From This Day Forward (The Wedding Belles 0.5)(14)

The strong hand that had lightly touched her shoulder before subtly pressing a tissue into her hand had made her cry all the more.

I’ve got you, Jason had whispered.

And then he’d nudged her aside, taking over the coming-down-the-aisle shots, even though they’d already agreed that she’d cover that part of the ceremony.

Somehow he’d known. Known that she’d be crying. Known that she’d need help.

And he’d been there for her.

Other than brief exchanges over who would cover what angle of the first dance, they hadn’t spoken since.

As Leah packed up her equipment, she told herself that it was for the best. It was better to let that moment during the ceremony be nothing but a brief moment of kindness from a good man, rather than a moment between lovers.

It was dangerous to let herself think that it might have been a moment between two people who cared.

As though he hadn’t left the rehearsal dinner with some hot blonde in a sparkling dress.

Leah swallowed hard at the memory of what it had felt like when he’d put his hand on the other woman. Thank goodness for Alexis’s presence. The always-collected wedding planner had stepped in front of Leah before she could do anything rash.

If you want him, go get him. If you don’t . . . let him go.

It had been good advice.

It had also been a hell of a lot easier said than done. Because Leah did want Jason. She just didn’t want him and all the other women.

“Hey, sweetie, how you holding up? As exhausted as me?”

Leah glanced up to see Heather Fowler, one of Alexis’s wedding planners, smiling down at her.

“Ugh, yes,” Leah said as she stood and slung the strap of her camera bag over her shoulder. “Why is it that we don’t build up any stamina for these things? Each one seems to wipe me out even more than the last.”

Heather shrugged. “It’s because we care. It’s not just a job to us.”

Leah nodded, distractedly. She liked Heather. She considered the curly-haired spitfire a friend of sorts. But Heather was also tight with Jason. Leah had seen them talking just moments before he’d walked out last night with the hot blonde.

It was taking all of her self-control not to beg Heather for details.

Perhaps Heather was in tune with Leah’s turmoil, because she lifted her arm, holding out a champagne bottle that Leah hadn’t noticed before. “Alexis said you’d want this. It’s on the Belles.”

Leah smiled. Good old Alexis—noticing every detail, even when it wasn’t related to the client.

For as long as she could remember, Leah had celebrated the end of a wedding with some much-needed solitude and champagne. She usually stopped somewhere to get a bottle of her own, but tonight, she happily accepted the gift from her friends.

She knew exactly where she wanted to drink it, too.

“Thanks, babe,” she said, blowing Heather a kiss.

Without meaning to, Leah’s eyes scanned the reception area for Jason and came up empty. Most likely he was already helping some skinny wedding guest out of her thong.

Swallowing the hurt, Leah lifted the bottle in thanks. “Tell Alexis I owe her one.”

Heather nodded.

Leah had taken only three steps when the other woman called her name. She turned. “What’s up?”

Heather bit her lip, clearly conflicted, before she closed the short gap between them, lowering her voice to a whisper. “He didn’t sleep with her.”

Leah frowned. “What?”

“The blond woman last night. Jason didn’t sleep with her.”

Leah’s heart thudded. “I don’t ca—”

“You do care,” Heather said emphatically. “Honestly, you two are pissing me off. Anyway, Alexis and I ended up at the same restaurant as them last night. He sat there for about twenty minutes looking bored, before he paid up and left. Alone.”

It shouldn’t have mattered as much as it did, but . . .

Leah stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Heather, squeezing hard. “Thank you.”

Heather squeezed her back. “You two are ridiculous. Work it out.”

Leah didn’t know what to say to that, so instead she just kissed her friend’s cheek, gave her a little finger waggle, and then headed out into the warm evening, champagne bottle in hand.

The wedding reception had been held at one of the Hamptons’ most exclusive resorts. They’d rented the entire property, leaving both the indoor and outdoor spaces available for use, so guests could wander between the two.

Leah made her way across the patio as the caterers started the long, slow cleanup process, smiling at the tipsy laughter of some of the leftover guests.

As one would expect from the wedding of a former president’s daughter, the decor was both lavish and tasteful, with white candles covering every available surface, and the pale-pink-and-mint-green color scheme providing the perfect combination of timeless and trendy.

Alexis and her team had outdone themselves, but beautiful as the venue was, Leah was all too eager to get away from it. To have a chance to breathe.

Leah had opted for a tasteful black dress for the wedding, just dressy enough not to be distracting, but comfortable enough that she could move around easily. Her shoes were new—black wedge pumps that had seemed perfectly comfortable at the beginning of the evening.