Listen to Your Heart(24)

After an entire weekend of zero contact, I headed to her apartment Sunday night and basically camped outside her door, thinking she’d eventually have to go to the store or something. But one of the neighbors threatened to call the police, so I decided stalking probably wasn’t the best option. Instead, I headed home and buried myself in my room with my guitar. After writing a bunch of cheesy love songs that would make Michael Bolton cringe, I punished myself by listening to death metal, which had my neighbors beating on the door and threatening to call the cops. Since that was my second near-miss with local law enforcement, I decided it was probably in my best interest to lay low, so that’s what I did. After cashing in some of my own sick days, I cancelled guitar class, took a sleeping pill, and rendered myself unconscious.

But today’s a new day.

Time to face the real world.

Or as much of it as I can stand.

School’s rough—that happens when you have a blinding headache and teach a class with musical instruments—but my students must sense I’m close to a nervous breakdown, because they leave me alone for most of the morning. When lunch time finally arrives, I barricade myself in my office and start to peel a banana when I get a text from Juliana.

Just got a weird message from Lynsey. Call me.

In my stupor, it takes me a minute to remember that Lynsey is the wedding planner.

Or one of them, it seems.

If I wasn’t completely sick to my stomach, I’d probably laugh at the insane predicament I’ve found myself in. I’m engaged to a woman I don’t want to marry—which wasn’t a problem until I met Skye. Now, I’ve found someone I’m absolutely crazy about, and she just happens to be my wedding planner.

Seriously, what are the odds?

I have no idea what to say to Juliana—and I don’t know how much Lynsey’s told her—so I send her a quick text, promising that I’ll explain everything when she gets home. And I will. I’ll tell her everything. Knowing Juliana, she’ll want to cancel the wedding, but I won’t let her. Her family means too much to me. We’ll get married, and then we’ll get an annulment, just like we planned.

Just as soon as her mom passes away.

It sounds terrible, and maybe we’re terrible people, but our intentions were always good. When the oncologist told the family that Luisa had maybe six to eight months to live, she told us that her only regret was that she wouldn’t be around to see her only daughter walk down the aisle.

It was a no-brainer.

We just wanted to give Luisa something to look forward to, something to make her smile during a time when she had very little to smile about, and we have. I’ll never forget the look on Luisa’s face when we told her we were engaged. Her smile is seared into my memory, and that’s how I’ll always remember her.

So, yes, I’m keeping my promise.

Even if it kills me.

At the end of the day, I’m walking to the faculty parking lot when my phone rings. My heart soars, hoping it’s Skye, but then it plummets when I don’t recognize the number on the screen. I climb into my car and slam the door before saying hello.

“Mr. Lynch?”

“Yes?”

“This is Lynsey Evans. Your wedding planner.”

My mouth goes dry.

“Umm, hello, Ms. Ev—”

“You can skip the formalities. Trust me, I’m going to.”

She’s pissed. “Okay . . .”

“I believe you and I need to have a conversation. A very long conversation about how you’re going to fix the colossal shit storm that you’ve brought to my business and into my best friend’s life.”

I rake my hand through my hair. “How is she? Is she there? She won’t let me explain—”

“Oh, but I will. You’re going to explain it to me. Every single detail. And if you don’t, I will not hesitate to refund every dime of Juliana’s parents’ money and tell them to find a new wedding planner. When can you be here?”

I swallow nervously and glance at the time. “Thirty minutes?”

“Good answer. And if you don’t show up, I’ll make sure your new caterer serves peanuts at your reception.”

“But I’m allergic to pea—”

“I know this! Thirty minutes, Lynch.”

The line goes dead.



When I walk into Wedding Belles, I’m greeted by an ebony-skinned beauty at reception.

“Good afternoon. May I help you?”

“Hello, Robyn. It’s nice to finally meet you in person.”

Her eyes widen. “Mr. Lynch?”

I nod. “Lynsey’s expecting me.”

“I’ll let her know you’re here. Won’t you have a seat?”

I thank her and find the first empty chair. Glancing around, I pray for a glimpse of Skye. I don’t even know if she’s here, but I hope she is. I just want to see her face. Just to make sure she’s okay.

“She’s not here.”

I look up to find myself staring into the eyes of a very pissed off blonde.

“Follow me, Mr. Lynch.”

Taking a deep breath, I follow her into her office. I don’t know what I’m expecting, but I’m certainly not prepared to hear the words that greet me when she closes the door.