Before Bree even opened her eyes, a tightening in her stomach reminded her that this was the day she’d been dreading for days--maybe longer than that if she was honest with herself. She’d been dreaming of marrying Trent for a decade, hadn’t she? Now, he was getting married. But not to her.
He’d tried to call her the night before. She’d seen a missed call on her phone. And at one point, she thought she’d heard a soft knock on the door. She’d been in the bathtub and hadn’t been sure. When she made it to the door, no one wa
Bree walked into the chapel and noted her guitar was already in place. She didn’t wait for an usher. Her spot was reserved, so she walked right to it, ignoring all of the other guests. There were several there already, and she heard her name shouted in a familiar voice that was probably Christy, but she didn’t look. She was in performance mode, robot mode, and she didn’t want to lift her eyes to look at anyone or even make small talk and pretend smile. She’d have to talk to Christy later and explain that she just hadn’t heard her, which wasn’t true, but Christy didn’t need to know that.
The sun was still shining; the waves continued to roll across the shoreline, wetting the sand, and tumbling back out to sea. The seagulls danced and played above her, and the blue sky was vivid and bright, refusing to hide itself in clouds.Bree sunk down in the sand, leaning back against the rocks she’d used as shelter many times that week--a week that had taken on a life of its own, stretching beyond five days into a millennium.
Trent watched Bree walk down the aisle. He wasn’t surprised when she didn’t stop at her seat. It had been a shock that she’d stayed as long as she did. The fact that she had actually sang that song at his wedding, while staring into his eyes, let him know how much he meant to her--she really did love him, still.And here he was, holding the hands of a woman he knew had cheated on him with his best friend, getting ready to say, “I do.” I do--what? Want to be with you? Want to spend the rest of my life with you? Treasure you? Trust you? Lov
Bree was still gazing up at the sky when she realized she wasn’t alone. The familiar scent of his cologne told her who had come to sit next to her on the sand without her even tilting her head over to look at him. She didn’t, either. Whatever he had to say, he could say it while she watched the only cloud she’d seen in a while slowly float by.“I’m sorry,” Trent said, his voice as quiet and still as the heavens above them. “I should’ve listened to you.”
Bree was relieved to hear that the pastor had locked her guitar back in the closet in the church where he’d kept it the night before. “Here you go, dear,” he said, unlocking the door and handing it to her. Then, he turned to Trent and said, “I’m sorry things didn’t turn out the way you’d expected, son.”“Thank you,” Trent said, and Bree could tell he wasn’t sure what else to say. The pastor gave them a sympathetic smile and then waved, and Bree and Trent headed out.
A few hours later, after more dancing, eating, and drinking, Bree found herself on a blanket under a full moon on the beach with the man she loved, two glasses, a bottle of champagne, two forks, and the top tier of Trent’s wedding cake. It was delicious.“You know, it took her about a month to decide what flavors of cake she wanted,” Trent said between bites. They weren’t bothering with plates. The cake sat on its original platter between them on the blanket, the gorgeous detail in the white frosting visible in the moonlight. It was a German ch
Bree woke up in Trent’s arms, but nothing had happened once they’d gotten to her hotel room. For that matter, nothing had happened on the beach either. Well, that wasn’t quite true. There’d been a lot of kissing, a lot of touching, but they hadn’t gone all the way. That was okay with Bree, though. She loved Trent, but she thought he was right to take things slow. He’d obviously just gotten out of a long term relationship, and she was making the mental adjustment to thinking they’d never be together to realizing he was hers now.
“Here it is… my humble abode.” Bree opened the door to her small, one bedroom apartment, and stepped aside so that Trent could bring in their baggage. She was slightly embarrassed at how tiny the place was, but Trent smiled and nodded as he walked in.“It’s really cute, Bree. I like how you’ve decorated it. You always did have a good eye for things like that.”