any explanation Julian undoubtedly wanted.
“I’m coming with you,” she heard Julian say.
She didn’t turn around, scared that she would confess her dark secrets. But they couldn’t surface. Julian couldn’t know the truth.
“Not a good idea, Julian,” Noel said, shaking his head at him.
“The hell it’s not!” Julian retorted.
Noel tensed and the irritated look on his face had Stevie turning to face Julian. She deserved the hurt and betrayal his eyes directed at her. That one week together had changed her life. He’d deserved a goodbye, and she’d been too weak to give it to him. At that moment, she couldn’t have watched him wake up and regret what they did.
“I’m going, Noel!” Julian fought, taking a step forward.
Noel stood his ground and held his hands up. “Let them talk. Come on, man. Don’t do this today. Please. It’s my wedding, for Christ’s sake.”
The irritated look on Julian’s face didn’t disappear, and Stevie knew what she had to do. Taking a deep breath, she stepped in front of Julian and blocked Noel from him. Those light blue eyes stared down at her, and she felt her heart splinter and whimper under his gaze. Julian reached up and surprisingly tucked her loose curl behind her ear.
“Say my name,” he softly pleaded.
“You can’t come with me to see Clara. We can’t ruin their wedding.”
Julian’s fingers ran through her hair and her weeping heart began to shatter into small, brittle fragments.
“Stephanie, say my name. I need to hear you say it,” he whispered.
Her chest ached painfully at the vulnerability in his eyes. The playfulness she had once known was no longer there, and she knew she broke him. “If I say your name, then we open a door that I don’t want opened. Leave it. Please? It was in the past.”
“Then I’m coming with you to see Clara.” He then left her and began to argue with Noel. Stevie already missed the touch of his fingers on her hair. It was familiar, just like back in Thailand.
She remembered each kiss and each laugh, each moment and the last breath of air she heard him take before she walked out the villa door, leaving him behind.
“Blondie, you coming?”
Stevie blinked and felt a tear escape. She quickly wiped it away and then breathed in deeply before finally she turned around. She saw his boyish grin and a sparkle in those eyes. That sparkle couldn’t hide the hurt in those light blue pools. Stevie noticed the glare from Noel before he exhaled and led them down the hall and towards the bridal suite.
“I can’t believe you’re holding me hostage! It’s my wedding, Alex!” Stevie heard Clara shout once they were at the door. “I don’t care what Noel said. I can’t… It was in front of me all this time. I always knew about Julian. But Stevie… How did I miss it?”
Noel’s eyes met Stevie’s, and she gave him a tight smile.
“Stevie never told you it was Julian?” Alex asked.
Stevie could feel Julian’s gaze on her, but she focused on the bridal suite door.
Clara let out a loud sigh. “No. Stevie has her secrets.”
The guilt swelled inside of Stevie. It was true. She kept her secrets to herself. Clara wasn’t the only one, and she wouldn’t be the last. She had to keep secrets so judgements were never made. Simple secrets like that she was French should have been said. But one secret would cause more to be revealed. And for Stevie, her darkest secrets involved the man who stood near her.
“Don’t freak her out, okay?” Noel asked as he knocked on the door.
“Let me get the door. You sit down and eat those crackers!” Alex demanded and then he opened the door. The concern on Alex’s face had Stevie’s brows furrowing.
“She’s going a little insane. Just be careful,” Alex warned.
Clara sat in the armchair near the window with a plate of crackers on her lap. She craned her neck, and her eyes met Stevie’s. Suddenly, she let out a sigh and placed the plate on the ground. When Clara stood up, she glanced at Stevie and then at Julian.
“Everybody out!” Clara instructed as she adjusted her veil. Stevie knew what was about to happen.
“Baby,” Noel tried to say but she shook her head.
“Do not baby me. Just because I married you doesn’t mean you can calm me down with your words of endearment. Now, let me talk to Stevie alone, please. Then we can continue with what’s left of our wedding,” Clara said before she pursed