by M. A. Foster
“True.” I turn right down a little dead-end side street that runs behind Pelican Cove and make a U-turn back to the stop sign.
“I had no idea this street was here. Oh look.” She points to the building on the corner. “That little breakfast place you like is closed.”
I look to my left, and sure enough, the place where Chelsea and I used to eat breakfast almost every weekend back in high school—the same place where Jay saw her kiss me—is closed.
The ride home is silent. Jay is staring out the window, twirling a lock of hair around her index finger. I can’t tell if she’s upset or if she’s just deep in thought. We had a lot thrown at us today. It dawns on me that she hasn’t said a word about Carter or Olivia, which means Harper didn’t tell her.
And that means I’m going to have to tell her.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, she says, “I want Lucas to be in the wedding party.”
Random, but I go with it. “Babe, I know Lucas loves you, but I’m pretty sure being a bridesmaid is where he draws the line. Even if it’s to please you.”
She snorts. “Smartass. He can wear a tux but I want him at my side.”
“Fine with me, but I think it’s going to be awkward having him walk down the aisle paired up with one of my guy friends.”
“Awkward for whom? No one gets to judge my friends. And if I recall, you do have a female friend.”
“You want me to ask Chelsea? Are you out of your fucking mind?”
“Z.” She sighs. “Chelsea made a stupid mistake because she was jealous and scared of losing her connection with her best friend. I might’ve done the same thing if it were Lucas,” she pleads.
“You would never do something like that,” I state matter-of-factly. She might be capable of throwing down with her best friend when she’s pushed too far, but there’s not a malicious bone in her body.
“Maybe. Who knows?”
I call bullshit.
“I had sex with her.”
She snorts. “Do you even remember it?”
“No.” Thank God.
“Because it didn’t mean anything.” Ain’t that the damn truth. “You’d just had your heart broken, and you’d both been drinking. I’ve seen the way you lash out when you’re hurt and—"
“Stop,” I warn.
“I’m not threatened by Chelsea’s role in your life, nor do I hold any resentment toward her. Sure, I wasn’t impressed with her at first, because the first time I met her I knew she was going to be a problem. But her jealousy and attempts to tear us apart only made us stronger as a couple. It forced us to fight for each other. And you have to admit that, lately, she’s more than proved herself to be a good friend.”
I turn to scowl at her before returning my attention to the road. “Let’s get something straight once and for all. Reagan never broke my heart, because it was never hers to break.”
“Out of everything I just said, that’s the part you’re fixated on?”
“Because I don’t want you to ever think that Reagan had that kind of hold on me. Reagan was a distraction from the one person who did break my heart. A high school crush and a bad experience. The only person who’s capable of breaking my heart is you.”
“It was unintentional,” she defends. “And you broke mine, too.”
“I know.” I give her a side glance and reach for her hand. “We’re way past that now.”
She nods, turning her head to look out the window.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
She shifts in her seat, facing me. “Can I ask you something?”
Something in her tone tells me I’m not going to like this question. “Depends on what it is. If it’s something that’s going to prompt an argument, then the answer is no.”
“Z,” she warns.
Gripping the steering wheel a little tighter than necessary, I blow out a breath. “Go ahead.”
“How many girls have you had sex with?”
I knew it.
We’ve gone an entire year without her ever asking about girls I’d hooked up with in the past. If I recall correctly, she wanted to pretend no one had existed before her, and I was more than fine with that. However, I think she’s going to be surprised by my answer. “Five.”
Her head jerks back, brows furrowed. “Five?” she says, her tone a mixture of shock and disbelief.
I nod slowly. “You sound surprised. Did you think it was more?”
“Honestly, yeah. I did.”
“Why are you bringing this up now? It’s in the past. We’re married.”
She shrugs. “Morbid curiosity. Who was your first?”
“I lost my virginity to a college girl when I was fifteen. I honestly don’t remember her name. It was the same party where Cole hooked up with Willow’s mom.”
“And then,” she pushes.
Fuck my life. “A girl named Riley that I met at a party. She didn’t go to our school.” Jay’s face screws up in disgust, and suddenly I feel sick with guilt. “Do you want me to stop?”
She sucks in a deep breath through her nose. “No. I need to hear this.”
“No you don’t. Can we just drop it?”
“Maybe it’s different for guys, but we females have to know. Even if we say we don’t care. We do. We’re always wondering how we compare to the others. It’s like a scab. We can’t help but pick at it.”
“There’s no comparison. Trust me.”
“I trust you wholeheartedly.”
Fine. Exhaling a harsh breath, I continue, “I hooked up with Riley again over spring break. Then there was you in St. Thomas, and if I was a better person, it should’ve stopped there.”
“Don’t do that, Z. It wasn’t our time. Keep going.”
Clenching my jaw, I growl, “Reagan, then Chelsea. I messed around with a couple of girls over the summer, but Chelsea was the last girl I hooked up with before you moved here. Since then, it’s only been you. It will always be you.” I shoot her another side glance, anticipating a fist to the temple. “Are you going to punch me?”
She laughs. “No. Believe it or not, I’m not jealous of your past. The only reason Reagan bugs me is because she lied and manipulated both of us, and then she continued to rub your relationship in my face. And then you—”
“Jay, please,” I beg. “Don’t bring that up. I felt like shit the first time around. I hate that I did that. I apologized for it. Let it go.” I pull up to the gate outside the house and punch in the code. The gate swings open, and I ease up the driveway.
“I kissed Lucas once,” she says nonchalantly.
I slam on the brakes and jerk my head to the side. “Are you kidding me?”
She smiles and shakes her head. “I was fourteen. It was after that summer you and I kissed for the first time. I liked it so much, I wanted to do it again. So I kissed Lucas.”
“Did you like it?” I chuckle at the sour expression on her face.
She shakes her head. “It really was like kissing my brother. We both freaked out and swore never to talk about it.”
I steer the rest of the way up the driveway and park in the garage. “Why did you tell me that?”
“I know it wasn’t easy talking about your past hook ups. I figured it was only fair to share my horror story. And also because I don’t want any secrets between us.”
Jay and I walk into the kitchen from the garage to find Emerson sitting at the island with her notebook from this morning spread out in front of her. My mom’s car wasn’t out front, so I assume she left. “Oh good, you’re back,” she chirps. “How’d it go?”
“We’re not finished,” I tell her, dropping the bag of sandwiches on the counter and sliding onto a barstool while Jay goes to the fridge to grab us drinks. “Your daughter worked up an appetite after her little throw down with Evangeline.” I pull the sandwiches from the bag and open them.
Emerson’s brows pinch in confusion. “What?” She turns to Jay. “You got into a fight with Eva?”
“Ugh. Not really.” Jay
slams the refrigerator door shut, then rounds the island to sit between Emerson and me. “She was being a bitch, so I put her in her place.”
Emerson bursts out laughing. “Good for you. She’s a bit much sometimes.”
“Tell me about it,” Jay mumbles around a bite of sandwich.
“She does love you though.”
Jay nods. “I know. Where’s Grace?”
“She went with Mimi and Elizabeth to the beach club to scope out the space for the seating arrangement.”
Jay nods. “Zach got approached by a reporter outside The Bistro.”
Emerson leans forward to look at me with wide eyes. “What did he say to you?”
“That he was with The Gossip Police and is ‘on my side,’ whatever that means.”
“He’s still a reporter,” she states.
I nod. “Yeah, I figured. I told him to get in touch with Jay’s PR rep.”
Emerson rolls her eyes. “I’ll be anxiously awaiting his call,” she says dryly. “Well, I have some really good news. I just got a call from Anna Sizemore. Someone informed her that you’re getting married, so she’s flying in next week with your dress.”
Jay sets her sandwich down and turns her whole body to face Emerson. “She has a dress for me?”
Emerson nods. “She said it’s a ball gown she’s been working on for next year’s spring collection but can easily be worn as a wedding dress. She said this dress was made for you.”
“Wow. Did she send pictures?”
“No. I trust her. Everything she’s ever designed for you is on point.”
“That’s true.” Jay turns around and picks up her sandwich.
“You should thank Eva,” she urges.
“Fuck that,” Jay says around another bite of her sandwich.
“Jay,” Emerson warns, gathering her stuff. “I’m exhausted. I didn’t get much sleep last night, so I’m gonna go take a bath and nap.”
“A nap sounds good,” I chime in, bumping my shoulder against Jay’s.
“You can take a nap after you have a complete wedding party.” Emerson turns to walk away, then stops. “And maybe you should take your security with you.”
Emerson disappears around the corner, and I turn my attention back to Jay. “So who do we still have left?”
“I’ve got Lexi, Cherry, Olivia, and Kali. Oh, and I need to call Lucas. And you got Cole out of the way. So there’s Logan, Brad, Evan, and Carter.” I wince at the mention of Carter’s name. “Who else? And don’t forget to call Chelsea.”
“Babe,” I start to tell her about Carter.
“Hold on.” She leans to the side and pulls her phone from her back pocket. “It’s Olivia.” My heart slams against my chest as she swipes her finger across the screen and brings the phone to her ear. “Hey, I was just about to call—”
Her smile slips from her face.
Here we go.
Jayla
“Olivia, what’s wrong?” Standing from the barstool, I press my free hand to my forehead and walk over to the couch in the great room. Olivia is so hysterical that I have no idea what she’s saying. Something about him leaving her. I don’t want to tell her to calm down because I hate when people say that, but she really needs to calm down so I can understand her. “Olivia, take a deep breath and tell me what’s going on.”
“Carter’s gone,” she says through a shuddered breath.
A cold, dreadful feeling washes over me. No. She can’t mean what I think she means. Cole would’ve said something this morning. “I don’t understand. What do you mean, he’s gone?”
“He broke up with me in this stupid fucking note. He left me, Jay,” she cries.
Clearly I’m not going to get a straight story over the phone. “Are you home? I’ll come over.”
“I’m at my sister’s. I had nowhere else to go.”
I start to ask her what she means by that, but I decide to wait until I get there. Judging by the amount of pain in her voice, she needs all of us. “I’m gonna get Harper and come over. We’ll be there soon.”
Dropping my phone in my lap, I lean my head back against the couch cushions and press the heels of my hands against my eyes. I hate when someone I care about is hurting. The need to help someone less fortunate is something I inherited from my dad, but wanting to fix things, I definitely channel my mom. And right now, I’m in Emerson Mackenzie mode. I want to fix this. I’m just not sure I can. And that has me anxious.
“Hey,” Zach says softly, scooping me up from the couch and settling me in his lap. I lean my head against his shoulder. “I called Levi. He’s gonna drive you to Olivia. What did she say?”
“Carter broke up with her in a note. I get the part about him breaking up with her, but through a note is a bit childish. Are we in grade school? Then she said he left.”
Zach’s chest rises as he inhales a deep breath. “Cole told me that Carter left for California with his dad and Smith.”
“We already knew he was going to school in California. Olivia was supposed to move there with him after the tour. What changed?”
“It’s not Carter, it’s his dad.”
I lean my head back to look at Zach. “What do you mean?”
“Has Olivia ever mentioned anything to you about Carter’s dad?”
I shake my head. “No. I’ve never heard anything about him.”
“Carter was always pretty tight-lipped about his family.”
I nod. “Yeah, I know. My dad was the same way. I won’t repeat anything you tell me.”
“It’s a long story, but I’ll give you the CliffsNotes. Carter’s mom died when we were in eighth grade. His dad didn’t handle it well, or at all. He started drinking a lot. Dane Nixon used to be a great guy. Rich, famous, well respected, but after he lost his wife, he just went downhill. He stopped caring for his kids. He stopped caring about his kids. He hired nannies who were barely old enough to care for themselves, much less two little boys. I know Cole’s mom helped when she could, but I think in a way, Dane wanted his kids to suffer, too.”
“That’s terrible. Didn’t they have any other family who could help?”
“I’m pretty sure Dane kept them all away. Like I said, he didn’t want anyone to help. If he was hurting, his kids should be hurting, too. If he wasn’t happy, then his kids shouldn’t be happy either.”
“Do you think he moved them to California because he didn’t want Carter to be happy with Olivia?”
“I think he took them away because he didn’t want Carter to be happy, period. And he’s using Smith to keep Carter in line.”
“He sounds like a horrible person.”
Zach nods in agreement. “The sad part is he didn’t used to be.” He pats my leg. “Go see Olivia. I’ll probably get together with the guys later at Mac’s for dinner. That way I can just ask them all at once if they want to be in the wedding.”
“Great idea. I should do that with the girls. Although, it’s probably rude to ask Olivia to be in my wedding after she just got dumped.”
“She’ll probably be more upset if you don’t ask her.”
Levi walks into the house through the back door. “You ready to go?”
I press a kiss to Zach’s lips and stand up from the couch. “I’ll be back later.”
Zach chuckles as he passes me my phone. “I can see those wheels turning in that beautiful head of yours. You’re a good person, Jay, but there are some things you can’t fix. You have to let it go and just be her friend.”
Gah. He knows me so well.
Zach
“You want me to be in your wedding?” Chelsea asks incredulously through the phone.
“Jay does,” I answer honestly. I’m still not completely on board with this crazy idea.
“But I… why?” Even Chelsea knows the whole idea is ludicrous. “I was horrible to her. To both of you. I nearly tore you two apart.”
I roll my eyes. Sure, she interfered, but she never had that kind of power.
“Jay wants her childho
od best friend, Lucas, to stand with her at the wedding, and she thinks that I should have mine to balance it out.”
Chelsea snickers. “I can’t believe you two are married. I mean… I guess I can. And I am genuinely happy for you. I would love to be a part of your special day, if that’s what you want.”
“It’s what Jay wants.”
“But what do you want?”
“I want what Jay wants. As long as she’s happy, then I’m happy.”
“Aw,” she coos. “You’re already the perfect husband.” She laughs, and I chuckle.
“Where are you? You in town?”
“Yeah. I’m at my dad’s. We’re having dinner with his new girlfriend.”
“Have you met her yet?”
“No. Dad swears I’m gonna love her. Her name is Holly. She works at the medical center. I think he said she’s a pediatric nurse.”
My eyes widen. Is she talking about Olivia’s sister, Holly? “Well, at least she’s got a job.”
She huffs out a laugh. “Right?”
“I’m gonna go, but I’ll have Jay call you later with the details. She’s out wrangling up her bridesmaids.”
Chelsea laughs. “Okay. I’ll talk to you later. Congratulations, my friend.”
“Thanks.” Hanging up, I toss my phone on the coffee table, grab the remote, and turn on SportsCenter.
“Where’s your wife?” Emerson drawls from the kitchen.
“She went to see Harper,” I lie.
Emerson doesn’t need the added stress of our friends’ drama. Emerson knows as well as I do that if Jay’s friends are upset, then Jay’s upset. And if Jay’s upset, then Emerson’s upset.
Right now, her focus is on me. I’m not an idiot to think this wasn’t coming. Emerson’s been waiting for the chance to get me alone so she can tear into me. I’m prepared.
She drops down onto the opposite sofa and props her feet up on the table, crossing them at the ankles as she begins her interrogation. “Whose idea was it to elope?”
“Both,” I answer. “I know you’re pissed, and I’m sorry we went behind your back. It wasn’t something we planned. We both knew it was going to happen eventually, so we figured why wait.”
