Page 113 of Leave

Sophia’s jaw worked. Then she turned to her mom. “Do you mind putting away the wine? I think we’ve all had enough.”

Her mom nodded and left the sanctuary, probably to collect the wine bottles in the foyer. Thank God.

Facing us again, the bride asked, “Are you ready? Or should we take a break?”

“I’m good, let’s go!” Leann exclaimed.

I nodded because like hell was I going to draw any attention to this. My skin crawled beneath my clothes. As we headed back to the beginning of the aisle to begin the processionalagain, I reminded myself she wouldn’t do it during the actual wedding. She’d be sober (I assumed), so she’d be better behaved (I hoped).

Before we started again, Sophia gave Leann an impatient look. Then, through a smile that screamedI’m pissed off but trying not to be a bridezilla,she said, “Come on. We need to finish this so we can get to the restaurant in time for our reservation.”

“Okay, okay.” Leann waved a hand. “I’ve got it. I’m good.”

Sophia’s lips thinned. With a sigh, she turned a look on me that was half apologetic, half pleading. “You good?”

I forced a smile. “I’m good.”

“All right.” She sighed and headed back to the foyer, all of us in the bridal party trailing behind.

I caught Riley’s eye, and though he was making a valiant effort to hold a neutral expression, the worry and anger came through in his eyes. He glared at her, but when he realized I was watching him, he smiled. Then he touched his temple with two fingers and made that face of intense concentration again, and I bit back a laugh.

How would I have stayed sane through any of this without him here?

Forget dinner. Could he and I just bow out after the rehearsal so I could take him back to the room and get him naked?

Well, that thought would carry me through the rest of this fuckery.

Or maybe not.

A third of the way down the aisle behind the other bridesmaid and groomsman pairings, Leann swayed again. This time, she staggered and managed to get her foot right in front of mine. I stumbled, windmilling a little as I tried to stay on my feet, especially while she kept a grip on my arm.

“Jesus, Gumby.” She smirked. “Learning to walk?”

How I held on to my temper in that moment, I’ll never know.

I stepped back, put my hands up, and declared, “I need a break. I’ll be back.”

Then I stalked out of the sanctuary, my heart pounding so hard I almost missed Leann’s snide, “Dude, we’re going to be late to dinner!”

Fuck dinner. Fuck this rehearsal. Fuck the matron of honor who was obviously determined to troll me tonight. Fuck the phantom snakes and spiders crawling all over me.

I stormed across the foyer and into the men’s room. For a moment, I thought I might have come to the right place because hurling was absolutely on the table.

Instead, I went to one of the sinks, leaned over my hands on it, and hung my head as I tried to collect myself, same as I had at the strip club.

I can’t escape her. I cannot… fucking… escape her.

I didn’t know what her endgame was when she did shit like this. If she just liked making me squirm. If she wanted me to blow up at her. If she… I didn’t even know. Truthfully, I didn’t care—I just hated it, and I’d hit my limit.

What the hell do I do now?

Chapter 29

Riley

“Where did he go?” Sophia shifted from foot to foot, panic written all over her face. “We only have this place for another hour, and we need to be at the restaurant by six!”

“It’s okay, hon.” The wedding coordinator made acalm downgesture. “Let’s run through the processional without the best man. Then when he comes back, we can try it once more. It’ll be fine—things like this happen all the time.”

---