Page 74 of Holiday Wedding
“We’ll have to figure this out later.” Caleb rips his hand through his hair and squeezes his eyes shut. “Gwen’s going to land soon. Our families and I are going to surprise her at the airport. The twins made Welcome Home signs and everything. I want Gwen to know how happy we are that she’s home.” There’s something fragile about how he adds, “I’llbe so happy she’s home.”
Caleb opens his eyes and looks my way. “I was going to ask you to join us, Jenny, but maybe that’s not the best idea right now…”
This is it.
I’ve broken his trust, Gwen’s and Dean’s as well, too many times. I’ve been a poor guardian of their secrets, of their privacy, and this is what I deserve.
To be left behind yet again.
My head drops, and my gaze falls to the floor. I feel small and useless. Sadness swells, rising up so big I can’t even cry. I just stand there, dry-eyed, with my heart so heavy I wonder how it’s still beating.
“I believe her,” Dean says, his voice breaking through my cloud of misery. I snap my eyes up to see he’s addressing Caleb, not me. “If Jenny says this article isn’t her fault, that the information was stolen from her, then I believe her.”
Caleb still looks doubtful. “I don’t know…”
“Come on,” argues Dean. “Jenny loves Gwen. She’s known her far longer than you have, Caleb. Do you really think she’d do anything to hurt her best friend?”
Shifting his weight, Caleb turns to me. “Not on purpose, but—”
“No buts.” Dean steps closer, the heat of his body radiating through my clothing. It warms me. “Jenny’s family to Gwen—and to you, Caleb. She put her career on the line for you. She could have had her dream job if she sold you out, but she hasn’t. Every day she’s proven she can be trusted.”
Butterflies that had their wings broken years ago flutter to life at Dean’s words. They rise and take flight, straightening my spine, filling me with a sense of belonging and confidence I thought was lost forever.
She can be trusted.
I’m trustworthy.
I’m worthy.
My chest swells with gratitude and something I’m not ready to name as I sway toward Dean, wanting to express my thanks, but he pulls back, subtly angling his body away from me. It hurts, knowing he defended me out of a sense of justice rather than affection.
Caleb opens his mouth to argue, but his phone on the table rings, interrupting him. He stalks over and answers it with a barked, “Hello?” He cocks his head, listening. His expression changes from anger to disbelief to terror.
He asks, “What do you mean, Gwen’s missing?”
28
Tuesday, December 24
Wedding Day
Gwen
Ican’t figure out why my limbs feel so heavy, why they won’t move. My eyelids are heavy too. It takes me forever to drag them open. When I do, I find I’m in semidarkness, surrounded by suitcases and bags stacked so high they make a wall around me, like a fortress made of luggage.
My arms are tied behind my back. The bindings are tight, with nylon rope that digs into my skin. My feet are spread and tied to the legs of the cold metal chair I sit in. I blink once, twice, and slip into unconsciousness.
29
Tuesday, December 24
Wedding Day
Jenny
Dean drives the Aston Martin to the airport, breaking the speed limit and swerving around corners. Caleb takes the passenger seat, and I’m in the back like a child. There’s a tense silence between the three of us.
I’m fuming. Mad at myself. If I hadn’t made the mistake I did years ago, when I leaked Caleb’s location, when he was hiding out in California with Gwen, then none of this would have happened. Caleb would have taken my side, not Eddie’s. But I messed up back then, and that one error is going to haunt me forever.
