Page 13 of When We Are Complete

I tear my gaze away, heart still racing. “It was just awkward. I was trying to get someone’s attention, and he was there, being all calm and... Jake-like.” I bite back the part where I thought about how good he looked, how that stupid old ache in my chest flared up again, threatening to unravel everything I’ve worked so hard to bury, the heat that pulsed between us.

“I’m so sorry. Shit.” Nora makes a face. “I’ve been the worst at keeping promises tonight. But it won’t happen again. After the ceremony, I’m going to be right by your side every minute.”

She gives my arm a last squeeze and tells me she’ll see me after the ceremony, and I watch her head back to Emmy, before pivoting and walking for the main hall, stealing one more glance at him. The past may be behind me, but tonight, it’s dangerously close to catching up.

“Champagne?” A server offers me a tray filled with flutes of golden liquid.

“Thanks.” I take one, my fingers wrapping around the stem with a death grip. I don’t even like champagne that much, but right now, I need all the help I can get, and I toss the glass back. It goes down easily.

“Another?” asks the server. He’s young and looks bored, and there’s no judgment in his voice.

“Keep ‘em coming,” I say with a half-smile that’s more a grimace. I take the second glass and find my seat just as the music swells, signaling the start of the ceremony.

Ugh. Did that really just happen? I’m supposed to be here for Nora, not reliving every mistake I’ve made since high school.

But avoidance has almost become second nature to me—avoidance and pretending everything is fine—so I may as well embrace it. I’ll sit, I’ll smile, and I’ll toast to the happy couple.

And most importantly, I’ll steer clear of Jake Tanner.

Chapter 7

Jake

I’m notsure what kind of cosmic joke this is, but here I am, minding my own business at Patrick and Emmy’s wedding, and fate decides to throw Kelly Charleston back into my orbit.

I’ve been sucker-punched by a fucking ghost.

I take a beer from a waiter walking past and down it fast, before Antonio finds me as the ushers direct all the wedding guests to their seats.

“Here you go. Got you some of the good stuff.” He passes me a whiskey on the rocks and I drop into my seat, trying to focus on the ceremony which is about to start.

The sound of Pachelbel’s canon rises up, and first the bridesmaids, and then Emmy, her arm linked with her father—who Patrick told us has recently reconciled with her—walks down the aisle.

Soon she’s standing facing Patrick, and the ceremony starts, the celebrant’s voice loud, carrying through the reception room,but I barely hear him. My attention keeps drifting a few rows ahead, to the beautiful woman in the green dress.To Kelly.

I can’t believe she’s here. In Harbor’s Edge. After all these years. I didn’t know she was back in town, let alone going to be at this wedding. And somehow, she looks even more beautiful than she did the day she walked out of my life.

That dress hugs her in all the right ways, the soft green fabric brushing just above her knees as though it was made for her. It reminds me of the way she used to look at the end of summer—tanned, bright, alive.

But there’s something different, too. She’s not the same girl I used to know. Her face is thinner maybe, with gentle lines at the corners of her eyes, and her smile is still stunning, but now it’s layered, a little reserved: she’s learned to brace for things she didn’t expect.

She’s still so pretty all I want to do is stare at her, but now her expression holds stories I was never part of, things she’s lived without me.

Her dark hair falls over her shoulders, long and loose, and my fingers itch with the memory of sliding through it. How many times did I bury my hands in that hair, thinking I’d hold on to her forever?

I shift in my seat, forcing myself to look away, but it’s useless. My gaze keeps snapping back to her. What the hell is she doing here? I thought I’d never see her again after she left. I figured she was gone for good, off living some perfect life far away from this small town and all the mess I made.

Yet, here she is. Close enough to touch, but so far out of my reach, it almost makes me physically sick. Regret worms through my chest—the same feeling that always shows up when I think about her. Whenever I remember the day I ended things.

Once upon a time, I thought she’d be mine forever—that we’d have a life together built on something wild and real, the kind of love that keeps you grounded but sets you free.

She was The One, someone I was with because I wanted it, every damn day. I wanted her laugh, her touch, her body.Everything.

But then Jenny came to me with news that shattered every plan I’d made with Kelly, and doing the right thing was the only option, even as it ripped my heart clean in half.

To see Kelly now, right here, so close, the pull of her is just as strong as it was all those years ago. Only this time, it’s almost cruel—fate giving me a taste of what I lost, reminding me just how right she felt, and just how wrong it still feels to live without her.

What if I’d made a different decision? What if I hadn’t let her walk away?

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