Page 17 of Unbroken

I swung my legs back and forth. “But what you and I used to do wasn’t fighting, exactly. Right? There was never mean-spiritedness behind any of the stuff I was pulling. It all came from a place of fun.” Oh, please, let him agree with me. “We were just two insanely competitive people.”

“Agreed,” he answered quickly. “I never wanted to do anything to hurt you or make you feel bad. You brought out a side of me that no one else got to see. I sort of liked it.”

He said it shyly, as if it was hard for him to admit, but I had always known that was the case. The rest of the school thought Eli was an overachieving model student, but I was lucky enough to unleash the devilish side of him. It was why he rarely got caught. I used to love goading him to come back at me after I’d pulled a successful prank on him. I’d walk around the school on pins and needles, imagining all of the wonderfully awful things he could do to get back at me without anyone other than me ever suspecting him.

“I had a good time with you back then,” I offered quietly.

Eli met my gaze. “Yeah, me too. We were good enemies.”

“Frenemies,” I corrected, no longer fidgeting. “Right?”

“Always. Except … not at the wedding. We need to look like a convincing couple.”

My eyebrows shot up. “You mean …?”

He nodded huffing out a heavy breath. “Yeah, you should come with me. It makes sense. Only—” He stopped himself.

“What?”

“Don’t stand me up this time, okay?”

“Promise I won’t. Never again.”

Eli smiled at me and in a weird way I felt like it was a second chance to make things right.

ELEVEN

ELI

Itwisted in my seat to peer over my shoulder at the people milling around the event grounds.

“She’s late,” my mother leaned over and whispered in my ear, giving me a knowing look.

I scowled. “Yeah, I know.”

The wedding was due to begin in ten minutes, and Fiona was still nowhere to be seen. The outdoor venue was jammed with familiar faces, and I tried not to feel awkward sitting by my mother in an uncomfortable white folding chair with an empty seat waiting beside me. Cue the pity parties all night—or at least until I could make a getaway.

Although we’d planned to meet twenty minutes ago, at first Fiona’s tardiness had seemed normal. She was always running late. But as the time ticked on, I started to get uncomfortable. Would she no-show after the heart-to-heart we’d shared?

“I hope she doesn’t blow this off,” my mom said, pursing her lips and scanning the crowd. “You know, I still haven’t forgiven her forstanding you up on prom night. You looked too handsome to be sad, honey.” She reached out and gave my hand a squeeze.

“Fiona said she had a quick errand to run on the way. Said it was something specific for tonight. She doesn’t know Nick or Cassie, so I have no idea what was so urgent for her to get.”

I didn’t think that Fiona would really skip the wedding, especially after demanding that I take her. But deep down, I was worried. Fiona was flighty and impetuous. Maybe she’d gotten wrapped up in something and lost track of the time?

I tamped down the disappointment I felt brewing in my stomach. As much as I tried to convince myself otherwise, the truth was that I had begun to look forward to spending the evening with her. It felt like we were starting to understand one another better, which would make working together a little easier. And hell, maybe I’d take her up on her offer and do a two-step by the end of the night.

Ifshe showed.

“Charlotte’s over there, holding court,” my mother, Beatrice, said, jutting her chin toward my ex on the far side of the seating area. “Is it me or is her dress white? Just like her to try to upstage the bride!”

I sighed and quickly glanced at Charlotte. “Mom, that’s yellow, not white.”

“It’s cream, at most, and it’s inappropriate,” she sniffed. “Anything close to white is never okay unless you’re the bride.”

My father, Samuel, took his place under the arch of flowers, beaming at everyone like he was the main attraction and not the minister.

“Have you talked to your dad yet today?”

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