“Well, it was lovely to meet you, but I have work to get done.”
“You work here?” Leanne asks, acknowledging my presence for the first time.
“No, I’m the event organiser,” I answer, feeling small when she looks revolted.
“I see.”
“Cooey,” Ada sings. I sag with relief when I see her strut outside in her wedding outfit, a simple cream dress that fits her small frame and a matching hat. She looks incredible and at least ten years younger, but then I see her feet and frown.
What the ever-loving hell.
“Ada,” I groan, my eyes never leaving the offending items.
She ignores me, saddling up next to Aaron. “Hey, hot stuff. You ready to escort me to the wedding?”
Aaron clears his throat, choking. “Um, I have a date. Meet―”
“I know who the trollop is.” She sniffs like she smells something rotten, shocking me at her blatant dislike for the woman—not that I can blame her.
“Ada!” Aaron snaps, looking surprised.
“What? She wasn’t invited, and for good reason. When my grandson finds her here and learns you brought her, be prepared. She’s not liked here… at all.”
Aaron actually looks worried for a minute, biting his bottom lip. “But I―”
“Ada, I see you haven’t changed,” Leanne comments sweetly, but there’s venom in her gaze.
Oh dear.
Ada narrows her eyes on Leanne. “Neither have you. Are you here to get your claws into my grandson? Because it’s a waste of time, you know. He’s got taste now. My lovely Pagan is good to him.”
All eyes shoot to me and I take a step back.
“They’re not going to last,” she sneers. “We belong together.”
“No, we don’t,” Drake snaps, stepping to my side like I can protect him, but I’m still a little hurt by his earlier actions.
“What?” Aaron yells, facing her with horror written across his face. “You said you liked me.”
Leanne pats his cheek, batting her eyelashes. “I do. I really do.” He relaxes, buying her lie like the fool he is.
Ada scoffs. “You’re wanted upstairs, Aaron. And if I were you, I’d get rid of the trash before any of my family sees her.”
“Well it was nice speaking to you all,” Aaron rushes out. He places his arm around Leanne’s waist before pulling her towards the house.
After he’s gone, Ada turns to Drake. “Your brother is going to go apeshit when he sees them together. He hates her more than you do.”
“Why?” I blurt out. I know the Donovans are close, but this doesn’t seem like a big enough issue for Jesse to fall out with Aaron over. Not when he’s done other unforgivable things.
Ada rolls her eyes, Drake answering. “Because she tried to seduce him. It was after we broke up. She wanted back in with the family once she realised what a mess she made. Her family cut her off completely after that stunt.”
“Darn tootin’” Ada snaps.
“Okay. This is so bizarre. Do you want me to do something? Ask Shane to escort her out?”
“Yes,” Drake sighs.
“No! I want to see what my grandson will do. Anyway, I came down to tell you the photographer wants some pictures of all the men together.”
“I’ll go up in a sec. I just want to talk to Pagan.”
Ada nods, then goes to turn, but I call her name. “Why are you wearing glittery pumps?”
She lifts her foot, twisting it side to side with a smile on her face. “Exquisite, aren’t they?”
“Um no, they aren’t. Where are the shoes I bought you?”
“Those death traps?”
I roll my eyes at her dramatics. “Yes, those.”
“I threw them in the bin.”
She says it so matter-of-factly, I want to strangle her. “Please tell me you’re lying.”
“I’m not. Check the bins if you don’t believe me.”
“Ada!” I yell, throwing my hands up. “They cost three hundred quid.”
“Thieving bastards.” She walks off, muttering something under her breath.
“Where are you going? I’m not finished.” She waves her hand, ignoring me as she continues on to the house. “I’m going to kill her. Would it hurt her to wear what we put out?”
Drake chuckles, pulling me against him. “Forget about Grams. Are you okay?”
I raise a brow. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”
He smiles, kissing my nose, and I melt against him, forgetting all about earlier. “No. I only care about you.”
My heart stills and those damn tears threaten once again. “I’m fine,” I answer softly, too choked up to say much more on the subject. “How are you?”
He chuckles darkly, a shadow crossing his face. “I’m not going to lie—seeing her here is a surprise. I never wanted to see her again. She nearly broke Jesse and Amelia up with her games and nearly broke twenty years of friendship our parents shared. I don’t like her, never will, and I’ll never understand her motives. I’m just sorry for the way I reacted. I guess I was stunned.”
I run my fingers along his jaw, my features softening. “I understand. Hopefully she leaves before Amelia sees her. I can’t have her being upset. It’s her wedding day.”
“I’ll make sure she leaves. Although, I think once Mum sees her, I won’t have to. I’m actually surprised Grams didn’t try to do something just then. She really showed her maturity.”
That makes me pause. I glance nervously to the house, thinking intently. “She wouldn’t do anything today of all days, would she?”
He follows my gaze, shrugging. “Who knows, it’s―”
“It’s Ada, I know,” I mutter, my mind still on the house and what she’s up to. He smiles, pulling me against him once again. “You, mister, need to go upstairs and get the group photos taken. You’re running behind already, and I need the photographer down here to set up.”
“Yes, boss,” he says seriously. “Always working.”
“Always.”
He smiles, kissing me one last time before staring down at me. “Tonight, I need to talk to you about something. We can go to the gardens. Is that okay?”
Knives stab into my chest. If I attempt to speak, I’ll give everything away with the emotions bubbling inside me, so I nod instead, giving him a forced smile as I lean up and kiss him one last time.
Then I watch him walk away, knowing he’s taking my heart with him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The wedding ceremony was a fairy tale, beautiful in a magical way. Tears of happiness and sadness burst free as I watched the happy couple swear their vows to one another. I tried everything to hold back my emotions, but the minute I watched Jesse’s eyes fill with tears when he saw his stunningly beautiful bride step into the aisle, I was a goner.
I’ve seen so many couples in my line of work get married. Most of them claim to love one another, but when I watched them exchange vows, they missed the spark that couples who are truly in love possess.
On rare occasions, there are couples just like Jesse and Amelia, who couldn’t be more perfectly matched in every way that counts.
They shared their vows, promising to love one another, and I’m so caught up in the moment I can barely catch my breath. The way they stared into one another’s eyes, I could feel they meant and breathed every single word they vowed. It’s a blessed gift to witness such a special moment.
I swear I felt everything they felt for one another. They poured that love from their very souls in front of everyone who mattered.
There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
Jealousy crawled up my throat. I want what they have, crave it, and now more than ever, I wish I had it.
It wasn’t going to happen for me though.
But I am human enough to be happy that Jesse and Amelia have it. They deserve to spend the rest of their lives happily married to their soulmate.
The day has been truly blissful, a huge success all around.
That is if you don’t count the black eye Aaron now has, courtesy of Jesse.
The shouting began as soon as Drake stepped foot in the back door. I’d gone running, both of us heading to the attic where all the men were gathered, waiting to have their group photo taken.
What I walked into jolted me. Jesse had Aaron by the scruff of his collar, pinned against the wall. I’d never seen the man so mad. I had shakily stepped in to intervene, since none of the men seemed at all fazed the groom had punched his best man.
It seemed seeing Leanne didn’t go over well with any of the Donovans though. Once Jesse demanded Aaron choose between their friendship and Leanne, it was absolute chaos. Aaron wisely chose his friendship, surprising everyone and me. He really did value his friendship with Jesse. Bros over hos and all that.
But the minute Jesse nodded and stepped back, the other males were yelling at him, threatening his manhood.
It didn’t stop there though. The women had also found out about Leanne’s appearance―no doubt from Ada―and somehow managed to corner Aaron on the stairs on his way down to escort Leanne out. They dragged him into a nearby room by his ear. Amelia got so mad, she landed the slap to end all slaps to his right cheek.
It was truly a beautiful moment. And if you look closely, you can still see her handprint on his face.
Aaron took it, apologising profusely until Amelia stopped screaming at him, finally calming down enough to hear him out.
That set the women off all over again. In the end, Ada took matters into her own hands and volunteered―rather giddily―to get rid of Leanne. So while the rest restrained Aaron, making sure he didn’t intervene, she left the room with a Cheshire cat grin on her face.
I followed behind in case I needed to be peacemaker or call for Shane, but I shouldn’t have bothered. Ada could certainly handle herself, not to mention a raging, crazy woman.
When Leanne refused to leave, putting up a fight and asking to speak to Aaron, Ada had calmly nodded and left the room.
That’s when shit really hit the fan.
Ada walked out carrying a basket of eggs, like Little Red Riding Hood with her apples. Before Leanne could open her mouth to ask what she was doing, or even scream, Ada took aim and fired.
It was messy.
No one, not even Pam or Mary, the sanest of the group, stepped in to help her. They kept watching long after she was run out of the manor.
I have to admit, it was amusing as well as entertaining to watch her run whilst covered in egg yolk.
The other fun part? Alison recorded the whole thing as a wedding present to Amelia and Jesse.
She’s a real giver.
“Hey, are you okay?” Alison asks, walking up to me.
And it begins again.
She’s been asking me if I’m okay every twenty minutes or so, as if my answer is going to change. I know I’ve not been in the best of moods, but it’s beginning to wear thin on my already shaky nerves. It’s only a matter of time before I burst.
“Yeah.” My voice is hoarse, and Alison links her arm through mine, squeezing me to her side.
“Are you sure about this? It’s okay to change your mind.”
I turn to her, tears brimming. “I-I can’t,” I choke out. “I love him so much.” At the moment, everyone is sat eating their meals, so thankfully their attention isn’t on me. I’m sure it will raise some questions if they see me bawling like a baby.
Her eyes soften as she runs a finger down my cheek. “You don’t have to do this. We’ll miss you if you change your mind, but I’ll be there for you, always.”
As tempting as that is, I have my reasons for what I’m doing. I love her for being there for me, but as much as she tells me she understands, I know she doesn’t. She wants me to speak to Drake first before I make any rash decisions. Not doing so is selfish, I know, but I’m trying. Be that as it may, I’m still trying to protect my heart from something it will never recover from.
Even Jeff had something to say when I approached him late last night after sneaking out of bed, leaving Drake sleeping soundlessly. He begged and pleaded with me to talk to the Donovans, but after one look at my tear-streaked face, he gave up and agreed to have our car ready with our bags inside.
Which reminds me.
“They’re going to start the speeches soon. We should go now before they notice something’s wrong or that we’re leaving.”
As soon as the speeches are done and Drake’s best man duties are fulfilled, he’ll come find me; the heated look he’s been sending me all day promises that. I knew when I decided to leave that this would be my only window without having to worry someone would see us. All I need is to face one of the Donovans.
Saying goodbye, even the best of goodbyes, is always hard, but saying goodbye to the Donovans and to Drake… I can’t bear to think about it. They’ve come to mean a lot to me.
“Okay. I’ll just let Jessica know that she’s in charge and we’re heading out now.”
I nod, then grab her bicep. “Make sure she tells Drake about the note.”
She doesn’t look happy when I mention the note, but I’m not all that surprised. She said it was the coward’s way of dealing with things, but it’s the only way I can say goodbye without breaking down and embarrassing myself.
We fought for hours this morning when I told her my plans, her trying to talk me out of it whilst I tried to explain my reasons without sounding like a sad case.
“I’ll meet you outside,” she says, then walks away shaking her head.
I know she’s upset with me. Fuck, I’m upset with myself. A part of me knows I’m making a tremendous mistake, but I’ve had my heart broken before. I’ve been betrayed. I can’t go through that again, not when Drake hasn’t told me how he feels. I won’t put myself out there like that—not again, not ever. I’d rather leave here with the happy memories of our time together than memories of him telling me this was just a little bit of fun to him. I know it wasn’t just about the sex; we connected on a deeper level. He feels something for me, but love? Men don’t fall in love with someone in three weeks. Not with a woman like me. Not with my past luck.
So I’ll treasure the memories I have. Everything else… well, what I don’t know can’t hurt me. And I’m willing to risk everything so I don’t get burnt again. I’d never recover.
When I walk outside, Jeff greets me with a sad smile. “Pagan, are you sure you shouldn’t talk to the Donovans before you leave? They’re going to be very sad that you didn’t stay to say goodbye.”
I force a smile as a tear slips free. “Will you tell them I said I’m sorry I had to leave so suddenly? It’s just too hard to say goodbye to them. They’ve been so good to me. I’m going to miss them all like crazy, including you and Emily.”
“Oh, Pagan,” he sighs, surprising me by pulling me in for a hug. I hug him back, more tears falling from my cheeks.
“Hey,” Alison says softly as we pull apart. She takes one look at my face and growls—yes, growls—at me. “We’re not going.”
I blink, thinking I misheard her. Jeff squeezes my hand before wisely leaving us and walking over to the front doors. “No, we are going. We’ve been through this a million times already,” I snap.
“You’re already a bloody mess, for Christ’s sake. Just tell him you love him, woman.”
There are times when I want to slap my best friend. Now is one of those times, because as right as she is, she’s also extremely wrong.
Before arriving, all I wanted was a break from my job so I could find a life. Now I’ve found someone I picture a life with and it scares me. It petrifies me to no end. But it’s a vicious cycle. I can take a chance, tell him how deeply I love him, and can either have him tell me he loves me back or have him run away.
There’s no denying the connection between us is sizzling, but I’ve read emotions wrong before, more than I care to count.
If I’m honest with myself, truly honest, I know I’m running away because I’m scared. I’m s
cared of what it would mean if he does love me back, but mostly I’m scared as hell because there’s a fifty percent chance that he doesn’t. If I try to tell Alison that, she’ll never let me leave this property until I find out.
“I said no, Alison. Now please, just drop it,” I choke out. More tears fall and her face softens as she reluctantly nods and moves to the car.
“Pot and kettle,” Aaron sneers and I jump, turning around to face him.
I shield my eyes from the bright sun to see him glaring down at me. “Excuse me?”
“You. You’re a hypocrite.”
I eye the man who I once thought was my world and bite back a curse. “How?” I don’t owe him anything, but I guess hearing what he has to say is another way of punishing myself for what I’m about to do. Leaving here without a goodbye isn’t just rude, it’s going to hurt those I’ve come to care about.
“You’re about to leave him without saying goodbye. You’re just going to leave him a shitty fucking note. I heard that one tell the other chick inside.” He points to Alison, who’s stepped out of the car, ready to intervene. “I followed you out here to see what was going on to hear more fucked-up bullshit.”
“And?” My voice sounds stronger, even though I feel anything but. My insides are twisting up and I’m seconds away from vomiting all over the gravel driveway. His loathsome expression is scorching and I look away, uncomfortable.
“And?” he laughs humourlessly. “You’ve made my life a living hell for three weeks for doing exactly what you’re doing to him.” He laughs again, narrowing those beady eyes on me. “You think I didn’t know it was you? I also know you had help. I just don’t know who.”
Well shit.
My eyes widen. He never let on that he knew who it was. Not once.
I shrug, pretending indifference, though the harsh words slice through my heart and I struggle to breathe. “It’s different.”
“How?” he bites back.
I’m stunned for a minute at the bitterness in his voice. He doesn’t even care about the emotional turmoil going on inside of me, or that he’s making everything feel much worse―making me feel shittier than I already do.
Wishing For A Happily Ever After (I Wish Book 2) Page 22
