The Honeymoon He Took with Her

The ticket scanner came back blank against the guest list, and the staff waved me off to the side.

Jasper slapped his forehead and swore. "Damn it, I must have punched in Chloe's information by accident when I bought these VIP tickets."

He turned to me, suddenly dead serious. "Well, the good news is she's a fan too. I should just go grab her — no way am I letting these seats go to waste."

I ended up listening to the whole concert from outside the stadium.

Half a month later, I got left behind again, this time at the airport.

"I can't believe I pulled the same stunt twice!" Jasper grumbled. "Every ticket on this trip is registered under Chloe's name." He sighed. "What else can I do? I guess I'll just bring her along instead. She's never been out of the country, after all. At least you have."

Chloe showed up at the terminal almost as though she'd been waiting just out of sight. She took his suitcases from him without hesitation, so smoothly it looked like something she'd done a hundred times before.

"Got you, girl," she said to me. "I know this was supposed to be your honeymoon, so I'll keep an eye on your guy. Hell, I'll even teach him how to be the perfect hubby for you."

Jasper and I had been together seven years. For seven years, he'd repeated the exact same slip-up, putting Chloe's name on every ticket and plan that mattered to us.

I'd had enough. It finally hit me that the biggest mistake in all of this was my own. I should have stopped lying to myself a long time ago.

Jasper didn't notice how my expression had changed. He was too occupied checking Chloe's passport.

“Look at you. You remembered everything!” he said brightly. “You're better at packing than Wren. She puts her stuff down wherever she happens to be, then has to hunt for it. I always end up packing her bags.”

He stacked their passports together. Chloe let out a sigh.

“Must be nice. My best friend gets looked after wherever she goes. Those of us who are single have to manage on our own.”

I said nothing. Put those two in a room, and sooner or later they'd start picking apart my faults. By now, I couldn't miss the other part of it: he was more concerned about her than about me.

“We're heading out, babe. Don't miss us too much!” Jasper said. “Aren't you going to wish us a good trip?”

A full minute passed before he registered my silence and finally looked at my face.

“Don't give us that look. You're putting a damper on everything. I'll make it up to you when I'm back, okay? We've already been to the Bahamas together. You'll be fine skipping it this time.”

Five years earlier, I'd told Jasper I loved him on those islands. That memory was the whole reason I'd picked them for our honeymoon.

Now he was going back with a different woman, and apparently he saw nothing wrong with that.

I'd thought returning to where we'd started might help us find our way back to each other. What a fool I'd been.

“Right,” I said, giving a humorless laugh. “Have a safe trip.”

…

Our joint bachelor and bachelorette party had been yesterday, and its remains were still scattered around the house. Flowers, decorations, white and blue ribbons. Even my wedding dress was still out.

Except I hadn't been the only woman wearing it. Jasper had ordered Chloe an identical custom-made dress without telling me. I found out when she walked in wearing it, and I refused to go along with the performance.

“Babe, she's your best friend,” he protested, frowning. “You've been wearing matching clothes since you were kids. Why is this any different? Didn't you two promise you'd get married on the same day?”

“Guess she doesn't remember that,” Chloe said softly. “If it bothers you that much, I'll take it off.”

She stripped off the dress right there. Jasper immediately grabbed my overcoat and settled it around her shoulders.

Then he turned an accusing look on me. “Satisfied? Can we get back to the party now?”

I swallowed everything I wanted to say and nodded.

…

The cleaners showed up at the time we'd arranged. I told them to take away every trace of the party. I didn't want to hang on to anything I was expected to share.

That went for my partner, too.

I called the county clerk's office to cancel our appointment. We'd planned to get our marriage license and have a civil ceremony after the honeymoon trip. There was no reason to keep that appointment now.

“There may be a mix-up, Ms. Cole,” the clerk said. “I don't see your name here. I do have a booking for Jasper Bennett, but the other applicant is Chloe Reed.”

Another one of Jasper's little “mistakes.”

Chloe and I shared a birthday. Some of the numbers on our ID cards were almost the same, too. None of that explained how her name had replaced mine. They would still have to check the actual people and their identification, and Chloe Reed looked nothing like Wren Cole on a form.

How much longer was he going to act as though this had happened by accident?