Page 6 of Forgotten Desires

“If it was, I’d be having a lot more fun.”

Yeah, we’d all be having fun if this was a joke, but it’s not. Although sometimes it feels like my life is part of a comedy skit.

Rowan looks back to me. “So, again, who is Crew?”

“Crew is really Carson.”

“As in, my new boss? The billionaire who owns Knight Food Distribution and those other companies?”

I nod. “The same one and I didn’t know.”

“I’m trying to keep calm and follow this, but can someone please tell me what has her crying?” Rowan asks us.

“She loved him,” Addison explains.

“And he left her,” Phoebe chimes in.

“And now she finds out that he lied to her about who he was. All this time, she’s searched for him, thinking his name was really Crew, and now he’s at our wedding because you invited him,” Charlotte adds on.

“My fault, got it.”

Charlotte smiles. “Learning early, husband.”

“Do you want me to kick his ass?” Rowan asks.

“No!” all four of us yell.

“Then what the hell is the point of this? I’ll throw him out, respectfully, so I can afford to live, and tell Crew/Carson he can’t be here because he dated my sister however many years ago and she’s crying in the bathroom.”

Charlotte goes to him, rolling her eyes. “You need to go back out there, tell the DJ to cue up our song and play it in three minutes. We’re going to get Brynn ready, and she’s going to march out there being the badass woman she is, not even looking at him again.”

Rowan huffs and leaves, then the girls move to help me. We clean up my face and fix my dress. I stand in front of the mirror, smoothing my long, reddish hair, and sigh. “I can do this.”

“You absolutely can,” Addison says and then kisses my cheek. “I’m going to check on Grady and make sure Elodie and Jett didn’t destroy the cupcakes. Since these kids can find trouble anywhere they go.”

She heads out, then Charlotte pulls me in for a hug. “I’m sorry he’s here, but . . . let him look at what he walked away from and eat his heart out because you’re beautiful, smart, and he should’ve seen that.”

I grin. “Thank you.”

Then it’s just me and Phoebe.

Of everyone, she and I are closest. Phoebe is the only one outside my brothers who knows about my past. She knows about the man I loved when I was only sixteen, who told me he loved me, would always love me, and then took advantage of that trust.

Phoebe understands better than anyone else possibly could, since the same man did the same thing to her.

I didn’t think I could ever trust a man again, give a part of my heart to another, until I met Crew.

Phoebe takes my hand. “We’re all here for you, Brynn.”

I squeeze it back. “I know.”

“Do you want to sit with Asher? I’ll totally sit next to Carson and drive him crazy,” she proposes, and I laugh.

“No, but I love you for offering.”

“You know, after Jonathan, I never thought I’d ever trust anyone again.” A tremor runs up my spine at the mention of his name. “Asher showed me that it’s okay to be vulnerable sometimes. He gave me a safe place to be who I am and he loves me, despite all my faults and insecurities. If he left me now, I’d be broken, but . . . I’d be so grateful for the healing he’s helped me have too. Maybe that’s what this guy gave you, a way to be stronger after the hell you endured.”

Crew had been exactly that. Ours was an honest type of relationship. While it was only a week, it was seven days that felt like years. My cheeks would hurt at night from smiling so much because he just made me happy.

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