“There’s more?” Unbelievable. More than the reality that the man I’ve fallen for is so incredibly unattainable he might as well live on the moon?
Her features shrivel into a pitiful pout. The sympathy I see there forces a second trail of chills to glide down my spine. Lyndsey is never this upset. The woman caught her boyfriend cheating on her and then attended the couple’s wedding the following year. I steel myself for what I’m about to see.
For the hot mess of tears and betrayal that awaits me.
Before she even turns the computer screen around, I already know it’s coming.
Wedding Bells on the Horizon? Hawthorne Merger may Promise a Double Union.
The title doesn’t leave very little to the imagination. The photo they’ve assigned to it doesn’t either. There’s no doubt the man in the expensive tux, beside an equally expensive and statuesque blonde, is Zach Hawthorne.
My Zach Hawthorne.
Or so I thought.
I don’t have the stomach to read the article itself. He can’t be getting married. It doesn’t make any sense. Why would he have asked me to volunteer with him? Why would he have kissed me all those times and not said a word? Why would he have even asked me to wait if he knew there was no future for us?
Because men are dicks.
Not Zach.
I try to convince myself that this is all some misunderstanding. Maybe it’s a horrible dream I’ll wake up from in the morning. Tears prickle at the base of my eyelids, and I inhale slowly to fight them back.
This will not defeat me.
So much for hating affirmations. They’re all I seem to tell myself anymore.
“Who is she?”
“Apparently, she’s the daughter of someone his dad does business with,” Lyndsey explains and spins the computer screen back to face her. “I don’t know. I went to her Instagram, and it’s all pretty much just pictures of her in a bikini or with her pomeranian.”
My head flops down into my palms. “God, I’m so stupid.”
“No. You’re not.” Lyndsey’s hand strokes my back. She leans into me, her head falling against my shoulder. “It happens sometimes. Guys just suck. And I mean, he could still really like you. This might just be more of a business thing.”
I move away from her, forcing her to look me in the eye. “Because it being a ‘business thing’ makes me feel so much better.”
“You know, like how a prince can only marry a princess.” Her eyes roll up into her head, thinking about the many flaws in that statement. “Like in the old days.”
I blink, finding no ability to do anything else. “I know you’re trying to make me feel better, but this really isn’t doing it.”
“We can go key his car.” Lyndsey’s sweet words sound more like they should be addressing a small child rather than me. “Would that make everything better?”
“No.” I chuckle, despite how miserable I feel. “I’ll figure this out on my own.”
Supposedly engaged to a blonde goddess, huh? Or at least a business/marriage-merger in the works. I should have seen something like this coming. Of course, there was more at stake than his career when it came to anyone finding out about our relationship.
But I need to hear it from his own lips. I need to know the truth, or whatever story he’s invented to paint himself as a pawn and not the villain. I’ll take either at this point.
Anything would be better than the stories my mind has already created.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Aly
It took one message to Marianne for advice on where to “bump into” Zach, and about three days of planning to figure out how to make it seem natural.
In truth, nothing made any of this feel any less awkward, and I still felt a little like a creepy stalker arranging a meeting to see my crush.