Page 41 of WAYLON (Ruthless MC 1)
“Are you all right?” I asked him, walking up the stairs.
“Why did he come here?” Jonathan demanded instead of answering my question.
“I think he's angry I didn't invite him to the wedding.” Guilt twisted my stomach as I admitted that.
Not inviting him hadn't exactly been my decision. Ant not coming had been pretty much the only thing my busy fiancé had weighed in on when it came to planning the wedding.
“I think we can both agree that he wouldn’t fit in,” Jonathan had pointed out when we were putting together the guest list. “And he’d make quite a few of our guests uncomfortable, including my parents.”
In the end, I decided Jonathan was right. Even if Ant managed to scrounge up a suit, there was no way he wouldn't stand out. He’d probably be just as uncomfortable attending the wedding as Jonathan and his parents would be with having him there. I was barely at ease in this world, and I had been working on myself for years to fit into it.
“Did you give him our address? Tell him he could come here?” Jonathan asked.
“No,” I answered. “I don't know how he found out I was getting married in the first place. Or how he figured out where we lived. I haven’t talked to him since….”
I trailed off. Obviously, the night before our wedding wasn’t the right time to bring up the biker I’d kicked out of my apartment a couple of weeks before we got back together.
“A very long time,” I substituted instead.
Jonathan thinned his lips in a way that reminded me of his mother. And he kind of sounded like her when he said, “Criminals have their ways, I suppose.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. But Jonathan moved on to his next question before I could come up with anything.
“Is he going to ruin the wedding after all the planning Mother put into it?”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I’d told both Jonathan and his mother several times that I didn't want a big church wedding. I mean, my side of the guest list barely filled up a couple of pews, which was why Trudy had decided all his medical guests should also sit on my side of the aisle.
“To save you embarrassment, dear,” she’d explained. “Otherwise, it would look completely unbalanced.”
I’d bitten my tongue to keep from pointing out that this wouldn’t have been a problem if we’d had a small intimate ceremony like I wanted.
I knew this wedding was important to her, and she’d pulled all sorts of strings to get us an August spot at one of the oldest Presbyterian churches in Wilmington.
Besides, even if it wasn’t the wedding I would’ve planned, it was Jonathan’s big day. And I didn’t want to upset him.
“Ant’s not going to ruin anything. I sent him away.”
Again, guilt twisted my stomach. And again, I pressed it back down.
“But how do you know he’ll stay away?” Jonathan demanded.
“I mean, he wasn't invited to the wedding—he wasn’t even told about it, according to you. You supposedly didn't give him our address, yet he showed up here anyway.”
I didn’t love the accusatory tone in Jonathan’s voice. But I knew he was upset. And this argument was all my fault.
“Jonathan, I'm sorry he showed up here.” I reached out to take his hand, to reassure him, “But I promise you, Ant won’t—”
That was as far as I got. I tried to take his hand, and he…he shoved me away. And suddenly, I was tumbling down the stairs. Then…nothing. That was the last thing I remembered.
And now I’m…here.
Lying in the bed we share. My entire body aching. How bad was my fall? Did I pass out? Do real damage?
“Nothing's broken,” Jonathan assures me as if hearing my unspoken questions. “You might have a slight concussion, but other than that and a little bruising, you're fine.”
“But you pushed me,” I whisper, everything inside me cringing. “You pushed me down the stairs.”
CHAPTER 18
“You pushed me,” I whisper again, horror icing through my veins and hitting me like a ton of bricks. “You pushed me down the stairs.”
Jonathan’s bottom lip starts trembling again. “Oh, Mimi, I'm so sorry. That's why I couldn't leave and stay at the hotel yesterday. I skipped my bachelor party and watched over you the whole night. I'm just beside myself with guilt. I can't believe I let myself get that angry.”
I shake my head at him. “So you pushed me on purpose? Because you were angry about my brother showing up here?”
“What? No!” Jonathan blinks at me like I’ve gravely insulted him. “You grabbed my hand, and I didn’t want you to touch me at that moment—I was too upset. But I didn’t mean to push you. I'm sorry. So, so sorry. I promise you. I would never intentionally hurt you. It was an accident. A one-time thing. I love you, and we’re about to get married.”
