Free Groomless - Part 1 by Sierra Rose Page A

His blue eyes glittered, and his black, wavy hair had grown a bit and now touched his shoulder.
    Wow!
    I had thought about Luke many times over the years, but I always tried to put those thoughts out of my mind. I think it was really because I didn’t want to hold out that secret hope that we would meet again; I didn’t want to set myself up to be disappointed. Disappointment was really the story of my life, though, for no guy since him had ever even come close to making me feel the way he did. He had lingered in my mind as nothing but a distant memory, until he stepped into that bridal shop at the worst possible time.
    The hairs on my arms stood up, and heat flooded my body as I gawked at him. I couldn’t believe he was there, that the impromptu reunion was really happening. I blinked a few times, certain that he was just a mirage, some sort of hallucination, but that wasn’t the case. He was getting closer and closer, and it really was him.
    I couldn’t move; it was as if someone had glued my feet right where they were standing. Our eyes met almost instantaneously. When they did, his mouth dropped open, his eyebrows shot up, and he smiled that big, happy grin of his and hurried over to me.
    “Julia!” he said. “Wow! I can’t believe it.”
    I wasn’t sure whether to run over to meet him or just wave and keep my distance. We ultimately settled or middle ground and an awkward half-hug. Still, even for those few seconds, his touch awakened something in me, something I was sure I had safely packed up and tucked away five years ago, after he left for the Trump job.
    “Hi, Luke.” I looked down at the floor, feeling the hot blush on my cheeks and wondering just how red my face was. When I looked up again, he was still smiling.
    “I was hoping I might run into you someday,” he said. “New York is a big city, but we both live here.”
    “Well, here I am,” I said, trying not to sound sheepish. I wanted to be calm, cool, and collected, but I knew I was failing miserably. Even when I closed my eyes, I still saw his face, and I couldn’t stop thinking about how badly I’d missed him over the years, as angry as I was at him for giving up on us. “It’s good to see you,” I finally managed to say, clumsily dropping the veil from my shaky hand.
    He picked it up and handed it back to me. Our fingertips brushed, and it was like an electrical current shooting up my arm. It took everything in me not to jump back in reaction to the sensation.
    “Hey,” he said, his voice low and soft, “Julia, it’s okay.”
    I wanted to brush the remark off and act like I didn’t know what he was talking about, but I knew he’d see through any façade like that. I just smiled, took a deep breath, and said, “I know. I’m just…surprised to see you.”
    “How are you?” he asked, making casual conversation that didn’t feel casual at all.
    “Good. And you?”
    “I’m great.”
    The love of my life, the one who had left me to go to Hong Kong, was standing right there before me. I was dumbfounded, as if I’d been struck by lightning. It felt like the whole world had stopped spinning, and there was no one on it but the two of us. I stared into his blue eyes and was unable to speak for a minute as our eyes locked. I was so discombobulated and caught off guard. My stomach churned. Luke was supposed to be my groom, the one who would put the ring on my finger, and now I was standing in an ill-fitting wedding gown in front of him, like a fool, preparing to pretend-marry my gay friend with a ring from a bubble gum machine. Emotional turmoil flooded through me like a tidal wave, my heart began to race beneath the too-tight corset, and my palms began to sweat, soaking the veil. 
    Does he still find me as pretty and captivating as he did five years ago? I wondered, but then I had to wonder why I even cared. Yes, he was hot, but the feelings went far deeper than lust. I missed our friendship, our long talks, and the way he always