can take a taxi.”
Aiden rolled his eyes. “Don’t make me drag you to the car, Megan. And trust me I will do that, if I have to.”
“Fine.” I met his stare, waiting for another sharp comment to follow. Instead, Aiden opened the door for me and followed me wordlessly to his car.
Our second ride together wasn’t much different from the first one. I could almost hear the air crack ling around us. And there wasn’t anything super cool about that. It felt like the more time we spent together, the stronger the hate was. And I couldn’t understand the reason for it. Why would strangers become enemies? If it wasn’t for Aiden’s and my attitude to the relationship, I would have thought that we….
“Welcome to paradise!”
“Excuse me?” I stared at him, confused.
“It’s the name of the party,” he said, pointing to the sign over the entrance to the beach area, rented for tonight.
I grimaced at how ridiculously romantic it sounded.
Of course, my brother knew how to make surprises. And I never doubted that his wife would be one of, if not the happiest woman in the world. Too bad there was only one Owen Brawley on the planet.
“Shall I help you?” Aiden asked, looking cautiously at my plastered feet. The pain was almost gone. I couldn’t wear heels yet, but I could stand on my feet without anyone’s help.
“No, thanks,” I replied, stepping out of the car. I didn’t ask him about his friend, though I desperately wanted to know where she was. What the hell was going on with me?
“Do you mind if I leave you for a while? I need to find someone,” Aiden said.
“Sure, no problems,” I replied absently. My attention was focused on the decorations of the paradise, created by my brother.
Well, hell … maybe even I would love to have such a party.
There were dozens of huge, white balloons everywhere. The street-lamps were decorated with pink roses and ribbons, and the bouquets of hydrangea were swaying in the waves of a private beach, illuminated with thousands of candles.
“A real paradise,” I said quietly, admiring the view.
“Megan!” Owen called.
I turned around and saw my brother and his fiancé. They were smiling, and even from the distance I could see how happy they were.
“We are glad you’ve made it here,” Mary said, hugging me. Owen told me about the awful night you had to spend on the farm.”
“ Awful is not the word,” I replied.
My brother looked at me suspiciously. And I hated when he did that. It meant that he knew so much more than I wanted him to know. Sometimes it felt like it was impossible to hide anything from him. Maybe he was right after all, and I was the worst liar ever?
“How do you feel?” he asked after a short pause.
“Almost great,” I said, trying to smile.
“Did you come here with Aiden?”
“Yes … I mean, no. He dropped me here, but I don’t know where he is.”
“Then why don’t you join us at the main table?” Mary asked. I couldn’t but admit it: she looked amazing, wearing a long, strapless dress matching the green color of her eyes perfectly.
“Do you know that Aiden’s leaving tonight?” my brother asked, walking beside me.
“What? He never told me about that…” I stared blankly at the sandy path under my feet.
“He said he forgot about some contract he needed to sign. But he’ll be back for Saturday’s ceremony, as I sure as hell don’t have time to look for another best man.”
Well, it’s probably for the best, I thought to myself. I preferred to ignore the inner voice saying that the news was not exciting. I also ignored the feelings of disappointment and sudden sadness overwhelming me.
My cell phone vibrated, and a new message came, saying, “Turn around.” I did what it said and froze, speechless.
There he was — the reason for my escape — standing in his full glory, just a few steps away from me.
I swallowed hard. “Jeff? What are you doing here?”
“And hello to you too, Megan,” he