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So why did it feel so wrong? Why did she think that if she walked down the aisle today, it would be the biggest mistake of her life?
She glanced over at Jacob, who was lying in bed beside her mom. The three of them had shared the room the night before the wedding under the guise of keeping the tradition of the groom not seeing the bride, but the truth was, Avery hadn’t wanted to share the suite with her fiancé.
If she didn’t even want to spend the night before her wedding with her groom, why would she sign up for a lifetime of that?
“I can’t do it,” she whispered under her breath as she gripped the locket.
Emotion welled in her eyes as she watched her little boy sleep soundly. His sandy brown hair fell over his forehead, and his dark lashes rested on his round cheeks. He was the picture of innocence. Nothing had come into his world and shattered it yet. A single tear slid down her cheek as she realized that was exactly what she was going to do.
As much as she wanted Jacob to have a happy family, she knew, in that moment, that there was no way she could go through with this. Not when her heart slammed into her chest like a crash test dummy at a picture of the man who she never stopped thinking about, never stopped wanting, and never stopped loving.
There was no way she could walk down the aisle and lie.
She needed to go talk to Jude. To tell him how she felt. She hoped he wouldn’t hate her. She doubted he would. The two hadn’t spent three consecutive nights together in over five years. They barely coexisted. He was constantly on the road, and she was constantly running around like a chicken with its head cut off, trying to keep all of the balls from the hotels she managed in the air while raising a young son.
Jude may not be happy about her decision, but he wasn’t going to be devastated by it. Deep down, she knew that he wasn’t in love with her. She believed he loved her in his own way. They’d been together for over a decade, minus the summer she’d spent in Whisper Lake five years ago. She ran all three of the Southern California hotels he was set to inherit from his family, so he could travel to get new investors, scout new locations, and basically live the life of a trust fund baby.
They met in college and had a shared history, business interests, and a child together, but he didn’t want to marry her. She knew that. His family had put pressure on him once they found out she was pregnant, and since he didn’t want to lose his inheritance, he’d asked her. And since she’d always wanted to have a traditional family, she’d said yes.
But they weren’t in love with each other. They hadn’t been there for a long time. If they had been in love, it wouldn’t have taken them five years after getting engaged to finally have a wedding that neither of them really wanted.
With her decision made, she stood up and grabbed her phone. She was tiptoeing out of the room when it rang in her hand. She immediately silenced it, sending it to voicemail.
When she looked down at the screen, she saw that it was Suzanna Clarke calling. Suzanna was head of operations at Stone Castle. The castle was a popular tourist attraction, hotel, restaurant, and event venue. Normally, it was hopping with customers, but for the next eight weeks, it would be off limits to the general public because production had bought it out for the filming. She wondered if her call had something to do with a question about that.
Avery quietly opened and shut the door behind her, then made her way to the elevator banks. She hoped that she didn’t run into any staff on her way to talk to Jude. There were perks to having their wedding in one of his parents’ hotels that she also managed, like being free. But the downside was that any drama that occurred would run through the staff like wildfire.
She hoped that Jude would agree to present a united front and they would be able to put out a joint statement regarding the cancellation, but that was probably wishful thinking on her part. Jude was a proud man, or at least egotistical. She hadn’t noticed it when she first met him. He was born and raised in London, and his accent sort of hid his true character. It had fooled her into thinking he was smarter than he was and more confident.
But over the years, she’d witnessed just how fragile his ego was.
Actually, maybe she could use his ego in her favor. Maybe he wouldn’t make a big fuss or cause a scene because he wouldn’t want to be painted as the injured party. Or he might lean into it. Yeah, that was more likely. He loved attention, and she could easily see him playing the jilted groom card.
Whatever. It didn’t matter to her what people were told about the reason the nuptials weren’t taking place. She didn’t care that she’d more than likely have to find a new job or that she wasn’t going to have a place to live because his parents had bought them the house they lived in as an engagement present. Or, more accurately, they’d dangled the house in front of Jude like a carrot as an incentive for him to propose to his knocked-up girlfriend.
The elevator doors opened, and she pressed the top floor button as urgency rushed through her with the force of whitewater rapids. Now that she’d made the decision to end things, she felt like she had rocket fuel propelling her toward getting it done. She’d never been a rip-the-band-aid-off type of person before. Usually, she avoided any sort of discomfort or confrontation at all costs, but right now, she was barreling toward it with bells on.
When she stepped off the elevator, her phone alerted her that she had a voicemail. Out of habit, she pressed play and lifted it to her ear.
Suzanna’s voice played. “Hey, I’mso sorry tobother you today. But I knew you would be more upset if I didn’t tell you right away. Jovan quit last night.”
“What?” Avery said out loud to the voicemail.
Jovan Castillo was one of the most talented chefs in the U.S. He’d trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and was a genius in the kitchen. Avery was shocked when he’d accepted the position in Whisper Lake, Illinois. He’d been the head chef at not one but two restaurants with three-star Michelin ratings. He’d worked in New York, Miami, and Los Angeles. His leaving was a code-red emergency. They had reservations months out because of him.
Instead of listening to the rest of the message, Avery called Suzanna back.
“I’m so sorry,” her COO said as soon as she answered the phone.
“What happened?” Avery asked.
“He walked out. Someone sent back a dish, and he lost it. I thought it was just one of his episodes, but I went to his house this morning, and he’s gone. He packed up last night and left.”
Avery knew this day might come. She knew that Jovan’s time in the small town wouldn’t last forever. He’d had a nervous breakdown a few years ago and had wanted a slower pace and peace, which was the only reason he’d accepted the job that was far beneath his skill level. She was actually surprised he’d lasted as long as he had.
Suzanna assured her, “I already put out feelers to—"
“Don’t worry about finding someone. Can you keep things going for the next few days?”
