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Emma made it to the rehearsal dinner just in time. There had been a mix-up with her room and she barely had time to shower and change. Thankfully the dinner was being held at the hotel and as soon as Addie spotted her, she waved her over. She was extremely grateful that she was going to be sitting with her friend, Howie and his immediate family whom she’d been introduced to when they got engaged.

“I hear you’ll be my aisle walking partner.” John said as they were taking their seats.

“I am indeed. I think you might be stuck with me again for the bridal party dance.”

“I think I can handle it.” he responded with a laugh.

“You may regret saying that after I’ve stepped on your toes a million times. I’m not the most graceful person ever.”

“I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

“Be careful John.” Howie warned. “I’ve seen her in action and she isn’t kidding. You may want to look into stronger shoes.”

Emma looked over at Howie with surprise. He grinned at her and she smiled. They had become like brother and sister since he started seeing Addie and she loved hanging out with them. It was hard after she and Nick split up but Howie never seemed to treat her any differently and he was extremely supportive even though Nick was family to him.

“You better be careful Dorough or I’ll stand up tomorrow when they ask if anyone objects to the marriage!”

“You would not!” Howie said and threw a roll in her direction.

“Yes I would……” Emma’s sentence trailed off.

Addie turned around to see what she was staring at and found her watching Howie’s bandmates as they made their way to their table. She knew Emma hadn’t seen any of them since the breakup although AJ had tried to get ahold of her several times. The incident with Lauren bothered him and he wanted to make sure Emma was ok. The problem was that she couldn’t deal with anyone who was close to Nick, with the exception of Howie.

“Are you ok?” Addie whispered as she leaned in towards her friend.

Emma nodded and tore the roll Howie had tossed her in half. It took every ounce of willpower to steady her nerves and keep herself from making a beeline to the door. She knew she had to do everything she could to ignore the looks that would eventually drift her way.

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“I think we just made it.” Brian whispered to the guys as they took their seats.

“What makes you say that?” AJ asked.

“The look on Howie’s face.” Kevin murmured. “He looks like he was contemplating killing us.”

“Well we made it.” Nick interjected. “So we’re fine and D can relax.”

The waitress had just taken their drink order when AJ swore under his breath. The guys swiveled to look at AJ’s line of vision and they all spotted Emma at the same time. She was sitting with Addie, Howie and his family. There was smile on her face but anyone who knew her could spot the sadness in her eyes. Nick knew that he had caused that and swiftly looked away.

“Do you want to trade seats?” Kevin asked.

“No.” Nick replied. “Howie told me she’d be here. I mean after all, she’s Addie’s best friend. Where else would she be?”

AJ, never one for tact, brought up the burning question.

“So are you gonna talk to her?”

“AJ.” Kevin warned. “I don’t think…”

“No, he’s right.” Brian said surprising everyone. “Nick needs to talk to her at some point. We’re all in Howie’s life now and we have to figure out a way to deal with all this.”

Nick usually appreciated Brian’s ability to play peacemaker but this was not one of these times.

“I know I need to talk to her but I have no idea what to say. Everything I can think of sounds stupid.”

“Well,” AJ started, “it might sound idiotic because…”

“What I did is idiotic.” Nick said finishing his brother’s sentence. “I get that. I don’t know what to say to her. Maybe she doesn’t even want to talk to me.”

“Maybe she does, maybe she doesn’t but you’ll never know unless you try.”

“I know but…”

“Keep making excuses Carter. You guys can sit here but I’m gonna make her talk to me.”

AJ got up and started across the room before anyone could stop him. They all watched as he made his way to Howie’s table, pulled up a chair and plunked himself down right next to Emma. She looked completely shocked but after a few minutes, AJ’s charm seemed to loosen her up and they saw her laugh at some pictures he was showing her on his phone. Nick stared at her as she continued to smile and eventually, she looked over at him. Her smile faded instantly and she looked away as quickly as she could. That action hurt Nick more than he could explain and he excused himself to the men’s room.

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“How are you doing?” Addie whispered after AJ left.

“Hanging in there.”

“I saw Nick staring at you. He couldn’t take his eyes off you.”

“Don’t start Addie.”

“I’m just saying….”

“Stop saying.” Emma snapped. “I’m sorry Addie but there is nothing left between me and Nick. He didn’t want me then and even if he’s been staring at me all night, it doesn’t change anything.”

Addie looked back over towards the guys table. She knew Emma was full of crap when she said there was nothing left between them. Two years had passed and the mention of Nick’s name still caused a change in Emma. It was like a raw wound that wasn’t healing and Addie knew that something would need to be done in order to stop her friend’s pain. She wanted to tell Nick about all the damage he’d caused but she had to walk a fine line since he was, and always would be, Howie’s family.

“Are you at least going to talk to him?”

“Not unless I absolutely have to.”

“Don’t you...”

“Don’t push Addie. I just want to enjoy your wedding and celebrate the best day of your life with you.”

“Ok.” Addie said. “No more, I promise.”

“Good.” Emma replied as she smiled faintly. “Let’s get to dessert!”

Everyone spent the next hour or so telling jokes, trading stories and just enjoying each other’s company. They started to break up about midnight and Emma stuck around to say goodbye to some of Howie’s other family. She caught Nick heading in her direction and she decided to cut her goodbyes short. Hugging Howie and Addie, she rushed out to the lobby to catch the elevator to her room.

By the time Nick made it across the room, Emma had disappeared. He asked Howie where she went and his friend just shrugged his shoulders. Turning towards Addie, he started to speak and then closed his mouth when he saw the look on her face. Not wanting to cause an argument, he made his way back to his room. He may have missed this chance but he was determined to get her talk to him.