He gave the air an exaggerated sniff. “You smell pretty good to me. How’s Eva doing?”
“She’s fine. I called her before bedtime, and she was having a good time with my mom.” She couldn’t help but swoon a little inside over the way he always checked on Eva. “I wish I could stay up with you for a while tonight, but I’ve got a long day tomorrow and it’s going to start pretty early. Being a bridesmaid takes some real work.”
“That’s okay. I mostly just wanted to see you. The day didn’t seem right without seeing you for at least a minute.”
“You’ve gotten kind of sappy. You know that, right?” She flashed him a teasing smile.
“I’ve always been sappy. You just didn’t want to see it.” He pulled her into another hug, and this one lasted a long time.
She pressed her face against his shirt, breathing him in, feeling the strong squeeze of his arms, the hard line of his body against hers. He smelled like soap, so he must have taken a shower this evening. She wanted to burrow into him and never come out.
But she liked the feel of his body so much that if the hug lasted too long, she’d want to turn it into something else. And that was too big, too frightening, to deal with when she had a big wedding the following day.
So she reluctantly pulled away, giving him a sheepish smile as she did. “Good night, Keith.”
He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss against her lips. “Good night, Serena. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Serena returned to her apartment and went to bed, tired and pleased and giggling a little.
SCOTT WAS AT THE WEDDING with Amber.
Serena had known he was attending. Amanda had asked her specifically if it was all right that he was invited. Amanda’s family had known Scott’s forever, and she felt obliged to invite him unless it would really bother Serena.
Serena appreciated being asked, but she was fine with it. That was what she’d said, and that was what she’d meant. She saw him fairly regularly, after all, when he picked up and dropped off Eva on his weekends and then occasionally around town. It wasn’t a big deal. They’d been divorced for two years now. They were both adults, and she could handle seeing her ex without trauma or conflict.
But for some reason it bothered her more than it should have today.
She’d enjoyed the morning—getting her hair and makeup done with Amanda and the other bridesmaids—and she’d had a good time at the light luncheon and in the dressing room getting ready for the three-o’clock wedding. But Scott’s presence in the pew of the church during the ceremony—not far from where Keith sat alone in his gray suit—felt like a failure. Serena’s failure.
Even though she knew the response wasn’t rational or fair to herself, she couldn’t help but feel it.
She could have had Keith a long time ago, and he was everything any woman should have wanted.
Instead, she’d chosen Scott and had a lot of years of heartache and betrayal—some of which she was still dealing with—because of it.
What the hell had she even been thinking back then?
No matter how much she kept reminding herself of what she knew was true—she’d been young, she’d done the best she could, and she had Eva because of the choices she’d made—the thought still needled at her, keeping her from really enjoying the ceremony.
She kept a smile on her face—because that was what she was supposed to do—but she was relieved when the minister pronounced Amanda and Robert husband and wife.
She could feel Keith’s eyes on her, and she was worried that he’d see what she was feeling.
Worried that it might hurt him.
She gave herself a firm lecture during the photos with the bridal party that immediately followed the ceremony and was feeling better—more herself—when they drove over to the reception venue.
Keith would be there, waiting for her. She could have a good time with him. She could dance and laugh with him and her friends. She didn’t have to look at or think about Scott. He didn’t matter that much to her anymore.
It was entirely predictable—in a bitterly ironic way—that the first people she ran into as she entered the reception were Scott and Amber.
Scott was tall, broad-shouldered, and handsome in a smarmy, superficial style. She could see the fakeness of him now, when she hadn’t been able to see it as an eighteen-year-old. He grinned at her with big, white, perfect teeth as he came over to greet her like they were old friends.
Serena managed to smile and say hello to both of them.
“You look nice, Serena!” Amber gushed. “That dress is so slimming on your figure!”
Serena knew a double-edged compliment when she heard one. She was supposed to feel self-conscious now about the size of her hips. She was used to that sort of thing, and it didn’t bother her—particularly from Amber. So she returned the overly effusive smile with one of her own. “Thank you so much. You look pretty too.”
“We’ve got news,” Scott said. Before Serena could even imagine what it might be, he reached down and picked up Amber’s hand to show her a big, flashy, diamond ring. “We’re getting married.”
Amber squealed loudly and did a little happy dance. She was only twenty-three, and she looked particularly young at the moment.
“Oh, I’m so happy for you,” she said as sincerely as she could. “I hope you’ll both be really happy.”
She didn’t care that Amber was marrying Scott. They deserved each other, and they seemed to fit in a way that Serena and Scott never had. What bothered her most was that she had once been in Amber’s shoes—stupidly thrilled about Scott’s choosing her.
Serena hated that she’d been so foolish, and she hated this visceral reminder of it.
“It’s going to happen for you too one day,” Amber said, restraining her giddiness to ostensible sympathy. “Just be patient.”
“I don’t need to be patient,” Serena said with a smile. “I’ve never been happier than I am right now. And I hope the both of you find the same kind of happiness.”
She walked away after that since there was nothing more to say. She was proud of herself for responding politely and maturely but also for holding her ground.
But she also felt kind of sick. Like she needed to shake something nasty off her skin. She said hello to a few people—the first ones she ran into—before she discreetly made her way to the bathroom.
She didn’t want it to look like she was upset about news of Scott’s wedding. That wasn’t what had upset her at all.
But she needed to hide in a bathroom stall for a minute, shake through a few silent sobs, and pull herself together.
She was composed again as she washed her hands and left the restroom.
Keith was waiting for her, his tie slightly askew and concern in his brown eyes.
“Hey,” she said, smiling even though the sight of his much-loved face made her want to cry again. “I was just about to look for you.”
When she reached him, he put his hands on her upper arms and studied her closely for a few seconds, searching for something in her expression. Then he pulled her into a long hug like the one he’d given her last night. “Are you okay?” he murmured against her ear.