“Melissa and Cassie. They were acting weird all week, but they didn’t say why.”
I thought back to the hushed whispers, the conversations that would stop whenever I came around. How long had they been plotting this?
Then I thought back to my flight from this morning and wondered if Cassie had been on the same one. No, I would have seen her. Melissa knew what time my flight was; she would have never allowed Cassie to be on the same one.
Jack caught my eye. “Does she ever talk about me?”
He hadn’t asked me that since the day they ended things, and I had never offered, assuming the truth would be too big of a pill to swallow on top of everything else.
“Not when I’m around,” I said truthfully, then steered the conversation back to tonight. “What did Cassie say?”
My head was spinning at the thought that Cassie was here in Alabama. I couldn’t believe it. Was she planning on showing up at the wedding?
Jack shook his head in disbelief. “She asked me
not to get married tomorrow.”
“Wait—she flew all the way out here to ask you that?” I lowered my voice to a loud whisper. “She could’ve just called.”
A little nervous, I cast a quick glance at the second-story window where Jack’s bedroom light was on. I didn’t trust Chrystle not to eavesdrop on our conversation, but when I was satisfied with the lack of shadows or movement in the window, I refocused on my brother.
Jack let out a low laugh. “I told her the same thing.”
“That sucks,” I said, shaking my head. “I know this is killing her.”
His expression tightened, all humor gone. “I’m pretty sure it’s killing both of us.”
The realization hit me in that moment. Cassie must have thought the same thing I did before I left, that being here in person might be the only way to talk him out of making a huge mistake. I assumed that I would have a better shot getting him to call off the wedding once I was here versus a simple telephone call. Cassie must have had the same idea.
“Then why are you doing it?” I asked. “I mean, don’t do it. Don’t marry Chrystle.”
If Jack was in as much pain as he said, then I couldn’t understand how marrying this chick was going to make it better. I knew how he saw this situation, and I understood. I just didn’t want him to do it, and honestly believed he would regret this decision for the rest of his life.
This would be a make-or-break decision for him—one of those defining moments you don’t get back, you never get over, and you never truly come back from.
Jack gave me a disgusted look. “It’s a little late for that, don’t you think?”
He had a point. All the guests were already in town and the wedding was tomorrow.
Frustrated, I reached out and clutched his forearm. “Look, I get why you’re doing it; I just wish you wouldn’t. I know you still love Cassie.”
He glared at me, and a muscle jumped in his jaw. “Of course I fucking love Cassie. But I cheated on her and got someone else pregnant. I’ll spend the rest of my life loving the one person I can’t have. That’s my punishment for hurting her.”
I blew out an exasperated breath as I shook my head. “What kind of fucked-up logic is that?”
“The only kind of logic I can live with. My pain is my punishment. I brought it on myself. I deserve to hurt since I hurt her. And I don’t deserve to have her after what I did.”
“Jack, you’re seriously whacked,” I whisper-shouted at him. “You know that, right? You could be with Cassie right now if you wanted to!”
His face was anguished as he said, “I can’t,” and I lost it.
Shoving up from my chair, I stood up and leaned into his face. “You’re still hurting her. Every day you aren’t with her, you’re hurting her. And following through with this stupid wedding is probably going to fucking ruin her!”
I stormed back into the house and slammed the sliding glass door shut so hard it rattled.
Back in the guest room, I was practically jumping out of my skin. I paced next to my bed, unable to believe that Cassie was here and that Jack wasn’t with her. No wonder he’d been late getting home tonight. But why hadn’t seeing her been enough to change his mind? Hell, if Cassie couldn’t convince him to call off the wedding, then no one could.
Knowing how much pain she must be in, I reached for my phone to text her. My fingers hovered over the screen as I rethought it, and I tossed the phone on the bed.