I Ruined My Own Wedding

The centerpieces were off by half an inch.

I noticed it the second I walked into the private dining room. After eight years of planning weddings, my brain automatically scanned for flaws—crooked ribbons, wilting petals, chairs that weren't perfectly aligned. It was a curse, really. I couldn't turn it off, not even at my own rehearsal dinner.

Especially not at my own rehearsal dinner.

"Dee, relax." Marisol Santos, my assistant and best friend, appeared at my elbow with two glasses of champagne. "You're the bride, remember? Not the planner tonight."

"I'm both." I took the champagne but didn't drink. "And table six is—"

"Half an inch off. I know. I'll fix it." She rolled her eyes, but there was affection in it. "Go be in love or whatever. Your man is waiting."

I looked across the room and found Garrett Holloway watching me. My fiancé. God, I still got butterflies saying that word. He was tall, handsome in that effortless way that made other women look twice. When he smiled at me, I felt like the luckiest woman alive.

Tomorrow, I'm marrying him.

I started toward Garrett, but a flash of blonde intercepted me.

"There she is! The bride-to-be!" My sister Valentina—Val—swept me into a hug that was all perfume and sharp angles. Three years older, always the pretty one, always the center of attention. Tonight she wore a red dress that probably cost more than my monthly rent. "I still can't believe my baby sister is getting married before me."

There was an edge to her voice. There always was.

"Thanks for being my maid of honor, Val." I meant it. We'd never been close, but I was trying.

"Of course, sweetie. What's family for?" She squeezed my arm a little too hard, then drifted off toward the bar.

I watched her go, that familiar knot forming in my stomach. Growing up, Val took everything—my toys, my clothes, my college fund when she "needed it more." Mom and Dad always took her side. She's struggling, Dee. You're the strong one.

I shook off the old resentment. Tonight wasn't about the past.

"Bambina." A weathered hand caught mine. My grandmother, Nonna Rosa, pulled me down for a kiss on each cheek. Eighty-three years old and still the sharpest person in any room. "You look beautiful. But tired."

"I'm fine, Nonna."

She studied me with those knowing eyes. "Hmm. We'll see."

Dinner was a blur of toasts and laughter. Mom cried. Dad told embarrassing stories. Garrett's hand found mine under the table, warm and steady. Everything was perfect.

Almost.

I kept catching little things. Val leaning too close to Garrett when she refilled his wine. Garrett's eyes following her across the room. The way they both looked away too fast when I glanced over.

Stop it, I told myself. You're being paranoid.

But I'd built a career on noticing details. And something felt wrong.

Halfway through dessert, I excused myself to the restroom. I needed a minute alone, away from the noise and the champagne and the weird feeling crawling up my spine.

The hallway was quiet. I pushed open the bathroom door and stepped inside.

That's when I heard Val's voice.

It was coming from the last stall. She must have slipped out during the toasts. I was about to call out to her when her words stopped me cold.

"I know, I know. I miss you too." A pause. A giggle. "Of course I'm being careful. She doesn't suspect a thing."

My hand froze on the door.

"Tomorrow's going to be perfect. Well, perfect for us." Val laughed, low and intimate. "After the wedding, everything changes. He promised."

I should have left. I should have walked out and pretended I never heard this. But my feet wouldn't move.

"Six months. That's what he said. Six months of playing happy couple, then he files for divorce." Her voice dropped, almost tender. "And then we can finally be together. For real this time."

He. He who?

My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears.

"Don't worry about Dee. She's clueless. Honestly, it's kind of sad how much she trusts him." Val's tone shifted, harder now. "But that's her problem. She's always been the naive one."

Something cold spread through my chest.

"I have to go. The dinner's almost over and I should... you know, be supportive." She laughed again. "I know. I love you too. Kiss Theo for me."

Theo.

Val's godson. The three-year-old she'd "adopted" last year. The little boy she brought to family dinners sometimes. The one with dark hair and gray eyes and a smile that looked so familiar I could never quite place it.

Gray eyes. Just like Garrett's.

Val's voice dropped to a purr. "Six months, baby. Six months and Theo can finally call him Daddy."

I stopped breathing.