Avoiding Responsibility (Avoiding #2)(121)
Not only this, but his parents are divorced. And despite the fact that nearly 50% of marriages now end in divorce, it appears that this is completely unheard of. For some reason, Lexi is reminded of the reaction the Brits must have felt at King Henry VIII breaking with the Catholic Church to cast aside his wife and take up with Anne Boleyn. The disgrace and shame that the old woman sitting next to Lexi spoke of, even in her senile state, is practically medieval by modern day standards.
Still Lexi held back the smirks and snide remarks that she could have easily snapped at them. She knew things about Jack and his family that would made their heads spin if revealed. She was one of his oldest friends, and even though she hated admitting it, she would have preferred to defend him in this scenario. It's not his fault that his parents were both previously married with children before getting together. It's not his fault that they then got divorced when he was in high school. These are choices of his parents, not him. None of this was what he chose. And if they really wanted to sink him, they need look no further than to what he had done in his time. Clearly none of that had been revealed. Bekah's father surely wouldn't allow her to marry a philanderer.
No. What she could say would hurt him far more than his family's misgivings. Yet, she remained seated watching and listening to the whispers and side-long glances between the two families. What was occurring was entertaining enough in its own right. Lexi pointing it out or even pushing it over the edge would only ruin her own perverse pleasure in the circumstances.
Seth and Sandy's entrance was the first thing that pulled Lexi out of her trance. She couldn't exactly deny that seeing the two of them gave her great pleasure. Seth was Jack's best man and lifelong best friend. They had grown up together long before they had been college roommates. And Lexi had known the best man longer than even his wife had.
Lexi's appearance at the rehearsal dinner didn't seem to faze Seth as he strode across the room to greet her. She knew not whether he had been warned of her presence or could just simply pick her out of a crowd, but his stride was undeterred. "Lexi love," he crowed arms outstretched as he swaggered towards her.
She scooted her chair back and stood. The appearance of Jack's oldest friend made her smile blossom as visions of his beach house burst into her mind. "Seth," she murmured against his chest as she leaned into his hug, "it's so good to see you again."
"You look f**king gorgeous," he said with a low whistle pulling back to examine her body.
She smiled coyly as if she hadn't put in the effort to get ready. "Thanks," she replied though her eyes remained guarded.
"You know I'd love to be the one tearing that dress off of you later," he said nudging her shoulder.
Lexi rolled her eyes realizing how little men actually changed. "Tell that to your wife."
"You know that I do," he said his eyes finding Sandy in the crowd. She seemed to realize he was watching her and glanced his direction. Her cheeks flushed at the intensity of their stare.
Lexi sighed pulling her own eyes away from the couple radiating with a passion and love that she could only attribute to newlyweds. "How are you and Sandy?" she asked though she could see with her own eyes that things were going well.
Seth, who had never been guarded a day in his life, shined like a beacon of light from the top of a lighthouse. His eyes which broke contact with his wife across the room turned to Lexi. His smile was radiant and his eyes glowed with pleasure. "Now don't go spreading it around," he said with barely contained excitement, "but we've just found out. We're having a baby."
"Oh Seth!" she cried truly ecstatic for the young couple. She couldn't believe it was happening so quickly, but she couldn't hide her exuberance for their news. "That's wonderful!"
He beamed brighter practically bouncing up and down. "Yeah I think it's a boy. Sandy isn't sure yet, but I am. It's a boy. I'm gonna be a father!"
"Congratulations! I'm really so happy for you both," she said giving him another hug.
"You'll come down for the shower? I know Sandy would want out to be there," he said getting ahead of himself.
Lexi smiled but her happiness had been stripped from her face. She had no idea where she would be in a year. She didn't know if New York would even still be her home. She was still waiting to hear about the bar. Not to mention potential jobs she had applied for across the country. She didn't know if she would have Ramsey then…
The what ifs hung so heavy over her that she felt crushed under the weight of the uncertainty that lay ahead.
"We'll see Seth. I'll let you know for sure once you have a date," she told him.
He smiled again unperturbed by her noncommittal answer. "Well come say hey," he said grabbing Lexi's wrist and yanking her towards the center of the room.
"Uh…alright," she said though she wasn't exactly certain that she should just be wandering around the room like the rest of the friends and family. She wasn't exactly either. Seth rushed them back to his wife. Sandy's hand instinctively went to the belly of her baby blue dress as they approached.
"Lexi! Hey!" Sandy said as bubbly as ever.
Lexi stepped forward into the hug that was offered and attempted to dispel her nervousness. She had never really been one for ill-conceived nerves. She typically held her own pretty well…or as best she could under the circumstances. Yet she knew that she was out of her league. She had swum so far out into the deep end that she was terrified she would drown. All she could think about was that she just needed to keep tredding water…keep kicking her feet. They might get tired and she might feel faint of heart, but she could make it out in the end. She could push on and eventually she would read the end and be hoisted out of the depths.