Page 56 of Coming Home Country
The clock was ticking.
Chapter 15
Bex
Izonedoutwhilethe preacher went over the basics of tomorrow’s ceremony. The entire wedding party, including a wiggling Aubree and Barrett, was standing on opposite sides of the wooden arbor that would be covered in flowers come morning.
My mind couldn’t stop replaying the events of last night and wondering what might’ve happened if I hadn’t been wearing that stupid ring. Without it weighing me down, I felt so light it was a wonder my feet remained on solid ground.
The best damn decision of my life was cutting ties with Aaron. I didn’t know what I’d been thinking even accepting his proposal in the first place. Looking back on it now, I could see how mixing business with pleasure—not that there’d been much ofthatto be found—was a terrible idea. It ensured I didn’t have a life outside of the office. Aaron talked about work non-stop, and I fell into the same habit. There was no separate home life when you were dating someone you worked with. It was crazy how it had only taken a little time away to gain that much-needed perspective.
A nudge from my right had my head snapping up. “What?”
Penny jerked her chin toward the arbor. “You’re up.”
“Up?” I had no idea what she was talking about.
A smile tugged onto her lips. “Rehearsal’s over.”
“Oh!” I realized with a start that I’d missed the whole thing while lost in thought.
Spinning around, I began to walk up the aisle marked by string affixed to stakes in the ground as a guide of where to place the chairs tomorrow, but a cleared throat stopped me.
“Forgetting something?” That smooth voice rolled over me like honey.
Swallowing, I dared to peek over my shoulder to find Tucker standing behind me, his dazzling smile making my heart flutter.
I was frozen to the spot, mouth gone dry at how handsome he looked in a button-down tucked into slacks. If anything, the new and improved older version of this man was even more attractive than his younger counterpart, and the teenage girl inside me was screaming to run into his arms. It was the only place I’d ever felt like I truly belonged.
Every day spent without him had been like trying to breathe underwater.
When he offered his arm for me to take, my lungs expanded with fresh air for the first time in a decade. His shuddering exhale as I slipped my hand through the crook of his elbow betrayed that he was experiencing a similar reaction.
Without words, he gently led me up the aisle. I fought the urge to lean into his side, to sink into the comfort he provided, knowing he’d never let me fall. My grip tightened on his arm, worried that if I loosened it, he would disappear. His resulting contented hum indicated that he didn’t mind.
While we walked, his free hand came up to clasp over mine, a thumb rubbing absentmindedly over my bare ring finger.
Heat flooded my face, and my eyes dropped to the ground. “He left this morning after I ended things.”
Tucker’s hum was the only response to my confession, and it drove me insane, wondering what he might be thinking.
Did he care? Did my newfound single status change anything in his mind? Was that almost kiss last night playing on repeat in his mind like it was in mine?
Then, there was the biggest question of all: Did he still love me the way I loved him?
I would never dare to ask, my fragile heart unable to take another blow if the answer happened to be no.
When we reached the end of the outlined aisle, Aspen clapped her hands. “Drinks, then dinner?”
Mac looped his arms around her waist from behind, and placed a kiss to the side of her neck, before not-so-quietly saying, “I’d rather skip straight to dessert.” His gaze lifted toward where Tucker and I stood, and he waggled his eyebrows. “If you know what I mean.”
From behind us, Colt grumbled, “We all know what you mean. Keep it in your pants for a couple of hours.”
“But it’s so much more fun when I take it out.” A cheeky grin split Mac’s face as Aspen peeled his arms away and swatted at him playfully.
I couldn’t help but smile. When we’d been fresh-faced teenagers, my plans for the future had been centered around a man while Aspen’s revolved around a career. Tucker and I never left her out of any activity that didn’t include getting frisky in the back of his pickup, and she’d never once complained about being the third wheel.
Now, she was the one head over heels in love with a man who completely adored her, and I was her single friend, watching on from the sidelines.
