“I won’t have you there if you can’t treat Jewell with respect,” Blake warned his brother.
“I won’t say another word to her,” Byron said. “No problem.”
He might not be saying another word to her, but she could feel his animosity; the very air around them all was thick with it. Jewell suspected that she and Byron would never be friends, not because she thought he was evil — though he showed signs of being pretty dang close — but because Byron didn’t seem to allow anyone to ever get close to him. It made her feel sad for him. What a lonely, thankless life the man must lead.
“Well, we got that all out of the way, so why don’t we go celebrate with a nice dinner?” Tyler said a little too eagerly.
“That sounds good, Tyler,” Blake told him.
Jewell was more than happy when they all left the office building, which was where Blake had decided to inform his brothers about tomorrow’s wedding. It wasn’t going to be a fancy wedding. It wasn’t about love, after all. But still, he had managed to arrange a simple ceremony at their house. Well, at his house. Jewell didn’t know whether she’d ever be able to consider it fully hers.
Yes, for the past two weeks the two of them had been getting along great. Blake had gone from demanding and arrogant to more considerate and asking her opinion. Well, everywhere except for the bedroom. There, he was insatiable and very, very demanding. And she loved it.
His business deal had to be going well, because he was happier than she’d ever seen him be. She just wished he were happy for a different reason. But no, they didn’t speak of love, and no, she wasn’t under the illusion that they were marrying because of love. And that really sucked because somehow in the midst of all of this she was falling in love with him.
She couldn’t pinpoint the moment when it had begun happening. Maybe it was like those survivor stories where two people under extreme circumstances fall in love with each other. The Stockholm syndrome, perhaps? she thought will a grim chuckle. Maybe it was just because she felt so dependent on him. Whatever the reasons, she was simultaneously excited about her marriage to him and dreading it.
This was a fairy tale, Jewell knew, but a fractured one. She wasn’t a princess, and Blake most certainly was not Prince Charming. This long, strange dream seemed almost certain to end in a rude awakening.
Byron backed down a little during the dinner they shared that evening, and later that night the brothers took Blake with them for an impromptu bachelor party. Jewell was restless, tossing and turning for hours in her lonely bed.
Wasn’t the night before a woman’s wedding day supposed to be filled with dreams of happily-ever-afters? Not for her. Hadn’t she decided long ago that she wasn’t one of those people who was destined to win that perfect life? Still, she was luckier than most, she reminded herself.
She had her brother and she had Blake — for now.
Chapter Twenty-Six
You do realize that if you don’t breathe, you’re going to pass out, don’t you?”
Jewell met McKenzie’s gaze in the mirror and she attempted a smile, but there was no power great enough to accomplish that. Her stomach was nervous, her eyes almost wild, and her body felt as if it didn’t even belong to her.
“What if I’m making the biggest mistake of my life?” Jewell asked.
McKenzie knelt down by her and turned her chair. “Jewell, I’ve made many mistakes in my lifetime, so trust me when I tell you, this isn’t a mistake,” she said, and she completely surprised Jewell when she leaned in and gave her a hug.
McKenzie looked so much softer in her light blue chiffon dress, which brushed the top of her knees in the front and flowed down in the back. Her makeup was minimal — she possessed an amazing natural beauty — and her hair was up in a stylish bun with a few strands falling around her face in a lovely frame.
It was odd, but she looked so different, so…innocent was the word that kept popping into Jewell’s mind, that it calmed the jittery bride. “You’ve been good to me these last few months, McKenzie. I don’t know how I can ever repay you,” Jewell said, feeling tears trying to break through.
“I like you, Jewell. I didn’t expect to find friendship with you, but I genuinely like you,” McKenzie told her.
“I like you, too, McKenzie,” Jewell said. “And maybe someday you will tell me your story. You know mine, after all.”
“I might just do that,” McKenzie replied, instead of retreating into silence the way Jewell expected her to do. “But right now it is your wedding day, and you have an anxious groom out there waiting on you.”
“I don’t think he’s anxious, McKenzie. Remember, this is for his business deal,” Jewell said with more sadness than she cared to admit she was feeling. “And, of course, so I can get Justin back permanently.”
“You can say anything you want to make yourself feel better, but I know that look in a woman’s eyes. You love him, Jewell.”
“I…I’m doing this for Justin,” Jewell insisted, though the words got trapped in her throat.
“You’ve done a lot for your brother,” McKenzie said, and then a look in her eyes alerted Jewell to the depths of pain this woman had borne for some reason. “Just remember to not lose yourself,” she added. “Enough of this, though. Let’s focus on what matters today — your wedding.”
“If you need to talk, I’m always here to listen,” Jewell told her.
“I think I know that,” McKenzie said with a shaky smile. “Now sit down. Let’s get this veil on you and get you down that aisle. I think the groom will start manhandling people if you don’t get out there on time.”
If only that were true, Jewell thought. But no, this was a business deal. If she was developing feelings for Blake, they were unimportant. This wasn’t about her, or about Blake for that matter. It was about her little brother and doing everything she could for him.
And it was absurd to be so selfish, if only in her thoughts. She was getting a second chance at life, and if she dared to ask for too much, then she was setting herself up for heartbreak. She had Justin, she had an incredible sex life with Blake, and she had security. That was more than so many people had, so she would damn well smile and appreciate her blessings instead of focusing on what she lacked.
Her veil in place, Jewell turned to look at the image of herself in he mirror. Her gown was simple, made of white chiffon that flowed to the ground, with delicate beadwork on the bodice, and with sleeves that billowed until they reached her wrists. The dress was molded to her torso, and it floated around her legs, making her feel like she was walking through a breeze with each step she took.