Page 1 of Playing For Keeps

Prologue

The door of the church opened, and her breath caught in her throat, slowly Stacey turned to see who it was, hoping she was wrong and that he’d still show. When she saw Leo standing alone in the doorway, she knew her luck hadn’t changed. Leo paused just inside the doors and caught her eye.

“He’s not coming, is he?” she said softly.

“I’m afraid not,” he replied with a gentle shake of his head, holding out an envelope with her named scrawled across it in the handwriting she’d come to hate, letters from him always spelled heartache. “Would you like me to?” he asked nodding towards the doors in front of her closing her off from the rows of guests who had filled in to celebrate with them.

“No, Leo, thank you, but this is something I have to do.” She smoothed the skirt of her dress out as she gathered her strength and gave him a slight smile as she walked past him and into the sanctuary. Ignoring the stunned looks thrown her way by the well-wishers and gossips alike who had RSVP’d to the wedding, she quickly made her way up the aisle.

When she reached the front, the pastor stepped out to meet her sensing her pain. She whispered the confirmation of his guess and turned towards the waiting guests. “First of all, I’d like to thank you all for coming today unfortunately though there’s not going to be a wedding. I’d love for everyone to join Leo and Rebecca across the street at the reception hall to help them celebrate the new career of their son. Please enjoy yourselves; I know Jake would love his hometown celebrating his introduction into the NFL.”

How she managed to keep her voice steady throughout her brief speech she didn’t know, and as she walked back down the aisle a few commented quietly amongst themselves on her composure. It was all an act, just as it had been for years. A sweet smile plastered on her face as everyone under the sun congratulated Jake on his latest victory or as the girls slipped him their numbers. She’d never once let anyone in on her secret. Never even hinted that she hated the spotlight. Or that the knowledge of being Jake’s girlfriend had gone from being the best part of her life to the worst—in public at least.

She shouldn’t have pushed him to make a choice, she knew that, but she couldn’t live always wondering if the next girl would be the one to steal him away, to break her heart by taking him. So, despite her love for him, she laid out the ultimatum when he’d put his name out for contingency to go pro. Show up at the wedding, have the wedding ring be the one that he wanted more than anything, and go into business with his dad after he finished his degree, or don’t show up and find a different ring to covet.

After all, she’d thought, he was the one who’d asked her to marry him, a surprise to her entirely. She’d been happy with the status of their relationship, privately worried but content as he was always with her at night, but he said he wanted more.

Wanted her for always, she snickered to herself as a single tear found its way down her cheek. She wiped it away not about to indulge in them. This was exactly the way her life should be. Hell, it never really made sense to her, what Jake saw in her that other girls didn’t have. Her mother always told her that the only luck their family had was bad luck, and it seemed that it was true, even if it had partially been of her own making.

A knock sounded on the door and steeled herself against the inevitable questions that were sure to come from her friend. Opening the door, she smiled up at Toni, doing her best to pretend like her heart wasn’t shattered. “Great timing, how about helping me out of this thing?”

“Stacey, what’s going on?” Toni asked closing the door quickly flipping the lock to keep others from coming in as footsteps headed their way.

“Nothing,” she lied, “Jake’s going into the NFL, and I still have two and a half years of school left. We realized our relationship was done despite our last-ditch efforts.”

“That’s what you call this wedding? A last-ditch effort? Come on girl, I’ve been your friend for three years now and I certainly know when you’re lying.”

“It doesn’t matter, Jake and I would have never lasted anyway, so it’s probably best it ended before it really began.”

“Whatever,” Toni laughed sarcastically, “more like he realized how much money he’d have to pay out by marrying you before he got famous with no prenup.”

“Well, that could be a factor,” she said trying to grin, but it looked more like a grimace. “Come on undo my dress.”

“Honey, you may not be liking guys too much right now, and I’m all for experimenting, but I don’t swing like that,” Toni joked sliding the zipper of her dress down to help her out of it.

This time the smile that formed on her face was real, as was the peal of laughter that came out, but she quickly stamped them both out because she could feel the crushing weight of pain threatening to break through. If it did, she’d never be able to stop the tears. She smiled at her despite the heartache. “Thanks Toni.”

Toni noticed the turmoil swirling behind her eyes and decided to let it go, Stacey didn’t like crying and she’d hate it if her friends, or anyone outside saw her with her eyes red and puffy. She carried the dress Stacey stepped out of over to the hanger and asked, “What do you want to do with it?”

“Give it to Goodwill or something,” Stacey said, her reply muffled thanks to the top she was slipping over her head.

“Stacey, this thing cost three thousand bucks,” Toni cried. “You can’t just give it away.”

“It doesn’t matter, there’s no way I’m ever going to wear it again, so someone else might as well enjoy it.”

“Alright,” Toni relented zipping up the dress bag. She put a sticky note on the outside of it labeled ‘To Goodwill’ and turned back to her friend. “Now what?”

“Now you go over to the reception and enjoy the rest of the day with Troy. Don’t argue with me Toni, please. Right now, I just feel like being alone.”

“Okay, okay, okay, no more arguments, I’ll stop back by later with the others and clean everything up, you won’t have to do a thing, and you know you can stay with us this summer.”

“Thanks Toni, you’re the best.”

“Nope, you are. I don’t know anyone else who’d be as nice to the family of the guy who’d just stood her up as you just were in there.”

“That’s me, Sweet as Pie Stacey,” she chuckled.

“And don’t you forget it but remember that even the best pies have a little bit of tart to them,” Toni suggested as she walked out of the church.

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