Aimee Carson - The Unexpected Wedding Guest

Just like his freakin’ head.

He pinched his eyes closed, remembering the physical therapy, the struggles with his memory and the resignation that he would never be the same.

Mason heaved out a breath and pushed up from the chair. “Then I won’t take up any more of your time,” he said, his gaze lingering a moment on the woman he’d once thought he could do forever with.

Her hair, the color of sunshine. The clear, creamy skin of her shoulders. The thinner figure that still held enough curve to entice a man, encased in a dress that was vastly different from the simple sundress she’d worn at their impulsive wedding. The dress he’d been in such a hurry to get her out of so they could spend as much time in bed as they could before he shipped out. Best just to remember their better moments and let go of the bad.

Even if his ex had chosen to do the opposite.

A ghost of a smile tipped his mouth. “Be happy, Reese.”

And with that, he headed out of the room.

* * *

Wasn’t it just like the man? Show up out of the blue and tease her mercilessly. Get her all worked up—on purpose, she was sure—and then wish her well before walking back out the door?

“I can’t believe he came,” Reese said into her cellular as her emotions continued to reel.

She just couldn’t wrap her head around the turn of events. When her phone had rung, she’d been staring at the door Mason had just disappeared through. And she was inordinately grateful to hear her friend’s voice.

Gina’s British accent sounded over the phone. “Who came?”

“Mason.”

“The ex?”

Still wearing her wedding dress, Reese braced her hand against the window and stared down at the estate driveway, feeling spent. A delivery van was parked out front, a man unloading the champagne Dylan had ordered for the wedding. A familiar, beater red truck with huge tires was parked next to her Mercedes-Benz convertible. Mason still drove the same stupid vehicle. The Beast, she’d called it. The truck had been old when she’d met him, and now it was positively ancient. The first place Mason had ever made love to her.

She pressed her lids closed, hating how weak she’d been back then.

“Why did he come?” Gina asked.

“He wanted to talk.”

“Talk?” Gina said. “I thought you two despised each other?”

Chaos churned in Reese’s head, as she remembered the way he’d made her feel at the end of their marriage. Alone. Shut out. Unimportant.

And the man hadn’t changed one bit.

Reese fisted her hand against the window. “We do.”

Though it was hard to separate the hate from the pain.

After he’d arrived back from his first tour in Afghanistan, all the hope she’d felt the day she’d married him slowly seeped away. She’d tried to prepare herself, reading about all the issues of returning to civilian life, PTSD, depression, just to name a few. Hoping to get a jump on the problems to come. But no matter how hard she’d tried, or how understanding she’d been, the old Mason was nowhere to be found. The Mason who’d returned was cold. Unreachable.

Dark.

But most importantly, he hadn’t seemed to care, refusing to attend therapy with her. He’d had access to the best care money could buy, but he’d refused to meet her even a quarter of the way. She knew she’d probably pushed him too hard, but she’d missed his wicked sense of humor, the easy laughter. And nothing compared to the anger and hurt when he’d announced he was reenlisting and going back.

Because he’d chosen war-torn deserts and dismantling bombs over his wife.

The remembered fury clamped hard in her heart, and she pressed her forehead to the window, the cool glass soothing her whirling thoughts. Because ten years had given her a little perspective. She’d been unprepared for the change, ill-equipped to adjust from a Mason that had seemed to worship the ground she walked on—in retrospect, an unrealistic reality—to one who completely shut her out. Having him turn his back on her had felt so...so...alien.

She was wise enough now to realize part of their problems had been her expectations.

“Reese?” Gina’s voice sounded concerned. “Reese, are you still there?”

“I’m here.”

“Just take a breather and have a Cosmo or something.”

Reese heaved out a breath, feeling in need of a drink. “Right after I get out of this dress.”

Which, with the millions of buttons down her back, was a feat in itself.

Too bad the rest of the Awesome Foursome had yet to arrive. She needed her bridesmaids by her side. She needed a cathartic bitch session with her girlfriends. Unfortunately, ten years ago their last night as roommates hadn’t ended as planned, their friendship ripped apart by a secret that had fractured their group into pieces. And her world had never felt right again.

No matter how hard Reese had tried, she hadn’t been able to put the foursome back together again. Her wedding was the first time they all were to be in the same room again. And Reese imagined it was a bit like having divorced parents attending your wedding. How did you keep the peace? How did you keep the old resentments from rearing their bitter heads?

Reese was determined to start her happy life with Dylan by repairing the rift between the friends. What better way to celebrate a bright future with the man who made her happy?

Unlike her impulsive marriage to Mason. The Wedding Mistake, as she liked to call it. Reese bit her lower lip.

“Forget about the annoying ex, Reese,” Gina said.

She puffed out a breath. “Believe me, I have.”

“And don’t let him ruin your wedding.”

She pictured Dylan’s face and immediately felt calmer. “Nothing is going to ruin our day.”

Below, Mason appeared in the driveway, heading for his truck, and Reese let out a sigh, the last bit of tension leaving her body. She’d moved on and refused to look back, and she was grateful he was leaving and taking all the turbulent emotions with him.

Because, by God, she wasn’t going to let her ex spoil things, no matter how fit he looked in his jeans.

“How are you feeling?” Gina said.

“Good,” Reese said, both in answer to Gina and in response to Mason reaching for the door handle on his truck, preparing to leave. She could get back to focusing on her to-do list. The guests would be arriving in a few days, and she wanted everything to be perfect, which included smoothing the road for a reconciliation between her friends. She swallowed hard, remembering why she’d left a message for Gina to call. “I just need to tell you something before—”

Dylan appeared in the driveway, cutting off Reese’s train of thought. As her fiancé headed toward her ex-husband, her heart accelerated.

Reese pressed her hand against the window. “Oh, God.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Dylan is with Mason out on the driveway.”

“Do you think they’ll exchange words?” Gina asked.

Mason turned to watch Dylan approach, and she recognized the stance her ex assumed. Squaring his shoulders, feet slightly apart. Tensed, as if preparing for an altercation.

The muscles in Reese’s shoulders taut, she said, “Knowing the hotheaded, smart-ass Mason can be—” her eyes darted between the two men “—I wouldn’t put it past him to muck with Dylan’s normally coolheaded demeanor.”

Reese trusted Dylan, but she didn’t trust Mason. Frustrated, she tried to focus on their expressions, but they were too far away to read.

“Do you think they’ll get into a fistfight?” Gina said.

A fistfight?

Of course they wouldn’t. Would they?

Reese’s knees threatened to buckle. “I don’t think so.”

Then again, she never in a gazillion years would have thought that, after all this time, Mason would track her down.