Beth

Beth could feel her eyes welling with tears. She was not going to cry over this. She heard her mother’s voice in her head. ‘Bennett girls don’t cry over boys.’

Okay, so maybe they did. But Beth was at least determined not to in front of anyone else. She walked calmly from the cafeteria. Of course when she was out of the room she broke into a run, not stopping until she was in the women’s bathroom, where she could cry in privacy.

She hid in a stall and dabbed at her eyes with toilet paper while silently cursing her sisters. Why did she have to have five sisters? If there was any justice in the world, at least one of her siblings could’ve been a boy. But no, Beth was saddled with five older sisters, all of whom morphed into bridezillas on bath salts and threw inconvenient, life-ruining weddings. And Beth should know, having been a bridesmaid in all of them.

The last thing she needed right now was a Bennett wedding. They were stressful and taxing, and would leave her no time to spend with Jared. That was if she could even convince him to go.

She could already feel Jared slipping away. Last night he’d seemed distant when he kissed her goodnight. She’d chalked it up to him being tired from the game. But that’s why spring break was so important. It was her plan to reconnect and take things to the next level—or lock him down, as Caroline would say.

Beth was still confused by Jared’s attention. Growing up the youngest of five gorgeous girls, Beth was used to being overlooked. She never felt like the pretty sister. They all had boobs and booties while she still felt like the gangly teen in comparison. But Jared had been the first person to see past all of that . . . to really want to get to know her. He was the first guy who was wholly hers.

Jared made her feel girly and sexy and she didn’t want to lose that. He’d been patient, but Beth knew he wasn’t going to wait around forever. She needed to give him some incentive to stay with her. Especially since she knew there were plenty of other girls at Stanton who would be happy to step up to the plate if Beth didn’t. And that’s why going to Aspen was perfect. Or it would’ve been if Brenna hadn’t ruined everything.

Beth blew her nose, wallowing in self pity. She was just beginning to mourn the loss of Aspen. Besides her plans to connect with Jared there, Beth had been truly excited to finally visit Caroline’s Aspen house. The place looked like a French chalet. Its scenic views and snowcapped mountains reminded her of ‘White Christmas’, with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. Of course it was more modern with its state-of-the-art hot spring lagoon, heated floors and massive two-sided fireplaces.

She’d been looking forward to this trip for years. Getting invited was like winning the lottery. Being friends with Caroline wasn’t always easy but this was a major perk and Beth hated that she was going to miss out. Especially to go to her family’s stuffy southern estate in Georgia.

Beth had been there a million times as a kid. Her mother’s great, great so-and-so was once someone important and owned a big old mansion, called Bellemora, on Tybee Island. The estate was on a private beach and had been converted into a resort for wealthy tourists. The Kennedys were rumored to have vacationed there which kept the resort full year round. It was pretty enough, but it was no Voss Aspen chalet. And more importantly, Jared wouldn’t be there.

“Beth?”

Beth peeked through the space between the bathroom door and partition when she heard Caroline call her name. She was leaning against the sink and scowling at an underclassman that wisely scurried from the bathroom. When they were alone Beth finally came out from the stall.

“You okay?” Caroline asked.

“No! This is so unfair! Brenna did this on purpose. She hijacked our trip. We’ve been planning Aspen since ninth grade and now everything is ruined, and Jared is mad at me.”

“Okay, you’ve gone supersonic, Beth. I need ya to take it down a notch, okay?”

Beth took a deep breath and tried to bring her voice back to a normal level. “What do I do, Car?”

“So there’s no way you can get out of this wedding?”

Beth shook her head.

“C’est la vie.”

“That’s it?”

“It’s life, kid. What do you want me to say? I have the cabin for the whole week. The wedding’s only one day, right? Come up when it’s over.”

Beth laughed dryly. “You’ve obviously never been to a Bennett wedding. There’ll be at least three days of ridiculousness planned. My sisters all try to outdo each other when it comes to weddings.”

“Okay, so that leaves four days. You won’t be able to ride the bus out with us but you can fly out when the wedding crap is over.”

Beth sighed. That was at least true. “But what about Jared?”

“What about him?”

“How do I get him to come to the wedding with me?”

Caroline laughed. “Oh that boy’s not gonna skip Aspen for a wedding. Have you heard how he and the guys have been talking about the bus?”

Beth frowned. Of course she had.

Jared and the lacrosse team had cleverly nicknamed the road trip to Aspen as the ‘broad trip’. A bunch of the guys from Jared’s team rented a house in Aspen when they heard Jared was gonna be at Caroline’s, hoping they’d get to crash at least one of her legendary parties. And luck was on their side, because when Caroline found out her brother was going to be at the Aspen house part of the time she was, she’d decided to invite the lacrosse team to stay at her place. Caroline was never good at sharing and she knew her brother would hate the idea of partying with a bunch of high school kids. She hoped maybe he’d be so pissed he wouldn’t show up. She’d even gone as far as to charter a tour bus for the team to Aspen, spawning the ‘broad trip’ craze.

“Stupid broad trip,” Beth muttered.

Caroline snorted. “My dad would absolutely flip if he knew his vintage tour bus is being referred to as the broad tripper.” Then she grinned wickedly. “Too bad he’s out of the country for the next two months filming yet another reality show.”

Beth sighed. “You really think there’s no hope of me convincing Jared to go to the wedding?”

“Beth, boys like Jared don’t do weddings. Especially not with girls that aren’t even putting out. You honestly need to be happy that you’ve made it this far. How long have you guys been dating?”

“Six months.”

Caroline’s eyebrows arched. “I’m pretty sure that’s the longest relationship he’s ever had. Trust me, you don’t want to push him on this. If his guys hear he’s considering bailing on Aspen for a wedding they’ll give him hell and you’ll get all the backlash. You gotta just give him some freedom. Or maybe it’s time to cut your losses. Then you’d be free to snag a hottie at the wedding.”

“Car! I’m not breaking up with him.”

She shrugged. “Just a suggestion.”

“Not a good one.”

“Okay, I get it. You’re not dumping Jared. Let’s move on.”

“I don’t know how to. Weddings are kind of a big deal in my family and it would be awesome to go to one with a boyfriend for a change. Plus, I go to all his lacrosse games and I never ask him to come to my stuff.”

“That’s right, your stand-in boyfriend does that stuff with you,” Caroline said with a smirk.

“Please stop calling him that.”

Caroline ignored Beth’s plea. “Why don’t you just ask Parker to go to the wedding? You know he will.”

“Because I want Jared to go.”

“I wouldn’t push him,” Caroline advised.

“Why not? Shouldn’t a relationship be two-sided?”

“Yeah, but you and Jared don’t have a real relationship. You haven’t had sex with him. That’s how guys judge if they’re in a relationship.”

Beth rubbed the heels of her palms against her eyes, groaning. Arguing about relationships with Caroline was useless. They had two completely different views of the world. But what scared Beth, was that in this instant, Caroline might be right. How could Beth ask Jared for something she wanted when she still hadn’t given him what he wanted?

Sadness crashed over Beth in heavy waves. She was so tired of getting her heart stomped on. It made her feel like a doormat—and not at all like she thought falling in love should feel.

Parker

Parker waited for Beth after school, but she didn’t show up. He noticed her car was already missing from the parking lot. That wasn’t like Beth at all. If she wasn’t staying after to watch one of Jared’s lacrosse games, she was tutoring, or in the auditorium helping the juniors paint the set for next season’s play.

Beth’s high school acting days were over, but Parker thought she’d gone out on top with a captivating performance as the lead in ‘Into the Woods’. It still blew Parker away when Beth sang. He could listen to it for the rest of his life and never grow tired of her voice. She was so charismatic when she was on stage. It was almost like she was a different person. Parker always envied the bravery Beth possessed to get up there and reveal that hidden side of herself to complete strangers.

She didn’t give herself enough credit. Growing up she always told Parker he was the brave one. But Parker thought it was the other way around. And that’s why this was so hard. Parker always tried to protect Beth when he could. But he’d seen the true hurt on her face today when Jared told her he wouldn’t skip Aspen to go to Brenna’s wedding with her. What an idiot.

Parker would skip his own damn wedding if it meant he had a chance with Beth. But jealousy aside, Parker was worried about Beth. He knew Jared had hit a nerve.

Being an only child, Parker didn’t know what it was like to grow up with the pressures Beth did. She was constantly comparing herself to her older sisters. And no matter what Parker told her, Beth never thought she measured up. She was so hard on herself to be perfect, to shine brighter, to be more.

Parker didn’t get it. Beth was perfect the way she was. Anyone who couldn’t see that was a moron. Being a son or daughter wasn’t a competition. But growing up in her sisters’ shadows had done a number on Beth’s self-esteem. And Jared had basically opened old wounds by saying he’d rather go to Colorado with his friends than Georgia with Beth. He might as well have said, “You’re not good enough.” Because from the look on Beth’s face, that was all she heard.

Parker checked his watch. If he hurried he could make it to Fritz’s in time. Fritz’s was foolproof, and the only thing guaranteed to cheer Beth up after the day she’d had. As Parker got into his Range Rover, he muttered to himself. “Come on, Fritz. Don’t let me down.”