Breach of Honor by Naomi Porter

52 Miranda

Three weeks later…

TRYING WAS GOING to be the death of me.

Truth and fidelity in a committed relationship should have been a given. Or so I’d always thought when I watched my parents together. My whole life, they had loved each other completely. Respect had been the anchor of their relationship, and it meant they were faithful to each other.

Was it so wrong to wish for the same with Will? Today, I was too damn tired to even care.

Earlier, at the SJI picnic, I had put on a happy face in front of everyone. Naturally, Will had used it to his advantage, kissing me every chance he got. It wasn’t awful. I still loved Will, but our relationship had been more than a little strained since the photo of him with the blonde had smacked me in the face.

I walked in a circle, taking in the gorgeous ballroom. “Another magnificent wedding.” I sighed wistfully. My crew had already left for the night. It was only Tate and me tying up some loose ends while we waited for Lily to arrive with the finishing touch: the essential cake topper.

The eve of the Colby-Asher wedding mirrored every other event I’d planned. After all the planning, bonding with my brides, and the ever-delicate topic of finances with the grooms, the night before the big day made me emotional.

I likened the experience to raising a child and sending them out into the world.

It was incredibly bittersweet.

Except earlier in the week, I had felt like a pre-marital therapist with Melissa Asher. Talk about an oxymoron, considering my relationship was on the rocks. I’d taken her panicked calls and talked her off the ledge three times. It had been a stressor in my life, one I didn’t need or want, but she was my bride and I wouldn’t abandon her days before her wedding.

Still, planning magical weddings didn’t mean squat about my own love life.

I poured my heart into every event so my brides could have their fairy-tale wedding. Somehow, they believed I lived a perfect and romantic life with my prince charming, Will.

God, I wished it were true.

So many times, Will had strutted into my office bearing flowers or my favorite coffee or a sweet treat while I was working with a bride. She’d gaze at him with stars in her eyes. He would flash his panty-melting grin and sweetly kiss me, and the bride would swoon.

Hell, I had swooned too.

Then, following Will’s brief interruption, I’d get twenty questions about us. Most I answered truthfully. Others I dodged and some received a flat-out lie.

My brides didn’t need to know if I was deliriously happy. Some days I could answer yes. Others I was out of my mind with heartache. But to my blissful brides, I needed to be in love all the time.

I wouldn’t have complained if I were blissful like them.

Once upon a time, I had been genuinely in love and ecstatically happy. It wasn’t about love anymore. I loved Will with all my heart and probably would for the rest of my life. But I was drowning in a sea of lies and betrayals, bobbing in the ocean as I waited for an epic wave to end it all.

I shook my head, jerking myself out of my depressing thoughts. I reviewed my checklist once more, making sure all the Ts were crossed and Is dotted.

The ballroom at The Hills Country Club was breathtaking.

Crystal chandeliers, luxurious ivory silk linens, long-stemmed red roses, and an incredible view of the Pacific Ocean beyond the wall of windows… It overwhelmed me with excitement... and longing.

The majestic and elegant ballroom was my absolute favorite venue. The St. James family would have approved. It would have been perfect for mine and Will’s wedding. If only he had gotten his act together. He still could, maybe. And if so, I’d say yes if he asked me to marry him.

Maybe I was a fool, still hoping for a future with Will. But I couldn’t help it. I was so hopelessly in love with him.

“Hey, she’s ten minutes out,” Tate said, rolling cables into a meticulous bundle.

“Thanks. I think the room is sweet perfection.”

“As always.” He grinned, looking over his shoulder. He wasn’t wrong.

After all the planning, time, labor, and sleepless nights that had stressed me out, I was rewarded with a perfect event. If music were playing, I might have done my happy dance as I gushed gleefully over my masterpiece.

Some might find me ridiculous for swooning over every wedding I planned. But I didn’t care what anyone thought. Moments like these were why I had become an event planner. Getting to share in a couple’s special day, a celebration of their love and commitment to each other filled me with hope for the future. And when the big moment arrived for the “I dos,” mushy love feels coursed through my veins, every single time.

Love, romance, and happily ever after were my drugs.

They also made my heart ache these days.

My cell phone vibrated in my pocket. One look at my device made my heart flutter and wince at the same time. Will.

His handsome face on my screen made my heart skip a beat. Even with the problems we were having, I adored him.

“Hello,” I answered sweetly.

Tate cleared his throat in an annoyed manner. Maybe my attempt to be positive was a bit too much. I peered over my shoulder, but his back was to me, so I shrugged him off. He hadn’t been too keen on Will since the picture of him and the blonde had blown up his Twitter account.

“Hey, M, how’s it going? All set for tomorrow?”

Right off the bat, I stiffened. This wasn’t going to be a pleasant call. Will had the guilty tone in his voice, the one I pretended didn’t exist but had known on an intimate level for the last couple of months. Or, shall I say, since her.

“It’s going great! I’m just wrapping up with Lily and Tate. It’s gorgeous, Will. Absolutely gorgeous. Let’s celebrate! Meet me for dinner?” I asked with girlie influxes in my voice to show my excitement, hoping I was wrong about the nature of his call and the guilt in his voice.

“I’m so proud of you. I really am. But I can’t meet you for dinner. I’m back at the office. A major deal just popped up that needs to be completed ASAP. I’ll make it up to you… promise.”

“Oh” was all I could muster with the sound of my breaking heart distracting me. I gripped my stomach, then snapped out of my grief. “What time will you be home?”

“No idea... don’t wait up. I gotta go. Dad just walked into my office.”

Damn him for lying, again. His dear old dad wasn’t in his office. I had just seen William St. James II not ten minutes ago having a drink in the lounge. I could have reached out and pinched his cheeks from here in the ballroom. But I had hidden from William to avoid playing nice with the serious businessman. Now I was about to hide my knowledge from Will.

“Sure, I understand.” I tried to not sound whiny or desperate but probably failed.

“You’re the best, baby. Make sure to take lots of pics for me. I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah, bye.”

My swoony, romantic mood was replaced by those sickening self-pity feelings that were usually followed by anger. A tear rolled down my face, but I wiped it away quickly so no one would see. A hand squeezed my shoulder, startling me before I could fall apart.

I turned around and saw Tate and his intense, all-knowing eyes. His thick black eyebrows, caterpillars as I called them, added to the intensity of his eyes whenever he hiked one of them, like now.

“I’ll take you out for a celebratory dinner, sweets.” There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for me, my dear Tate, but the sympathy on his face only made me feel worse.

“No, it’s fine. Go home to Viv. You neglected her all week.”

Tate tilted his head, unconvinced. I forced a pointless smile as reassurance, though I knew Tate would see right through me. It didn’t matter. I couldn’t let him ditch his wife to cheer me up.

All because my boyfriend stood me up for the other woman. I would never do that to Viv. Their time together was precious, and it needed to be nurtured daily. Tate needed to go home to his wife and never let anyone come between them.

“Dump that lousy piece of shit already. You deserve better.” He tugged me into his arms for one of his brotherly bear hugs.

His timing was impeccable as always, except I didn’t want to be consoled. It would weaken my fight against the floodgates pushing to be set free. My chest quaked, the first sign I was about to lose the battle.

Don’t cry. Don’t cry.

“Seriously, just be done with him. He isn’t the only guy in the world, for fuck’s sake. You’re a gorgeous woman with a heart of gold. Guys would line up for miles just for a chance at winning your heart.”

“That’s sweet of you, but it’s not that easy. I love him.” I pulled back. Those dark hairy caterpillars were inching together. “Don’t look at me like that. It creeps me out.” I playfully nudged him.

I turned my attention toward an arrangement on a banquet table, deflecting so I didn’t have to talk about Will. There wasn’t anything I could do now but deal.

“It’s easy. Show yourself a little self-respect. Demand better for yourself,” Tate argued, pulling me back away from the table. “I’m tired of watching you take his shit.” His voice was firm, but his eyes were tender.

My dear sweet Tate, if you only knew my plight, you’d flip your shit.

Before I could say anything, Lily walked in. “I’m here,” she sang in her best songbird voice, holding the long-awaited cake topper, which happened to be two weeks late. “Look how beautiful it turned out.” Lily removed the topper from the box. “You’re a masterful wedding planner,” she praised as only she could without sounding trite.

We finally had the missing piece to complete the job. Now I could relax. Sort of. My thoughts instantly went to Will and his “deal.”

I glanced at Tate, right when Lily turned around smiling. That was all it took, one look at me, and her face soured.

“What’s wrong? Did they call off the wedding?” she asked in a near panic.

Unfortunately, weddings were called off more frequently than most might realize, but not usually the day before the wedding. It wasn’t dramatic enough. Leaving the groom standing at the altar or the bride changing her mind just before saying I do was more common. The runaway bride would bolt down the aisle, tears streaking her face while a symphony of gasps played in perfect harmony. Or, my personal favorite, when the bride was caught screwing the best man in the limo. Oh, it happened.

Fortunately for me, I got paid whether the wedding went off without a hitch or not.

“No, the wedding is still on,” I assured her. “The monogram is perfect. Thank you for driving the three hours to get it here. Let’s close the books on this project.” I walked over to a chair holding my things, a handbag and tote bag filled with all my work essentials. I pulled off my black shrug, suddenly feeling overheated, and stuffed it into my tote.

“Then what is it? What happened?” Lily asked as I collected my items. “And I’ll know if you’re lying.” She glared suspiciously.

“Nothing. Will went into the office. They have a big deal they’re trying to close. He needs to tend to it.” I scoffed, slipping on my favorite black Armani pumps. I always took off my four-inch heels before setting up an event. My feet would be a mangled mess at the end of the day if I didn’t. “Have a good evening.” The exit, my escape, was only a few yards away. I walked briskly but not quickly enough.

“STOP!” Lily shouted.

I froze at the threshold of the double doors. I had almost made it out, but Lily never failed to react faster than me. Now I had to tell her the truth.

I calmly turned around, giving her my most intimidating glare. The one that said: You, bitch! How dare you yell at me!

Of course, Lily remained unfazed and Tate stared at me, arms crossed over his chest. He could pass as a bouncer in a nightclub.

I inhaled a deep breath, squaring my shoulders and prepared to be tag-teamed.

“Don’t take that tone with me.” I glowered, stalking toward her. “We may be best friends, but it doesn’t give you the right to yell at me.”

“I’m sorry. You’re right. It’s just you bolted for the door. I had to stop you. I know you’re trying to hide something. What is it?” Lily copied my expression—the turd.

“Will’s with the other woman tonight. He called before you got here,” Tate informed her. Just hearing him say “other woman” put tears in my eyes.

“That fucker!” Lily wasn’t usually so vulgar, but like Tate, she had lost her patience with Will. Or more like with me for not dumping Will. “That’s it. We’re going out!”

When Lily was angry, her chest and neck would turn a blotchy red color over her ivory skin. Within seconds, the blotches appeared. You’d think it had been her boyfriend cheating, or perhaps she was releasing some pent-up anger she’d held onto regarding Henry.

“No, I’m tired. I’m going to go home, soak in the tub, and go to bed. Tomorrow’s another big day,” I replied, hoping like hell Lily would drop the subject.

Who was I kidding? She’d never drop it.

“I told her I’d take her out for a celebratory dinner since the asswipe let her down again, but she refused.” Tate growled under his breath.

“Really, I’m fine. You guys need to accept my wishes.” I prayed they would leave me the hell alone this time.

“Uh-uh, let’s go,” Lily ordered.

And just like that, Lily was behind the wheel of my BMW. We were heading south on the 101. To where, I had no idea. At this point, I was only along for the ride. Lily could be bossy when she wasn’t her sugary-sweet self. By now, I didn’t care. Fighting with her wasn’t worth it.

And really, what was I going home to? Just an empty house.

Might as well see what the night brings.