She trailed off, but Grace knew what she meant.
She’d wanted to be part of the family more than she’d actually wanted Michael. She’d turned herself into a perfect little Montgomery family fembot without even realizing it, just to fit in with the family she’d never had.
Oh boy. This was even worse than Grace had thought.
Grace swallowed hard. “Maybe you two just need to slow down. I mean, you love each other, right?”
She hesitated, but she nodded.
“And you’re in love with each other…right?” Grace prompted.
There was no nod this time, only a panicked, wild-eyed stare, and Grace’s heart plummeted to her shoes. “Oh, Sadie,” she said on a deep sigh.
The quiet tears gave way to gut-wrenching sobs. “I know I’m a horrible person,” she said in between gasps for air, “but I really did think I was in love with him until Nick told me what finding the one was supposed to feel like. I love Michael, but I don’t love him the way Nick loves you.”
Grace took the words like a punch to the gut. Nick loved her back? Lucille hadn’t been imagining it? He loved her? Like ‘til-death-do-you-part, let’s-adopt-a-dog-together, here-you-can-have-the-last-brownie kind of love? And he’d told his sister instead of telling her? She’d been stressing out, doing the mental math on when she’d be able to tell him how she felt, and he’d been keeping this from her? What the hell?
Then she remembered Nick had been trying to tell her something before she came to talk to Sadie. Something that made him look like he wanted to vomit.
“Oh my God,” she whispered. Could it really be true?
“The things he said about you…I’ve never felt that way for anyone,” Sadie choked out. “The closest I’ve come to feeling like that is with…”
That sentence fragment snapped Grace out of her Holy-Mother-of-Jesus-Nick-loves-me-back stupor real quick. “Gage,” Grace finished for her.
Sadie gave her a weak, watery smile. “No one has ever taken care of me before except for Nick.”
Grace rubbed her aching temples. This was sooooooo much information. And it was all so messy. Yikes. “Well, he’s a doctor, so of course he took care of you,” she said reasonably. She said it reasonably because that was a really reasonable explanation. Reasonable beat this-is-a-clusterfuck-of-epic-proportions every time, right?
Sadie’s answering expression told Grace that reasonable was not a factor here. Apparently they were going to go with the clusterfuck. Gah!
Work with me here, Sadie. Work with me!
“It’s more than that,” Sadie finally said. “I can feel Gage in a room even when I can’t see him. I know when he’s watching me, even though he turns away before I can catch him doing it. Have you ever felt like that before?”
“Yes,” Grace murmured, thinking immediately of Nick. If he was anywhere within a mile of her, her body seemed to realize it and react accordingly. Hell, her nipples were on high alert right now because she knew he was a few rooms away, waiting on her to get back from checking on his sister.
“Michael’s my best friend and I’ll always love him. But I wouldn’t feel this connection with Gage if what I had with Michael was forever, would I?” Sadie asked quietly.
Grace swallowed hard. She wouldn’t touch that question with a twenty-foot pole. But the implications were clear. Poor Michael. “What do you want to do, Sadie? What can I do to help?”
Wiping her tears with the back of her hand, Sadie straightened to her full height. “Look, nothing is going to happen with Gage. I’m too messed up right now to even think about that, and I wouldn’t do that to your family. But I do need help, Grace. And you’re not going to like it, but I’m going to ask anyway.”
Grace’s heart dropped into the pointy toes of her Manolos. “On a scale of one to ten, one being cauliflower, five being sitting front row at a Jon Mayer concert, and ten being—oh, I don’t know—clubbing baby seals, how much am I going to hate what you want me to do?”
Sadie’s watery chuckle echoed through the room, but the look in her eyes was anything but encouraging.
Grace’s chin hit her chest. “Ugh. Ten it is.”
Let’s go club some baby seals.
Chapter Thirty-four
About a hundred years later, Grace emerged from the bride’s ready room and made her way into the reception hall, looking worn out and…something Nick couldn’t quite place. Guilty, maybe?
Shit. That couldn’t possibly be good, now could it?
Everyone rushed her at once. Michael wanted to know if Sadie was okay. Gage—who smelled like a distillery and looked like something that had been scraped off the bottom of an old sneaker—wanted to know where Sadie was. Sarah wanted to know if the dress fit. David wanted to know if Grace had remembered to pack an extra Kindle charger, because his wasn’t working. Ruthie wanted to know if the reception was going to include an open bar.
Nick just wanted to know why Grace was ignoring everyone else and looking at him like she was very sorry, but that she was going to have to stab him through the heart with one of her stilettos.
Grace held up a hand and told everyone to wait for a minute while she pulled Michael aside. Nick couldn’t hear what they were saying, but watching as Grace spoke to her brother at a frantic pace, and seeing Michael’s expression shift through the five stages of grief in under five minutes, he knew the wedding wasn’t happening.
Son of a bitch. Sadie wouldn’t recover from this.
Nick refused to stay out of the conversation any longer. Stalking over to where Grace and Michael were huddled behind a giant spray of roses and lilies, he grabbed her arm, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Where’s my sister?”
Grace swallowed hard. “She left, Nick. She couldn’t go through with the wedding, and she was too embarrassed to face anyone. She left a note for you. It’s in your room. There’s a note for you, too, Michael.”
Nick barely heard her words over the roar of his blood as it rushed through his veins. “She left?” he asked through clenched teeth. “Where did she go?”
“She went to the airport. I don’t really know where she intended to go from there.”
His eyes narrowed. “She doesn’t have a car. How did she get to the airport? And more importantly, how did she get out of that room without anyone seeing her?”
Another visible hard swallow. “There’s a service entrance in the back. She used that. And she asked me to call her a cab.”
“You let her go—helped her leave—without saying a word to anyone? Without knowing if she’s even okay?” he asked, incredulous.
Her gaze shifted from him over to her brother, who was now bent over at the waist, head in hands, looking like he might puke. She rubbed a hand over Michael’s back and sounded miserable as she said, “I did. It’s what she said she wanted. She asked me to help her, begged me, really—”
“And I asked you to fucking stay out of it,” he interrupted, seething. “To leave it alone. To let them sort it all out themselves. And you just couldn’t do it, could you?”
She straightened, her expression darkening. “I didn’t do anything wrong. She asked for my help, and I helped her. That’s all. The decision to leave was hers.”
“Leading the witness, counselor?” He threw her own words back at her with a sneer. “You’re real good at getting people to do what you want, all while making them think it was their decision, aren’t you?”
Grace reared back as if he’d slapped her, but her shocked expression twisted quickly into anger. “Oh, okay. I get it. Here we go. Another stupid disagreement and you’re lashing out at me. Again. Getting pissed off and saying horrible things to me seems to be your go-to, Nick. Well, guess what? This wasn’t my fault. I’ve stomped down every single instinct I had about this wedding since day one because of you, because of a promise I made to you. I knew this was going to go wrong, and I did nothing, for you. She’d already made up her mind about the wedding before I went into that room. That room that you—” she punctu
ated her sentence with a sharp poke to his chest “—asked me to go into. But you’re conveniently forgetting all that, aren’t you?”
“This isn’t about me,” he spit out through his clenched teeth.
Her fisted hands shot to her hips. “So are you saying I shouldn’t have helped her? Are you saying you wouldn’t have helped her leave if she’d asked you?”
“Of course I would’ve helped her. But you should’ve told me what was going on.”
“This isn’t about you,” she shot back with a sneer of her own.
“Is someone going to tell me what the fuck is going on? Where’s Sadie?” Gage asked from behind them as they faced off.
Before anyone could answer, Michael straightened and clocked Gage in the jaw with a wild right hook. “You son of a bitch,” Michael shouted. “If you had anything to do with her running away, I’ll kill you.”
“Michael!” Sarah gasped.
Ruthie shook her head, disgusted. “That was the worst punch I’ve ever seen. A bitch-slap would’ve been more effective than that. I’m disappointed in you, boy! Apparently all that hockey we used to watch was for nothing.”
From his position on the floor, Gage shifted his jaw from side to side, probably trying to make sure it still worked. “I was in the bar all fucking night. How could I have had anything to do with any of this, Michael?”
“Don’t tell me you’re not happy about this,” Michael argued. “I’ve seen the way you look at her.”
“Of course I’m not happy,” Gage grumbled, climbing to his feet. “You’re family, dumbass. I wouldn’t ever do anything to hurt you. But that punch was the only one you’ll get for free. Try that again and I’m hitting back.”
“Betcha ten that Gage can throw a decent right hook,” Ruthie offered to no one in particular.
“I swear to God I thought I packed an extra Kindle charger,” David muttered, patting his pockets down again.
“Oh, God,” Sarah cried, “Did she run away with my dress?”
Grace let out a disgusted growl. “I have the dress, mom. Dad, there’s an extra charger in my room. Please go get it. Ruthie, no one is hitting anyone again. Michael, Gage didn’t say anything to Sadie to make her leave.”
Nick’s eyes narrowed on her again. “That was carefully worded, counselor,” he said. “He didn’t say anything to her, but he had something to do with why she left, didn’t he?”
Grace’s mouth opened, and she exchanged a loaded glance with Gage, but neither said anything.
“That’s it,” Michael snapped at Gage, “You’re dead.”
And with that, he threw another punch. But this time, Gage was ready for it. Gage caught Michael’s fist, yanked his arm behind him, and slammed him face-first into the wall.
“I’m telling you,” Gage hissed in Michael’s ear, “I didn’t do anything. Was I attracted to her? Hell, yes. But I’d never do anything about it. I told you already: you’re my family, idiot. The only real family I’ve ever had. I wouldn’t ever do anything to hurt you. You’ve always been more than just my cousin, okay? You’re my brother.”
Michael stopped struggling against Gage’s hold when Gage repeated, quietly this time, “You’re my brother.”
Sarah pulled a wad of toilet paper out of her handbag and swiped at the tears rolling down her cheeks. “Oh, that was just lovely, Gage.”
With a snort, Gage let go of Michael, who shoved off the wall and spun around to face Gage again. Everyone seemed to hold their breath while the two men faced each other down. But after a moment of intense eye contact, Michael grabbed Gage in a bear hug. As dude-like back-slapping ensued, Nick knew all was well between the cousins/brothers. He wished he could say the same for his sister.
And for him and Grace, for that matter.
“I’m glad this is all working out for you guys,” Nick began, struggling not to yell at anyone, “but my sister just left her own wedding. Alone. She was fine yesterday, so whatever made her decide to leave happened today.”
His eyes shifted back to Grace, whose spine immediately stiffened, making her look much taller than she actually was. “I don’t know how many more times I can say this, Nick, but her mind was made up when I went into that room. It wasn’t my fault. I told you I wouldn’t interfere and I didn’t.”
Sure, not directly. But she was smart enough to manipulate Sadie and Michael—and maybe even Gage—into whatever outcome she wanted. And she’d made it clear from the beginning that she wasn’t in favor of the wedding. He knew her intentions were good—she was just trying to save a couple of kids from getting married way too young—but the outcome was the same. His baby sister was devastated and alone, and he hadn’t been able to do a damn thing to help her.
Grace had robbed him of the chance to do anything to help her.
“You believe me…don’t you?” Grace asked, sounding unsure.
He didn’t answer, but the look on his face must’ve told her exactly what she didn’t want to hear, because her uncertainty vanished as she looked up at him with loathing. “Well, if that’s how you feel, you should just go,” she bit out.
“That’s the best idea I’ve heard all day,” he said, and left, feeling Grace’s eyes on his back the whole way.
Chapter Thirty-five
The silence left in the wake of Nick’s departure was deafening. Grace wasn’t sure how much more of it she could take.
“That was disgraceful.”
Grace tore her eyes off Nick’s retreating back and glanced over at Ruthie, who’d just wheeled up beside her.
I was wrong. Silence is better than this.
Hoping Michael couldn’t hear them from his place at the bar with Gage, Grace said, “There’s nothing disgraceful about Sadie leaving. She did what she had to do. It wasn’t Michael’s fault.”
Ruthie snorted. “I’m not talking about that. That girl did Michael a favor by leaving. That whole wedding would’ve been a dumpster fire. I’m talking about you and that Irishman.”
Grace barely resisted the urge to bang her head on the wall. “Sorry if you were embarrassed by—” the sight of my heart breaking right here in this very spot? My humiliation at having the man I love think that I planned to ruin his sister’s life? “—our disagreement.”
The old woman let out what sounded like a combo snort/belch, and that’s when Grace knew she’d been hitting the bar. Great. Ruthie didn’t exactly get sun-shinier with a few drinks onboard. “Why don’t I take you back to your room, Grandma? We can just—”
“I wasn’t talking about your disagreement,” she interrupted with an exasperated huff. “I meant you two idiots arguing about nothing. You’re both just too chicken shit to tell each other how you feel, so you’re wrecking everything. It’s like something out of a shitty romantic comedy with that Bollocks woman.”
“Pretty sure you mean Bullock. Sandra Bullock, Grandma,” Grace muttered.
Ruthie waved her hand dismissively. “Whatever. You know what I mean.”
“It’s none of your business,” came a whisper from behind them.
Grace looked over her shoulder at her mother. “What was that, Mom?”
“Yes, do speak up, Sarah,” Ruthie said dryly. “I’m sure you have something invaluable to contribute.”
For a split second, Grace thought her mother was going to slink away and keep her mouth shut. After all, the most her mother ever did to defy Ruthie was throw a couple of passive-aggressive gestures her way. But instead, Sarah straightened to her full height, stared down into Ruthie’s narrowed eyes, and said, “I said it’s none of your business what goes on between Grace and Nick. None. Of. Your. Business. Grace didn’t ask for your opinion. Just like I never asked for your opinion all the times you gave it to me over the years.” Her voice rising with every sentence, she added, “No one ever asks for your opinion, old woman, so why don’t you just shut the fuck up?”
Grace’s eyes widened in shock. She’d never in her life heard her mother say “fuck,” even when she burned her thum
b on her baking sheet or stubbed her toe on the leg of the coffee table. On the other side of the room at the bar, Gage started a slow clap that all of the wait staff and the bartender quickly joined in on.
Ruthie shifted her gaze to David. “Are you going to allow your wife to speak to your mother like that, Davey?”
“Davey” walked over slowly, looking dazed like he’d just awakened from a coma, and took his place at his wife’s side. That’s when Grace noticed he’d set his Kindle down on the bar. It was the first time she’d seen him without it all week. “Yes, Mother, I am,” he said. Then he shifted his gaze to his wife and said, “I love you.”
Sarah laid both her palms on his face and kissed him square on the mouth. “Of course you do.” Then she moved behind Ruthie’s chair. “Now, I have flights to book and arrangements to make, so let’s get you back to your room so that you can rest, Mother, um, I mean, Ruthie.”
Ruthie wiped her nose with the back of her hand. “I suppose it’s alright if you want to call me mother. Or not. Whatever,” she grumbled.
Sarah smiled a cat-who-ate-the-canary smile, winked at her husband, and said, “I’d love to. Mother.”
As they walked away, Gage walked over and pressed a shot glass full of something that looked like tequila into Grace’s hand. “At least someone got their happily-ever-after today, huh?” he asked.
Grace laughed without humor and downed her shot. Yep, definitely tequila, she thought as it burned a path down to her stomach. “Yeah. I guess one out of five will have to do.”
“Nick’s probably just hurt that Sadie asked for your help to escape instead of his,” Gage told her. “You realize his little blow-up probably didn’t really have anything to do with you, right?”
Instead of answering, Grace grabbed his shot glass and downed his tequila. She didn’t want to talk about Nick. Not anymore. She’d been letting her heart do her thinking for the past week. It was totally irrational to even consider a future with somebody she’d just met, especially somebody who thought she was a manipulative liar. Time to start using her great big, Notre Dame-educated brain to do her thinking for her instead of delegating the job to her heart.
You Complicate Me Page 17
