael’s mom was crying and her husband John patted her knee to settle her down. Michael looked away from her, and Jeremy focused on him. Her perfect wedding was falling apart, and she wanted to run away and flee.
Melody burst into tears and held her face in her hands.
Seeing Melody’s reaction, Nadine knew she’d been betrayed. Her chest swelled and tightened, then her heart cracked open. Like a tidal wave she felt herself drowning.
Her words were choked. “You and Melody? You screwed my bridesmaid?”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“What the hell is going on?” Nadine’s father demanded. Anna rushed to his side, and put a hand on his arm.
“I think the marriage is off,” Anna said softly.
He looked at her as if the whole world had just gone crazy. “Would someone tell me what’s going on?”
John Williams left his wife’s side to stand and face his two sons. “I would like to know too.” His voice thundered over the rush of whispers in the crowd of family and friends. “Which one of you would like to explain?” Mary began to wail, her head bent forward.
Nadine stood next to her father, frozen. Ice had gripped her heart. She shot Michael a look. “I think you should tell my dad.” She didn’t recognize her voice. It was hard and clipped. Like ice chips.
“This is ridiculous. Let’s get on with the wedding.” Michael tried to grab her arm, but she flung it aside and moved to stand near Jeremy. He put his arm around her shoulders, offering support.
“Tell him, Michael,” Nadine hissed. “And tell me. I deserve to know!” Her spine was stiff and she felt a hard knot in her stomach, a pain so deep she didn’t know if it would ever go away.
“I…uh…had a little indiscretion with the bridesmaid.” His face was red, and he shot a look at his father, then over where Melody stood, hiding behind Ashley, who immediately pushed her away. “I’m sorry,” he said to her.
Melody covered her face, and let out a gasping sob then ran past the altar, through the mangroves and out to the beach. Nadine watched her go, anger giving her renewed strength.
“What a conniving little bitch,” she said through clenched teeth. Jeremy squeezed her shoulder.
“You did what?” Nadine’s father demanded. Cameron stepped forward too, looking like he might pop Michael in the nose with the fist curled at his side.
“I screwed up.” Michael watched Melody’s escape, looking like he wanted to follow, but obviously knew better. He reached out to Nadine but she moved closer to his brother. “I’m sorry, Nadine, but in fairness we weren’t married. Now that we are I promise to be faithful. Please forgive me. It was stupid, I know.”
Cameron glared at him, and went toe to toe. “No fucking way. You don’t deserve her.”
“That’s right,” her father seconded. “Tell him, Nadine.”
“Well now. My son did apologize,” John Williams said, hoping for a resolution that would allow the wedding to proceed.
Nadine didn’t look at the men. She swung around to face the justice of the peace. “We aren’t married yet, are we?”
“No, not yet. Luckily you can still change your mind.” She gave Michael a stern look, shaking her head. “You need to grow up, son, and learn to be a man.”
Nadine struggled to get the ring off her finger and when she did she tossed it aside. The gold ring and the diamond landed somewhere in the sand. “I don’t forgive you. I never will.”
Her father stepped up to Michael and looked him dead in the eye. “You piece of shit. How dare you insult my daughter this way! She’s lucky to have escaped a life with the likes of you.” He stood there for a moment, with a threatening stance until Anna grabbed his arm.
Anna spoke calmly, not wanting bloodshed. “He did her a favor by showing his true character. Now—before the wedding.” She turned to Jeremy. “You did the right thing by speaking out. Saved Nadine from years of heartache.”
“Thank you.” Jeremy turned to Nadine with sorrow in his deep brown eyes. “I’m sorry I ruined your wedding. But I couldn’t stand by and let him ruin your life. I told him to tell you, or I would.”
“I should thank you.” Her eyes were misty as she looked at him, and her throat was raw. “You saved me.” Then the floodgate opened, and she began to sob.
He pulled her into his arms, holding her against him, and kissed her forehead. “I will always save you,” he whispered.
Mary Williams rushed forward and slapped her son Michael’s face. “You’ve shamed us all. But most of all, you shamed yourself.”
“That’s enough, dear. We’ll go and pack now. Leave first thing in the morning.” John put a hand around her waist and led her away.
After they left, Nadine’s father looked at Jeremy with approval. “Thanks for stepping in.”
Jeremy nodded. “You’re welcome, sir.”
Ashley and Jordon rushed to Nadine and she left the safety of Jeremy’s arms to be embraced by her true friends. “I can’t believe Melody would do this to me,” she whispered, her breath hitching as she sobbed harder.
She didn’t see Michael leave, but he and his best men drifted away, probably to get drunk and find some women to screw. She didn’
t care. She never wanted to see him again and truly hoped he’d be gone before morning.
Her father stood next to Wilma Clemmons and raised his voice. “Ladies and gentleman, I’m sorry to say the wedding is off, but the reception will go on. Please make your way to the bar for drinks and the dinner will be served shortly.”
With a lot of sympathetic shakes of their heads, the wedding guests rose from their chairs to make their way to the bar set up at poolside.
“I hope you join the guests and stay and have something to eat,” Kevin told Wilma. “Have you ever seen anything like this before?” he asked. He spoke in a subdued tone, as if he still didn’t quite believe it. She understood, exactly.
“Unfortunately, I have. Had to break up a fistfight once. And once the groom was so drunk and disorderly that I could not perform the ceremony. Your daughter, as heartbreaking as this must be for her, got off lightly. A life with a cheater would be so much worse.” She eyed Nadine, her friends, and Jeremy standing close, and nodded with satisfaction. “I don’t think she’ll be single for long.”
“I think you’re right. He’s a better man for sure.”
Anna had run off to take care of the guests, and his daughter was surrounded by friends. He glanced at Jeremy. “Let’s get a drink.” Then he nudged his son and the three of them followed the guests to the bar.
Nadine was led back to the cabin by her friends who sat with her and weathered the storm. Everything had started so beautifully, and ended so horrible, that all they could do was cry. The girls opened some wine and after the bottle was finished they cried some more.
They helped her out of her dress, washed her face like a child and asked her if they could bring her some supper.
“No. I couldn’t eat a thing. I feel like I’m going to throw up,” she confessed, with fresh tears running down her cheeks. “I’ll be all right. I just need to be alone. To sleep it off. I’m so glad I didn’t marry him. I hope he and Melody go for a long swim tonight and end up in China. Or as fish bait.”
“So do I,” Ashley said with satisfaction. “I never did like her. She watched you and Michael, just waiting for an opportunity to pounce.”
“She did get a little weird after Michael won the tournament. Started saying how rich we were going to be, and how it made him into a celebrity, all that kind of thing.” She sniffed. “She can have him for all I care. Good riddance to the two of them.”
“Yes. I don’t want her coming back to our cabin either,” Jordon said. “I have an idea. Why don’t we go back right now and pack up her things and put them out on the doorstep? She can sleep outside.”
Ashley nodded. “If you don’t mind us leaving you, Nadine? We have a score to settle with her.”
“Go. I’ll be okay. You two have already made me feel better.” She rubbed the tears off her cheeks that just kept coming. Like a leaky faucet. She wasn’t crying over him. She was crying over what was supposed to be her wedding day, what all girls dream about. She could shoot him for ruining that.
Her friends left and she washed her face again, then put on a robe and went out to sit alone on her back porch and watch the half moon over the water. She heard the waves breaking on the shore, felt a warm breeze on her face, and smelled the salt in the air. She leaned back in the Adirondack chair and closed her eyes. She didn’t know how long she sat like that, but then she heard someone whisper her name.
She opened her eyes. It was Jeremy. She wasn’t surprised, and somehow pleased to see him.
“Nadine. It’s me. I was on my way to the cabin and saw you out here. I ran back and got you a plate. You need to eat.” Jeremy came up the steps and joined her on the porch. He took the chair next to her. “I got you a little of everything. There’s grilled grouper with mango, a crab cake and shrimp. Salad on the side.”
Her mouth watered. “It smells good.”
He smiled. “It’s delicious. I’ll go inside and get cutlery.”
“Thank you. Can you also bring a bottle of wine out here? I think we need it, don’t you?”
He stood up and touched her cheek. “Whatever it takes to make you feel better is okay by me.”
“You’re a good friend. I’m lucky to have you.”
“One day I hope to be more than a friend, but for now it’s enough.”
She swallowed hard. She knew he cared and she felt something for him too…but her heart was battered and bruised and she had a long way to go before she’d give it to anyone again. She watched him leave, seeing his strong back, the shape of his head, his clipped dark hair, his super fine butt, then she closed her eyes, more confused than ever. Jeremy was not his brother, he was kind and good—but hell! Both men had done a number on her. Perhaps she was better to stay away.
He returned with two glasses, a chilled bottle of chardonnay, cutlery and a napkin. He pulled the small table up next to her and poured the wine. Then he stood next to the railing to watch her. Perhaps he was intuitive enough to understand the crazy thoughts running through her head. One minute she was grateful to him, then next she wanted to hit him over the head with a frying pan for either not telling her before the ceremony, or for telling her at all.
“Eat.” His voice gave no hint of what he was feeling. Did he feel guilty for ruining her wedding night? “You’re going to need your strength,” he told her.
“Why? What am I going to do? Bury two bodies?”
He laughed. “Would you like to?”
“Naw. Too much work. They deserve each other. I hope they sneak off in the middle of the night and I don’t have to see their lying faces again.”
“I’ll make sure you don’t have to deal with Michael. What are you going to do about the honeymoon? Do you want to go with your friends?”
“No. I wasn’t all that interested anyway. Michael suggested it as it had a golf course next to the hotel. He can go. I might stay right here. It’s peaceful, quiet. Just what I need.”
She took a bite of the grouper and moaned. “Delicious.” She wiped some of the mango from her bottom lip. “I want to marry Taylor. She’s the best cook ever.”
He nodded, pleased that she was eating and no longer crying. “I agree. Not sure how Colt would feel about that.”
“What do you think of Anna? Do you like her?”
“Sure. She seems great. A little old for me,” he said with a sexy smile. “Why?”
“My dad likes her. He wants to see her again.”
“Oh, well, I guess that’s nice. Not sure how you feel about it though.”
“I didn’t like the idea at first. I figured that he should mourn my mother longer, but that’s just selfish. He loved her very much and she was sick for the past few years. He deserves happiness and if Anna can give it to him, then I’m okay with that.”
“You’re a good person, Nadine Thomas.” He took the seat beside her, tilted his head and gazed up at the stars. “Ever wonder what’s up there?”
“Nope. But that’s part of the magic I feel when I fly. Big fluffy clouds that look enticing enough to jump into and play. Maybe the angels do,” she said thinking of her mom, youthful and beautiful, playing amongst the clouds, riding on a star. “That would be so cool.”
“So you do believe there’s a heaven?”
“I believe in many things. I love the fact that the universe is so big and full of wonder. There are a million things to see and to learn before we reach that final resting place in the sky.”
“Guess I’m a little more cynical,” he told her. “I’ve seen things and done things no man has a right to. Hard for me to believe a God would allow that.”
“He doesn’t. War is man made. Stupid men who don’t know how to settle things better. But let’s not get into that.”
“Nadine, if you don’t mind I’d like to discuss it. I knew you never wanted me to go off to war, that you were worried for me but you also didn’t believe in the fight.” He lowered his head, and teed his fingers together. “I may have resented that a little because I whole-heartedly felt it
was the right thing to do.”
She didn’t say anything, just picked at her food.
“To this day I don’t regret going, because at the time I didn’t feel as though I had a choice. I wanted to make the world a safer place. But for all the killing, all the needless deaths the world is less safe now then it was five years ago. The terrorists seem to multiply. Kids, American kids run off to join ISIS. It makes no sense. Why would they leave a country that allows more freedom than any other country in the world and join up with a bunch of murdering assholes who have no respect for human life, who can behead someone…for what?” He rotated his head, easing a kink in his neck. Then he released a heavy sigh, and looked at her. “How can they justify this kind of behavior? In what world would this be right?” He put his head in his hands. “I’m sorry. This is not the night for a talk like this.”
“It’s okay.” She touched his knee. “Is that why you left me? Because I didn’t approve?” Her eyes searched his. “I do believe in fighting for your country. Defending your home, your land. But not going to a foreign country whose core values are so different than ours.”
“That’s not why I left.” His head jerked up. “By the time I was honorably discharged my feelings about being there had changed too. We weren’t making a difference. Nothing had changed.” He shook his head, flexing his shoulders. “Bottom line… I was fucked up. That’s why I left. I didn’t want to bring you down with me. I was in my own hell, and you didn’t belong there.”
She smiled, and touched his cheek. “Thank you. I guess I understand now.” She blinked back tears. “I forgive you, and I hope you can forgive me. Especially for dating your louse of a brother.”
“Yeah.” His lips twisted in a smile. “Must admit he looks good on the surface.”
“Come. Share this with me. And drink up.”
They sipped on wine, and she ate her food. Every bite. Then she wiped her mouth. “I’m exhausted. Do you mind if I call it a night?”
“Not at all.” He stood. “Sleep well. I’ll see you in the morning.” He kissed her forehead and was at the doorway when he halted. “Hey. What do you think of dolphins?”
Right Man/ Wrong Groom: Paradise Cove Series - Destination Wedding Book 1 Page 12
