“You just don’t like her because she caught you-”
“Whatever bad memory this brings up, can the two of you cut it out? We’re at a wedding, for heaven’s sake. You guys got divorced, so give it up,” I said.
I felt bad for snapping at my parents, but my palms were beginning to sweat. A breeze kicked up through the door, ruffling my pink dress and blowing my black hair around. The more the minutes ticked by, the more I was convinced I’d been stood up. I pulled my phone from the pocket of my dress and checked the application one last time, but nothing had changed.
He hadn’t even logged back in. Tony was going to be a no show. Shit.
My parents were hovering over me, their eyes studying me closely. It was five minutes before this wedding was supposed to start, and I was two minutes away from telling them the truth. Telling them I’d found a date on an app on my phone so they would get off my back. I couldn't tell them he was suddenly not coming because then they’d want to see the text message. Or listen to the fake phone call I’d have to take. Or anything to try and figure out what the hell was going on.
What was going on?
Why in the world did I convince myself I could pull this off?
“Libby? Is everything okay?” my father asked.
“Look, this happens to me more than you think it does,” I said loud enough for people around us to hear. “It’s why I don’t date. I find a guy who agrees to go out, he seems all charming, then he… doesn’t show up.”
I was feeling defeated and now people were staring. Great.
“But I thought the two of you were dating already?” my mother asked quietly.
“Yes. I mean, kind of,” I said.
“What do you mean by ‘kind of’?” my father asked.
“She means we’ve only met each other a few casual times before.”
There was a low voice rumbling behind me before an arm slipped around my waist. The hand that cupped my side was strong, with an air of confidence. I looked up at the man standing beside me and couldn’t believe my eyes.
He was the most attractive man I’d ever seen.
“You must be the parents,” he said. “I’m Graham Alexander.”
Graham? Not Tony?
Not the bookwork from the app. This guy was a total stranger.
Not that Tony wasn’t either, honestly.
The man shook my parent’s hands and I could tell they were both impressed. But who was I kidding? I was impressed as well. The man standing at my side was tall and strong. I could tell by his grip on my waist that he had a strength underneath his very polished black suit. He had these fierce blue eyes that were ready to put a wall between my parents and myself. He had a thick head of dark brown hair with honey brown highlights that made his skin sparkle.
I had a hard time ripping my eyes away from him.
“Yes. Mom, Dad. This is Graham. The guy I was telling you about,” I said. The web of lies continued.
“I hope you’ll excuse my tardiness. The groom needed my attention,” Graham said.
“Why does your name sound so familiar?” my mother asked.
“I thought you said he had to work late?” Dad pressed.
Everyone was confused, including me. He was in the wedding? And where the hell was Tony? And what would I do if he showed up?
“I’m sure he’d love to stand around and talk, but it’s two minutes before Logan gets married,” I said.
“Well, I can’t wait to talk more with this very handsome man standing at your side, sweetie.”
“Down, girl,” my father said with a grin. “Graham, pleasure to meet you. I can admire a man who’s dedicated to his work and still on time. We’ll just take Libby to sit so you can join the men up front.”