In My Bed (18+)

Chapter 35

Amanda and her friend finally stepped away to return to their seats, and I watched as they settled down at the table with Jason and Gerald.

Envy rose in my chest, and I pressed down on it, squashing it dead against my ribs.

Get a grip.

But there was a fear that I couldn't quite shake.

Taking advantage of the sudden lull, I busied myself with restocking my supplies, wiping down the counter and rearranging the cocktail napkins.

Then, the music abruptly changed, and I looked up as the first, jangly notes of, "Here Comes the Sun," began to play over the speakers.

The double doors at the far end of the hall opened, and the golden light of early evening backlit the wedding party as they walked in two-by-two. Their faces were for the most part unfamiliar, aside from a man with a neatly trimmed beard.

That could only be Owen.

Sierra's ex.

The generic attractiveness he'd enjoyed as a teen had matured, aging like expensive whiskey. He wore the intervening years well - his hairline was holding strong, and he'd clearly been taking care of himself - but there was a weariness behind his eyes that spoke of difficult times.

His gaze found me, and surprise crossed his face.

I gave him a wry grin, waving slightly before returning to my work.

But then Faith and Zane came in, hands clasped and wearing smiles to rival the sun. Standing alone behind the bar, and the way they looked at each other broke something inside me.

Faith was a vision in white, bathed head to toe in delicate lace, soft tendrils of hair falling out of her intricate updo, dotted with pearl-topped pins. Zane filled out his tuxedo like he'd been wearing them all his life, carrying himself with confidence.

And, together, they just looked right.

An aching emptiness opened in my core, raw and gaping.

I painted a smile on my face, my fingernails digging into the palm of my hand.

When they were seated, the catering staff went into action, bringing out steaming plates in a ballet of uniformed efficiency.

After the guests were served, they brought in a plate for me, and I managed to sneak bites in between supplying refills and polishing water spots off of glassware.

By the time my meal was half gone, I heard the crystal ring of silverware against champagne flutes.

Glancing up, I saw Zane standing, holding a wireless microphone while the wedding coordinator stepped away from the head table.

"Uh, hi-" His voice cut off as a loud feedback squeal erupted from the speaker system. Chuckling, he moved away slightly, bringing the microphone back up to his mouth, "Sorry about that. Um, I- I'm not really much of a public speaker - anyone who's ever heard me try is already well aware-" light laughter broke out over the crowd, and his shoulders visibly relaxed. "but I would walk over hot coals for this woman," he looked over his shoulder, grinning at Faith," so one speech isn't much of an ask."

Seeming to gain steam, Zane continued, "Anyway, when I found out that I was expected to speak today, I could not for the life of me figure out what to say. Faith, actually, suggested that I talk about our history - how we met, how we got together - and I could not be more grateful to her for the idea."

"So," he cleared his throat, "for those of you who have never heard the story, it begins when Faith and I were in our senior year of high school. I was, well," Zane laughed, "there is no nice way to describe what I looked like back then." Pausing, he shook his head and muttered, "My senior pictures should probably be burned."

Setting another wine glass aside, I smiled, remembering the constant, greasy gleam of his hair and the angry red of his acne.

"But, if you were expecting this to be sunshine and roses and, 'we knew we were meant to be from the start-' no, that's not what happened."

I almost snorted.

No shit. Not when she started dating you for petty revenge-

"-in fact, if you want to know the unvarnished truth, Faith only started dating me to get back at my friend. That went about as well as could be expected, and we broke up the summer before college."

My gaze snapped up, eyes widening.

He knew?

Disbelief rang in my ears, and I stared with rapt attention, forgetting the rack of glassware waiting to be polished.

"Our story could have ended there," he shrugged. "We could have gone our separate ways and wound up a footnote in each others' personal histories. But we didn't. Life had other plans for us."

"We reconnected that fall at college," Zane explained. "The girl who broke my heart became the study partner who proofread my essays, who cheered me on when differential equations had me ready to rip my hair out. She became the gym buddy who got me to give a damn about my health, the no-nonsense life coach who called me out on my shitty behavior and made me be a better man."

Zane's voice quavered with emotion as he turned, facing Faith, "She became my best friend, the love of my life, the woman I cannot imagine a future without, and- and I am so goddamned lucky that I get to call her my wife."

Tears glittered in Faith's eyes as she mouthed, "I love you."

A knife twisted in my heart.

He knew.

My eyes darted to Jason's table, where the back of his head taunted me with its inscrutability.

What would he do if he knew?

If Zane could forgive Faith...

You fucked Jason to get revenge against his daughter, a voice in my head – rationality, maybe - whispered.

There's no forgiving that.

Ice water rained down my back, dousing my feeble hopes with cold reality.

Swallowing hard, I picked up the next glass and began to rub the water spots away.