Daughters Of The Bride(137)

“I need to do turndown service for the bungalows,” Lucy told her.

The high-end rooms were provided with evening turndown service. Courtney wasn’t sure what that had to do with anything.

“And?”

“I can’t get in the linen closet. The door is locked with the bolt, so my key won’t work.” Lucy looked away, then back at her. “One of the bellboys said that he saw your sister and brother-in-law going into the linen closet.”

That was it. A couple of sentences and she stopped talking. Courtney processed the information before blurting, “Oh, my God! Are you saying Rachel and Greg are having sex in the linen closet?”

Lucy flushed. “I think so.”

Courtney didn’t know if she should laugh or simply curl up in a ball and surrender. “Fine,” she said at last. “I’ll deal with it.” Even though she didn’t have the faintest idea how.



David’s flight had been delayed, which meant Sienna hadn’t had time to speak to him yet. She’d been forced to shift her breakup plan to post-wedding. All of which was fine except she’d totally forgotten about pictures. There were going to be pictures.

There was no way David could be in them. Not when she was ending things. But as her fiancé, he would expect to be right there with the family. And everyone else would expect it, too. Which was why she was pacing at the rear of the resort, waiting for him to arrive.

Talk about tacky. She was going to break up in a hotel parking lot. It was a new low. Still, the tackiness of the moment didn’t change her resolve. David had been wrong for her from the start. Although the bigger mistake had been hers. She should have told him no when he proposed. Or at least the next day. But she’d gone along. She’d been too afraid to believe her feelings, to accept the fact that, yes, she would have three broken engagements in her past. She hadn’t been willing to be brave.

All that was different now, she promised herself. She was only going to do what was right. She wasn’t going to care about what other people thought. Or at the very least, she wasn’t going to let that caring influence her actions. She wanted to be strong and impressive—like her sisters and her mom.

So there she stood in her bridesmaid dress, waiting for her soon-to-be ex-fiancé to arrive. When she saw his car pull into the parking lot, she pressed her hand to her belly to quell any nerves, then raised her chin and walked toward him.

“Sienna!” He closed his car door and walked toward her.

She came to a stop and searched her heart—she wanted to be sure she was making the right decision. As he approached, she realized she wasn’t sad. She was resigned. This was going to be difficult, but everything about it felt right.

“Hello, David.” She clutched the tiny velvet bag that contained his grandmother’s ring. “I’m glad I caught you.”

“Sorry I’m late. There was bad weather in St. Louis.” He leaned in to kiss her. She turned so his mouth brushed her cheek. He drew back and frowned. “What’s up?”

She held out the bag. “I’m sorry to do this now. This way. But with you being out of town and then your flight delayed, I didn’t have another choice. You’re a great guy, David, but you’re not for me. I’m returning your ring. We aren’t right for each other. I’m not sure we ever were.”

She had more she was going to say. About how she wished him the best and that she never meant to hurt him, but those words got held up by the incredible rage that drew his features into a tight mask of fury.

“Are you breaking up with me?” he yelled. “What the fuck, Sienna? My mother warned me you were a mistake, but I didn’t listen. I defended you.” He moved toward her. “How could you do this? What’s wrong with you? Do you think you can do better? You can’t. Sure, you’re beautiful now, but then what? You were right about that. I can’t stop thinking about what you said about your looks fading. They will. You’re going to get old and fat and then what will I have?”

He grabbed the bag from her and looked inside, as if checking to see if the ring was really there. “Fuck it. I would have had to divorce you, anyway. Go to hell, Sienna. I don’t need you or your ridiculous family. I’m done. You were a mistake. Stay away from me.” He shook his finger at her. “I mean it. Don’t think you can come crawling back and begging me to forgive you. It’s not gonna happen. Bitch.”

With that he turned and walked back to his car.

Sienna realized she’d been holding her breath. She exhaled and then gasped for air. Her body trembled, her mind was spinning and she had a moment where she was afraid she was actually going to faint.