Читать книгу Island Fantasy - Kayla Perrin - Страница 7

Shayna Kenyon didn’t consider herself a vengeful person. Revenge was not her style. In life, she had been able to turn the other cheek when people had wronged her. Been able to move forward and leave any ugliness in the past.

But last night…A flash of what she’d witnessed with her own two eyes entered her brain, causing her stomach to twist harshly. She couldn’t very well move forward from Vince’s betrayal in the same easy fashion she had moved forward when necessary in the past.

Especially not today.

Today…Oh, Lord help her.

The depth of Vince’s betrayal burned deep in her soul. And the timing of it couldn’t have been worse.

Shayna inhaled a deep, shaky breath. Her eyes misted, but she held back her tears. She had to do what she was about to do. There was no other choice.

“Baby, it’s okay,” her father said and held her arm a little closer to his side. “There’s no need to cry. You’re marrying a man who adores you, and if I do say so myself, you look incredible. You’re my daughter, yes, but I mean it when I say this—you’re the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen. Other than your mother,” he added with a smile. “This is your day. Enjoy it.”

Enjoy it, Shayna thought sourly. She hadn’t enjoyed anything since last night—and she had the puffy eyes to prove it. She’d told her parents that she’d been too excited to sleep, which wasn’t the truth. She’d been too devastated to truly rest. All night, she had lain awake, alternately crying and contemplating what to do.

Her decision—approved by her sister—was the only thing giving her the power to walk down the aisle. The fact that there would be some satisfaction in what was coming next. It was the only reason she’d gotten all dressed up and spent two hours getting her hair and makeup done. To see the look on Vince’s face when she let him—and all the guests in attendance—know that she knew.

The last of Shayna’s five bridesmaids took her place on the podium. After a few beats of silence, the local singer she and Vince had hired began her rendition of “Here I Am” by Beyoncé and Eric Benét. Shayna and Vince had opted for something more contemporary as opposed to the traditional organ music signaling the bride’s walk down the aisle.

Shayna swallowed, tears falling from her eyes even though she didn’t want them to. Her father pulled the handkerchief from his breast pocket and dabbed at her cheeks.

“Come on, baby,” he urged. “Everyone’s waiting.”

Shayna hesitated a beat, suddenly unsure. But even her sister had encouraged her to do what she was about to do next. “Do what you need to do,” her younger sister, Brianne, had told her. “As far as I’m concerned, Vince deserves much worse than public humiliation.”

The singer continued the soulful love ballad, and Shayna knew she should start moving. Through the church’s back door windows, she could see everyone on their feet, waiting for her to take her final walk as a single woman.

The doors opened. She began to move. She was nervous and devastated, and yet she tried to force a smile. Given her state of mind, she wasn’t sure she accomplished her goal.

All around her, people were grinning. Some grinning and crying. This was a wonderful occasion. One she’d waited thirty-two years for. Her family was ecstatic that she’d found the kind of love that lasted a lifetime.

Shayna knew better, and soon everyone else would, too.

While walking down the aisle, Shayna hadn’t allowed herself to look directly at Vince, afraid she would fall apart. But as she neared him, she did. Her stomach lurched with disgust when she saw the tears streaming down his face.

Tears of joy, or tears of shame?

The tears of shame would come soon—that much she was sure of.

Near the pulpit, her father stopped, faced her and dabbed at his own tears before kissing her cheek. “I love you, baby,” he said.

“I love you, too,” Shayna said, her voice a whisper.

She hoped her father wouldn’t be upset with her ruse, but she knew his wrath would be for Vince. Vince, who’d behaved like the son her father had never had.

How could you? Shayna wondered, and then took the two steps onto the podium to join her groom.

The singer finished her song. Vince took Shayna’s hands in his, his eyes lighting up with warmth.

“Baby, you look amazing,” he told her, and Shayna wanted to yank her hands from his grip. She was past the devastation, at least temporarily, and was going on pure anger.

“Dearly beloved,” the minister intoned. “We are gathered here today—”

“Excuse me,” Shayna interrupted, her stomach fluttering. She had known she would speak, but she hadn’t expected it to be just then. But she couldn’t fake it a moment longer. Couldn’t stand the sight of Vince acting like the happy fiancé. “I—I need to say something.”

The minister looked confused. So did Vince.

But when neither objected, Shayna forged ahead, meeting her fiancé’s tear-filled eyes. “Actually, I have a question for you, sweetheart.” She added the last word with much exaggeration.

“What, baby?” Vince asked, looking and sounding concerned. “What is it?”

Part of her wanted to turn and run down the aisle. That would be easier than confronting Vince publicly. And yet, she’d made up her mind. Difficult or not, she was going to do what she’d planned.

“Do you love me, Vince?” Shayna asked. “Love me enough that you believe you’re making the right decision by marrying me?”

A hum of surprise sounded in the crowd. People were curious now, perhaps some realizing that something wasn’t right.

“Of course I do,” Vince responded. He squeezed Shayna’s hands tighter and chuckled softly in relief, his tone saying he felt his bride was suffering from last-minute jitters. “You know I love you more than anything, baby. You’re the one I want to grow old with. Have children with. Spend the rest of my life with.”

There were some, “Awwws,” and a few people even clapped—that’s how perfect Vince’s answer had been.

“Shall I continue?” the minister asked. The warm smile on his face said he also believed that Shayna had simply needed reassuring.

Shayna faced the minister. A beat passed. Then she said, “Just one more question.”

Silence filled the church, so much so that the buzzing of a fly could be heard. Shayna swallowed the lump in her throat so that she could find her voice, aware that everyone was waiting to hear what she had to say.

She straightened her shoulders and said, “You love me.”

“Of course.”

“You love me so much you ended up in your car after your bachelor party, making out with a stripper!”

Startled gasps erupted in the pews.

“Baby,” Vince said. He tried to chuckle, but the sound was hollow. “A—a stripper? W-what?”

Shayna pulled her hands from the man she was grateful not to be marrying. “Don’t you dare try to lie, Vince. I saw you with my own eyes! You were parked right outside the private hall you rented, you jerk. I saw you leave the building with her. I saw you go to your car with her. And I saw what happened after that, too.”

Vince said nothing, but Shayna saw the panic in his widened eyes. The disbelief that she could possibly know what he’d done.

Shayna glanced to her left, at her sister, who was her maid of honor. Brianne nodded her encouragement.

“And baby,” Shayna went on, slowly and clearly, “if that’s your definition of love, then I’ll pass on the whole marrying you thing, thank you very much.”

Vince’s mouth fell open, but he was too startled to speak. A buzz of surprised chatter instantly filled the church. The groomsmen and bridesmaids all stared at Shayna, stunned looks on their faces. Shayna would answer their questions—but not yet.

Running on adrenaline, Shayna gathered her wide organza skirt in her hands and turned as swiftly as she could. She hustled back down the aisle, aware that all eyes were on her.

She knew she would cry later, but for that moment, as she neared the back doors of the church, she smiled.

Vince Danbury may have had a scandalously good time last night, but Shayna had just had the last laugh.