The tie was strangling him—at least, it felt that way. Nick slid his fingers under his collar and tugged a little in an attempt to loosen it without ruining the hard work Kristin had done to tie him up in the first place.

“Nick.” Kevin stood behind him in the mirror, and Nick turned to face him.

“Yeah?”

“You nervous?”

He had to think about that one for a moment. His fingers were trembling, there was a constant clenching in his stomach, and he could’ve sworn his heart was dragging somewhere in the vicinity of his toes. “I guess you could call it that, yeah.”

“It’s normal, you know,” Kevin told him before reaching out to fix the tie and make it more comfortable. He placed his hands on Nick’s shoulders and looked him square in the eye. “You would tell me if something else was bothering you, right?”

“Yeah.” Nick took one shaky breath, then another. “I’d tell you, but I think I’m going to be fine. Everything’s going to be fine.”

Kevin’s eyes seemed to assess his every feature before he nodded. “I know things with Spencer got out of control, and I know you spent yesterday as a wreck.” Nick didn’t bother wincing as he knew Kevin would’ve figured it out one way or another. He hadn’t exactly been jovial at the rehearsal dinner the night before. “I just want to let you know that, no matter what you do from here on out, you can rely on me. I’ll support you in whatever decision you make.”

“Kevin, I already made my decision.” Nick glanced around the small anteroom at the church where the other guys and his brother, Aaron, were waiting with him before the ceremony. “I know what I’m doing.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes,” he answered firmly. “Spencer is the past, and Cara is my future. I’m going to thank her every day for the rest of our lives for taking me back, despite the stupid mistakes I made this week.”

Kevin smiled a little. “She’s a great woman.”

“And I’m going to go out there in ten minutes and marry her,” Nick added, trying to infuse enthusiasm in his voice. “Unless I have a heart attack from these nerves.”

“You’ll be fine,” Kevin assured him, patting his back. “And I’m proud of you. This can’t be easy.”

Nick knew what Kevin meant, and he couldn’t quite meet his friend’s eyes. “It’s not, but nothing in life ever is. We should know that better than anyone,” he said quietly. Looking up now, he pasted on his brightest smile and hoped it reached his eyes. “I can’t believe this day is finally here, though. I thought it would never happen, you know.”

“You were just waiting for the right woman,” Kevin told him with a smile. “Cara’s here now, and I know the two of you will be very happy together.”

Yeah, Nick thought fifteen minutes later. Even if he had to force every last thought and memory of Spencer into a box and padlock it shut, he was going to make sure that none of the past ever came out and hurt Cara again.

He stood in front of the church, Aaron and Kevin on one side, the reverend on his other. The small church was full of friends and family, and he spotted Kristin already dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. He grinned; she was practically his mother and big sister all rolled into one today.

Glancing around the room in an attempt to distract himself from his nerves, he noticed Brian frowning as he murmured into a cell phone. His eyes flicked up to meet Nick’s briefly before looking away again. Nick idly wondered what that was all about, but Brian was forgotten when he spotted Sydney.

His daughter looked absolutely beautiful today—though Nick thought she was always beautiful—but, as she leaned against Mason’s shoulder, he could see the miserable expression in her eyes. She was undoubtedly upset about whatever had transpired between Nick and Spencer, and he felt guilt swamp him. When her eyes met his, she tried to valiantly summon up a smile. When it didn’t quite work, his guilt intensified.

“Nick, what’s wrong?” Kevin whispered, having seen the saddened expression on Nick’s face.

“Nothing,” he whispered back. Nothing was wrong. Everything was fine. He was marrying the woman he was meant to marry, and there was nothing wrong with that.

His eyes flicked up to the doorway when Cara’s best friend and maid of honor bustled down the aisle in her butter yellow bridesmaid’s gown. When she reached Nick, she grabbed his arm and tugged him close so that only he would hear her words. “Cara wants to talk to you. And, no, I don’t know why, and I told her it was bad luck, but she won’t budge. Come on,” she added, pulling him a little.

Nick frowned, but he followed her anyway. He could hear the murmurs from everyone in the pews and knew they were all staring, all wondering what was going on. If he’d had any clue, he might have told them. But, as he approached the door behind which his bride stood, an unsettling feeling began to grow within him.

Taking a deep breath, he pushed open the door and stepped inside, his face lighting up with awe when he saw her. “Cara?”

She managed a tiny smile and pushed the fingertip veil off her face. “I know this is horribly bad luck, but we need to talk.”

***

Spencer, it’s Brian. Again. For like the five thousandth time. I know you’re getting these messages because I’ve never met anyone more meticulous about checking messages than you. I love you, and I need to talk to you. Call me back, please. I’m worried about you. Please, talk to me.

Spencer turned the phone off and sighed as she slid it back into her pocket. There was no way she could call him back today. Maybe tomorrow…No, she thought, it would be better to call him on Monday. By then, maybe this horrible weight that had settled in her chest would have disappeared.

She barely glanced at her packed bags as she went to the window. From there, she could see the brilliant blue of the Gulf of Mexico and torture herself one more time about how close she had once been to having Nick. Though it had happened years ago, she couldn’t forget it. She’d never forget it for as long as she lived. Pretending that she had forgotten really hadn’t done her any good at all. Now, the best thing she could for him was exactly what he’d wished: erase herself from his life.

And she would. Starting now.

When the call came from the front desk that her cab was here, she picked up her bags and took the first step towards doing just that.

***

The heat was vicious, and Nick suddenly wished he’d thought to take off his coat at least. He’d been in such a hurry to leave that the thought hadn’t crossed his mind. Now, he was stuck in a traffic jam in the middle of Tampa and had to clench his teeth together to keep from screaming. The air conditioner in his top of the line car had stalled on him, which was his own fault because he’d forgotten to get it repaired weeks ago.

His leg jiggled nervously, and he wished the traffic would just disappear from the road ahead. He tried to count to a hundred to calm himself down, but it didn’t work. Instead, the conversation he’d had with Cara played back to him like a movie in his head.

“I thought I should let you know that I heard about what happened between you and Spencer on Thursday,” Cara began, her fingers twisting a piece of lace in her hands.

Nick felt his stomach drop to his knees. “You did?” he whispered. “How?”

“Sydney came to see me last night, after the dinner. She knew I’d seen that something was off about you yesterday, so she told me about your argument. She said that I deserved to know.” Cara paused for a moment, unable to meet Nick’s eyes. “I think, for the first time since you told me about Spencer in the beginning of our relationship, I finally understand how she must feel.”

“What…” Nick’s breath shuddered out nervously from between his lips. “What do you mean?”

She looked up at him then, her green eyes sad. “All I’d ever heard about her was from you, which meant that it was all biased. When Sydney told me nearly word for word about the argument, my heart broke for Spencer. I didn’t know that you could be quite that cruel, Nick.”

He winced. “I know, and it was stupid of me to say the things I said to her.”

“Which is why you spent yesterday in a really foul mood?” she asked quietly.

He nodded, wishing he were anywhere but having this conversation. “Yeah. I felt like the biggest asshole imaginable, and I still don’t feel right about it. But there’s not much I can do to fix it.”

“Yes, you can.” Cara’s face was serious and determination gleamed in her eyes. “I don’t know Spencer, Nick, but I know you. If you were ever half as passionate when you fought with me, I think I would’ve died from the heat. I’ve never once seen that side of you; never realized it was there,” she added with a sad smile. Then, her lips firmed into a straight line. “You can’t marry me, Nick.”

His jaw dropped. “Cara! What? I don’t-”

“You can’t marry me,” she repeated, “because you’re not mine to have. I don’t have any right to you, nor has any other woman had any right to be with you in the last twenty years.”

“Cara, what are you talking about?” His voice rose and sounded slightly hysterical.

She simply smiled. “It’s always been Spencer, Nick. Always. And you are the blindest, most idiotic man I have ever met because you never saw that. I don’t know what happened all those years ago between you two, but I know this: you can’t run anymore. Unless you run to her,” she added with a smile.

And that’s exactly what he was doing now, Nick thought as he took the first exit that appeared. He sent his car hurtling down the streets of downtown Tampa to reach Spencer’s hotel as soon as he could. There was an urgency in him he couldn’t quite suppress, and it made his foot press harder on the accelerator.

When he spotted the entrance to the hotel, he swung into the drive, tossed his keys to a valet, and bolted inside. He headed straight for the front desk.

“Spencer Wilde. I need her room number please,” he quickly told the receptionist.

“I’m sorry, sir,” he was told. “Miss Wilde checked out about an hour ago.”

***

Okay, so she was on her way to the airport, Nick thought wildly, as he swung his car onto the highway again. At least the traffic towards the airport was light. Besides, her flight probably didn’t leave for another hour or so. Spencer always got to the airport way in advance, and this time probably wasn’t any different.

When he remembered that he had no idea which airline she would be leaving on, he whipped out his phone and dialed Sydney. When she picked up, he didn’t bother to listen to the dozens of questions that she tossed at him. “Syd, I’ll tell you later. Just tell me what airline your mother would use. Hurry.”

“Dad, what-” But she stopped when he snarled at her. “Okay, um, Delta. Positive.”

“Great, bye.”

Snapping his phone shut, he tossed it onto the passenger seat and sent his car screaming down the expressway, hoping that he wouldn’t get pulled over for speeding.

At the airport, he hurriedly parked his car in the half hour parking lot and dashed for the Delta Airlines terminal. He couldn’t be late, he kept telling himself. There was plenty of time, and Spencer wasn’t quite out of his reach yet.

But if she wasn’t there…

He knew he’d never be able to work up the courage to go all the way to Nashville and spill his heart onto her hands. Cara’s words were his impetus, pushing him to follow his instincts and go to Spencer. If he failed…

No, Nick thought forcefully, as he stopped in front of the display screens, listing every flight departing from the terminal. His eyes skimmed every column for the one headed to Nashville, and his eyes lit up when he spotted it.

In the next second, his heart splattered on the floor at the words listing the flight’s status.

In Flight.

No.

No.

There was a buzzing sound filling his ears. He didn’t feel the people brushing past him nor did he register the voice of a security guard asking him if he was alright.

Spencer was gone, and he’d missed his chance to get her back. For over two decades, he’d denied his feelings to himself, telling himself that there was no way he could be in love with Spencer because she was a terrible person. She’d hurt him, betrayed him, and couldn’t possibly care about him.

All it had taken was one short week to prove to him how wrong, how stupid, how useless all those excuses had been. Because, in the end, he’d realized that he was, and always had been, in love with Spencer Wilde. Not that there was anything he could do about it now, he thought, the emptiness within him threatening to consume him.

She was gone.

He was alone.

Their fairytale had no happy endings.

THE END.

Just Kidding! Did you really think I'd leave it like that? Nope. One more chapter, and then it's truly over. Thanks for sticking around =)