She takes the shot and doesn't even wince this time. "Clarabella came in then, and I didn't have enough time to recover, and she found me on my knees." She looks over at me, and I can see two big tears in her eyes, and when she blinks, one spills over. My hand comes out to wipe it away as soon as it falls onto her cheek. "I don't even know how I got on my knees. I tried to talk my way out of it. Fuck, the last thing I wanted to do was to say it out loud." She smiles sadly. "I thought that if I told her and put it out there in the universe that it would be true and not just my imagination."
"Shelby," I say in almost a whisper, but I know she has to get it out of her. My hand falls from her face when she pours herself another shot to continue the story.
"Yeah, well, Clarabella took the phone from me, and all she could do was look at me like this isn't true." She takes the shot. "Presley came into the room with a drink in her hand, and in five minutes, the three of us were sitting on my bed wondering what the fuck I was going to do."
"Who came up with the plan to go through all of this?" I ask, not sure I would have been able to go through with it.
"Me." She shrugs. "Not well thought out, that is for sure," she admits. "If it was up to Clarabella, we would have shown up at your house with a baseball bat and some gasoline to burn it to the ground."
I laugh. "Thanks for not doing that one."
"Presley wanted to reply to the email with a thanks for letting me know." She shakes her head and laughs. "I was the one who came up with the plan to confront him at the altar."
"I'm not going to lie." I look over at her. "I don't think I would have been courageous enough to do what you did. I would probably have gone with Clarabella's plan."
"To be honest." She pours herself another shot. "It might have been the booze talking and then the anger. I didn't think I would be able to either. The whole time I was sitting there with my hand in his, I kept thinking maybe this isn't a good idea. But then he started saying his vows, and I was like, wow, he had to google what he wanted to say to me, his future wife, but when it came to Sheila, he didn't even have to think twice about it." She takes the shot and looks at me. "That's my fifth shot, and it still tastes like ass." It was way more than five but I’m not going to tell her.
I look at her and smile. "Maybe it's the sixth shot, then." She throws her head back and laughs, and all I can do is stare at her. When she turns to look at me, I can't help but reach for her. "I'm sorry," I say softly right before I kiss the side of her head. "For introducing you to him."
Chapter 10
Shelby
Ace looks at me, and his blue eyes shine, and I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it's the booze. "Maybe it's the sixth shot, then." He smirks at me, and all I can do is throw my head back and laugh. Full-on belly laugh, which could also be from the booze. I turn my head to look back at him, and he reaches out for me. His touch tingles on my skin. "I'm sorry," he says softly right before he kisses the side of my head. "For introducing you to him."
"Well," I say, looking at the almost empty bottle of whiskey. "You need to step up your game and make it up to me." It's his turn to throw his head back and laugh.
"Duly noted," he replies, his hand falling off my shoulder and back onto the bar.
"I guess I should get out of this dress," I say, looking down at the tulle skirt that suddenly seems so big for me. I put my hand to my stomach as the whiskey starts to do the wave in my stomach. "I really, really love this dress," I say, trying to shed a tear.
"Well, if it helps," Ace comforts from beside me, and I look over at him. "You are the most beautiful bride I've ever seen."
I can't help but laugh now. "You’re just saying that because, well, my wedding day turned out to be a clusterfuck."
He looks like he's about to say something to me when I hear voices and look over at the door. Travis leads the way with his hand in Harlow's. My sisters follow them with Travis's best friend, Bennett. "Incoming," Ace warns from beside me, pouring himself another shot. He coughs after he swallows, and it's my turn to lean into him.