by Kim Law
Ewww. Andie didn’t need to know that her aunt had been with Chester.
“I know exactly what you’re thinking every time you look at that beefcake,” Aunt Ginny finished.
“Oh, man, I do not need to hear this.” Andie started to rise, uncomfortable with every direction the conversation was taking, but Ginny pointed a sharp finger at the couch.
Andie sat back down.
“Now, as I was saying, you were in no position to get married, and I was actually glad he figured it out before it was too late. You certainly weren’t going to. And though his actions were deplorable, in the end it saved you both a lot of heartache.”
“You think marrying him would have been worse than not marrying him?” Possibly it would have. Andie was just coming to realize that herself, but she was surprised to hear it from Ginny. “Did you forget how hard it was for me to get over him?”
Ginny snorted. “Like you ever got over him. But yes, I do. Because you two would have fought more than you loved. You had something special between you. I heard it every time you talked to me on the phone. Saw it in the pictures you e-mailed me. I even saw it at the rehearsal dinner that night — though I also saw the tension sitting thick as mosquitoes in July. But special or not, it wasn’t yet ready to be there, hon. And you weren’t grown up enough to know how to handle it. Marrying, having that specialness, only to watch it be slowly ripped apart?” She shook her head, the sadness pulling at her face seeming to say even more than her words. “It would have broken you, sweetheart. A piece of you would have died inside.”
Andie licked her suddenly dry lips, wishing she had a glass of water. Aunt Ginny’s words made a strange kind of sense. “And what?” she asked. “You think it’s ready to be there now?”
Aunt Ginny patted Andie’s knee. “I think it’s much closer today than it was then. And I think you two still have something special.”
“We still have heat, Aunt Ginny. But I think that’s all. He lives in Boston — he has his whole family there. I love it here. Plus, I still want a career, even if it’s not the one I had back then. I’m not who he needs.”
Her aunt picked up a thin strip of ribbon and tied it in a simple bow, watching her own movements as if they held the secrets to the universe. Finally she looked over at Andie. “Just don’t close your mind to it, okay? Things aren’t always what they seem.”
Andie studied her aunt, feeling like the conversation was heading in a different direction.
“I lost James and … well, other things had happened in the year before his death. Things that I didn’t know if I could survive. But then he was gone. Forever. And I thought I would die from the pain of it. It took me a long time, but I finally started living again. But it was too late for me. I’m alone now. Because I was too stubborn to get past mistakes a long time ago. I don’t want that for you, sweetheart. I don’t want you to grow old alone.”
Andie’s heart seized in a tight knot. She’d never heard her aunt talk about her husband in any way other than how much she’d loved him. How happy they’d been. It made her think about the fact that everyone has their issues, whether they’re publicly exposed or not. She wondered what Ginny could have possibly gone through that had left her struggling for so long to move on.
She grabbed her aunt’s hand and squeezed it. “You are not alone, Aunt Ginny. I’m here. And I’m not going anywhere.”
Crap … unless they lost the house. Which was what they were supposed to be talking about.
Andie lowered her head to her hands and moaned, the sound striking her as a painful wail one might hear from an injured animal. “I have something I have to tell you,” she finally whispered. “Something really important.”
Ginny grew still beside her, and it was as if the breeze quit blowing in through the windows as well. Everything felt stuck in time. “I’ve always been able to read you, you know?” Ginny began, her words slow and gentle. “It’s about the loan, isn’t it? Something’s been eating at you for days. And I know we have that payment due this month.”
Andie nodded, her head still in her hands. “I think I’ve messed up, Aunt Ginny.”
“Nonsense. Whatever it is, we can fix it.”
Except Andie had no idea how to fix it.
“We need the bonus from this wedding to make the payment.” She peeked out through her fingers and focused on the strength she felt in Ginny’s trust — even though that trust was clearly misplaced. “And I think there’s a really big chance the whole thing might get called off.”
“Oh my.” Shock put an instant pallor in Ginny’s skin. “What’s happened?”
“Mark overheard something last night. Something that didn’t sound good. I begged him not to tell Rob, but he said he had to.”
“Bad enough that it could hurt Rob?”
Andie nodded again. “It wasn’t good.”
The look Andie hated was suddenly shot her way. The one that said she should know better. “And you suggested Mark keep quiet and let a wedding happen if it shouldn’t?”
“You’ll lose the house if we don’t get that bonus! Of course I suggested he keep quiet.”
“If we lose the house, then that’s just fa—”
“I know, fate. Only it won’t be. It’ll be me, making another mistake in a long line of many. Except this time, instead of merely getting fired or losing my fiancé, I’ll lose your home. Oh my God, Aunt Ginny. I don’t know how I’ll live with myself if I cause that to happen.”
Ginny dropped the bow to the floor and turned to Andie, taking both her hands in her own. “We aren’t going to lose the house. Something will come through, don’t you worry. But even if the worst did happen, it’s not your fault. I’m the one who signed the house over.”
“Because I talked you into it!”
“You think I don’t have sense enough to think on my own?”
“I think you did it for me. Because you trusted me. And now I’m going to let you down.”
Tears were falling from Andie’s eyes. Tears she’d been holding back for days. Years. Everything was too much. She wanted to escape, even if for just a night.
She tugged against Ginny’s hands, needing to swipe at her eyes, wanting to hide the sign of weakness, but Ginny didn’t turn her loose. “The only way you can let me down is by not doing the right thing,” Aunt Ginny said. “Investing in our business was the right thing. We’ve helped many people have the weddings they envisioned. And more. Hopefully we’ll get to continue doing that. But you can’t lower your standards, child. If this thing that Mark overheard is bad enough, you have to let the chips fall where they may. You and I will deal with the outcome. And just maybe, it won’t be as bad as you think.”
Andie yanked her hands free and stood, hearing everything Ginny was saying, but knowing her aunt didn’t understand. “It’s me, Aunt Ginny.” The tremble in her voice infuriated her. “Don’t you get it? I’m the screwup. I always have been.” Her words lumped together in her throat but she kept going, forcing them out one by one. “That’s probably the real reason Mark didn’t want to marry me. He knew I’d bring his family down. I’m a failure. Same reason my mother never liked me.”
She couldn’t handle the conversation anymore. Whirling, she intended to leave, even if that meant running to her bedroom and hiding like a child. But before she could take a step, she found her mother standing in the entrance to the room, her eyes wide.
And even better, Mark stood only a few feet behind her.
Great, pour all the crap on top of her head at once. Just perfect.
Andie set her gaze back on her mother, unable to face the incredulity she read in Mark’s. Cassie Winters was sixty-six, had the red hair and green eyes of her sister, but dressed as if she’d just come from a modern business woman photo shoot. Multi-hundred-dollar pumps, a small handbag over her shoulder, and a cream-and-black business suit, not a wrinkle in sight. It made Andie sick.
“Andie.” Her mother’s tone was a mix of surprise and … disbelief? Her gaze
bounced between Ginny and Andie, as if looking for whatever else she wanted to say.
Andie shook her head. She hadn’t seen her mother in over a year, and she had no desire to see her now. What in the hell was she doing there, anyway?
“No,” Andie murmured. She was not having this conversation. Not now.
She lowered her gaze and ignored all of them as she hurried through the room, yanking her arm away when Mark reached for her.
“Just leave me alone,” she snarled.
As she ran up the stairs, the last thing she noticed was that Aunt Ginny now looked at her sister with the same fury that Andie herself felt.
He had to go after her.
That was the message that kept rolling through his mind. He had to go after her. She was upset. And whatever the issue between her and her mother — and from what he’d just caught, there was definitely an issue — he wanted to help.
Or hell, maybe he just wanted to go to her.
Even though he’d come back early because he had a load of work he should be doing.
“Cassiopeia,” Ginny stated, her tone cold. Even colder, he thought, than when she’d read him the riot act four years ago. “What brings you to my house after all this time?”
He glanced at Andie’s mother. Cassiopeia? He shook his head. He didn’t have time for this.
Ignoring the two women, who both had their noses stuck high in the air, he turned to the stairs and took them two at a time. Whatever their problem, they could work it out. He had another, more pressing matter at hand.
When he reached Andie’s door, he rapped softly with his knuckles. She didn’t answer.
He rattled the knob, but it was locked. He heard nothing from inside.
Knowing the better thing might be to leave her alone and simply tackle the work he’d come back to do, he made the decision to step in even if she didn’t think she wanted him to. He had to. She needed him.
He passed through his room and headed out to the deck. It was hot out today, but he’d lay odds she was sitting in her room with the door to the deck open, listening to the ocean.
Bingo.
It was open only a few inches, but enough to let the outside in. He stepped over and slid into the quiet room.
The moment both feet were on the carpet inside, something hit him in the face.
“Get out of my room.” Andie’s voice was low but held an edge. She was sitting up in the middle of her bed, tears streaming down her face. She was normally such a tough cookie. So much so that he couldn’t remember having ever seen her cry. The sight broke off another chunk of his heart and handed it over to her.
Picking up the pillow she’d thrown at him, he tossed it in a chair and stopped in front of her. “I’m not leaving. Would you like to talk?”
“No, I would not like to talk. I would like to be alone.” Her glare was heartfelt, he’d give her that.
Choosing to ignore her request, he crossed to the sitting area and rooted around in the small fridge for a bottle of water. He held it up in question.
She grudgingly nodded, her gaze darting away from him. After handing it to her then heading for the couch, the bottle hit him square in the middle of the back.
“What the hell, Andie?” He spun around. “Quit acting like a child.”
She rose, stalking over to shove her nose in his face. “Then get out of my room.”
“I will not. You’re upset. You said some things downstairs that we need to talk about. I’m not leaving until we do.”
“I didn’t say anything that we need to talk about.” She poked him in the chest.
“Come on, babe.” He grabbed her hand and stroked his thumb back and forth over her clenched fingers. She thought she was a failure? And that was why he hadn’t married her? He reached out and rubbed a thumb across her cheek to wipe away tears. “Your mother is here. Do you want to talk about that?”
And the fact she’d said her mother didn’t like her?
“No, I don’t want to talk about that. Can you not hear? I want to be left alone.” She finished this outburst with a slight upswing of her hand as if planning to smack him across the face as she had the night he’d arrived.
He didn’t wait to see if that was her plan.
Catching her wrist, he jerked her arm around behind her, which pressed her chest squarely into his. At the touch of their bodies, she sucked in a sharp breath. And he’d swear her body began vibrating from head to toe. Her gaze dipped to his mouth.
She wanted sex? Seriously? Right then?
He would be a jerk to take it. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t thinking about it.
When her eyes narrowed and slowly lifted back to his, he reacted before she devised another way to provoke him. He twisted her other arm behind her back and shoved her up against the wall, his body trapping hers beneath his. Her soft panting breaths and the lushness of her curves were almost enough to make a man whimper.
They’d had some pretty good make-up sessions in the past, and he got the distinct impression she was intentionally trying to tick him off now with the hopes of heading in that same direction.
“You want sex, don’t you?” he asked, his own breathing as unsteady as hers. “Right now? Right here?” He leaned in and whispered against her ear, “Up against the wall?”
She bucked against him. “Of course not.” The vehemence in her voice almost convinced him. “Especially not when I know you’ve been out playing with Wendy the wenchy bridesmaid all day long.”
“I’ve been out what?” He pulled back to peer down at her, having no clue what she was talking about but glad to see her tears had dried up.
The shirt she wore had buttons running down the front, and somehow the top couple had popped undone. He could see a gorgeous amount of cleavage and orange lace, and luscious round breasts. And he almost released her wrists to go after them.
“Wendy,” she spat out. “The woman I saw you with your arm around the other night. I’m sure you enjoyed hanging out with her all day. Bet she wore a hot little bikini too, didn’t she? Probably wiggled her butt in your face every chance she got.”
Oh, Wendy. How in the hell did she get into this conversation? And when had Andie seen him with his arm around her? And then he remembered. The other night when they’d all gone to Gin’s. Wendy had been a little too friendly with Rob on the dance floor, so Mark had taken it upon himself to be her shadow for the remainder of the evening.
The funny thing was, Rob hadn’t seemed to mind the attention.
Penelope had, though.
How had Andie seen them together? She hadn’t been at the bar.
The empty wine bottle he’d found on the deck the following morning flashed through his mind. She’d been out there? Waiting for him?
The thought warmed his blood. He’d wanted to go to her when he’d come in that night, had wanted to have that talk he’d promised. But all had been quiet on the other side of the wall, so he’d spent the night hours working, instead. He wanted to be caught up so that when he got Andie to admit that she wanted an affair with him, he could lavish her with attention.
But he liked the idea of her being jealous of Wendy. It meant she cared. At least a little.
“The fact is …” he started, his gaze roaming over Andie’s chest as he taunted her. She reminded him of a ripe peach. And he liked peaches. He dipped down to nip the inside curve of one breast and smiled when he felt her catch her breath. “She did have on a bikini,” he whispered against her. He flicked his tongue out to soothe over the spot he’d just tasted. “It was red. And very tiny.” He nipped again. “And so hot.”
“Of course it was,” she growled out the words.
“And it was held together with itsy-bitsy little strings.”
Her leg shifted, but he shoved against her before she could lift it, trapping her two legs beneath one of his. “No, no, no,” he tsked. He stared down into her face. “You don’t get to knee me again, sweetheart. Especially when you’re just looking for a fight. That was
a one-time-only deal.”
“I am not looking for a fight. I’m pissed at you. You’re trying to stop the wedding, you’re flirting with Wendy, probably sleeping with her, and you—”
He closed his mouth over hers, swallowing her words and catching a moan. He gave one in return. Damn, she was hot. He’d always loved her riled up. It might be the wrong thing to do when she was clearly trying to avoid certain issues, but she had him so turned on he was going to take what she was offering and worry about his conscience later.
It wasn’t as if they weren’t going to end up in bed together anyway. They would have been there last night if they hadn’t gotten interrupted.
He turned one wrist loose only long enough to bring both her hands together above her head, clasping them against the wall. He liked her stretched out in front of him like that.
“You wanna fight, babe?” he asked, holding her trapped before him, one thigh now sliding between her legs. He nibbled along her neck and nudged his leg upward until he felt her tremble. “Because I’ve decided I’ll give you what you want. But I don’t think it’s a fight you’re looking for.”
He brought his free hand to the front of her shirt and yanked, ripping it the rest of the way open. “I think you want me. Inside you. And I think you want it right here.”
“No, I don’t.” Her words came out breathy and he couldn’t help but laugh.
“Guess I should turn you loose, then.” As he said the words, his hand slipped behind her and undid her bra. Her breasts dipped with their weight, as did she. She now sagged against the hand holding her up.
“Don’t stop, Mark,” she whispered, all the fight gone from her, her voice breaking. Slate-colored eyes pleaded up at him, her rosy lips mesmerizing to watch. He liked that he’d put the flush on her cheeks. “Please,” she begged. “Don’t stop.”
He wasn’t planning on it.
Getting a firmer grip on her wrists, he cupped her jaw and brought her mouth to his. She met him move for move, her tongue darting out to play with his until he felt his knees go weak. When he eased his mouth back an inch, pressing his forehead to hers while trying to catch his breath, she dipped her head and put her lips to the spot just below his ear. Her teeth bit down gently and he shuddered against her.
