Page 46 of Take the Wheel

Nancy’s eyes flicked toward the front, where a minister and the groom waited. ‘Then you can wait another hour. We’ll have time after.’

A man in front of them turned around. His breath smelled like whisky. ‘Desperate to sneak off, eh?’

Ari felt her entire body tense, but Nancy, without even turning around, simply clasped her hands in her lap and said, ‘Beg your pardon?

The man chuckled again. ‘Don’t worry, darlings. Weddings do that to people. All that romance in the air gets the bloodpumping, eh?’ He gave a crude wink. ‘Hope you don’t have to wait too long.’

Ari’s face burned as the man’s laughter rumbled low and knowing. She chanced a glance at Nancy, who still hadn’t looked back, her posture a picture of cool indifference. But Ari caught the turn of her knuckles to purest white.

Then, as if sensing Ari’s gaze, Nancy finally turned her head. Their eyes met, and for a single, excruciating second, embarrassment crackled between them. Neither of them spoke, but the moment stretched, filled with everything they weren’t saying.

Then Nancy exhaled, barely a flicker of movement, and Ari tore her eyes away, fixing them straight ahead. Nothing to do but pretend it hadn’t happened. Pretend her skin wasn’t prickling. Pretend the man’s words hadn’t lodged somewhere uncomfortably deep.

Ari sighed, slumping back in her chair, but as she did, she felt the brush of Nancy’s fingers against hers. Just a fleeting touch, so quick it could’ve been accidental.

She glanced at Nancy out of the corner of her eye, but her expression was unreadable, gaze trained forward as if nothing had happened at all.

Ari wasn’t sure if she was imagining all this. Was there something there? Or did Ari just want there to be?

Thirty-Seven

The wedding was happening. Nancy and Ari were stuck here, side by side, among the well-dressed guests who were already fidgeting, chatting, waiting for the ceremony to begin. Nancy wouldn’t have minded too much about the delay. But Ari was antsy.

And why the hell had that drunk idiot said all that?! Nancy didn’t need it in the slightest. She could only keep her eyes forward and wait for the awkwardness to pass.

The garden was beautiful in its own way. Perfectly manicured lawns, the kind of place you might see in a fairy tale if you squinted hard enough. But Nancy wasn’t here for the scenery. She was her for Ari. If she could just keep her shit together, she could get what she wanted.

But then Paris appeared right next to them. She began her much-awaited stroll down the aisle in her grand gown, a vision of perfection on the outside. Her steps were slow and measured, but that wasn’t what drew Nancy’s attention. It was Ari’s reaction to her. The way Ari’s entire body seemed to stiffen, her eyes narrowing.

And then Paris caught Ari’s gaze and winked.

The second Paris’s wink hit Ari, it was as if the air was sucked from the space between them. Ari’s face twisted in a kind of barely restrained anger, and before Nancy could say anything, Ari was already pushing back, her chair scraping loudly across the stone floor.

‘Ari, sit,’ Nancy hissed, reaching out to stop her.

Ari was moving too fast, her back straight, her eyes blazing. ‘I can’t,’ she muttered, her words a low growl. ‘I’m getting my—’

Nancy grabbed her wrist, pulling her back down into the chair, forcing her to stay seated. ‘Don’t do this,’ she warned, her voice low and steady despite the rising chaos in her gut. She couldn’t let Ari ruin everything now, not when they were so close.

‘You’ve got towait. You can get back at her later,’ Nancy said, her grip firm around Ari’s wrist.

Ari’s eyes flicked to Nancy’s, fury and frustration written all over her face, but she didn’t pull away. ‘I can’t just sit here,’ Ari snapped.

‘You have to,’ Nancy pressed. ‘Trust me, OK?’

She could feel Ari’s resistance. But Nancy wouldn’t let Ari be her own worst enemy. It was the same dance they’d always done, but there was more at stake now. If she could just calm her tits for this wedding, she could have her moment.

Ari’s chest rose and fell as she sucked in a sharp breath, and for a long moment, Nancy wasn’t sure which way the wind would blow. But then Ari’s shoulders slumped, just a little, and she reluctantly sank back into her seat, her gaze flicking to Paris, who was now standing next to the groom, a smile plastered across her face.

Nancy watched as the ceremony began, her attention still divided between Ari and the spectacle before them. Cal, the groom, was crying. Tears streamed down his face as he gazed at Paris, his expression raw with emotion. It was clear to anyone watching that Cal’s tears were genuine. He was overcome, moved by something deep and sincere. His hands shook as he held Paris’s, but she didn’t seem to know quite how to react. She stood there, stiff, her lips quivering as if she wasn’t sure how to mirror his emotion.

‘This is painful,’ Ari muttered under her breath.

Nancy nodded while Cal poured out his heart to Paris.

‘I used to think love was something that happened to other people. But then I met you. And suddenly, love wasn’t this distant, untouchable thing—it was real. It was you. You are the person I never saw coming but somehow always needed. You make me laugh when I least expect it. You challenge me in ways that make me better, and you love me even when I don’t make it easy. So today, I promise you this. I will always be your safe place, the person who stands beside you no matter what. I will love you fiercely and gently, with every part of me, for all our days. I don’t believe in fate, but I believe in you. And I choose you, today and always.’

Nancy found her gaze drifting to Ari. She quickly flicked it away before Ari noticed. Not that it meant anything. Nancy was just looking at Ari while some words were said.

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