Chapter 3

He'd changed into a suit. Sharp cut, fitted at the waist, clean shoulder line.

No visible label, but you could tell it wasn't cheap.

"Where'd the suit come from?" I whispered.

"Keep it in the trunk."

He stepped up beside me, tilted his head with a grin. "Sometimes I drive clients. Gotta look the part."

The officiant blinked, then jumped back in: "And now, the groom is in place. Let's exchange the rings—"

I handed over the ring and murmured, "Great service."

His mouth twitched. He didn't answer.

The ceremony wrapped. Scattered applause.

Bennett's friends exchanged looks. A few whispered something, then stopped.

They'd figured out the guy in the suit was a different face. But nobody stood up to question it.

Not worth the scene. Not their place.

It hit me how ridiculous this all was.

This was probably exactly what Bennett wanted.

A wedding he didn't have to show up for. A joke everyone was too polite to call out.

His parents had always been polite to me—never warm.

Six o'clock came and went. They never showed.

Their own son's wedding, and they acted like they were too important to arrive on time.

My side? Don't even get me started.

My mom's been gone ten years. After my dad remarried, I cut him off.

I sent him an invitation. Never heard back.

Only my uncle and a few relatives from my mom's side came early.

My uncle didn't say a word the whole time. He just sat in the second row, watching me. Letting me do this.

Back in the side hall, I checked my phone. Piper was still on her way.

[Ceremony over?]

[Yeah.]

[Is the guy legit?]

[Pretty solid. Even changed into a suit.]

[You paying him extra?]

[Not yet. I'll tip him well.]

Piper replied with a "whatever makes you happy" and a champagne glass emoji.

I put my phone away.

Happy? I don't know. All I knew was—this ceremony was my last response to Bennett.

I wanted him to know: I got married.

You couldn't wait ten minutes. Now you don't have to wait a second.

Elliot was leaning against the wall a few feet away, drinking water. I walked over.

"Let's swap contacts. I'll send you the rest later."

I was heading for the door when I ran straight into Bennett's two groomsmen, Mark and Derek.

"Lauren!" Mark got there first, out of breath.

"What are you doing here on your own? Bennett said he waited for you and you never showed, so he sent us to come get you."

"By the time we got there, you were already gone—"

"I'm fine." I cut him off.

Derek wiped the sweat off his face and jumped in:

"Bennett had something come up, so he sent us ahead to check the venue. Don't worry, he'll be here any minute."

"Any minute?"

Piper strode over, her heels clicking against the floor.

"Has he even finished dealing with Camilla yet? Any minute—seriously?"

Both of them froze for a second.

"Piper, come on, he just got stuck in traffic—"

"Stuck for forty minutes?"

Piper crossed her arms. "If he took a detour to pick someone up, then yeah, I bet traffic's real bad."

Mark shut up.

Derek looked down and pulled out his phone, stepping away and lowering his voice:

"...Yeah, Lauren's already here... no, hasn't started yet... just get here, man, don't keep everyone waiting..."

He hung up and walked back, that forced smile back on his face:

"Lauren, don't overthink it. Bennett's really on his way. He told us to tell you—"

He paused, like he was trying to remember exactly what Bennett said.

"—that he'll be here soon, and you should go touch up your makeup and wait for him."

I nodded. "You guys go ahead."

They walked into the ballroom, looking relieved.

The second they pushed the door open—empty stage, band packing up their stands and mics.

Mark stopped dead in his tracks and turned back to look at me. The ease on his face crumbled into confusion.

"Lauren... the ceremony's already over?"

"Yeah."

I looked him straight in the eye. "It's done."

He just stood there, not getting it. "What do you mean?"