All's Fair in Love and Las Vegas

Chapter Ninety-Four

        They both went quiet, which made me feel bad. "Sorry. I didn't mean to snap."

        "It's okay. You're right, we are being too hopeful," Nina said logically. 

        Now I really felt bad. "No, no," I said, pulling off the freeway. "It's Kylie's wedding and I will not ruin it by crushing your hopes. I'm getting you both apology ice cream and I still am going to talk to him."

        You'd think I'd yelled that I was taking them to Hawaii. "ICE CREAM!" Nina shouted from the backseat.

        Ice cream did cheer all of us up, even me, who was being a rain cloud floating over Kansas. Soon we were back in the car, our spirits high and the music loud.

        We pulled up to the hotel at two thirty, meaning we had to quickly drop off our suitcases and head to the venue at the beach. There were already a few cars there, which were hopefully the vendors. This section of the beach was private, meaning I'd reserved it weeks ago and we were the only ones here. 

        One car was flashier than the others: a gleaming white Ferrari. Sure enough, Clay jumped out of the car as soon as we pulled into a space. Kylie jumped out before I'd even parked and hugged him so hard I thought he might explode.

        He kissed her blonde hair, whispering, "It's good to see you, Kylie."

        "You too," she sniffled, stepping back and wiping her eyes.

        My heartbeat skyrocketed when someone else got out of the Ferrari. I should've expected them to come together, or at least that he would be here when I got here, but I guess I hadn't prepared myself. Grayson shockingly looked...different. He was still mostly himself, wearing tan slacks and a black button-down shirt and tie, but he looked tired. There were signs of dark circles under his eyes, and while he'd shaven, I suspected he'd only done so this morning. A peek at his shoes revealed that he was wearing mismatched socks. Slightly different tones of gray, but still mismatched.

        There were hugs all around–or at least, almost all the way around. More of a good, curved arch instead of a circle. Everyone noticed that Grayson and I didn't hug, but I didn't really have the energy to care. I did give him a polite nod, which he returned, but that was all.

        "Should we go inside?" Clay asked, nodding to the little beach house. "I ordered pizzas, then we can all start getting ready."

        Pizza was a great way to get people to a location. He began walking up the trail, with Kylie's arm linked in his. I went to follow them, but behind me, Grayson cleared his throat.

        "Can I talk to you?" he said in a low voice. It sounded like he was trying to speak a foreign language that he'd only been learning for a couple of weeks.

        Anxious, I nodded, stopping in the path. Thankfully, no one noticed that we'd fallen behind, still eagerly talking amongst themselves.

        "I'm not going to talk about anything that happened," Grayson said, his hands jammed in his pockets. "I know we're both...anyways, the point is, we both know how badly Kylie and Clay deserve this. This is the wedding of their dreams, without anyone to wreck it."

        He was talking about his mother. I nodded, and he went on. "I'm not saying we have to go back to our old normal. But...if you'd be willing, I think it would be nice for us to act as acquaintances for the weekend. For their sake."

        He was right, unfortunately. I exhaled slowly and said, "I agree. Yes, we may have our differences, but we can be civilized. Maybe not friends, but definitely civilized."