“Blair. You two are as thick as thieves. I know you care about her.” She lowered her voice. “I’d sooner quit than put her with Garter.”
“Thanks.”
So Melissa was covered. That only left herself. What the hell was she going to do?
Chapter Twenty-Two
At 6:05 p.m., Garrett stood in the Presbyterian Church, trying to swallow his nausea. Blair was sequestered in a corner with Libby and Megan, glancing around the church as she counted off who was missing. Neil stood nearby with a couple of his friends. He crossed his arms and shot Garrett a smug grin. The bruise on his cheek and under his eye gave Garrett minimal satisfaction.
Blair was still going through with it.
Noah had arrived with Josh and Megan, and Garrett had wondered why until Libby showed up a few minutes later holding hands with another man, presumably her boyfriend Mitch. He was bigger than Noah, a beefy-looking guy with oversized muscles, and he seemed protective of Libby. Garrett would have found it amusing if he weren’t so miserable. Of the two women in his acquaintance who least needed protection, Blair ranked first with Libby at a close second.
While the ladies pow-wowed near the church door, Mitch was hanging out with Josh and Noah. Given the amount of time Noah had spent with Libby over the past week, Garrett was surprised by the apparent lack of tension between the two men. Still, Noah didn’t look disappointed when Garrett pulled him into a side aisle so they could chat without being overheard. “Is Blair okay?” he said in an undertone. “Did Libby get a chance to talk to her?”
Noah just shook his head. “I don’t know. Blair never returned her or Megan’s calls. But she texted them around noon to say she was fine and that they should come to the rehearsal.”
Garrett ran his hand through his hair. “I screwed up last night.”
“Libby’s not so sure about that. But it was a gamble.” He clapped a hand on his back. “Hey, she’s not married yet. You still have about twenty-four hours.”
True, but while they were talking, Blair and Neil had walked up to the altar and started talking to the minister who was scheduled to marry them the next afternoon. The sight didn’t fill him with a lot of confidence.
Blair looked over her shoulder, and Garrett’s eyes met with hers. He expected to see anger or derision there, but instead he found sadness.
What was he going to do? He had to convince her not to make this colossal mistake. It was time to tell her about Layla, even though he knew it would be the kiss of death to any chance of a relationship between them. He just hoped she believed him.
Garrett’s parents had arrived, and his mom and his aunt wasted no time in picking a nothing argument. This time it was over the faded lines in the parking lot.
“You think I had control over that?” Aunt Debra demanded.
His mother gave her a haughty look. “Well, if this were Kelsey’s wedding, I’d make sure everything was perfect.”
“Oh, isn’t that something,” his aunt sniped. “Kelsey’s too busy putting the cart before the horse to even consider getting married.”
Garrett looked around the church for a glimpse of his sister. For once, he was grateful that she was notoriously late. Otherwise the bickering between his mom and his aunt would probably turn into an all-out brawl.
Everyone stood around, twittering anxiously over the argument until Nana Ruby finally stepped away from the back wall and whistled loud enough to get everyone’s attention.
“Debbie Sue and Barbara Mae! That’s enough!” Then his grandmother lasered him with a pointed gaze that let him know how disappointed she was that he hadn’t yet managed to steal his cousin’s bride. If he had succeeded, she wouldn’t have needed to tolerate this madness.
“Let’s get this started!” Nana Ruby shouted. “There’s a rack of ribs waiting for me.”
Aunt Debra cringed. “We don’t have ribs. Just pulled pork and ham.”
“Well, what kind of barbeque is that?”
Garrett took his place at the front of the church, standing at the end of the wedding party, next to one of Neil’s fraternity brothers. His cousin Dena, Libby, and Megan all strolled down the aisle pretending to hold bouquets while a pianist played a classical piece.
“And then the music changes,” the minister said from his perch on the altar after all the bridesmaids had taken their places. “And the bride comes down the aisle.”
Blair stepped into the doorway, and while he’d already seen her today, she looked somehow different as she stood there in the threshold. She wore a fitted blue and white print dress, and her long, dark blonde hair fell in soft waves down her back and over her left shoulder. The V-neck of her dress dipped low enough to expose a small amount of her cleavage, and the hem hit just above her knee, exposing her shapely calves. He was sure she’d never looked more beautiful.
Garrett’s gaze was glued to her, and she stayed in place for a few heartbeats, as if trying to decide whether to turn around and run away. She glanced in his direction, and their eyes locked. Her lips parted, and her eyes filled with a softness that told him her iron-clad resolve was on the verge of weakening, that she wanted to walk down that aisle toward him one day, not Neil, but then she sucked in a breath, steeled her back, and started down the aisle.
She came to a stop beside Neil and looked up at the minister.
“Since you walked down the aisle alone,” the minister said, “I presume no one will be giving you away.”
Blair looked over her shoulder before returning her attention to the minister. “No. My mom is late, but she won’t be giving me away.”
“Blair’s too independent for that,” Neil added, only it sounded more like a dig at her character than a compliment. Or perhaps Garrett was too sensitive. But one glance at Libby confirmed he wasn’t alone in his opinion.
The minister continued. He had reached the vows part of the ceremony when Kelsey walked in through the back door. She took one look at Garrett and sighed. It was a relief to see her.
She walked down the aisle and sat in the front pew on the groom’s side of the church, eyeing Blair before returning her attention to Garrett. She pursed her lips and gave him a mischievous wink.
The minister explained when the rings would be exchanged, then smiled at the couple. “All that’s left is the kiss.”
Blair gave a forced smile, and Neil leaned in and planted a kiss on her that lasted several seconds.
The minister cleared his throat. “Now you two walk down the aisle together, and the bridal party will file out after you.”
Neil looped his arm through Blair’s, and they walked toward the back door as the groomsmen and bridesmaids paired up. Garrett was on the end, and when he walked down the steps, Kelsey cut in front of their cousin and grabbed his arm before Dena could.
“Good of you to join us, Kels.”
She grinned. “Traffic’s a bitch.” She leaned closer. “So the siren’s still going through with it, huh?”
He shrugged, feeling uncomfortable. “I wouldn’t call her a siren.”
“She’s captured the attention of my man-whore brother. She must be.”
“Shh.” He looked around and pulled her into a pew, worried someone had overheard them, but no one seemed to be paying attention. “Where’s the baby?”