Jared

“So are you having fun yet?” Caroline asked as she pulled her gloves off and hung her jacket up. They’d just arrived back at the house and began the process of disrobing their snowboard gear.

“I’d be having a lot more fun if you let me talk to my girlfriend.”

“I never said you couldn’t talk to her.”

“No, you just look at me like you’re my probation officer every time my phone rings.”

She shrugged. “It’s not my fault you have a guilty conscience.”

“I don’t have a guilty conscience because I’m not doing anything wrong.”

“Having fun with me doesn’t feel wrong?” she asked coyly.

Jared kicked off his boots and stomped over to the fireplace to defrost his toes. “Who said I’m having fun?”

Caroline just laughed.

Jared hated to admit she was right. When Caroline wasn’t shaming him, she was strangely fun. She initiated countless drinking games, kept everyone plied with food and alcohol, and filled any space she was in with her carefree attitude. It didn’t hurt that she was one hell of a snowboarder, too. She fit in with Jared’s friends easily, dishing out smack talk with the best of them and schooling them on the slopes.

Jared had wondered since the day he found out Beth and Caroline were friends, how his sweet, perfect girlfriend could be friends with crazy Caroline. But in Aspen, Jared was finally seeing how it was possible. Caroline wasn’t all bad—that is, if he pretended she wasn’t blackmailing him.

“Fine. I am having fun. And you can’t make me feel bad about it,” Jared replied.

“I’m not trying to make you feel bad,” Caroline said joining him by the fireplace. She perched on the arm of an overstuffed chair. “I’m trying to protect my friend.”

“And I’m telling you that you’re wasting your time. I really care about Beth and I’m not going to screw this up. You can send all the sorority girls you want into the hot tub with me, or act all flirty and fun, but it’s not gonna work. I made you a deal and I keep my word.”

“We’ll see,” Caroline said.

Jared stalked over to her and handed Caroline his phone. “Here. Keep this for insurance if it’ll make you feel better.”

Caroline’s eyebrows arched slightly. The slight move betrayed her aloofness.

“Happy now?” Jared asked.

“Getting there.”

“I’m serious, keep it. I said I won’t tell her and I meant it. Keep my phone for the rest of the trip if it makes you feel better.”

“I will. And I’ll put it some place you have no business being.”

“Where’s that?” he challenged.

“My bedroom.”

He snorted. “Fine. Can we just have fun now?”

Caroline winked. “Let the fun begin.” Then she got up and sauntered over to the bar. She came back with a bottle of tequila, unscrewing the top and taking a swig before passing it to Jared. He met her sip with one of his own.

“So what should we play?” Caroline asked.

Jared shrugged. “You’re the drinking game expert.”

“How about truth or dare?”

“There’s only two of us.”

“That’s all it takes.”

Beth

First things first. After Beth completed all the menial tasks on Brenna’s list of demands, she made her way back to her room and pulled out her phone. She needed to get in touch with Jared. She spent all night waiting for him to call her back and then cried over the fact that he didn’t. She was done crying. And she was done wavering. Jared was making no effort and surprisingly, Beth found she didn’t care. She was seeing things clearly for the first time.

It had been thoughts of Parker that kept her awake all night. And even now, as Beth listened to Jared’s voice when his voicemail picked up, she couldn’t even really remember what kissing him was like. But Parker’s kiss . . . it had been branded into her memory like the melody of her favorite song.

Beth remembered everything about Parker. She knew his face as though it were her own reflection. The thin white scar on his chin, the sharpness of his jaw, the smooth hollows of his cheeks, his breath on her lips. She could still taste him. She’d memorized every moment of their kiss. And she wanted more. She craved to feel his lips on hers again, to have him hold her against him like she was his most prized possession. She felt breathless thinking about it. There were so many things she knew about Parker, but there were so many more she wanted to discover.

When Jared’s voicemail beeped, Beth hung up. She needed to end things between them before starting anything more with Parker, but she still didn’t feel right doing it over voicemail. Beth knew Jared wasn’t the right guy for her, but he deserved more than a breakup message.

Beth ran her fingers over the smooth pearls of Nana’s necklace for courage. Just because she couldn’t talk to Jared didn’t mean she had to sit back and do nothing. It was time she took charge of her life. She checked the time and then looked at the blasted wedding itinerary. It was almost time for the wedding rehearsal. Then there was the rehearsal dinner. Beth just needed to make it through a few more hours of pre-wedding nonsense and then she could talk to Parker.

Nervous excitement overtook Beth as she thought about what she was going to say. Never in a million years did she think she would head down this road, but it seemed all the signs were pointing her toward Parker, and she was strangely optimistic to explore the possibilities.

She just had one more task to finish and everything would be ready.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Beth stepped back and examined her handy work. She grinned, satisfied that Parker would appreciate her efforts. It made her dizzy with excitement to think of him walking into the room and seeing what she’d done for him.

It was about time. The boy had spent a lifetime showing Beth how much he cared. It felt good to be the one doing the dazzling for once.

She quickly changed into a lemon yellow A-line dress and dug through her suitcase, squealing with delight when she found what she was looking for—her lucky shoes. Beth slipped Nana’s pearls back over her head and headed out the door with renewed confidence.

Parker

Parker stood under the gazebo with the rest of Beth’s family. He couldn’t help looking up every time he caught sight of a blonde head coming around the corner. He hadn’t seen Beth since this morning. She’d looked in much better spirits when she’d come down to the parlor. The massage had been a good idea. But he was still anxious to talk to her and see where her head was.

He knew giving Beth space was the best thing he could do, but it was killing him. He had an ache in his heart that he couldn’t shake. But that was love, wasn’t it? It didn’t go unpunished. And in a way, loving Beth was painful. Not so much the loving her part—that was easy. It was the not knowing how she felt about him part. Parker’s stomach was in knots and the only thing that would make it better was talking to Beth.

When Michael had finally woken up from his nap, Parker went for a run to clear his head. Then he spent the rest of the day trying to catch up with Beth. He’d gotten the rundown from Brenna of what was on Beth’s list of things to do for the wedding, but Parker always seemed to be a few minutes behind. The story of his life.

Finally, he gave up searching for Beth and went back to Harold’s room to get ready for the rehearsal. Now, Parker was waiting with the rest of the groomsmen and bridesmaids in the large white gazebo near the pond for the rest of the wedding party to show up.

A moment later, Parker saw the blonde head he’d been waiting for bobbing his way. Beth was walking toward him, a vision in yellow. She was like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day. Everything else around her paled in comparison. It was always that way. Ever since the first time Parker had truly let himself fall for Beth, the rest of the world had faded into hues of gray. Only Beth was in full Technicolor.

Brenna, Barbara and a sour-looking woman in a power suit accompanied Beth. When the ladies joined the rest of the wedding party, it was clear to Parker that something was wrong. Brenna’s scowl was worse than usual as the suited woman called everyone to attention.

“Welcome everyone. My name is Helen and I’m the event coordinator for the wedding. That means I’m the one with all the answers, so if you have questions, please come to me.” She gave a forced laugh. “Now, there’s been a slight complication. Our groom’s flight has been delayed.” Helen turned to Brenna and patted her arm. “But we’ve been assured he will arrive on time, so as they say, the show must go on.”

Parker caught Beth’s eye and she gave him a shrug.

Helen clapped her hands again. “Alright, everyone please line up. Men on the right, women on the left. No, no,” Helen called when the guys formed a haphazard line. “Line up in order according to your height.”

When Parker finally found his appropriate spot in line, he realized that he wouldn’t be paired up with Beth. She was by far the shortest on the ladies side and he was one of the tallest guys. His heart fell. He’d been looking forward to walking down the aisle with her. He knew it didn’t really mean anything, but he’d been paired up with Beth at each of her sister’s other weddings and he’d been hoping for the same at Brenna’s.

As if reading his thoughts, Brenna spoke up. “I don’t like it that way,” she said studying the organized rows of her wedding party. “I want my sisters to be paired with their spouses.”

“I really suggest this arrangement,” Helen countered. “It’ll look stunning in the photos.”

“I don’t really care about the photos,” Brenna hissed. “I’m the bride. Line up next to your husbands,” Brenna ordered.

Parker tried to hide his smile. Hurricane Brenna was back, and for once she was benefiting him. Parker almost felt bad for Helen. The woman had no idea what kind of bridezilla she was messing with.

After everyone rearranged themselves, Parker found himself standing across from Beth. He winked at her and she grinned back, flooding him with relief. If Beth was smiling, there was hope.

Helen marched up and down the row examining them like a drill sergeant. She stopped between Parker and Beth looking them each up and down before turning to Beth. “You will be wearing heels tomorrow, I hope?”

“Oh, I wasn’t planning on it,” Beth replied. “It’s hard to walk in the grass in heels.”

“Heels would be best,” Helen retorted and then moved on.

She was droning on about how they would line up during the ceremony, but Parker wasn’t paying any attention. He was too busy focusing on the familiar pattern of daisies speckling Beth’s aqua blue ballet flats.

When Helen made a point of berating Beth’s footwear, Parker had glanced down and nearly choked. He knew those shoes. Beth got them when she was twelve. She swore they were good luck because she was wearing them when she landed her first big lead in a play. She always packed them, but rarely broke them out. What did it mean that she was wearing them now?

Parker looked up in surprise. Beth was already staring at him, a knowing grin on her porcelain face. She was only a few feet away from him, but it felt too far. He wanted to pull her into his arms and demand to know why she was wearing her lucky shoes. Was it for Jared? Or for him?

Beth

It seemed like ages before Helen finally finished blabbing and let them practice walking to and from the gazebo. It was a wedding, not boot camp! But Beth shoved her frustration aside the moment she linked arms with Parker. His cologne filled her lungs, calming and exciting her all at once. Just being near him made her steadier. She savored the warmth that spread through her as their shoulders brushed. This was the first chance she’d had to speak to him alone all day. But when she tried to talk, she found her words caught in her throat. Luckily, Parker didn’t seem to have the same problem.

The moment they were away from Helen’s earshot he said, “You’re wearing your lucky shoes.”

“I know.”

She watched as questions flickered in his brilliant blue eyes. She wanted to say, ‘They’re for you. I want to take charge of my life and hold on to my happiness. And you’re my happiness.’ But it sounded rushed and silly in her head.

Beth reached up and touched her necklace for courage. “Let’s talk after dinner.”

“Okay,” Parker replied, sounding even more bewildered than he looked.

“Meet me in my room?”

Parker nodded. And then the dance began all over again as Helen ordered them to line up in their places.