Page 57 of The Wedding Fake
HUDSON
Claire twisted in my grasp to glare at Emily. “You knew he was coming?”
“No, of course not, no,” Emily stammered. “I saw him when I walked out, and I knew you’d be upset.”
I tried to settle Claire back into my grasp. I could tell her breathing had slowed, but it was not the measured breaths I hoped to hear. Claire would not be stilled, though, now whirling to look at Emily seriously, as if not fully believing her statement.
Based on the interactions I’d had with Emily thus far, I had no reason to believe she’d be anything but honest. Unfortunately, I couldn’t weigh in because I had no idea who the “he” they kept referring to was. I caught Claire’s wrist with one hand, settling my fingers over her pulse to make sure it was leveling out.
“Claire!” Nora’s voice was a frantic whisper as she approached and Claire’s eyes went wide.
“Nora! What are you doing here? Go,” Claire said, shooing her youngest sister. Nora was undeterred.
“I didn’t invite him,” Nora said emphatically. “He’s here with Claudette Thomas. I don’t know what she was thinking. I don’t know what he was thinking. I’m going to kick him out right now.”
Claire gasped, her arm flying out of my grasp as she clapped her hand to her mouth. “Nora, no! Do not make a scene. Please.” Her voice was soft and low—pleading—and it broke my heart.
I wrapped an arm around her waist, squeezing her gently, and her hands fell on my forearm, resting there as if being in my arms was the most natural thing in the world. If I were honest, it did feel natural. Sometime this week, Claire had come to feel like mine, and now I wanted to know who the hell had her this upset.
“Who?” I asked, my eyes traveling from one sister to the next, trying to determine which one was going to be honest.
Ignoring my question, Nora continued, “Just let me throw him out, Claire Bear. This is my wedding, and you’re not going to have any fun if he’s here.”
Close as she was, I felt Claire tremble against me, and I pulled her tighter, wishing I understood what was happening. I could think of so many horrible ways a man could’ve hurt Claire, and I was ready to beat the everloving shit out of this guy—whoever he was. “Claire,” I said, needing answers.
“No, Nora,” Claire said firmly. “Please don’t. He humiliated me once. He doesn’t get to do it again.”
Nora opened her mouth to protest once more, but Emily cut off the words. “Claire gets to decide, Nora. Leave him be.”
Nora sighed heavily, and I wondered if it was an okay time to ask about the man again. There was something disappointing about not knowing already. After all, I’d been an open book with Claire, all the way down to Lawrence’s death. Finding out she was hiding something so enormous the wedding was coming to a halt made me wonder just how much I didn’t know.
Emily put her hand on Nora’s elbow, turning her back toward the reception. “You two should talk,” she said, looking between Claire and me. My pulse quickened.
Claire turned to me as her sisters retreated, stepping back but not leaving her altogether. Her head tilted back to look me in the eye. I cupped her cheek, my thumb working rhythmic strokes over the rounded flesh. “My ex is here,” Claire said bluntly, continuing when I remained quiet. “I thought we were pretty serious, but then I found out he was cheating on me.” Her words were quiet and emotionless, and I found my fingers tightening as she told the story, pulling her closer to me.
“I’m so sorry, Claire.”
“It’s not your fault, Hudson,” she answered automatically.
“He’s an asshole.”
“He is,” she agreed.
“How long ago?” I asked.
“Did we break up? A couple years.”
My head cocked curiously. “Right before you moved to the city?”
She shrugged. “He was part of the reason I moved. I didn’t want to see him or have people on the street pitying me. I wanted to go somewhere where everyone was a stranger.”
This was no small breakup. Whatever happened had left Claire so raw she’d moved hours away from the family she loved. The information slid into my brain like a key into a pin tumbler, allowing all the little details I’d learned about Claire to fall into place and illuminate a bigger truth. One man had broken her heart, and she hadn’t been able to trust since. “Are you sure you’re okay with him being here?” I wasn’t sure I was okay with the asshole being here.
Claire straightened her spine, looking at me seriously. “I’m fine, Hud. We should get back out.”
“First, a kiss,” I murmured, dropping my lips onto hers and pressing a soft kiss to the pink flesh. Realistically, the kiss probably did little to alleviate her pain or discomfort, but it made me feel better. Her touch was grounding like that.
“First, a kiss,” she echoed back as my lips came off hers. A ghost of a smile curved her lips and I thought maybe my kiss had helped more than I’d realized. I opened my mouth to speak, but Claire leaned up on tiptoe and caught my lips once more.