by Reese Ryan
“Kayleigh isn’t my fiancée,” he said quietly.
“What do you mean?” Aidan’s expression morphed from confusion to anger. “What kind of game are you two running?”
“Let me explain.” Parker sighed. “Kayleigh didn’t want to show up here alone and face you with your perfect little family. She asked me to pose as her fiancé.”
“You lied to my sister and everyone here.” Aidan’s fists were clenched at his side.
“And I’m sorry, but there was no nefarious plot. It was simply a matter of Kayleigh wanting to keep her pride.” Parker sank onto a chair and tapped a finger on the patio table. “She didn’t want you to know that she was still very much alone.”
Aidan heaved a sigh and sat, too. Neither of them spoke for several seconds. Finally he asked, “And exactly what do you expect me to do with this information?”
Parker’s chest tightened. He stared down at his hands, folded in his lap, his shoulders drooping forward. The world seemed to be spinning.
“That depends on how you feel about her. If you love her still and you’re ready to give her another chance, then tell her how you really feel. If not, I’d beg you not to reveal this conversation to her or anyone. We can all just go back to the way things were.”
Everything inside him hoped like hell that Aidan would choose the latter. That he’d get up and walk away, pretending as if they’d never had this conversation.
“Do you really believe she wants to try again?” Aidan asked.
Parker forced a bitter smile, his lips pressed together tightly as he collapsed against the back of the chair and swallowed hard. “I think she’s been wondering if she blew a second chance for you two by bringing me here.”
Aidan nodded his head. He stood, extending a hand to Parker. “Thank you for telling me this. It couldn’t have been an easy decision. You obviously care a lot about her.”
“I do.” Parker shook the man’s hand as he rose to his feet. “So don’t fuck this up.”
“I won’t, and I won’t mention this to my sister or mother. But please, don’t tell Kayleigh that you told me.”
Parker nodded without speaking and shoved his hands in his pocket as he watched Aidan walk away with a renewed energy to his gait.
He’d done it. Risked the deal. Risked losing her friendship again. Risked any shot of pulling ahead of Blake as the next CEO. But he couldn’t stand idly by and do nothing, knowing he’d had a chance to give her everything she deserved.
He walked inside to the bar and ordered a glass of King’s Finest bourbon, neat.
Nineteen
Kayleigh was exhausted. As beautiful as the wedding had been, it felt like the longest day ever. It had begun with a bridesmaids’ breakfast, and then there was all of the primping. Manicures and pedicures. Getting their hair and makeup done.
Suddenly she remembered why she was so low-maintenance. She had neither the time nor inclination for all of the upkeep required for her to look like this every single day. But for this one magical day, she’d looked perfect. And the expression on Parker’s face when their eyes met as she took her turn walking down the aisle was priceless.
Kayleigh smoothed down the front of her chiffon bridesmaid’s dress with the high-low hem. She loved the vintage mauve color Kira had chosen. The formal length of the back of the dress created a nice visual as each of the bridesmaids walked down the aisle, while the shorter length of the front of the dress allowed her to move about freely. She’d ditched the strappy nude stilettos after the bridal party’s intricately choreographed dance they’d spent three days learning.
Now all she really wanted to do was spend the rest of the night with Parker. Something she hadn’t done much of over the past few days.
“Hey, handsome.” Kayleigh snuck up behind Parker, seated at his table, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Care to dance?”
His expression was an odd mix of deep affection and abject sadness that startled her.
“Is everything okay? Did something happen back home?”
“Everything is fine.” He kissed her hand softly. “And yes, I’d love to dance with you.”
Parker took her hand and followed her to the dance floor. Kayleigh wrapped her arms around him and they moved to the music. The muscles in his back were tense and he barely spoke.
Kayleigh stared up at him. “Parker, are you sure everything is all right?”
He nodded, but his sad smile barely turned up the corners of his mouth. “You look incredible, Kayleigh. I couldn’t take my eyes off you.”
Some of the tension in her shoulders eased. “Really?”
“Absolutely.” His smile seemed more genuine. “Kira was beautiful, but you were the star of the show for me.”
“You look pretty handsome yourself.” A full grin spread across her face. She stared up at him again as she ran her fingers beneath the lapels of his cream-colored suit. It was the perfect shade for an outdoor wedding in the Caribbean. “I’m sorry we haven’t had much time to spend together the last few days.”
“You came here to help Kira and Theo celebrate their big day. Besides, I had plenty to keep me busy.”
“Remember when we had to dance together at Blake and Savannah’s wedding? How different things were between us?” Kayleigh sighed. “I wish things could’ve been like this then.”
“So do I.”
Kayleigh wished she could lay her head on his chest, the way she had when they’d danced by the pool at the cabin in the mountains. But her makeup would ruin his white linen shirt.
“Parker, I can’t thank you enough for doing this. All of it. You’ve been so accommodating and nothing short of amazing. You’re going to make an awesome fiancé someday.” She forced a smile, her eyes searching his.
“Thanks.” He quickly shifted his gaze from hers. “So will you. As for this trip, I think I’m the one who owes you. I hadn’t been on an honest-to-goodness vacation in so long. And this was one hell of a trip. I won’t forget it or any of the incredible moments that proceeded it.”
“You’re wearing the watch.” She touched the leather band and smiled. “You didn’t have to, you know. But I’m glad you did.”
The music ended and they played a faster-paced song. Kayleigh’s eyes met his and she braced his arms, holding him in place. “You know what I’d really like to do right now? I’d like to go back to our villa and...” She lifted onto her toes and whispered the rest in his ear.
His cheeks and forehead turned bright red as his eyes searched hers. “You’re not making this easy for me, Kayleigh.”
“I thought you enjoyed a challenge.” Kayleigh grinned.
It was a beautiful night as they danced beneath the stars. But all she wanted now was to go back to their villa and spend their remaining hours in paradise making love and lying in each other’s arms. And before they boarded the plane, she would find the courage to tell him the truth. Somewhere along the way, she’d fallen in love with him.
Parker took Kayleigh’s hand and led her to the pier overlooking the water, away from where the partygoers danced.
Kayleigh’s heart raced. When they stopped, she studied his expression. He was distressed. So clearly, whatever news he intended to deliver wasn’t going to be good.
“Oh, God. It’s that bad, huh?” Kayleigh wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly chilled by the cool breeze blowing off the sea. “So it isn’t my imagination. You’ve been intentionally distant for the past few days.”
“Kayleigh, I—”
“I feel like I should’ve had a drink to prepare me for this little talk.” She laughed bitterly.
“We just toasted with champagne.” Parker leaned against the railing.
“I was thinking of something a little stronger...like a dirty martini. Would you mind?” She needed the space and a few minutes to
clear her head as much as she wanted that martini.
“Don’t go anywhere. We need to talk.”
Kayleigh nodded without looking at Parker. Tears stung her eyes as she stared out onto the water.
A few minutes later, she felt arms slip around her waist and lips nuzzle the back of her neck. Her eyes, which had drifted closed momentarily, quickly widened when she felt the scrape of a thick beard on her skin and recognized the distinctive cologne.
She whirled around to face Aidan. “What in the hell are you doing?”
His blue eyes danced and there was a mischievous smile on his face. He ran his fingers through his hair. “Kissing your neck, which if memory serves me, is something you’ve always favored.”
Kayleigh folded her arms. “Did you suddenly forget that I’m engaged to someone else?”
His smirk deepened and the amusement in his eyes was unmistakable. Aidan shoved his hands into the pockets of the beige suit the groom and his groomsmen wore for the ceremony.
Her heart suddenly pounded in her chest and the entire world seemed to be spinning faster and faster. A knot tightened in her gut.
“You know, don’t you?”
Aidan’s smile turned into a full-fledged grin as he cradled her cheek and leaned in to kiss her.
Kayleigh shoved her hands against his chest and stepped backward. “How did you find out? Let me guess, your mother had someone look into me. That’s low, even for Colleen.”
“No, why would you think my mother was involved?” Aidan wasn’t smiling anymore. “And what do you mean by it being low, even for her?”
“If your mother didn’t tell you, then how did you know?”
“Your ‘fiancé’ told me the truth.” He used air quotes.
“Wait... Parker told you.” Kayleigh felt a sharp pain in her chest and tears stung her eyes. “No.” She shook her head. “Parker wouldn’t.” She uttered the words under her breath, more to herself than to Aidan.
Maybe Parker didn’t care about the crushing humiliation of such a revelation, but what he did care about was King’s Finest. And that her building was an important part of the company’s future expansion. So Parker wouldn’t have violated their agreement. He wouldn’t have risked losing the very thing he’d gone through all of this to obtain.
“He did.”
“Why?” Her voice cracked, even as she tried to keep her composure.
Aidan’s expression softened, all of the teasing gone. He took her hands in his and met her watery gaze. “Because I still love you, Kayleigh. And because you obviously still have feelings for me. Why else would you go to such elaborate lengths to make me jealous?”
“You think I did this because I wanted to make you jealous?” Her tone grew more indignant and the corners of her eyes were wet with tears.
“Didn’t you?”
“No.” She jerked her hands from his grip and stepped farther away. “Maybe my reasons for it were silly or even a little petty, but I did not do this to make you jealous. I thought you were still married.”
“Then if making me jealous wasn’t your aim, what was it? Why would you manufacture a fiancé and bring him all the way here to my sister’s wedding?”
Kayleigh angrily wiped at her eyes with her knuckle. “I didn’t want to show up here alone and watch you and your runway-model wife playing with your two beautiful little boys while I’m still—”
“Alone?” Aidan sighed, placing a tentative hand on her arm. “Kayleigh, there’s nothing wrong with being alone. I wouldn’t have thought any less of you because of it, whether I was still married or not.”
“Maybe you wouldn’t, but your mother certainly would. I just couldn’t bear the thought of proving her right.”
“About?”
“About me not being a suitable wife for her precious son.” She raised her eyes to his again. “Or anyone, for that matter.” Her last words were practically whispered.
“Are you saying that you walking away back then had something to do with my mother?”
It was his sister’s wedding, and it had been such a lovely event. She hadn’t told Aidan or Kira about her conversation with Colleen Brennan that day. Nor did she want to talk about it now.
What would be the point?
“Look, Aidan, none of that matters anymore. Yes, when I first learned that you were no longer married, I wondered if I’d screwed up a second chance for us.” Kayleigh dabbed at her eyes, which were brimming with hot tears. “But spending this week with your family...it reminded me of all the reasons that walking away then...and now...is the right thing to do. I’m sorry.”
Kayleigh lifted onto her toes and placed a soft kiss on Aidan’s whiskered cheek.
He held her there. His rough beard scraped the side of her face and his lips brushed her ear as he whispered into it. “I didn’t fight for you then. I was devastated by your rejection and I was furious that you chose to just walk away. I didn’t ask the right questions then. So I’m asking you right now. Is there anything I can do to make you reconsider?”
Kayleigh pulled away enough to look into his blue eyes. Her chest ached for the pain she saw there, knowing she’d been at least partially responsible for it. She slowly shook her head, her expression a tortured apology.
“Why not, sweetheart?” His sincere, determined gaze almost broke her heart. Aidan didn’t deserve any of this.
“Because...I love someone else.” She took a step away when he finally released her arm. “And because as wonderful as this week has been, it’s also been a reminder that this isn’t the life or the family I want. I love my life in Magnolia Lake. Maybe I don’t have family or a fiancé there, but I have amazing friends and a really good life and future. I’m not ready to give any of that up, Aidan. I’m sorry.”
“Okay.” He shrugged, running a hand through his hair again. “At least I tried, right?”
“And I thank you for caring enough to.” Kayleigh gave him a faint smile. “Please, don’t tell Kira or your mother. I’d be mortified. Besides, it’s been such a marvelous week, I don’t want to ruin it for her. Not even a little.”
Aidan nodded. “I promise.”
“Thank you. Please make my apologies to Kira and Theo, but I’m not feeling well. I’m going back to my villa to lie down.” She turned to walk away, but then glanced back over her shoulder. “It was good seeing you again, Aidan.”
Kayleigh hurried back to her villa as quickly as she could, tears streaming down her face. She was furious with Parker for betraying her trust again, just as he had more than two decades ago. But most of all, she was disappointed in herself for falling for a man who clearly didn’t want or deserve her.
Twenty
Parker settled into a chair in their villa, his elbows on his knees and his forehead cradled in his palm. His heartbeat had been elevated by his hurried retreat back to the villa, but mostly because of seeing Kayleigh and Aidan in a tight embrace as the man whispered something in her ear.
Parker shut his eyes, replaying the evening in his mind. He wasn’t sure what had been sexier. The way Kayleigh had looked in that dress or the mind-blowingly sensual thing she had whispered in his ear, which evoked a visual he simply couldn’t get out of his head now, even if he tried. Sadly, they wouldn’t get to act it out.
More important, he’d never have her in his life or his bed again. She’d probably move to Atlanta to be with Aidan. Or maybe they’d even move to Ireland to be closer to his children. Either way, the most Parker could hope was that the friendship they’d slowly resurrected, brick by painstaking brick, would endure.
He heard the screen door slam suddenly and jumped to his feet. It was Kayleigh. She was furious. Her eyes were red and her face was streaked with tears.
“How could you do this to me again? Why would you do it? Were you that desperate to be rid of me? Or was this all just a big joke to you?” Her
bare feet slapped against the tile floor as she stalked toward him.
His act of selflessness obviously hadn’t gone to plan. She knew he’d told Aidan the truth and she was furious.
“Kayleigh, how could you think that, even for a moment, I wanted to hurt you?”
“Because you just fucking did. Again. And I let you because I was stupid enough to think...” Kayleigh shook her head, jaw trembling. “It doesn’t matter what I thought. I was wrong. But what I don’t understand is why you would go through ten weeks of this—” she gestured between them “—and then jeopardize our deal by doing the one thing I asked you not to do?”
It was a fair question. One he struggled to answer.
“You know what? Forget it. Why doesn’t even matter.” Kayleigh walked out onto the wraparound deck and stood against the railing that overlooked the beach and the waters of the sea beyond it.
“Kayleigh, let me explain.” Parker followed her outside. She stood there in her bare feet, the long train of her dusty-mauve dress billowing behind her.
When he grasped her arm, she turned around, like she was five seconds away from swinging on him.
Her chest heaved, likely as much from her fury as from the exertion of trying to distance herself from him.
“Don’t touch me.” She yanked her hand free. Her eyes filled with fresh tears. “I can’t believe I trusted you again. That I was stupid enough to believe we’d actually become friends again at the very least. Do you really hate me this much, Parker? Was this your grand plan all along? To wait until we got here so that you could utterly humiliate me?”
“I could never hate you, Kayleigh, and I didn’t do this to hurt you. I swear.”
“Even if you got some kind of sick enjoyment out of doing this to me again, I thought you were disciplined enough not to blow up our deal and let your family down.” Kayleigh swiped the backs of her fingers beneath her eyes. “What was it? Did I get too clingy? Were you afraid that I wanted more with you?”
“No, of course not, sweetheart. I’ve enjoyed every single moment we spent together over the past three months.”
