Chapter 23: Breaking Hearts


    Bree looked crestfallen, her eyes downcast, lost and out of ce. Trent hated that he was the one


    who’d made her look that way. She was even more beautiful now than she had been thest time he’d


    seen her, that day at the convenience store when he’d insisted on stopping, despite his then-girlfriend’s


    objections. He’d seen Bree’s car, knew she was in town for Christy’s party, and wanted to see her even


    though he knew it wasn’t in his best interest.


    He hadn’t regretted seeing her, only that she didn’t want to see him at the moment. Over the years,


    he’de to realize he’d messed up. He should’ve tried harder to get ahold of her back in college,


    after he’d kissed her. He hadn’t gone far enough to try to track her down, and by the time he was face-


    to-face with her again, it was clear she hated him.


    But then he’d heard that song and had to wonder if she’d written it for him. While it was entirely


    possible he had nothing to do with it, ever since he’d seen her singing it on a YouTube video, he


    couldn’t get her out of his mind.


    It wasn’t fair that she was here and didn’t know what she was walking into, though. He wished there


    was something he could do to make her feel morefortable. Lilly was so busy trying to get


    everything ready for the wedding, she wouldn’t have a lot of time to spend with Bree. Hank would go


    out of his way to spend time with her, Trent was sure, but other than that, she would likely feel like an


    outsider. He knew she wasn’t necessarily nning on going to all of the events Monica had scheduled


    for the week anyway, but now that she knew what she’d walked into, he’d be surprised if he saw her


    again before the wedding.


    And he wanted to see her before the wedding. Even though it was stupid and made things more


    Ignoring her altogether meant he’d be better able to focus on the woman he was marrying, the woman


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    he loved.


    He did love Monica, didn’t he?


    “Are you okay, sweetie pooh?” she purred next to him.


    “Yeah, I’m fine.” He smiled at her, and she kissed his cheek. Monica was always overly affectionate in


    public. Other ces, it was often a different story, and he’d gotten the impression more than once that


    her reason for being with him wasn’t all that it should be.


    But she wanted to marry him. In fact, she’d arranged for him to propose. The whole situation was so


    odd. He was here, though, about to marry Monica, which meant he needed to find a way to pull his


    eyes away from Bree. It wasn’t as if she’d ever forgive him for what had happened anyway. That face


    she was making had to have more to do with her being caught off guard than upset that he was getting


    married. He’d have to find a way to keep her from feeling out of ce--without causing Monica any


    distress. It was a sticky situation, one he’d gotten himself into, and he’d have to find a way to get out of


    it. One way or another.