Still not quite getting the hang of his truck, but not stalling it or grinding the gears so much either.
It’s with more than just a little feeling of deja vu when we’re all lined up at the altar again, only this time in our wedding outfits.
And the only thing missing.
Rhys.
Mom is fidgety but pretends not to worry until seven fifteen rolls around when her friend Denise says what most of us are thinking.
“Here we go again…” she murmurs to herself.
The priest suggests we move ahead with the rehearsal or cancel as he looks at his watch with mild annoyance.
Even Reeve is looking concerned when his calls to Rhys go unanswered and I can’t help but feel the same I have every time mom and Rhys have split up over the past decade.
The wedding is off, I guess…
The thought sends a wave of panic through me.
Not just because the idea that my mom might not get married pops into my head. But also the prospect of the coming week without Reeve to watch over me.
Shit.
“He’d better turn up,” I growl to myself.
Mom shoots me a glance that shifts to a near smile as I voice her thoughts, but not just for the reasons she thinks.
Like a replay of yesterday, the church doors bang open loudly, Rhys striding up the aisle with a look so dark, so intense that not even Reeve says a word as he takes his place.
Even my mom knows better than to nag when he looks this dark.
After a few moments to collect himself, the priest raises both brows in a simple question.
Rhys just gives a nod, letting him know we can proceed.
It’s not a long rehearsal, but I’d rather have teeth pulled than go through that again.
The tension between my mom and Rhys is so obvious and thick you’d need a chainsaw to cut the atmosphere.
And Reeve feels a million miles away, even though he’s only a few feet away.
Once it’s all wound down and everyone knows their places and when to say what, it’s all over as quickly and as awkwardly as it started.
Denise excuses herself, telling us all she has, “A date,” and leaves swiftly without another word.
Mom and Rhys leave too without saying much. I can tell they’re off to have their biggest pre-wedding argument to date, leaving just me and Reeve.
Oh, and the priest of course, who’s tittering by the main doors as he looks at his watch then back at us a dozen times. Straining a smile before almost slamming them shut and locking them behind us once we finally leave.
“I guess I’ll take you home,” Reeve murmurs, jiggling the keys I gave back to him once we got to the church.
“They’ll work it out,” I tell him, but between us, the reality is that there might not be a wedding after all.
That I won’t have Reeve or the house to myself.
“I wouldn’t mind getting out of this damned monkey suit anyhow,” he growls, tearing at his bow tie and loosening his shirt open three buttons in one movement.
Giving his neck the space he needs to breathe.
It’s a somber drive, and I only hope to hell that Rhys and mom haven’t chosen our place to have their nuclear explosion argument.
The one I just know my mom’s itching to have on account of Rhys turning up late to their wedding rehearsal.
I try to push it aside in my mind, grateful to be with Reeve, even if it is just for the ride…
“Uh, you missed the exit,” I tell him, watching the big sign pass us by in a blur in the darkness, lit up only for a few seconds by the lights of Reeve’s truck.
“Like I said,” he says with a firm look. “I’m taking you home.”
I should feel worried. I should at least let mom know where I am.
But finding my eyes glued to Reeve’s crotch for the rest of the drive, I figure giving her and Rhys some time alone to discuss their situation is probably for the best.
Might even take them all night to work something out.
What a pity.
Chapter Eleven
Reeve
The usually depressing sight of my big empty house is made anew tonight.
Piper doesn’t blink when it’s clear I have no intention of taking her back to her mom’s just yet.
But I do feel her eyes on me, well parts of me for the rest of the ride.
Knowing she’s wanting something to happen between us as much as I am is all it takes for the tingling in my pants to become a full blow buzz, my cock hard and thick as a stone again.
I know Rhys well enough to know when to butt out.
When to pull back and let him do things his way, and him being late for his wedding rehearsal and then leaving under a black cloud with Clara. Well, I figure home is the last place Piper should be right now.