Page 135 of Play of Love
“You know I’ll always be there for you whenever you need me,” I assured her.
“Abi, If I know nothing else, I know that.” Her bright blue eyes sparkled with appreciation.
“How are you feeling? I know you’re excited, but are you and Cole okay with … you know, his revelation?” I had to ask and felt it was my duty to. As friends, we’d always promised each other to be real, and not step around a problem.
“After the last two days, I realize that sometimes you just have to let things go. I mean the man treats me like a queen, and I know he would never hurt me. He’s it for me. Cole is it for me. To say I love him doesn’t quite seem enough, and I think that I panicked when he told me what happened.” Wow. Margo’s words were full of strength and power, full of confidence in her decision. “I won’t say that I wasn’t upset. I was livid and furious, but leaving made me see how much I love him, and when you love someone like that, they’re worth holding on to.”
I nodded in agreement, feeling so happy to hear that. I was truly happy for Margo and Cole, but, at the same time, I couldn’t hide the fact that I was sad for myself. The truth of the matter was I loved Scott but would never have the kind of love Margo spoke of with him.
If I continued this wild saga of ours , even for another day, it would be to my detriment. Being with him would be like watching a movie you’d already seen before, knowing how it ends and wishing for it to change.
“That’s really great, Margo. I’m so happy for you guys.”
“Thank you. So, is there any chance of you telling me what’s wrong?” Margo raised an intuitive eyebrow.
I smiled. “I’m okay. Maybe just tired.”
“I saw you leaving last night with Scott.”
“Did you?” It was more of a statement than a question.
“Did you two get along on the journey?” The inquisitive look she now gave made me smile.
“We did.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
I shook my head, and the tears threatened to fall again. I pulled in a breath of the clean, fresh air to clear my mind and keep the tears at bay.
“Maybe some other time.”
Margo looked concerned now. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. My God, woman, today is your wedding day!”
“But you’re sad, and when you’re sad, I’m sad too. How long have we been friends, Abi? You’re like a sister to me.”
I couldn’t stop the tear that traveled down my cheek. Sometimes I forgot that I wasn’t alone in the world. I had an uncle on my father’s side, but I’d never met him. That was it, though one living relative. Everyone else had died. Margo was the only real family I had.
“That means a lot to me. Thank you. You are my sister, too, and I want you to be happy today. You’ve been through enough over the last two days.”
Margo reached across and took my hand to give me a gentle squeeze. “There, there. We’ll talk as soon as you want to okay.”
I nodded, appreciating that she didn’t insist.
The makeup artist was at the door. She stood there with a warm smile. “Sorry to interrupt. I need to fit your veil,” she said to Margo.
“Oh, sure.” Margo stood up and beamed at me. I rose, too.
“I’m gonna go for a little walk in the garden,” I said. A walk would help. We had about twenty minutes before we had to do pictures. I wanted to clear my head before that. Margo gave me a little hug before I left, and I made my way through the boutique to get outside that way. There was a lake in the garden on this side. I wanted to go and sit by it.
I opened the door and proceeded to go but stopped on hearing my name being called. It was Scott. A bright smile lifted his handsome face. Wow, he looked really good. The kind of good that should come with a warning label. He’d dressed casually the last few days, but now he was in a suit and looked even more like he’d stepped off the cover of GQ or Vogue.
“Babydoll.” He looked so happy to see me that I almost rethought this whole realization. He kissed me and didn’t seem to care who saw us .
“Hi.”
“I’m sorry I overslept. I wanted to spend time with you before we got busy with wedding stuff.”
