Sitting in the recliner in my living room, I stare at the street outside, still struggling to wrap my head around Drew’s confession from last night. I don’t know what to do with it. What can I do with it?
A grunt from the couch breaks the silence. Turning that way, I meet the pained, sleepy eyes of the man who possibly waited a touch too late to right his wrongs.
Today will tell me if that’s true.
He looks around the room, as if realizing where he is, and then his expression falls. “What did I do?”
I give him a pointed look. “You know what you did, Drew. You made a scene at the bar, demanded to see me, then finally admitted your part in all of this.”
“Shit.”
“What matters now is what you’re going to do to make it right,” I say, standing and walking over to my coffee table, handing him the steaming mug I’d made for him a few minutes earlier.
Sitting, he swipes his hair away from his face before taking the drink from me and having a long sip. He leans back against the cushions and looks up at me. “I’m so sorry, Kenz.”
“Sorry doesn’t mean a damn thing unless you help me fix this.”
His brows draw together. “Why do you think I went to the bar last night?”
“Guilty conscience,” I deadpan.
“That, and I know the only way to fix this is if you’re there with me. There’s one person in the world who can stop this wedding and it’s you, only you.”
“Right. So drink up, go shower, and we’ll get on the road.”
“You’ve gotta get dressed too, you know,” he says with a smirk, looking me up and down.
Shit, he’s right. I guess Millen’s tee I stole from him and yoga pants is not exactly suitable “stopping a wedding” attire.
“Good point,” I squeak, moving toward the door. “There’s a towel in the bathroom for you. Now, chop, chop. Body to wash, best friend to pick up—mine, not yours—and wedding to prevent.” I get to the door and stop suddenly, spinning back around to face him. “What time is the wedding?” I say, realizing it might be helpful to know exactly how much time is left to save the day.
“Two p.m. But it’ll take two hours to get there once we’re on the road.”
“What about your tux? Don’t you kind of need that?”
His eyes crinkle and he smiles at me, a huge beaming grin that puts me at ease. “If it all goes right, absolutely fucking not,” he says unequivocally.
“Good answer.”
I pull up to the curb outside Gaby’s apartment building, noting with interest that her parking bay is occupied by Bruno’s car. I quickly send her a text announcing our arrival, glancing at the time to see it’s already five minutes to twelve.
“How are you doing?” Drew asks from the passenger seat. For the first time this morning, I take stock of my emotional state. How am I doing?
I’m determined. I’m angry—a little with Drew, a lot with the scheming bitch who may still succeed at ruining my chances with Millen—and I’m also nervous as all hell.
“I have no idea how this is going to go down,” I admit, turning in my seat toward him. “How do I do this? Am I supposed to just rock on up like in The Graduate and scream his name?”
He chuckles and reaches over to give my knee a gentle squeeze. His gaze drops to his hand before he quickly removes it. “I think just you turning up, making that first move to let him know that you’re there to fight for what you’ve got? That will do all the work for you.”
“You think?” I ask, biting my lip. My anxiety is reaching dire levels now. One of the reasons why I asked Gaby to come—okay, demanded she attend might be a more accurate description—is that she’s one of the few people in the world who can calm me down if needed.
“Kenz,” he says warmly. “I’ve never seen Millen as gone for a woman as he is for you. He was going to risk it all. He did risk it all before Lana got her claws into him. It’s just unfortunate that I now have to deal with the woman for the next eighteen years.”
I raise a brow. “So you’re going to be involved?”
“It’s my child, my son or daughter, and if I have my way, their life will never be affected by the circumstances of their conception. I’ll be there in every single way possible.”
I want to give him a hug but I’m not sure it’s what he needs right now. Words might be better. “I’ll help you in any way I can, Drew. I know things might be weird for a while, but I hope we stay friends.” I realize how that sounds, and at the sight of his twitching lips, I burst out laughing just as Gaby bounds out of her apartment door, Bruno kissing her goodbye and wearing a pair of sweats and a smile. It seems Miss Gaby has a secret.
“Howdy-ho, people,” she says, sliding into the back seat and shutting the door. “Damn, you look good,” she says, reaching out and smoothing her hand over my one-shoulder red lace dress. I start the car and pull into the road, turning on my GPS to show me the way.
“You’re gonna knock him on his ass when he sees you in that outfit,” Gaby says.
“That’s the plan. Or at least distract him enough to kidnap him if need be.” I’m not exactly serious but I want to make sure I look like I am worth the effort because I don’t want to contemplate the possibility that he’ll turn me down.
I know he won’t go ahead with the wedding. Whether he’ll still want to be with me after I tell him the truth? That’s a whole other thing.
“Babe, you’re scrunching your nose up like you do when you’re about to freak out, so stop thinking about the what-ifs and focus on the what-you-wants. Think about tonight and tomorrow and every day forward when you’ll have your man and the she-bitch will have a baby she doesn’t even want,” Gaby says. My head snaps to Drew as he winces.
“Harsh, but true,” he says, his tone flat.
“Sorry.” Gaby grimaces, meeting my eyes in the rear-vision mirror and mouthing “oops” to me. I shake my head at her, then focus back on the road and try to center my thoughts. A quick look at the GPS tells me it’ll take one hour and fifty-five minutes to reach our destination. The clock says we’ll arrive with five minutes to spare.
Fingers crossed the bride is traditionally late then.
Five minutes away from our destination, I have to pull over.
I pull into a rest stop, turning the car off and almost jumping out the door, high heels be damned.
I walk around the hood and over toward concrete bench, checking it’s clean before sitting down and burying my face in my hands.
“Babe…” Gaby says gently. “I know you’re freaking out, but now isn’t exactly the time to do it. We may have gotten here quicker than we thought, but the wedding is due to start in ten minutes and we still need to get there.”
Peeking up at her, I see her smiling down at me. There’s no one else I’d want with me to stop a wedding other than Gaby. She’s the perfect sidekick. Not that I’m ever gonna be breaking up a wedding again.
“We have to get going, Kenz. I’m not letting you get this far and not follow through. You deserve that man, and he deserves you. Lana does not get to screw that up for you. She doesn’t get a fucked up happily-ever-after, and she definitely doesn’t get to steal yours.” She holds both hands out toward me.
“What if—”
“Kenzie Sharp, I love you to the moon and back and beyond, but we do not have time for what-ifs now. We’re here. We’re going to make sure the man you love knows the full story before he decides whether to miss his chance at true happiness with you or not. If you want your man, you need to get your ass in your car, and I’ll drive while you deal with your breakdown in the back seat.
She’s right, of course. I’m past the point of no return, and if there’s any hope of me getting to Millen in time—before Lana gets there and seals her sour deal—I need to move.
With that in mind, I reach out and put my hands in Gaby’s, letting her pull me up. As I walk to the car, Drew watches me through the window and gives me a small smile, his eyes full of concern.
“Are we doing this?” Gaby asks, taking my place in the driver’s seat.
“Yep,” I reply
“It’ll be alright,” Drew says, not sounding at all confident.
“It has to be,” I reply, and those four words strengthen my resolve.
Five minutes later, Gaby is pulling the car into the driveway, driving way too fast for the gravel road. As we come to a dramatic stop in the middle of the full parking lot, my eyes lock on the black limo parked in front of a small set of stairs leading up to the most gorgeous white chapel I’ve ever seen.
“Shit. I’m totally gonna have to make a scene, aren’t I?” I ask, my racing heart making it hard to breathe.
“It’s now or never,” Gaby says, hopping out of the car, Drew doing the same.
He opens my door, his expression tight. “It’s time, Kenz. You do whatever you’ve got to do. Whatever happens, we’ve got your back.”
When I spot Harris getting out of the limo, I know I have to move and before I know it, I’m storming toward him, no doubt in my mind as to what I have to do.
The minute Lana sees me, a snide smirk appears. Her dress is stunning, a strapless white lace gown that could be nothing but couture. “Good, you’re here,” she says, grinning like a cat who got the cream.
That’s until she sees Drew come up beside me. Then her expression drops, a flash of fear the first crack in her façade.
“Got ya, bitch,” Gaby whispers, flanking me.
“Kenzie, what are you doing here?” Harris asks, breaking the stalemate.
“Righting some wrongs, Harris.” My voice rises and he frowns, looking around the group before stopping on me.
“Look, this is not the time to—”
“Let’s go, Dad,” Lana says, her voice strained. She loops her arm in his and tries to pull him toward the stairs.
“Lana,” Drew says, his tone leaving no room for misinterpretation. His body is tense, his shoulders square, and his jaw set.
“What?” she snarls, scowling at him. “You get Kenzie and I get Millen. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“Can someone tell me what’s going on? Kenzie? Lana?”
I open my mouth to back him up but stop short when the chapel doors open.
Millen’s dad comes out first, quickly followed by his sister, Ashley, and his mom, and more mortifying, the rest of the wedding guests. Scanning the rapidly growing crowd, I meet the frowning grey eyes of the reason I’m here.
Any doubts I had about coming here disappear. I now know what I have to do, and there’s no way I’m leaving here until it’s done.
The pain will be worth it, as long as Millen is mine at the end of it.
It’s time to claim my man.