Page 49 of Bad Boy Done Wrong
“Maybe I should go see if I can help.” She hurried over there. “You guys need any—ah!” She slapped a hand over her eyes. Her parents were making out.
“Carrie! So good to see you, honey!” her mom exclaimed.
Carrie dropped her hand. Her mom looked stunning, her white blond hair arranged in soft waves to her shoulders, her skin glowing. She wore a simple empire-waist white wedding gown with a long veil perched on her head, trailing behind her. “Hi, Mom, sorry to intrude.”
Her mom gave her a big hug. “No worries. I can’t wait to meet Zach.”
Carrie glanced at her dad, who was grinning mischievously. “Isn’t it bad luck to see the bride beforehand?”
Her dad wrapped his arm around her mom’s waist. “We had to recreate the frantic kissing moment before our first wedding. Your mom couldn’t keep her hot little hands off me!”
“Oh, Mark!” Her mom giggled. “I’m sure that was more you than me.”
Her dad leered at her mom and then turned to Carrie. “I know it’s a little superstitious, but hey! It’s worked for fifty years, don’t want to break the tradition. Can you give us a minute?” He pulled her mom in close.
Carrie rushed out of there.
She found Zach standing on the beach just steps from the white tent, looking out to the water. “They were making out behind the trellis,” she informed him.
His brows shot up. “Lucky.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean fifty years of marriage and they can’t keep their hands off each other is damn lucky.”
She’d never thought about it that way. Her parents were just always there. She’d always thought it normal, boring even. They fought infrequently. They did everything together, especially now that they were both retired. Sometimes they just seemed like one person. She’d once thought the same thing would happen for her with Edward, a long and happy life together. A normal life. House in the suburbs, vacations on the lake, the kids she’d always wanted. That dream had been shattered with Edward’s betrayal.
Now she wasn’t sure if it’d ever happen for her. And she didn’t want that anymore, anyway. The kids part she did want, she loved kids. It was just that she couldn’t imagine how marriage could ever give the thrill and excitement of a fling. The kind of heat she shared with Zach must burn out eventually. Right? Wait, was that what her parents had behind closed doors?Eww.Don’t think about it.
She crossed her arms, hugging herself. She’d never know with Zach. It was better that way. Go out on a high note. Her stomach rolled and she forced herself to focus on her parents’ special day. “Let’s go see what else we can do to help.”
She turned and went back to the pavilion. Zach followed, sticking close to her side.
More people arrived and Carrie and her brother acted as ushers, guiding them to the bride’s or groom’s side. Zach sat on the end of the back row, watching every person she talked to and she knew exactly why. He was waiting to meet her ex. He wouldn’t leave her alone to face him.
And then he was there. Dr. Edward Zigler standing with a petite brunette, long glossy hair, big doe-like eyes, in a beautiful peach sundress that clung to a huge baby bump. Carrie’s stomach lurched. Oh, God. She felt nauseous. Edward looked the same, arrogant and proud in a dark blue custom-tailored suit. His blond hair was short, ice blue eyes, sharp cheekbones, patrician nose, full lips. He was handsome as always yet so cold.
They were heading straight for her. She sucked in air. The woman had to be eight months pregnant. Carrie and Edward had only broken up a little over a year ago. How did he move on so quickly to marriage and baby? Why didn’t her mom mention the baby? Suddenly a strong arm wrapped around her shoulders and she sank gratefully against Zach’s side. Zach pulled her close and kissed her temple, boosting her confidence.
Edward and the pregnant lady stopped in front of her. “Carrie,” he said brusquely. Like he barely knew her after six long years. They’d lived together for three of them! And she’d fucking known him her entire fucking life!
“Hello, Edward,” she said through her teeth. “It’s been a long time.”
Edward smiled smugly. “Yes, a lot’s happened. All for the good. This is my fiancée, Tara.”
“Hi,” Tara said in the softest, gentlest voice Carrie had ever heard. This was what Edward wanted, a young gentle girl he could mold to fit his life. She wondered if he was still doing the kinky sex app to keep his future wife pure. Her stomach rolled. Not her problem anymore.
“Hi.” She stared at the woman’s pregnant belly, still in shock. That could’ve beenher. Married with a kid on the way. Instead she was merrily fucking her way through a sex list. Her life was about sex. His was about real stuff—love and home and family. It shouldn’t have hurt as much as it did. But it did hurt. Terribly. Her throat was tight, her eyes stinging, her gut churning.
“I’m Zach.”
She belatedly turned to find Zach staring Edward down. Zach didn’t offer his hand.
“We’ll go take a seat,” Edward said stiffly.
“Yes, please sit on the groom’s side,” she said numbly.
“Let’s go, honey,” Edward said, guiding his young pregnant fiancée to a seat.
Carrie watched them go, trembling slightly from the encounter. Edward had proposed to her with a large diamond ring after they broke up—a too little, too late gesture. It had been the last straw in a long line of controlling manipulative moves on his part.
So why did she suddenly feel like bawling her eyes out?
What the hell was she doing with her life? With Zach?
She finished her job ushering in friends and family in a haze. Then it was time for her to walk down the aisle as her mom’s maid of honor. Zach stayed in the last row and she couldn’t see him very well from where she stood behind the bride. All she could see was the happy look on her dad’s face as he vowed to love her mom forever for a second time.
The young pregnant woman in peach—Tara, she reminded herself—sat just beyond her dad in Carrie’s direct line of vision. She clenched her jaw and willed herself to be happy for her parents and think of nothing else.
She could cry later. Alone.
