The Forever Girl (Wildstone, #6)(92)

“Uh . . .” Maze said, pointing to a nipple, which had escaped both the demi bra and the dress.

“Dammit.” Caitlin tucked herself back in. “I’ve got too much boob.”

“You’ve got great boobs, though they look bigger than I remember.”

“They should. I bought them.”

Maze gasped. “What? When?”

Caitlin shook her head. “Dillon’s dad’s best friend is a plastic surgeon. Look, I don’t want to talk about it. I want to get out of here. Now.”

“Are we going to go on your honeymoon to Bali?” Maze asked, sounding hopeful.

Caitlin both laughed and cried. “Just get dressed.”

“Problem,” Maze said. “I came here in that dress. I don’t have anything to put on.”

They both eyed the torn wedding dress on the floor.

Gritting her teeth, Maze stepped into it. Thanks to the new rip, the dress was open from neck to belly button, but otherwise it fit Maze’s enviable curves far better than it had Caitlin.

“Tell me you have a sweater I can pull over this so I don’t get arrested for indecent exposure,” Maze said.

Caitlin tossed her the pale champagne-colored cashmere cardigan that she’d planned on wearing if she got cold at the reception.

Maze pulled it on and buttoned it up, swearing the whole time.

Caitlin snorted out a laugh at her creative use of words, then covered her mouth, because she was about to walk away from a man she’d thought she loved. And damn if that didn’t kill her. How could she have believed this could work? Unlike Maze, Caitlin had always had a family at her back; she knew love, she should’ve followed her instincts. Now, for the first time in her life, she no longer trusted herself. It was shocking, honestly. She’d always been the rock, the steady one, but she was suddenly anything but. She looked at Maze, who’d never claimed to be steady or a rock. And yet here she was, helping Caitlin, standing at her back, willing to do whatever she needed.

“I’m ready.”

Maze met her gaze, her own very serious. “You know if you do this, if you run, and then later decide you were wrong, it’s never going to be the same. Trust me.”

Caitlin felt her throat close at the pain in Maze’s eyes. “I know. Can you go find Dillon for me? Ask him to come here? I need to see him before we go.”

“Of course. But I’m going to call for him, because . . .” Maze gestured to herself in the wedding gown.

“Right.” Caitlin handed over her phone.

Maze hit Dillon’s number and put the call on speaker.

“Hello?” a female voice answered.

Not Dillon.

Maze and Caitlin stared at each other.

“Hello?” Dillon’s mom said again. “Caitlin?”

Shit. “Yes,” Caitlin managed. “Hi. Um, can I talk to Dillon?”

“Now? With everyone waiting on you?”

Caitlin grimaced. “Yes, please.”

There was some rustling as presumably Dillon’s mom brought him his phone, and Caitlin’s heart skipped a beat. If he sounded even slightly devastated, she’d walk down the aisle. Sure, she didn’t have a dress, but she would find a way—

“Caitlin,” he said, not sounding devastated but . . . cool. Distant. “What are we doing?”

Caitlin closed her eyes.

“Is this about . . . the test?” he asked. “The one that you . . . didn’t pass?”

That he had to speak in code about this told her everything she needed to know. “Yes.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “I’m sorry, Dillon. I love you, but it’s not enough. Not for me. I’m so sorry.”

There was a beat of silence, then maybe a sigh. “Can’t say I didn’t see this coming,” he finally said.

“Dillon?”

Nothing.

She stared at the phone, eyes swimming so that it was hard to see the screen. “What happened?”

Maze looked at the phone. “He disconnected.”

Caitlin sucked in a breath. “Please get me out of here.”

MAZE SWALLOWED HER fury at Dillon and nodded. “Text your parents, just so they don’t worry we were kidnapped or something.”

Caitlin nodded. “Honestly, I think they’ll be relieved. Let’s face it, Dillon will too once he thinks about it. He’s dodging a bullet.”

Maze nodded, though she was of the opinion that it was Caitlin doing the bullet dodging. “And Walker and Heather? We can’t just leave them.”

“I’ll do a group text,” Cat said.

Maze nodded, her heart squeezing at the thought of Walker. A good kind of squeeze. Last night after the wedding rehearsal, they’d gone to bed together and had a magical night. She’d woken up with a smile on her face that she could feel even now just beneath the surface.

Caitlin was right. Love did scare her. But she was starting to think that what she and Walker had could transcend her fears and her walls, that they might actually have a shot at something real.

“Oh my God. This isn’t happening,” Cat murmured, bent over at the waist, hands on her knees, hyperventilating. “Can’t. Breathe,” she gasped, like she might be less than a second from utter meltdown.

“Okay,” Maze said. “I’ve got you.” She pulled out her phone to text Walker herself so he’d know where she was and what was happening, knowing he’d be there for Heather and Cat’s parents. But her phone was dead. She looked around. No paper, no pen, nothing. She could hear Cat wheezing, the sound getting worse. They had to go, so she quickly grabbed Caitlin’s lipstick and turned to the mirror. She got out I’M SORRY before Caitlin grabbed her by the hand, her crazy eyes reminding her of Roly’s and Poly’s.