I tried telling Victoria that; she didn’t care. Her wedding. Her rules.
No, no, no.
Not now, I tell my leg.You can freak out all you want after this. But not now.
It doesn’t listen. My limp becomes more pronounced than normal, my balance less stable.
Instead of focusing on everyone watching me—which they would be doing either way, because, hello, we are at a wedding—I ignore the whispers and pretend that it’s Noah waiting for me at the altar.
Can you blame me? It’s that or be reminded of whom Victoria is marrying. Couldn’t she have married someone closer to her age? Like the groomsmen?
Or one of their fathers?
Imaginary Noah flashes me his cocky smile and the tension in my body starts to drain.
I focus on him and the music and ignore the voice in the back of my head reminding me of Noah’s words before we made love for the final time.
He was talking about being in love with the Copper Creek Kate, not Beverly Hills Kate.
I’m definitely the latter. The thrill I got while shopping on Rodeo Drive yesterday and while relaxing in the spa confirms it.
This is where I belong.
You belong in Copper Creek with Noah and your friends, the voice in my head says.
I mentally hum the wedding march to drown out the voice and switch to thoughts about meeting my uncle’s team for the first time.
At least that’s something to look forward to.
* * *
Several hours later—whichfeels more like a lifetime than two hundred and forty-five minutes—the wedding ceremony, the wedding photos, the dinner, and the speeches are a thing of the past.
Hallelujah.
I’m about to sneak out of the country club reception hall and reply to Violet’s text, when someone lightly grabs my arm.
“Hello, stranger,” my date says.
Yes, even though I was a bridesmaid, which has meant being stuck at the head table until a short time ago, Cameron Vansteen still agreed to be my date. His family is friends with the groom’s family, so he was going to be here anyway.
And I’m the date designated to keep his mother from setting him up with the woman he has no intention of going out with. Neither of us views this as a real date.
I grin at him. “I hope your mom wasn’t too busy trying to set you up with your future wife in my absence.”
He kisses me on both cheeks, then shifts closer to my ear. “I don’t suppose you’re interested in kissing me just to get her off my back for a bit?”
I shake my head. “Sorry, these lips have gone into hibernation for a while.”
“Because of that dick you were dating?”
I assume he’s talking about Mathew since no one knows about Noah, so I just laugh. “You don’t mince words, do you?”
“I don’t have patience for cheaters. Especially when the guy’s girlfriend is in a coma and he’s screwing around with her best friend.”
I cringe at the truth in that, then smile. “Strange to say, I’m oddly touched by your sentiment.”
The song that was playing ends and a slow song begins.
