by Diana Nixon
Aiden put one arm around my waist and smiled leisurely. “Show me the best of what you can.”
“What about you?” I asked, wrapping my left arm around his neck. It brought our faces inches from each other.
“I’ll try my best,” he said, caressing my face with his gaze.
After a few first steps I realized that I didn’t have to pay attention to the steps. Aiden’s every move was perfect, and we were simply enjoying the music, lost in the moment like two magnets that couldn’t keep themselves away from each other.
Every time his palms slid down my arms and sides, I felt the waves of electricity splashing inside me. Every time I ran my palms down his chest, his eyes darkened, and I could feel how intense our connection was.
My hands reached for his shirt, and I undid a few buttons, slipping my fingers under the fabric. Aiden caught my wrist, whispering into my ear, “If you don’t stop doing this, I swear, I’ll tear this dress of yours to pieces. Right now.”
I ignored his words, and moved my palm lower, to the waistband of his trousers. “It’s just a dance,” I said, as I wrapped my leg around his hip.
He put his right hand at the back of my neck, his breathing tickled my lips. “You are awakening the darkest parts of me, Baby.”
“I haven’t even started yet. But I want you to try something first.” I led him to the bar and ordered a shot of tequila.
“Uh, this is what I call an old school.” Aiden laughed. “Only one shot? What about you?”
I winked at him, put some salt on my wrist and a piece of lemon in between my lips. Our eyes locked.
“Teasing, as always,” he said, before his tongue slowly licked the salt, and his lips moved to mine. Aiden was very careful, so as not to let the kiss that we both were dying for happen. “Delicious,” he said quietly. “I want to repeat it one day, when I can actually taste everything you offer.”
Mixing tequila and wine was the wrong thing to do, but still I ordered one more shot for myself and repeated the ritual. With the only difference — this time it was Aiden who held the lemon.
“Brave you are,” he said, smiling. “I thought you wouldn’t dare to get so close to my lips.”
“I only let you think that you know everything about me, but in reality you don’t know a thing.”
“How very true.”
I took him by the hand, and we went back to the dance floor.
We shared a few more dances, drank a few more shots of tequila, with no teasing this time, and headed for the beach to cool off.
I took off my shoes, and my feet welcomed the softness of the warm sand. I wasn’t drunk, rather a little tipsy. Aiden’s presence didn’t bother me. Somehow the night showed me what it felt like to be myself again. And I liked it.
“Thank you,” I said, taking Aiden’s hand in mine. He was surprisingly quiet. No jokes, no sharp comments, nothing at all. “What are you thinking about?”
“You.”
“Me? And what do you think about me now?”
“Owen was right, you are special. It’s hard to predict your actions and words. Sometimes I don’t even notice the moment when you change. It happens so fast. How do you do this?”
“I have no idea,” I said, laughing. “It’s a crazy, natural phenomenon of mine.”
“It always takes me some time to get used to new people. But everything was different with you. From the very first second I saw you, it felt like I knew you forever.”
“It’s Owen’s fault. He told you too much about me.”
“No, it’s not about that.”
“Then what is it about?” I stopped, making Aiden look at me.
“There’s something in you that attracts everyone’s attention. And it’s not your face, or your form. There is something in your eyes that fascinates me. The depth and mystique. Every time I think I’m close to whatever’s going on in your head, you turn into someone new. Someone I can’t figure out.”
“I can say the same about you. You never stop surprising me.”
Sadness crossed Aiden’s features. “The man who will find a key to your heart, will be the happiest bastard ever.” He put his arms around me, and hugged me tightly.
I wanted to cry because his words sounded so final … as if he was giving a blessing for my future relationships that didn’t include him. And suddenly I realized that he was the only one I wanted to have a relationship with.
After a few hours, we came back home. By then, I was feeling like nothing on earth. Aiden’s words were still in my mind, and I desperately wanted him to take them back. But he wished me good night and went to his room.
Even though it was three in the morning, I didn’t want to sleep. I went to the kitchen and made a cup of tea with milk.
Suddenly the lights turned on, and my father entered the room.
“Why are you still awake, Dear?”
“Aiden and I went to the bar.”
“You don’t sound happy saying that. Are you all right?” My dad always knew when something was wrong with me.
“Not really.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Maybe next time,” I said, trying to force a smile.
“Did Aiden hurt you somehow?”
“What? No, of course not. We ... um, well, it’s kind of hard to explain.”
“Okay, we can talk about it later.”
“Thanks, Dad.” I gave him a hug and went to my room.
I needed to get the strength to live through tomorrow….
Chapter 18
Aiden
The day before the wedding was crazy. People were running around the house, losing and trying to find things, again and again. The bride and the groom seemed to be really tired of everything, and I was sure they wanted Saturday morning to come as soon as possible. And so did I….
I had a whole night to think about tomorrow. I didn’t know what made me tell Megan about the other man she could be happy with, because I wanted to be that man for her. And tomorrow I was going to finally say that aloud. I wasn’t sure about Megan’s reaction, but I really hoped she wouldn’t blow me off before my speech ended.
I didn’t have a chance to talk to her today, as Mary needed her help with every little thing, just like Owen needed my help. But the moment I saw Megan heading for her room, I excused myself saying that I needed to change clothes, and followed her upstairs.
“May I come in?” I asked, knocking.
“You have already let yourself in,” Megan said. She was standing in front of the mirror, looking glumly at the dress she was wearing.
“Is everything okay?”
“I hate lavender,” she muttered, grimacing at her reflection. “Mary has obviously lost her mind. This dress barely covers anything.”
I smirked, watching her. She looked really funny in that dress. Like a sexy, birthday cake for some eighteen-year-old guy.
“This is … nice,” I said, standing next to her.
She rolled her eyes. “Shut up, Aiden. You don’t like it, and neither do I. I need a new dress, and even though I know that Mary will kill me for changing it, I can’t be wearing this tomorrow.”
“Do you need my help?”
“Actually I don’t, but if you want to give me a lift to the bridal shop, I won’t mind.”
“I’m all yours for the rest of the day. I don’t think I can stand any more of Owen’s orders. Everything’s ready for tomorrow, but he still wants me to make sure that we haven’t missed anything.”
“It’s not surprising.” Megan laughed. “I’m sure you will be as nervous as he is when the time for your own wedding comes.”
And just like that I got a very painful slap in the face. Did she feel the same when I told her about the other man last night?
“I’ll be ready in a minute,” she said, hiding behind the bathroom door.
I nodded absently and stared at my reflection in the mirror. Nothing had changed about my appearance, but my life was crashing down right before my eye
s. I sighed.
Megan didn’t say a word about last night. Did she think I was right, and that she could be happy with anyone, but me? What did she think would happen tomorrow? I didn’t have a damn clue about what was going on in her head. And I was sure she wasn’t going to make my life easier.
“Okay, we can go now,” she said a few minutes later. “Are you sure Owen will be fine without your help?”
“I’m sure there’s nothing else I can do for him today.”
The bridal shop wasn’t far away from Owen’s, so it took us no more than ten minutes to get there. Mrs. Hughson, the owner, was a very nice woman around sixty. She immediately realized that Mary’s choice of a bridesmaid’s dress wasn’t good enough for Megan.
“I told her that not every girl would like this dress, but she assured me that her friend would approve of her choice.”
“Plans have changed, and now I’m replacing the girl,” Megan said, following the lady to the fitting-room.
“Choose something turquoise,” I said after her.
She turned around, looking at me surprised. “How did you know I wanted a turquoise dress?”
“It’s your favorite color.”
“Hmm … right.”
No more comments followed. And once again I thought that Megan’s behavior was strange. Or maybe she simply wanted to seem indifferent?...
I sat on a couch and started looking through one of the wedding magazines I found on a coffee table. There was one thing that immediately caught my eye — a floor-length ivory dress. It looked very simple: strapless, with lacy patterns and a ribbon at the waist. The model wearing it reminded me of Megan, and I thought the dress would be perfect for the wedding that she once described as her dream. I looked around to make sure that no one could see me, tore off the page with the dress and put it into my back pocket. Well, just in case….
“What do you think about this one?” Megan asked, coming out in a very cute outfit. The dress was long and trained, with a vent that ran up to her hip.
“Nice,” I said, nodding approvingly.
“You said the same about Mary’s choice.”
“This time I mean it.”
“Good. I’ll take this one.”
“Don’t you think that Mary should know about you changing the dress?”
“I think she has enough to worry about at the moment. No need to give her more reasons to freak out.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, right. It’s better to save the news for the ceremony.”
“She will be too focused on the words of her vow to pay any attention to me.” Megan looked at her choice one last time, and went back to the fitting-room.
On our way home, I suggested having lunch, and we stopped at one of the local bakeries, known for its chocolate muffins with strawberry jam.
Megan looked at the menu and ordered two cups of latte, with cream and caramel. “You know, I always wanted to learn how to bake cakes and pastries. But I’m afraid of experimenting in my kitchen. Don’t want to burn it down.”
“Why don’t you ask your mom to help you. I know she’s a great cook.”
“That’s exactly why I never ask her to help me with cooking. She always criticizes me.”
“What if we try a few experiments together? When the wedding’s over?”
Megan’s cup froze in her hands. “I … don’t think I’ll have time for baking tomorrow. I need to pack my bags, as I have an early-morning flight to London on Sunday.”
I frowned. A very bad feeling formed inside me. “So … tomorrow is the last day we will spend together?”
She looked at me, taking a deep breath before she said, “So that was the deal, remember? Three days.”
“And what will happen after your return to London?”
“Well … I will probably go to the graduation ball, then take a week off and go to some resort to prepare myself for my new life and work. If my boss allows me to go on holidays of course. Last time I saw her she wanted me to start my work on Monday.”
“And what about us?” I didn’t think it was a good time to ask that question, but I couldn’t help myself.
“What about us? You will lose the bet, I will make you do something funny, and then you will go back to Bristol.” She smiled slightly. “I’m sure your life wasn’t going to stop after the wedding.”
“True. But … somehow I thought it would change.”
“You know, no matter how hard I try to persuade myself that I didn’t like this week at home, I did like it. A lot. And maybe if it wasn’t for you, I would have ran away again even before the wedding day. But you did your best to show me that life isn’t just about black and white as I used to think it was. So thank you for that, Aiden. Those three days we spent together were the best days of my life. But it’s time to move on, to get back to our normal lives, where not everything is a fairy tale.”
“But the third day of the bet is not over yet.”
“Aiden….”
“Are you giving up?” I knew I wasn’t playing fair, but it looked like it was my last chance to change the situation.
“No, I’m not.”
“Good. I have something for you, but first, we need to check on your family. I hope they haven’t killed each other while we were out.”
I tried really hard not to let Megan see my nerves. And I was so not ready to say good-bye; I needed to come up with a new plan on how to make her stay. I lied about the surprise. In fact, I didn’t know what to do….
Thank God, no one noticed our brief absence, and Megan and I got back to our duties without any trouble. Owen and I checked and re-checked everything that should be done for tonight’s rehearsal dinner, and when he realized I was barely able to stand on my feet, he let me go. Finally!
I went to my room to take a shower and get changed. I was so exhausted that nothing, but a good sleep was on my mind. Until I saw Megan at the threshold of my bedroom.
“Sorry for bothering you, Aiden, but I needed someone’s help with the fastening, and your room was the closest.”
“Sure, turn around,” I said, touching the silky dress. “It’s my pleasure to help you with anything that includes your clothes.”
“Thanks.” She smiled and went back to her room.
Uh, why on earth did everything she was wearing look so damn sexy? She obviously knew how to attract attention.
The dinner started with the groom thanking his and Mary’s parents for everything they had done for the wedding. Then the bride gave small presents to the guests, and when the formal part was over, we finally relaxed and started enjoying the meal and the talks.
Megan was sitting right in front of me, together with her parents. Over and over again our eyes met, sending thousands of silent messages. Sometimes Megan’s eyes flashed, and a cute blush covered her cheeks, as if she remembered something too embarrassing to share with the rest of us. But only I knew that tonight she was going to feel the full force of those embarrassing things, overwhelming her thoughts….
“Aiden? Why don’t you tell us something about your work with Owen?” one of the guests asked.
“Oh, well, there’s nothing interesting to tell. For me, and for the rest of the company, he’s a hard-to-stand and smart-ass lawyer.”
The guests laughed.
“What about you, Megan? Do you remember any cute incidents from Owen’s past?”
“My brother hates when I give out his dirty secrets, Aunt Betty. But I’m sure Mary can tell us something interesting about their romance.”
“Sure,” the bride said. “Once Owen took me horseback riding. It was at the beginning of November, and the weather wasn’t good enough for the walks. But Owen said it was okay, and half an hour later we were caught by the rain, right in the middle of the forest. The next morning, after being drenched to our skins, Owen and I were dying from fever and frequent coughing spells. When I asked him what was the point in going for that ride, he said he wanted to show me the old mill, somewhere near the river. And as it turned out
later, he was going to propose there, but he had to do it with a thermometer in his mouth instead of a ring in his hand.” We all laughed. “He was so upset about the ruined surprise, but he said he couldn’t wait any longer. So he kneeled near my bed and asked if I would agree to spend the rest of my life with him.”
“What a beautiful story!” one of the bridesmaids said. “But why did you say there was no ring?” she asked, puzzled.
“Because the ring was hidden at the mill,” Owen replied. “So I had to go back there to get the ring and repeat the proposal twice.”
“Though I had already said yes, even without the ring,” Mary added, kissing his cheek.
Megan and I shared a glance, and I was surprised to see a few tears glistening in the corners of her eyes. She excused herself and went to the house. Something told me to follow her, so I rose to my feet, said a few words to the bride and the groom and went to find Megan.
Chapter 19
Megan
I didn’t want to go back to dinner. I thought I was strong enough to stand so much sweet talk and words about love, but apparently I had overestimated my powers.
I was trying to look normal. Maybe even a little indifferent, but every time I saw Aiden, my heart started beating faster. And I knew what it meant….
I was falling for that arrogant and impossible in every sense of the word, Mr. Handsome. And even though I realized that there wasn’t anything bad about it, it felt like losing the biggest battle ever — the battle with myself.
I went to my bedroom and shut the door behind me, leaning against it. I needed to get out of that house as soon as possible, and I was seriously thinking about missing Owen’s wedding, when someone knocked.
“Megan, I know you are there. Open the door, please,” Aiden said.
Shoot … he was the last person I wanted to see at the moment.
“What do you want?”
“We need to talk.”
“Do we?”
“Let me in!” he replied harshly.
