Rebel Heart: (Rebel Series Book 2) ((Rebel Series))

by J. C. Hannigan

  Everly joined in, harmonizing Faith Hill’s parts through the chorus as Brock and Tessa swayed on the dance floor.

  Goosebumps raised on my flesh as I watched the scene before me. It was like something out of a fairy-tale, and it made me acutely aware of everything that my relationship with Alex was severely lacking.

  After the first dance, I watched as Tessa danced with her father to Heartland’s I Loved Her First. When their song ended, they moved to stand just off to the side of the dance floor.

  “Unfortunately, the groom lost his mother a few years back. But his sister, Becky, is going to dance with him during the mother son dance.” Tommy announced, and Becky and Brock walked out onto the dance floor as Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Simple Man began to play. Tears welled up in my eyes as I thought of Deanna Miller. It was heartbreaking that she wasn’t there to watch her eldest son get married—that she wouldn't see any of her children get married.

  “She’s watching,” Braden’s voice startled me, and I almost spilled my champagne. I hadn’t notice him take Tessa’s seat. He was looking at me intently. “My mother wouldn't miss this—not even in death.”

  “I know,” I took a shaky breath and forced a smile. I couldn't imagine how hard this was for the Miller siblings—and for Tessa, too. I couldn't imagine not having my mother around on such an important day.

  “Beautiful wedding, huh?” he asked, his eyes still on his brother and new sister-in-law.

  “Yes,” I swallowed, nodding. My mouth suddenly felt dry, and I reached for the champagne flute before me. I took a heady sip, then realized who I was sitting beside. Guiltily, I placed my flute back down on the table.

  Braden didn’t even seem to notice—he was still watching his siblings, his expression unreadable. When Simple Man’s final chorus faded off, the dance portion of the evening began. People started standing up and making their way over to the dance floor and bar.

  I should find Alex, I thought, standing up. I still hadn’t had a chance to talk to him. He’d arrived this morning when Cheyenne was doing my hair, and my mother had immediately put him to work helping arrange the flowers in the reception tent.

  I weaved my way around people and tables until Alex came into view. Most of the chairs were vacant, but I knew that Ezra, Peter, their dates and Krista’s date were his table mates. After all, I’d spent hours with Tessa going over the seating chart.

  I came to a halt when I saw none other than Joanna Poole sitting between Peter and Alex. My blood started to boil. I couldn’t believe she had the audacity to show up. Tessa had purposely left her off the guest list, having lost touch with her shortly after she stuck her tongue down Braden’s throat when we were still dating—and yet here she was, sitting beside my current boyfriend, her claws all but posed and ready to dig in.

  Peter scowled off into the distance, clearly pissed that his date was ignoring him. She was too busy flirting with Alex, fluttering her fake lashes—fake lashes that I had a sudden strong desire to tear out—and leaning purposely towards him, her cleavage basically spilling out of her thigh length hooker dress. And yet…I was more pissed off about what she’d done with Braden.

  My hands clenched into angry fists, and I resumed walking towards them, intent on giving Joanna a very overdue piece of my mind. Before I could reach them, someone grabbed my hand and tugged me back.

  “Easy now,” Braden said, dropping my hand and raising his in surrender when I whirled around with a venomous look on my face. “Where’s the fire?”

  “Don’t,” I warned, teetering on the edge of hysteria. Seeing Joanna again had brought back the wave of heartbreak and despair I’d felt when I found lipstick on Braden’s lips. He sensed that I was going to implode, and he carefully led me away from the dance floor, outside of the reception tent. “Let go of me Braden!” I demanded shrilly, trying to yank my hand from his grasp.

  “Not until you tell me what’s wrong,” he insisted, his hold still firm as he led me around the side of the tent.

  “You cheated on me!” I accused when he finally released me, tears burning in my eyes. Pain and anger dripped off each word. “With one of my best friends!”

  Braden looked as if I’d slapped him. He swallowed hard, his eyes never leaving my face. His hands came up to cup my cheeks, forcing me to hold his gaze. “I’m not proud of that, Elle. It was a stupid decision, I was drunk and…there’s really no excuse for it.”

  “How could I ever trust you again?” I fired out, seething. Braden was quiet for several long moments, then his face broke out into a smirk. “What? Why are you smirking?” I demanded hotly, slapping at his chest and trying to push him away.

  “Because you’re not even mad that she’s hitting on your boyfriend, you’re out here yelling at me for something that happened years ago,” he answered, his smile growing. I opened and closed my mouth several times, searching for some kind of retort. I had none. “Face it Elle, you’re in love with me still. And I’m in love with you.” Hearing him say it out loud made my heart stutter in my chest. “And to answer your question—you can trust me, Elle. I’ll never hurt you again. I’ll spend forever proving it to you.”

  His hands were still framing my face, and his eyes were on my lips. I knew without a doubt that he wanted to kiss me, and I knew I wanted him to. I closed my eyes, feeling his breath hot on my lips. But instead of kissing me, he sighed. “I meant what I said the other night, Elle.” He added, his voice hoarse. “You need to tell him it’s over.”

  “Elle?” Alex’s voice broke the spell we were under. I pulled away from Braden, my face paling with shock.

  “Alex—“ I started, but what I was going to say was written all over my face.

  He looked up to the sky, running his hands through his hair, tugging at the roots. He shook his head, as if he was trying to make sense of it all. “I should have known,” he said, dropping his eyes back to my face. The hurt I saw etched on him nearly knocked me over. “You might have denied it until you were blue in the face…but I should have known when I saw you with him at the fair.”

  He turned and started walking away, but I couldn’t let him go. Not like this. I needed to explain myself, to apologize for hurting him because that was never my intention. “Alex wait,” I called out, running towards him. He stopped walking but didn’t turn. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to hurt you. It was never my intention, I—“

  “You don’t need to explain it, Elle,” he said, cutting me off as he turned to face me. “It’s pretty obvious what’s happening here. I’m not an idiot.” I was close enough to touch him. I stepped closer, my heart aching.

  “I wanted to fall for you Alex,” I told him, tears in my eyes. “I wanted it so badly. You’re amazing—you’re compassionate, selfless, dependable…” I trailed off. “But I gave my heart away years ago, and I never got it back. And I know I should have told you sooner…but I didn’t know how. I keep telling myself if I had more time…”

  Alex brought his hand up, stroking his fingers along the side of my jaw. His eyes were somber. “You should never have tried to convince yourself that you had to love me, Elle.”

  Braden

  Elle watched Alex’s headlights disappear down the Armstrong’s driveway, her eyes wide with shock. “What have I done?” she murmured, shaking her head as if trying to wake up from a bad dream. She looked at me helplessly. “I just…I just…” she started to gasp, as if she couldn’t draw in air quickly enough.

  “Breathe, Elle,” I instructed, positioning myself in front of her and cupping her face with my hands. I tilted her head so that her eyes had no choice but to focus on mine. “Just breathe.”

  She shook her head again, tears welling up in her eyes and trailing down her cheeks. “I just broke his heart, Braden. I just…God, I basically cheated on him!” Elle exclaimed, horrified.

  I couldn’t think of a single thing to say, so I pulled her into my arms and let her cry. I let her mourn the loss of a relationship that she wasn’t truly ready to let go of—an ending p
rompted by my inability to stay away from her.

  After ten minutes, Elle’s sobs tampered off and she started to breathe a little more normally again. She took a step back, unable to meet my eyes. “I’m sorry, Elle,” I said, my voice dripping with sincerity.

  I hadn’t liked Alex because he was—in my eyes—competition, and I knew that Elle wasn’t in love with him…but I still hated seeing her in any kind of pain. She was hurting over the way Alex had found out about us, about her feelings for me, and I knew that she was thinking about how she’d felt when I’d broken her heart. It made me feel even worse than I already felt.

  “There you guys are!” Becky’s voice rang out through the crisp summer night as she approached us quickly. Her pace slowed when she caught sight of Elle’s tear streaked face. “What did you do?” she accused, glaring at me.

  “It’s not his fault,” Elle said, still trembling. “I—I think Alex and I just broke up.”

  “Oh Elle, I’m sorry,” Becky responded, hugging Elle. She shot me another suspicious look, knowing that I was to blame for it.

  “What’s happening inside?” Elle asked, falling into her maid of honor mode as she stepped back from Becky—a tactic I knew she used when she wanted to avoid processing her emotions. She’d done it in high school too. Rough emotional time? Focus on that to-do list and get shit done. It used to drive me crazy. Still did, apparently.

  “We’re getting ready to do the garter and bouquet toss,” Becky answered.

  “Great,” Elle exhaled. She went to walk inside, but I grabbed her hand and tugged her back. She brought her hands to my chest, stopping herself before she collided with me.

  “We’re not done talking about this,” I told her, my tone serious and leaving no room for argument. Her eyes widened in response, and she drew in a shaky breath. I brought my hands up to her face and gently wiped away the slight black smear of eyeliner and tears that had pooled high on her cheeks, beneath her beautiful brown eyes.

  I released her and the three of us walked back into the reception tent. Tessa’s right eyebrow arched in question when she saw Elle and me trailing behind Becky. She approached us, warily looking back and forth from Elle to me. “Everything okay?”

  “Yes,” Elle answered, flashing a smile. Tessa went to ask another question—probably about where Alex was—but the sound of Tommy tapping the microphone to get everyone’s attention stopped her.

  “Calling all single ladies! Get your fine asses out on the dance floor for the bouquet toss! That includes you too, Mrs. Thompson!” Tommy’s voice rang out from the speakers positioned all around, and a chorus of chuckles ensued after he had finished speaking. He gave Sue a wink and earned a smart smack on the back of the head from his father, prompting more laughter from the crowd. I laughed too, watching as Elle’s mom made her way out to the dance floor, shaking her head the whole time.

  The chorus of Little Big Town’s Little White Church came on, and Becky took Elle’s hand and joined the other single ladies. Tessa positioned herself in front of the crowd, bending her knees slightly as if she was about to bowl. “Three…two…one!” Tommy counted down and on one Tessa tossed the bouquet high over her head. It sailed through the air, and a wave of arms reached out to try and catch it. When the chaos cleared, I laughed when I saw that Sue Thompson held the bouquet.

  “Who’s the lucky guy, Sue?” Tommy joked, sending Sue another wink. Sue waved her hand, her face heating up with embarrassment. “Alright fellas, you’re next. Anyone not hitched, step out to the dance floor!” As Tommy laid out the instructions, I rushed forward with a chair for Tessa to sit in. Once she was sitting, I joined the bachelors. “Go on Dad, that means you too,” Tommy added.

  Bill Armstrong shook his head, wearing what I thought was a bemused smile. I suppose it also could have been a murderous one—you never knew with Bill—but he joined the rest of us out on the dance floor.

  The main chorus of Kenny Loggin’s Danger Zone pumped out over the speakers. “Make sure you put your hands behind your back, Brock! And no helping him Tessa!” Tommy instructed, his voice rumbling over the speakers. Brock made a show of putting his hands behind his back and dropped to his knees in front of Tessa’s legs. It took him almost a minute to get the garter off, while Tessa laughed and squirmed as if it tickled.

  He finally removed the garter with his teeth and stood up, flinging it over his shoulder towards us. It landed right on Bill Armstrong’s shoulder.

  “Was that intentional?” Tommy wondered aloud, laughing like he found the whole thing hysterical. Bill’s expression was bewildered, and then he buckled forward and laughed too. “Alright everyone—let’s get this party going again. Drinks are on me!”

  For the next couple of hours, Elle kept herself busy. She made the rounds, dancing with Bill and the majority of Tessa’s brother’s before Ezra took her for a spin on the dance floor. I narrowed my eyes as I watched them. I knew that Ezra wasn’t a threat; he’d never go for her knowing how I felt about her.

  Can’t Take My Eyes Off You by Lady Antebellum song came on and everyone on the dance floor coupled up while memories washed over me with enough force to nearly knock me off my feet.

  In high school, Elle had loved Lady Antebellum. There had been more than one occasion when her favourite song, Just A Kiss came on the radio when we were out together and I’d stop whatever it was we were doing just to hold her in my arms and dance with her. Even if we were on the highway, or in the mall. At first, it was just an excuse to get my hands on her body and my mouth on hers. Then it grew into something more when I saw how happy it made her. Making her smile like that became my addiction.

  While it wasn’t Just A Kiss, I could tell from the way Elle’s eyes lifted to mine that the significance of this band wasn’t lost on her. I walked across the dance floor and extended my hand out to her. “Can I have this dance?”

  She looked down at my hand for a moment, then looked back up at me. The hurt still swirled around her irises. She drew in a shaky breath before placing her hand in mine. I pulled her towards me, not stopping until our bodies were flush together.

  My right hand rested against her left hip, and I held her hand in mine, pressed against my heart. We swayed softly for several minutes, the woman singer’s beautiful voice lifting lyrics about how she couldn’t take her eyes off her love. The song fit our current predicament perfectly.

  “Elle I—“ I said, at the same time she said “I need to know something.”

  She paused, as if waiting for me to continue. Elle’s brown eyes were locked on mine. Her eyebrows were drawn together and her lips rested in a small frown. “You first,” I urged. I swallowed hard, my throat dry and scratchy.

  “When I’m with you, he slips from my mind so easily,” she said, her eyes misting. “Is that what happened with…with her? Did you completely forget I existed?”

  “No,” I assured her. I stopped dancing so I could cradle her face in my hands. I tipped her chin up to look even deeper into her eyes. All of the other couples on the dance floor faded away into the background as we stood there. “I never forgot you, not for a second. All I could see was your face, all I could hear in my head was your voice. But I had convinced myself that you’d leave eventually, everyone does.”

  “You threw us away because you were too scared to trust that I loved you?” she asked me, my words bringing her no comfort. “After everything we’d been through?”

  My thumbs brushed the tears away from her cheeks. “I never said that it made sense,” I paused. “I’ve regretted it ever since, but I wanted to be somebody before I came back into your life. I wanted to have something more than a job at the garage to offer you.”

  “Your love was the only thing I ever needed,” she told me.

  “You have always had my love,” I promised her. The hurt in each word that she spoke carved places on the tender flesh of my heart as it throbbed painfully in my chest. “That’s one thing that never changed, and never will.”

  She nodded,
looking away from me. “I think the worst part is that I’ve already forgiven you,” she said, shaking her head slowly as if she was repulsed with herself. My fingers dropped back down to press into her hip gently.

  “You never could stay mad at me,” I joked, smirking.

  Elle gave me a small smile in response. It faded after a moment, and she sighed. “My life is a mess right now, Braden.”

  “I can handle a little mess,” I raised my brow pointedly. “What I can’t handle is not having you in my life. If all you can give me right now is your friendship, I’ll take that. I just don’t want to watch you walk away again.”

  I didn’t tell her that I didn’t think I was strong enough to withstand it this time; that wasn’t her cross to bear. Whatever happened to me if she walked away was my problem, not hers.

  Elle drew in a sharp breath, my words obviously affecting her. She pressed her body harder against mine, her hands coming up to wrap around the back of my neck.

  Elle

  I nuzzled into Braden’s neck, breathing in his clean masculine scent, our bodies swaying back and forth in perfect time to the song. I could feel his heart beating beneath my hand, the steady rhythmic thump calming me.

  Lady Antebellum was one of my obsessions in high school—they still were, only I hadn’t been able to listen to them since the whole Braden breaking my heart thing, because any time that I did, I’d think about all the times he had pulled me to him to dance with him. His hands on my hips, his lips softly exploring mine as we swayed together.

  The first time it happened was on our first date. We were driving home from the movie theatre, and Just A Kiss came on through the speakers. I turned it up, because I always turned up their songs.

  Then Braden pulled over to the shoulder of highway 559, hopped out of the cab of his truck. He walked around the front to open my door. “Dance with me,” he said, holding out his hand for me to take. He led me to the front of his truck and stopped. He turned to face me, pausing for a moment to brush the hair out of my face and gaze into my eyes. His right hand landed on my hip, and he pulled me flush to his body, swaying in time to the music.