but no one came, so I knocked louder. I was about to look for another way in when the door opened a crack and either Melody or Madison, who were the other two that made up the Turner Triplets, stuck her head out.
“Is Olivia in there? I need to talk to her.”
“No.” Melody or Madison shook her head.
“Do you know where she is?” I tried to look past her because I had a feeling she was in there, but all I could see was the tops of people’s heads.
“Oh, she’s in here but there are no boys allowed.”
“No boys allowed!” Came a shout from some of the other women that were congregated in the room. “No boys allowed!”
I was glad they were having such a good time, it just would’ve been nice if it hadn’t been at my expense. “Can you tell her I’m here? Maybe she can come out. I need to talk to her.”
She leaned back behind the door and there was some indiscernible chatter. When she came back into view she said, “That’s a negative, Ghost Rider.”
“What?” Why was she quoting Top Gun?
“She’s busy. But thanks for stopping by, Holden.”
I must’ve looked upset because Melody or Madison said, “Aww, don’t worry you’ll see her soon. She’ll be the one walking down the aisle toward you before the bride.”
And with that the door was shut in my face and I stood there contemplating kicking it down. There were two problems with my plan. One, it was a little bit extreme when I was going to see the woman in less than an hour. And two, I didn’t think I was actually physically capable of doing it. And if I did manage to pull it off, I’d be in bed for a week.
Not knowing what to do with myself, I texted Bentley to let him know that I was there. He said that he’d be there in twenty. I thought about leaving and coming back, but climbing in and out of the truck would take too much out of me.
I leaned against the wall and the last thing that Melody or Madison said to me played in my head. “She’ll be the one walking down the aisle toward you.”
Suddenly, the trip home was an acceptable risk in the risk reward ratio. I had to go home and get something that I’d bought when I went to Dallas this week to meet with my new therapist, who I’d only had one session with but already had given me some tools to use when I started having negative thoughts. And I had Olivia to thank for that. I had Olivia to thank for everything good in my life right now.
I headed to the door I’d come in, and tried to open it. It didn’t budge. How could a door open from the outside and not from the inside? It didn’t make any sense. I tried it several more times before I saw a tattered sign hanging that said: Door sticks. Call Ray for assistance.
I didn’t have time to call Ray for assistance. I’d just have to take my chances going out the front and hope that I didn’t run into anyone. If I did, I’d just tell them I had a best man errand to run.
I’d almost made it scot-free. I was outside the church rounding the corner to the back where I’d parked, when I heard my name.
“Holden! Holden!” I looked up, shielding my eyes and saw Mrs. Nelson and she wasn’t alone. There was a young woman with her that, holy shit—it was Alexis Moon. Or Sasha. Her granddaughter’s name was Sasha.
“Come here!” She waved. I want you to meet someone!”
Even meeting Alexis Moon paled in comparison to my mission, but I was raised right, and Mrs. Nelson was my elder. I started to head across the parking lot and thankfully the duo met me halfway.
“Holden Reed, this is Sasha Nelson, you might know her as Alexis Moon.” Mrs. Nelson’s face lit up as if it had been a big reveal.
As if I hadn’t recognized her before then.
I smiled and shook her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You, too.” The smile that she returned to me didn’t meet her eyes and I was struck by two things.
She was stunning. Even prettier in person than she was on TV. And also, she looked like she’d been crying. Her eyes weren’t puffy but they had red rims around the edges. She looked really sad. Beautiful and sad.