Carve My Pumpkin (The Night Realm: Halloween Marked #3)

Chapter 28

TWENTY-EIGHT

COLETTE

“You did a great job!” Another person walked by and congratulated me for being the officiant of Torren and Nash’s wedding.

I gave a wave and plastered a smile on my face. “Thank you so much.”

The truth was I hardly remembered what I said. All I could do was try not to stare at Mateo the whole time. He was breathtaking in his black suit and pressed white shirt. I knew that he and Nash were twins, but Mateo was by far the more handsome one in my opinion. Where Nash was a bit more casual, Mateo was refined. He oozed charm. Even now I saw him on the other side of the room smiling with a glass of champagne in hand. He made feel like a complete disaster. I didn’t even have time to pick out a dress. I went with a pantsuit and pulled my hair into a tight bun on top of my head. Gertie threw some makeup on my face, and I prayed it looked good.

Even if I didn’t, the reception in the castle looked completely amazing. The walls had dim uplighting that gave the entire room a dark, candlelit feel. Twinkle lights were draped from one side of the room to the other. They hung in a swooping pattern that bathed the room in warm light. The tables were laid with floor-length, cream-colored tablecloths. Golden plates were spread around the tables along with polished silverware. Light music drifted through the room, and everyone moved around mingling.I forced myself to calmly weave my way through the people and toward my table while I smiled and waved. It felt like I was pretending, which I was. I had to hold it together for just a few more hours, then I could crawl into my bed and stay there until I was all cried out. Until then I’d force myself to sit through the torture of being so close to him and not being able to touch him, to kiss him.

I dropped down right between Gertie and Sylvie and sucked in a deep breath. “That was?—”

“So romantic,” Gertie finished for me.

“I was thinking more like torture.” I had to stand next to Mateo who looked fine as hell up there the whole time. “The plan was to get away from him, not stand right next to him during a wedding ceremony that was not my own.”

Sylvie handed me a glass of champagne. “Drink this. You’ll feel better.”

“I think I’m just going to be like you guys. You all are killing it as single ladies.”

“Some of us,” Susan pointed out as she gave her husband, Ricky, a pat on the arm. “Some of us have almost lost count how long we’ve been married.”

“Eh, marriage isn’t all it’s caulked up to be.” Sylvie waved her hand dismissively. “Neither are men.”

“Hold on.” My jaw dropped. “You guys were married?”

Sylvie nodded. “A couple of times.”

I couldn’t believe my ears. They’d survived not just one marriage but multiples. I didn’t know how I was going to survive Mateo. “What?”

“Who was that one?” Gertie pressed her lips together. “Oh . . . Keith? What happened to him?”

“I believe we stole his boat.” Sylvie said so matter-of-factly. “It might’ve been a kind of yacht. It was great to sail around the world.”

Gertie chuckled and nodded. “Oh, that’s right. He deserved it. Who was that other one?”

“Ladies.” I downed my champagne, hoping it’d take the edge off, hoping their words and the alcohol would make me forget him, forget everything.

“Daniel? No. Derek? No, that’s definitely not it.” Gertie shook her head. “Something with a D.”

“It’s always about the D with you,” Susan teased, and I spit my next sip out over the table.

“Donald!” Gertie snapped her fingers. “That was his name.”

“You took all his credit cards.” Sylvie chuckled. “And maxed them out on shoes and purses.”

“I happened to think they were very nice donations to the people of L.A.” Gertie grabbed her glass and clicked it against mine. “He also deserved it.”

I wish I felt like Mateo deserved something like that, but he really didn’t. He was a great guy who just wanted a great partner in life. I wished with everything I had that I was the partner, but there was no way I could be, and it cut me to my core.

Gertie’s hand landed on my thigh, and she turned to look at me with those huge eyes of her. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

“Yeah . . . um . . .” I felt a hot lump form in my throat. I didn’t want to shed a tear here, not when the occasion called for joy. The music lowered and the DJ asked everyone to take their seats while Torren and Nash walked to the middle of the dance floor. They twirled around in perfect unison while looking in each other’s eyes. My heart crushed in my rib cage and a tear spilled over onto my cheek. “I, um, just need something a bit stronger.”

I shot to my feet and headed over to the bar as Indi, Torren’s sister, took the microphone. I didn’t know how much more I could take or how much longer I’d be able to sit here. I wanted to be happy for Torren and Nash, but it was difficult when I felt so crushed. I got in the line for the bar and tried to block everything out, everything except the sound of his voice.

I froze when Bash walked right by me. I tried not to look but I felt Mateo too close by. Bash cleared his throat. “Collins will return tomorrow, and she’ll be ready to take you into Third Realm. Rest assured she’ll find your soulmate.”

Another tear fell and I quickly swiped it away. Mateo gave a noncommittal sound. “We’ll see what happens.”

“I know what will happen.” Bash gave him that deadpan voice. “She will be found. Congratulations.”

I didn’t wait to hear what he said in return. I didn’t want to know. I started to walk back toward our table when Constantine stepped in front of me, blocking the way. “You don’t have to stay.”

“I . . .” I looked up at him and sucked in a deep breath. When more tears pooled in my eyes, he shielded me from the guests and escorted me out of the ballroom so quickly I doubt anyone noticed. We were out the door and in the Vauntero golf cart speeding away from the castle in moments.

I sucked in a breath of cool air, and it was like a dam released. Silent tears streamed down my face. I was grateful for Constantine’s silence and that everyone else was attending the wedding. We sped through the forest, and I knew I wasn't heading back to my own little cottage. When he pulled up in front of my mother’s house, I turned to him. “How’d you know?”

“Sometimes mothers know best.” He patted my shoulder. “Talk to her. I’m sure she can help.”

I climbed out of the golf cart and turned back toward him. “I’m sorry you’re missing your brother’s wedding.”

“Don’t worry. I have plenty more.” He sped away and I turned for the door.

I didn’t hesitate to walk right in and flop down on her couch. I yanked one of her knitted blankets over my head and just tried to find my calm. I kicked my shoes from my feet and let them drop to the floor. I needed out of this suit, but I didn’t have the energy to take it off.

“Oh, honey, no.” I felt the couch dip by my legs.

“I really can’t help it.” My tears were flowing now, and I just had to let them. “I’m the idiot who fell for a guy who already has a soulmate.”

She rested her hand on my leg and rubbed small circles. “We all have our moments, love.”

“It’s better off this way.” I groaned and tried to keep telling myself that. I curled onto my side in the fetal position and pulled my knees up to my chest. “I should say that, right?”

My mother pulled the blanket off my face and bent down low so she was face to face with me. “I think it was very nice of you to be so . . . kind. But, honey, you’re allowed to feel what you feel.”

“Stupid. You mean stupid.” I kicked my legs over the side of the couch and forced myself to sit up straight. I put my elbows on my knees and ran my hands through my hair.

“Oh, men make us all stupid.” She sighed.

I didn’t have the energy to stay upright, so I flopped back over on my side and pulled the blanket back up over my face. “What the hell is wrong with me? Who falls for a guy that already has a soulmate? And it wasn’t like it was a mistake . . . I was the one looking for her. And now tomorrow he’s going to find her and I’m going to be a distant memory.”

“Oh, honey, sometimes it’s best not to think about it that way. Think about all the things you have now on your own . . . without him.” She moved in closer to me. “I met a man once, and he was great at first . . .”

“Isn’t it always great at first?” Everything between Mateo and I was rocky, actually. “I might have to take that back.”

“Sometimes it’s beautiful and turns ugly.”

I didn’t know what that meant. It was awful with us at first, but it was awful because deep down I think I loved him right from the beginning. But as time when on, he became everything I wanted and everything I needed. Yes, he was difficult, but he was also kind and thoughtful at the same time. My mom murmured something about a guy she was with and how bad it was, but I could hardly hear her past my own sobs.

“It was terrible, but I love him, Mom, and I just wish it would stop.” I knew that Collins would find his soulmate in Third Realm. She literally spoke to crystals, and the earth knew everything. Even as a fae failure, I knew that.

“Sometimes we have to run away from the things we love. Because they’re not good for us.” Her words made too much sense.

“We could’ve been so good together, Mom.” I sniffled, knowing in my heart we would’ve been perfect. “Fate really sucks.”

She pulled me into her arms and held me closer to her. She squeezed me so tight, and I clung to her for dear life. “I know, honey, I know.”

All I could do now was let the tears fall and hope they washed away the memory of Mateo and everything we could’ve possibly been.