Page 137 of Play of Love
She was right. All the things she said were all true. All of it. I couldn’t even protest because I thought all of that myself. What was years of mistreatment in comparison to two days?
I watched her, feeling jealous of the groomsman that had walked up the aisle with her, holding my girl. I watched her standing there only breaths away from where I sat with my parents. She stood next to the other bridesmaid, looking radiantly beautiful. Her beauty would have been more enhanced if she smiled like the others, but I knew why she didn’t smile.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her; I just couldn’t, and it was worse as Margo and Cole started sharing their vows.
But something happened then. Abi looked at me. Maybe she felt the weight of my gaze on her, and she looked over at me. For the few minutes that Margo and Cole declared their love for each other, I stared at Abi, looking straight into her eyes so that there was no mistake that I was looking at her. I didn’t know what she was thinking, but I hoped like hell she could see how much I loved her, too.
Our attention was only drawn away as the guests started clapping. I didn’t even hear what the priest had said but guessed he declared Margo and Cole married. In that moment, an idea broke through the despair I felt. It was a wild idea but, oh, so clearly obvious in its entirety.
Abi may have been right, and she may be scared to be with me, scared of heartbreak and what it would do to her. However, that didn’t mean I should give up. It didn’t mean I shouldn’t try. This wasn’t years ago when I was the asshole that allowed her to leave me. I wasn’t going to give up and let the one woman who could make me feel like this, out of my life. Again.
No, that was the very last thing I would do. Somehow, someway, I’d get my Babydoll back.
* * *
Abi
* * *
I thought I’d done well to last for as long as I did. I’d gone through the motions for the last few hours, putting on a brave face for Margo and Cole, all the while pretending that I was fine. I was far from fine and, now, I couldn’t get the image out of my head of Scott looking at me while Margo and Cole gave their wedding vows. My defenses had weakened then and, like always, he had paralyzed me with his stare.
I thought I’d get a head start and leave before the traffic got bad. I’d checked earlier, and all flights were back to normal. If I left in an hour or so, I could be back in New York by about ten and could drive on back to my little apartment where I could have my own space to get over the last few days.
As soon as I kicked off my heels, a knock sounded at my door and I wondered who that could be. I didn’t think it would be Scott because it looked like he had gotten the message earlier. Apart from that intense moment during the vows, he had kept to himself throughout the wedding.
I opened the door and was genuinely surprised to see him.
“Hi,” he began.
My breath stilled within my chest as I looked at him. “Hey.”
“Can I come in?” I nodded and stepped aside so that he could come in. “Just so we’re clear, this is me coming after you. I saw you leave the reception. I didn’t try earlier when we spoke because I thought you needed time to cool off.”
“Scott, it doesn’t matter.” I was trying to be strong, but was finding it hard.
“It does. Tell me something… Will you forget me when you leave here?”
I narrowed my eyes at him thinking the question strange. “No, of course not. I’ll remember you.”
“Will that be because I’m Margo’s brother, or because I’m Scott Emmerson?”
“Scott, that is a fruitless question. What kind of an idiot question is that?”
“It’s not an idiot question if you think about it. So just answer it.”
I sighed, feeling frustrated. “I’ll remember you because you’re Scott.”
“And you love me?” He looked down at me, holding my gaze.
“I can’t do this.” I shook my head at him. Telling him I loved him earlier had been a mistake. It just came out beyond my control.
“Please, just tell me. Tell me again.”
It was only because it seemed important for him to hear it again that I decided to say, “I do love you. But it doesn’t matter.”
“It does, Abi.” He released a breath and pulled in another. “I love you, too, and I’m going to ask you to marry me.”
My eyes widened with pure shock. There was no way I expected or anticipated him saying that and it stunned me to my core.
