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Brianne closed her eyes and shook her head. “You know he’s not an asshole. He’s your friend.”
“Not anymore.”
Her eyes popped open. “You don’t understand.”
“No, I don’t. Because you’re not explaining what the fuck is going on. And he’s not here.”
Jamie held up his hands. As pissed as he was at Eric, as much as we wanted to punch the guy first and ask questions later, he couldn’t ignore the fact that Brianne was being so calm. That she didn’t seem all that surprised—or all that upset—that her fiancé had left her at the altar with only a mysterious text as explanation.
“What’s going on, Brianne? Did you two have some kind of fight?” Jamie asked.
“No, no. Not exactly. But you see…” She took a breath and lifted her chin. “Yesterday, I—I told Eric I thought he was having second thoughts. That if he truly wasn’t one hundred percent sure he wanted to marry me that we should call the wedding off rather than string things out. So you see, he’s only doing what I asked of him.”
Gabe’s fingers tore through his hair. “Are you insane? The time for second thoughts passed a long time ago. But if he was going to raise them, he should have raised them when you brought it up, before the damn guests arrived. And what made you think Eric was having second thoughts? The guy adores you.” He shook his head. “But it doesn’t matter. He’s obviously lost it, just like I’m going to lose it when I see him. Eric’s dead.” Gabe looked at Jamie as if waiting for him to agree.
“I’m trying to get all the information before I go out hunting for blood,” Jamie said. “It looks bad for Eric, yes, but—”
“But what? You’re okay with him doing this to your sister?”
“No,” Jamie gritted out. “You know I’m not. But you’re completely ignoring what Brianne is saying.”
“Because it’s bullshit.” Gabe turned to Brianne and pointed a finger at her. “You don’t deserve this. And the fact my former best friend did this to you is not something I can forgive.” Turning on his heel, Gabe stormed away. Brianne let out a muffled cry of dismay before taking a deep breath and turning back to Jamie, crossing her arms protectively at her waist.
“Thank you for staying calm and listening to me.”
He gathered his sister in his arms and hugged her tightly. “I don’t know what’s going on, Bri, but whatever you need I’m here. If you want me to hunt down Eric…”
She shook her head.
“Or just help you get rid of all the guests…” He looked over the agitated crowd and saw
heads bowed and close together. People were talking. Gossiping. About his sister. Anger flushed over him, but then he caught sight of Lucy. He calmed, and turned his attention back to Brianne.
To his surprise, Brianne shook her head again. She tipped her head back to look at him. “As embarrassed as I am right now, this is for the best, Jamie. Things…things were going on with me and Eric, things you don’t know and you don’t need to know, and if he’s had doubts, he can’t help that. I encouraged him to dig deep and make the tough call, and he did. In return, I have to deal with an uncomfortable situation, but bottom line—I’ve avoided marrying a man who wasn’t sure about me. That’s something that should be celebrated.” She pulled out of his arms and smiled bravely. “Good thing we’ve already got a party in the works.”
“You still want to go ahead with the wedding reception…just without the wedding?” Brianne had always had a flair for the dramatic but this…
“Yes, I—”
At that moment, Gabe returned. When Brianne looked at him, he simply walked up to her, put his hands on her shoulders, and stared down at her. Then he said, “Whatever you need, squirt. You know I’m here for you.”
Brianne blinked rapidly, obviously trying to hold back tears, and mouthed, “Thank you.”
“So how do you want to do this?” Jamie asked her.
“Let’s get the party started.”
“You’re sure?”
“Very sure. I want you to go out there and have fun with Lucy.” She looked at Gabe. “And you, grab a bridesmaid and have a great time. I’m fine, I promise.”
Frowning, Gabe opened his mouth to say something, but abruptly closed it when Brianne walked away.
Gabe looked at Jamie. “I’m not buying it. She’s not telling us something.”
“Maybe. But we’re not going to get anything out of her right now. We’ll give her what she wants and keep our collective eyes on her. That work for you?”
Gabe looked in the direction that Brianne had disappeared. “For now,” he said.
Jamie sought out Lucy again. If his sister wanted them to party, he had the perfect person to be by his side.
