to find out what she was doing in Wishing Well, I didn’t have time to stay and chat. “It was so nice to meet you, I was actually just—”
“Holden is a huge fan of Sunset Bay, aren’t you, Holden?” Mrs. Nelson grabbed my arm.
“Yes, ma’am.” I nodded.
“Really?” Sasha’s forehead creased.
“Holden used to be a bull rider, a real-life cowboy, but then he got hurt. They didn’t think he was going to walk again. He had three surgeries and it was touch and go there for a little bit. He moved back to Wishing Well a few months ago and started taking my restorative yoga class. He’s still recovering, and he doesn’t miss a day of Sunset Bay, isn’t that right Holden?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“In fact!” Mrs. Nelson lifted her hand. “He even has theories. He knew Xander was the baby’s dad two weeks before it was revealed!”
“Oh.” Sasha was smiling and nodding, and I wanted the ground to swallow me up.
As a private person, standing silently while someone told your life story to a perfect stranger was not the most comfortable thing in the world. A week ago, I would’ve been a lot more upset about it.
“Isn’t my granddaughter beautiful, Holden?”
Sasha’s eyes cut to her grandma and I had a feeling I wasn’t the only one that was uncomfortable.
“Yes, she is.” I smiled.
“Sasha just found out her boyfriend, the actor that plays Xander and Trent is cheating on her with the actress that plays the nurse, in real life. Talk about art imitating life.”
Sasha looked like she wanted the ground to swallow her up. That explained the red-rimmed eyes.
“I would set you two up”—Mrs. Nelson waved her hand between us—“but Holden here just started shackin’ up with our yoga instructor.”
And that was my cue to go.
“I would love to stay and chat with you ladies, but I have a best man errand that I need to run before the ceremony.”
“Go!” Mrs. Nelson shooed me away. “What are you doin’ standin’ around flappin’ your jaws?”
I couldn’t help but smile. “It was nice to meet you, Sasha.”
She lifted her hand in a half-hearted wave. “You, too.”
As I walked back to my truck, I checked the time. Bentley was due to be here any minute. I shot him a quick text letting him know that I forgot the ring at home and I’d be right back.
It wasn’t a lie. I had forgotten the ring at home, just not his ring.
Chapter 33
Olivia
“You’re always one decision away from a totally different life.”
~ Maggie Calhoun
Holden had tried to get my attention the entire wedding ceremony. He hadn’t even been paying attention when they asked for the ring. And then he’d been so flustered he’d reached into one pocket and pulled something out but then snatched it back before Bentley took it, and then pulled the ring out of his other pocket. The guests found it funny, but to me it was just a reminder that his life had gotten turned upside down the night before when his ex-girlfriend showed up at his doorstep pregnant.
After the pastor announced—“I now present to you Mr. and Mrs. Calhoun”—I’d taken his arm and we’d followed behind the bride and groom down the aisle. As soon as we got into the foyer, Holden tried to pull me into the children’s church room because he said we needed to talk.
I’d pulled away from him and made an excuse about needing to go grab the photographer to make sure he was getting the shots Maisy wanted. He’d let me go, but he hadn’t looked happy about it.
Now, we were two hours into the reception and somehow, I’d managed to avoid him. I’d basically shadowed the wait staff, pretending to keep an eye on things and stayed close to the bride and other buffers like Melody and Madison who were really tying one on. I’d thought that they might have been upset because I’d been MOH, but it turns out they were just upset because now both Delilah and Maisy were married and they were “terminally single.”
If it was any other day, I would have had words of encouragement for them. Even before Holden and I got together, I believed in my soulmate and true love and going out and finding them. I would have pep talked them right of the single cliff.
But not today. Today I was doing everything I could not to think about true love and soulmates. Which was made exponentially more difficult since I was maid of honor at a wedding and