“Parker should have been the one for you.”
My lips trembled slightly and tears filled my eyes. “I know.”
“So, what are we going to do about it now?”
I wiped at my eyes, attempting to dry up the tears before they flowed down my cheeks. I let out an exasperated breath. “Nothing. We’re going to do nothing. I’m going to move on with my life, just as he is.”
“Do you think you would ever be able to be friends with him again after this?”
“I don’t know. I mean, we’ve fought more in these past two weeks than we ever had before. Maybe we’ve both outgrown the friendship. I mean, most people don’t last this long.”
“I hate to play devil’s advocate here, but do you think maybe because you’ve lasted this long that you will be able to overcome it?”
“It’s possible. But not anytime soon. He knows how I feel about Rachel and how I feel about him. It’s going to be awkward for a while.”
“That’s very true.”
I let out a big breath. “Let’s just take it a day at a time. I don’t know the next time I will get a vacation. Especially not in such an awesome place as this.”
He finished his sandwich in two bites and grinned at me with a mouth full of food. “Then let’s get back out there.”
We spent the rest of the afternoon surfing and laying out on the beach with a cooler full of beer and lots of potato chips. I thought I was stuffed by the time we got back to the house, but when Tony fired up the grill for burgers, my stomach cleared the way for them. Not much about my life had changed from when I was at home. I was still surfing and eating junk food. So much had changed in my relationships. At that point, Parker was gone, as much as I hated to admit it. He was married now, and there was no way we could be together. Plus, he was probably still pissed at me for calling his wife a cheater. I knew what I’d heard, and whether or not he chose to approach her about it was up to him.
After dinner, Tony opened a bottle of white wine and we sat out on the balcony watching the sunset and listening to the steady crash of waves on the ocean.
“What are you thinking about?” Tony asked.
“What do you think?” I said to my wine glass.
Tony bobbed his head. “It’s bound to be tough for a little while, but I know you’ll bounce back.”
“Yeah.” I knew my life wasn’t over, only just a part of it. And that was going to have to be the new normal for me.
That night as I went to sleep, Parker’s face filled my mind. And I was able to let it float away while I drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Parker
Normally I wasn’t a top-down convertible kind of guy, but today was a day of change for me. Before leaving the parking lot of the wedding venue, I opened the top. While I could still hear Rachel’s hysterical voice as I pulled onto the road, the wind filled my ears instead. I took a deep breath, thankful that the air moving across my face kept me from thinking this was anything but reality.
And what a reality it was. When the pastor asked me if I wanted to take Rachel as my wife, I just stared at her. Her expression went from happy to confused, to downright pissed.
“Parker,” she muttered under her breath then smiled at the guests. When she turned back to me, her expression was murderous. “Answer the question.”
“I don’t,” I said.
The group took a collective gasp of breath.
“What?” Rachel asked.
Holly started to giggle behind her and the other girls shushed her.
“I can’t do this,” I’d said. The words rang in my head even as I drove away from what could have been the worst mistake of my life.
I drew in a deep breath, inhaling the salty scent of the ocean. I glanced over to my left where the waves swelled toward the shore. I really wanted to go surfing at that moment. But I had something important to do first. And if I was going to go surfing at any point again, it would be with Sienna.
I hoped I wasn’t too late. I decided to go to Sienna’s house first since it was on the way to the diner. If her car wasn’t there, I’d at least be able to check that off my list.