Busted (Promise Harbor Wedding) - By Sydney Somers Page 0,24
back either.
She left Jackson at the curb and headed back into the church. Navigating the crowd while avoiding the questions fired at her proved more of a headache than she anticipated. Mrs. Brewster was still at the front of the church, with Josh only a few feet away.
Gavin and Allie weren’t with him.
People around Hayley were talking about an announcement Mrs. Brewster had made about everyone heading over to the Promise Harbor Inn since the reception was already paid for.
So the wedding was off.
Guests who hadn’t already started trickling out of the church became more interested in a reception and stopped approaching Hayley to ask questions she didn’t have answers for. Squeezing between people crowded in the main aisle, Hayley tried to get to the front. Josh would know what happened to Allie and Gavin, though there was a good chance he might be as annoyed with her as Jackson was.
Josh had disappeared out the side door by the time Hayley got fed up with the remaining people hanging around, gossiping about the whole thing, and ordered them out of her way. With at least a dozen people staring holes into her back, she went after Josh.
A few seconds later, she spotted him sliding into his car out front.
“He’s going to the reception.” Matt jogged over to her. “That was something to see in there. Gavin’s not on drugs, is he?”
She rolled her eyes and dialed Gavin again. No answer.
“You want to talk to Josh, I’m assuming?”
Hayley nodded. “Mind giving me a ride?”
“No problem.” Matt glanced around. “What happened to Jackson?” His eyes narrowed the moment his friend’s name left his lips. “I heard some interesting things before Gavin decided to act out a chick flick.”
Hayley spotted Jackson chatting with a small group of women, but turned in the opposite direction to follow Matt to his car. “What kinds of things?”
Her twin’s eyes took on a protective light she hadn’t seen since she’d kicked Eric out of their apartment. “Like how you and Jackson showed up looking like you’d just rolled out of bed.”
Chapter Four
“More like a tree,” Hayley muttered, pushing junk off the passenger-side seat of Matt’s rust bucket of a sedan.
“What?”
“Never mind.”
Hayley tried three more times before leaving another message for Gavin. She hadn’t a clue whether Allie was with him or if she’d told him to go fly a kite back in Alaska. She didn’t want to think how Gavin would take that kind of news after pulling a stunt like that at the church.
Surprisingly, the Promise Harbor Inn was already swarming with cars by the time they arrived. She’d hoped most people would realize the show was over, but many had turned out. For the food or more drama?
“Maybe I should try to find a spot around back.”
“Probably already packed.”
“Yeah, but you might not get swallowed by the mob if we go in the rear entrance.”
As much as she appreciated her brother trying to make things easier on her, she pointed to a spot that opened up on the left. Matt turned out to be bang on, and a few people made an immediate beeline for her when she climbed out of the car.
Locking her patience firmly in place, she answered as best she could.
“No, there was no warrant out for Gavin’s arrest.”
“No, he and Allie weren’t having an affair.”
“No, he did not kidnap Allie.”
Even Gavin wasn’t that crazy, though dozens of people had probably already made up their minds about them having an affair.
She ignored the questions about how long she and Jackson had been together. If she hadn’t recognized so many faces that she’d gone to school with, she would have thought she’d been cornered by the press.
Half an hour passed from the time they left the church until she reached the banquet room where the reception was being held and she spotted Josh. People were giving him a wide berth, and given the don’t-fuck-with-me expression on his face, Hayley couldn’t blame them.
“We need a drink.” Matt reappeared at her side long enough to tell her that, and then was gone, heading toward the bar.
More than a few people shot her curious glances, talking in hushed voices that weren’t any quieter than when they’d been in high school. Some people never grew up.
“Your pal made quite the entrance, Hayls.”
Seriously? She gritted her teeth at the sound of Eric’s voice, but kept her face neutral. Maybe she shouldn’t have left Jackson behind at the church, although she’d dealt with Eric and his ego long before