The Wedding Pact Box Set - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,242

let herself think about that now. “I don’t want to talk about Garrett.”

“It wasn’t how it looked, Blair,” Libby said in disgust. “If you would get off your self-righteous high horse, you might be able to see that.”

Blair sucked in a breath and turned to her. “You have to trust me, Libby. Can you please just trust me?”

Libby shook her head. “I’m here as your friend, because I love you, but this is without a doubt the single worst mistake of your life.”

“Libby!” Megan shouted.

“You know it’s true, Megs,” Libby shot back. “You’re just too busy trying to pretend everything is okay to point it out.”

“This is Blair’s decision. We have to respect it.”

Blair ripped off her robe and grabbed the waist of her dress and started to step into it.

“Blair,” Megan protested. “Let us help you.”

“I don’t need your help. I can do it by myself.”

She poked her right arm through the sleeve while Megan stood in front of her. “But you don’t have to do it yourself. Asking someone for help isn’t a weakness.”

If only people would stop telling her that. Blair shoved her other arm through the sleeve. “My mother taught me that depending on someone too much is a recipe for self-destruction. I will never make that mistake.” Again. She was dangerously close to losing it. Well, all she had to do was make it through the service. Then she could fall to pieces.

A familiar voice called out from behind her, “I hope that isn’t the only lesson I’ve taught you.”

Blair spun around and gasped. An attractive blonde woman stood in the doorway, worry filling her eyes. She looked like an older version of Blair. “Mom.”

Marla Hansen took several steps into the room. “Girls, I think I need a moment with my daughter.”

Megan and Libby shot each other a look and hurried out the door as Blair’s mother moved toward her.

“Oh, Blair. You’re as beautiful as a bride could be, but you look absolutely miserable.”

To Blair’s horror, she started to cry.

“You’re a difficult woman to find,” her mother teased. “No one knew where you were all afternoon.”

“I lost him, Mom.”

“Who?”

“Garrett Lowry. I found him again, and then I lost him.”

“Megan told me.” Her mother pulled her over to a sofa, then wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Do you love Garrett?”

She let out a sob. “Yes.”

“Then why are you marrying Neil?”

She sucked in a breath, trying to get control. “Because Garrett . . . There was a woman in his room this morning. Wearing only her bra and panties. Just like before. But Garrett was fully clothed, and he knew I was coming back to the room, so there was no way he was part of it. It didn’t matter. I wasted no time ripping him apart and blaming him.”

“Blair, that’s the reaction any woman would have had.”

She shook her head, crying harder. “You didn’t see the look in his eyes. I was beyond awful. I ripped his heart out. He begged me to believe him, and I didn’t.”

“So all you need to do is apologize and give him time. You don’t run into the arms of a man you don’t love.”

She shook her head.

“I did the same thing with your father, Blair, and all three of us were miserable. Don’t make the same mistake.”

Blair took a deep breath. “Neil is not a good person. I know that now. Maybe marrying him is what I deserve.”

“No. Blair.”

She stood and moved to the mirror, trying to reach around her back to zip up her dress. Her mother brushed her hand away and finished the job. She rested her chin on Blair’s shoulder, staring at their reflections in the mirror.

“You deserve love, Blair. I know you have a hard time believing it. You think your father’s rejection means you’re unlovable, but it’s not true. Libby and Megan love you unconditionally. Even Garrett Lowry is proof of that.”

Tears filled her eyes again. “I hurt him. I drove him away five years ago, and I just did it again. Maybe I’m not meant to be loved.”

“That’s bullshit if I ever heard it. Everyone deserves to be loved, Blair. Don’t give up on yourself. Not now. Not ever.”

Blair stared at her reflection. She might be wearing a wedding dress, but her red eyes and nose looked better suited to a commercial for seasonal allergy medication. She grabbed her veil and jammed the comb into her head. “I’m going to set things right.”

“By marrying Neil? I already told you—”

Blair stomped over to