They get to the very top of the aisle and Mom stops as the priest and Orlando step forward. “Who gives this woman to be married to this man?”
Damien clears his throat, his head held high for the one job he has throughout this whole ordeal. “I do.”
The priest nods for a job well done, and I watch as my mother’s hand is physically taken from Damien’s arm and placed into Orlando’s waiting hands. They smile at one another, but I’ve never seen anything so forced in my life.
They move back into the prime position as Damien slips off to the side, taking a seat beside Tanner. I’m not going to lie, over the past few days, Tanner and Damien have spent far too much time together, and as much as I love that they’re getting along and seem to be really chill with each other, I also kind of hate it. The two of them together can only mean trouble for me, and something tells me that trouble is heading my way tonight.
Mom holds out her bouquet of flowers for me and I quickly take them, freeing her other hand so that she can face Orlando directly and fully participate in this sham wedding.
The priest gets started and I quickly zone out.
There’s some big spiel about the meaning of marriage and how two people coming together in the name of love is the purest form of blah, blah, blah … The dude drones on and I can’t say I’m surprised. I wouldn’t put it past Mom to pay him extra just for the opportunity to stand at the top of the aisle with all eyes on her for longer.
They move on to the vows and I dig my nails into the palm of my hand, giving me something to focus on while listening to their bullshit. Jensen hands over the rings and Orlando does his part perfectly, slipping the ring onto Mom’s boney finger as though she hasn’t already been wearing it for the past few weeks.
Mom is next, and she says her vows perfectly, loud enough for the church to hear but not arrogant as though she’s giving some kind of speech. It’s beautiful … fake, but beautiful. Hell, it even forces a smile across my face.
The whole congregation seems to notice just how deep her vows are, everyone but Orlando—whose gaze has shifted toward the front row. My brows furrow and I follow his hard stare to Tanner who’s looking back at him with a disgusted glare. Tanner never liked Orlando but considering everything that went down with Addison’s case, that mutual dislike of one another has morphed into something so toxic it’s honestly terrifying. But I can’t lie, I’m right there with Tanner. Orlando deserves to be despised. He’s a self-centered piece of shit with no moral compass. I bet he didn’t even lose a wink of sleep after setting Colby free. Hell, if anything, he probably slept better knowing there was one more win added to his long list of bullshit cases.
If Tanner hadn’t socked him in the jaw, I would have tried myself. Though one thing is for sure, I haven’t stopped hearing about it all week, and from the look of it, someone was put in charge of concealing the remaining bruises for today.
A smug smirk pulls at the corners of Orlando’s lips, which only has the hatred in Tanner’s eyes bursting from the seams. His hands ball into tight fists to the point Damien even notices something is up, but not a moment later, Orlando glances back at his new bride and the hostility fades from the air.
My brows furrow, unsure what the fuck just happened. All I know is that it was far too intense to be nothing more than mutual hatred for each other. Something else is going on here.
Sensing my stare, Tanner glances my way, and I can’t help but notice his desperate attempt to calm himself. He takes a few slow breaths while staring deep into my eyes, and on the third exhale, his hands finally begin to unclench on his thighs.
“What was that about?” I mouth, my curiosity far too intrigued to wait until after the ceremony to dig into this one.
Tanner just shakes his head and gives me an encouraging smile, a smile that’s faker than the Louis Vuitton bag Mom’s been getting around with for the past few years. Though, I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s been updated to the real thing since moving here. After all, she wouldn’t be seen dead around here with a fake.
Not wanting to push Tanner, especially not here and now, I let it go and try to focus on the rest of the ceremony, only the nagging feeling that something bigger is going on won’t quit circling my mind. Tanner has been off since being released from police custody on Wednesday. There’s been something on his mind, something he can’t seem to shake, and I can’t help but wonder if Orlando had something to do with it. It just doesn’t make sense though. Apart from Addison’s case and the fact they’re neighbors, the two have absolutely nothing to do with one another.