“Okay, sure.”
I opened my mouth to fill her in on my situation, but before I could speak, we were interrupted by her mother.
“Sage! What are you doing out here? The reception is starting, and I want you to come say hello to your cousin Elliott. He just got here this morning, and you remember how close the two of you used to be.”
She took a hold of Sage’s arm and started to pull her away.
“No, Mom,” Sage said with an irritated shake of her head. “Briggs wants to talk to me about something.”
“Oh, I’m sure he can wait until later,” she said, waving a hand my way dismissively. “You’ve spent most of the week with him already.”
“Mom—”
“Briggs doesn’t mind, do you?” her mother asked pointedly.
She was still pulling Sage away, who shot me an apologetic look.
“Actually…” I didn’t even bother to finish my sentence as Sage stumbled from trying to resist her insistent mother. I could see her dad coming this way, too. She was in high demand, which made sense. Her entire extended family was here.
“Sorry,” Sage called out as she gave in to her mom and started to walk toward the reception. “I’ll be right back.”
I wanted to wait for her, but I couldn’t miss this plane. I was going to be cutting it close already. I really couldn’t hang around for another moment. Michael already knew that I was leaving, but I still felt guilty as I headed toward the parking lot, where my rental car was waiting with my luggage already inside. I hated to leave Sage without an explanation, but there just wasn’t any other option. Sam needed me, and I would always be there for him.
As I got into the car and drove away, I promised myself that I’d send Sage a text as soon as I got the chance, explaining everything.
CHAPTER15
Sage
The reception was beautiful and packed with people. It was in a permanent shelter with open sides. There was a DJ set up on a small stage and a dance area, but no one was there yet. We were all sitting down to eat. I was the last one to join the wedding party at the long table set up for us because my mom insisted on dragging me around to reconnect with every relative I’d ever met, even if I hadn’t seen them in decades.
I was annoyed by the way she’d pulled me away from Briggs earlier, but I had gone with it because I didn’t want to make a scene. There were too many people around, and getting into an argument with her would definitely have turned heads, and distracted from Faith and Michael. I just hoped that Briggs understood my reasons for giving into my mother.
As that thought crossed my mind, I realized that I was wrong. I wasn’t the last person to join the table. Briggs wasn’t here.
I looked around the crowded reception, trying to spot him, but I had no luck. I thought back to ten minutes ago, when he’d asked to talk to me. I had a feeling that he was gearing up for something important, but what could it be?
Concerned, I stood up and made my way down the table until I reached Michael. My mother happened to be standing in front of him and Faith, but she was only talking to my cousin, gushing about the ceremony and how much she’d enjoyed being here this week. Squatting beside Michael, I tapped his shoulder to get his attention.
“Hey, do you know where Briggs went?” I asked him.
Michael looked surprised and slightly uncomfortable. “He didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“Well…”
Michael hesitated, and I frowned. Why didn’t he want to tell me what was going on?
Finally, he did. “He had to go back to New York, so he left right after the ceremony.”
“Left?” I repeated, thoroughly confused. “What do you mean?”
My mother had stopped talking as Michael was telling me this, and I felt a wave of humiliation crash over me. This probably ruined the whole ruse. If I was his serious girlfriend, wouldn’t I know he left?
“He, uh, had to deal with…” Michael’s eyes darted to my mother and back again. “He had a personal matter to attend to.”
I could feel my face heat. That just made me look like even more of an idiot. He left me here alone without telling me anything about thesepersonal issues.And now my mom knew about it.