Page 128 of Never Not Friends

my part as the maid of honor. I turn to walk back in and nearly bump into Vinny.

“Oh.” I step back.

“Sorry. I was just…” He absentmindedly traces a finger over his brow, the telltale sign he’s stressed.

“Trying to avoid your dad?” I guess by the look on his face.

His hand drops, and so do his shoulders, as if for a brief moment he can let his guard down. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m doing. I’m hoping that when he can’t find me, he gives up and leaves so I don’t have to talk to him.”

“Great plan, until you ran into me, huh?”

There’s a small lift of his lips. “I’ve been trying to avoid you all night too.”

I laugh. “Same.”

His eyes scan around. “Where’s Shane?”

“Uh, he had to go.” There’s no point in telling him we broke up. He doesn’t need to know that the night before his wedding.

“Oh.” His lips curve down.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he answers automatically.

My head tilts, giving him a look.

“Okay, fine. I’m not even close to okay.” His palms press against his eyes then abruptly drop. “I’m a mess right now.”

“Because of your dad?”

His gaze holds mine. “Not just him.”

My chest pounds as I look back at him. “I should go.” I take a step to leave.

“Emma, wait.” He grabs my arm, stopping me, but then immediately lets go, like he touched fire. “I just…” His head shakes, and he shifts his weight back and forth like he’s seconds away from unraveling.

I know I shouldn’t ask, but I do anyway. “What do you want, Vinny?”

His expression catches me off guard. He looks miserable, and tired, and sad. A kind of depression behind his stare. Not at all how he should look the night before his wedding.

“I just…” He sucks in a breath, almost like he needs the extra oxygen for courage. “I just have to know.”

My pounding heart gets louder.

His movements stop, and he stares directly at me. “Is there any reason why you think I shouldn’t marry Juliet tomorrow?”

Hope catches like fire inside my chest.

Every single part of me screams to tell him. That if there’s even the slightest chance that we could be together, I should go for it.

Take those odds.

TELL HIM.

But then I think about my best friend, about her standing inside right now, excitedly thanking guests for celebrating with them.

Juliet’s done nothing wrong.