starting to get more of an idea of what my brothers went through. And after the hell Alexis has been through—between the accident, her band falling apart, and getting her name dragged through the mud—I don’t want to subject her to more negativity. She doesn’t need that.
I don’t either, to be honest.
And even though I know I’m just delaying the inevitable, I’m grateful that I get to deal with my mom and her reactions some other time.
I turn to Alexis with a forced smile and slide my phone into my pocket. “You’re off the hook after all. Mom didn’t have time to talk.”
Alexis doesn’t return my smile. “Are you okay?”
Letting the fake smile drop, I sink back into my seat and cover my face with my hands. “Yeah,” I mutter at last. “Yeah, I’m okay.” I look up and cover the hand she’s laid on the table with mine. “Or at least I will be. My mom … Well, my mom has a complicated relationship with her daughters-in-law. And I’m not the first of her sons to elope. She didn’t take the news well this time either.”
She flips her hand over and squeezes mine back. “I gathered.” She sucks in a deep breath and stands, slipping her hand out from under mine. “At least you only have to make one call.” She gives me a lopsided smile before heading to where our luggage stands next to the bed. “My parents are divorced,” she calls over her shoulder. “So I have to break the news twice.”
I let out a rueful chuckle. “You have my deepest sympathies.”
Chapter Eighteen
Alexis
The calls to my parents go better than I have any right to expect. My mom is understandably upset, but she actually talks to Colt on speaker phone, where he charms her with his schmoozing kung fu. My dad … well, he does the standard protective dad schtick, which would be funny if it weren’t so cringey. Because he’s so wrapped up in his new family that I’ve barely talked to him in the last two years.
But Colt puts up with Dad’s bluster with his usual good nature, sighing and giving me a crooked grin when we finally hang up with them.
When he laces his fingers with mine and brings the back of my hand to his mouth for a soft, affectionate kiss, I realize how sunk I am. How he’s really the only one I have to rely on to help me through this mess.
Which I suppose is fitting since we made the mess together.
“I’d say that went surprisingly well,” he says.
Tossing my phone on the bed next to us, I return his crooked smile with one of my own. “Yeah. I mean, it wasn’t great, but at least they didn’t disown me.”
He laughs and wraps his arm around me. “I don’t think that was ever on the table. My mom, on the other hand …”
I give him a playful shove, which does double duty of putting space between us. Because if he keeps being this affectionate and easy to be around, I’m going to be in big trouble. Plus it’s our wedding night …
Spending my wedding night fully clothed in a platonic relationship isn’t exactly the stuff dreams are made of.
But complicating our already complicated situation still seems like a bad idea. So I stand and grab my suitcase, taking it to the closet so I can hang up my clothes for tomorrow and change into something more comfortable. “I don’t know about you, but after all that food and then the emotional turmoil of the last hour, I think I’m ready to change out of this dress.” I’m careful to keep my voice light and my face hidden, our easy camaraderie turning awkward now that I’ve put this distance between us.
“Alexis …” He says my name like it’s heavy, like he wants to say something or apologize for something.
I pop my head out from around the edge of the open closet and give him a bright smile. “I’m just going to change in the bathroom. Be back out in a few.”
His stare is solemn as he nods once. “I’ll take my turn after you.”
I give him a thumbs up like the giant dork I really am deep down inside then hide in the bathroom. Once the door is closed, I lean my back against it, my clothes and makeup kit bundled in my arms, and let out a deep sigh.
What started out as a brilliant idea to get me more publicity and