Page 75 of Break Out

“Well, let’s not let her have that control. To hell with her. It’s Clara and Chet’s day. Not hers,” I say. Bri stares at me, her mouth open, and all I can do is shrug.

“Fuck it all,” Clara says, laughing. I turn to look at her. “Aubrey’s right. It’s her choice not to be here. I’m getting married with or without her at this point. I’ve sacrificed enough because of her demands and what she wanted for me. But no more.”

I twist my head back to look at Bri.

“I’m in. Let’s get the show on the road,” she declares.

My mind whirls at Clara’s statement. I want to ask her what she sacrificed, but before I can say anything else, there’s a knock at the door. The bridesmaids come streaming in, bringing with them multiple bottles of champagne, followed closely by the makeup artists and hair stylists.

Since I’m not one of the first to get ready, I wander into the second bedroom, needing some peace and quiet. I peer out the window, gazing down at the adults and kids playing in the pool.

“You okay?” Bri asks, coming into the room and shutting the door behind her. Before I can answer, she’s wrapping her arm around my waist and giving me a half hug.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because of everything going on. It’s not your fault, you know.”

“Who said I was blaming myself?”

“Oh, come on, Aubrey. I know you. I know you think it’s your fault that you somehow didn’t see what was going on with the wedding. Or know everything that went down with Mom and Arthur after Dad died. It’s not your fault.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“Because what were you going to do about it?” Bri asks. “Speaking of not telling each other things, are you finally ready to admit how in love with Brody you are?”

“I’m not in love with him. We’re faking it.”

Bri rears back, studying me. “Well, yeah, I knew it started off as fake, but it’s not like that now. Is it?”

My mouth gapes open. “We are. Well, we were. Now we’re . . .” I pause. What are we doing now? “Having fun,” I finally settle on. “You saw Mother pushing me to have a date. She was going to set me up with the son of one of her friends. Brody offered to be my date, and that’s it.”

“Okay, sister, if that’s what you say,” Bri says, crossing her arms and giving me a look I can’t quite place.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s not fake now. Not with the way he looks at you, and watches you when you’re in the same room. That man is in love with you. And more than as a friend, even a best friend.”

“I don’t . . .” I shake my head.

I’m saved from explaining more when one of the bridesmaids peeks her head into the room to tell us that it’s our turn for hair and makeup.

The rest of the afternoon passes in a blur, and before I know it, I’m making my way back to my suite to get into my dress.

“Hi,” Brody greets me when I walk in the door. “Your hair looks nice.”

“Thanks,” I say, touching the braided updo the stylist did for me. Some of the girls went with fancy hairstyles, but I wanted to keep it simple.

“How are things?” Brody asks, walking over to me. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me into a hug.

“Watch the makeup,” I mumble, patting him on the shoulder.

He chuckles, and the sound rumbles through me right to my core. I can’t help the shiver that runs down my body. Brody’s hands wander down my back until he’s gripping my hips.

“Kiss me.”

I do as he asked, sealing our lips together. He nips at my bottom lip before his tongue soothes away the ache. He swallows my groan, then tears his mouth away to ask, “How long until we need to be somewhere?”

“An hour.”