Chapter 2
Series 1 Chapter 2
Logan pushed his phone into my hand and waited for me to prove I was a liar.
The cameras swung back toward me.
Someone started a timer.
“What’s wrong?” Logan asked. “Forget your husband’s number?”
I placed his phone on the table and took out mine.
“If he answers, will you apologize?”
Logan glanced at Sienna, inviting her to enjoy the show.
“Of course. If he’s real, I’ll apologize in front of everyone.”
“Logan, don’t pressure her,” Sienna said softly.
She turned to me with carefully measured sympathy.
“Claire, you don’t have to prove anything. A lot has happened tonight. We’ll understand if you said something impulsive.”
“I didn’t.”
“Then call him,” someone shouted.
Laughter came from the back of the room.
I found Damian’s number and pressed call.
One ring.
Two.
No answer.
My fingers went cold.
Damian had been flying home from Chicago that afternoon.
His flight was delayed, but his last message, sent forty minutes ago, said he had landed and would get here as soon as possible.
I called again.
This time, it went straight to voicemail.
Logan laughed and took the phone from my hand, turning the screen toward the guests.
“See? I told you she made him up.”
“Give that back.”
He held on to it.
“Why do you always do this, Claire? I fell in love with someone else. Do you really have to turn my engagement party into some ridiculous lie?”
“This is my birthday dinner.”
Logan glanced around, as though he had forgotten whose name was on the cake.
“We’re celebrating two happy occasions. What’s wrong with that?”
This was what he always did.
He hurt me, then made my reaction the real offense.
Three months earlier, Logan had heard I’d gone to dinner with Damian. He showed up at my apartment that night.
He hadn’t said he wanted me.
He’d only said I shouldn’t embarrass myself with a rebound.
“Wait until I figure things out,” he had told me, leaning against my doorway. “Don’t do something we’ll regret later.”
For the first time in nine years, I hadn’t invited him inside.
That same night, I accepted a second date with Damian.
I took my phone back.
“You promised to apologize if my husband existed.”
“Did he answer?”
“No.”
“Then he doesn’t exist.”
Sienna sighed.
“I won’t hold this against you, Claire. You loved Logan for a long time. Of course seeing us engaged was upsetting.”
She laced her fingers through his and gave me a forgiving smile.
“I still want you to be my bridesmaid. Maybe watching us get married will help you finally let go.”
Several guests murmured about how gracious she was.
I looked directly at her.
“You want the woman you just publicly humiliated to help celebrate your wedding?”
“We didn’t humiliate you,” Logan said. “You lied and made the situation embarrassing.”
“You bet money on how I would react.”
“It was a joke between friends.”
“You announced your engagement at my birthday dinner.”
“Our families were already here. Was I supposed to wait another year just to protect your feelings?”
His excuses always sounded reasonable.
Sienna needed reassurance.
Our families were present.
I was strong enough to handle it.
So I was always the one expected to give way.
I set my champagne glass on the table.
“I won’t be your bridesmaid. And after tonight, I won’t attend another gathering where I’m expected to pretend cruelty is a joke.”
“Claire,” my mother called. “At least stay for the cake.”
The worry on her face almost stopped me.
If I left now, everyone would say I had lost control because Logan was engaged.
That was the price of leaving.
“I’m sorry, Mom. I can’t.”
Logan stepped into my path.
“The moment you walk out, everyone will know you lied.”
“Move.”
“Admit you’re not married.” He lowered his voice. “I’ll tell them I pushed you too far. We can pretend none of this happened.”
He actually believed that was mercy.
I walked around him and headed for the ballroom doors.
My phone vibrated.
Damian’s name appeared on the screen.
It wasn’t a call.
It was a message.
I’m downstairs. Don’t leave without me.