Chapter Fifteen
“Tyler! Where the bloody hell are you, you ignorant bastard?” a woman’s voice shrieks through the house. It’s followed by the slamming of the door.
I jolt, sitting straight up on the sofa and placing my Kindle down next to me. What the…?
“Tyler!”
“Jesus, Tessa!” Tyler yells down the stairs. “What did I do this time?”
“You slept with my bridesmaid, you absolute knobhead!”
Oops.
Tyler appears in the hallway in my line of sight, wearing a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. His hair is still dripping wet, and I watch as he runs his tongue across his bottom lip.
“Did I?”
“Yes! Two nights ago!”
He stops for a moment and scratches his jaw. “Shit. What was her name?”
“Tyler!” Tessa steps forward and shoves him in the chest. “One thing. That’s all I fucking asked of you. Don’t sleep with my bridesmaids! It was all you had to do. The only damn thing and you couldn’t even do that.”
“Now, Tess—”
“No. No. Don’t ‘Now, Tess,’ me, you prick.”
“In my defense, sis, you have, like, ten bridesmaids and they all look the same.”
I feel the heat of her stare from here.
“They do not all look the same! And her name was Lilly!”
“Lilly, Lilly…” Tyler claps his hands once. “Oh, Lilly!”
Tessa smacks her hands over her eyes. “Why couldn’t I get a normal brother? Why did my parents have to give me one who can’t keep it in his pants for his own sister’s wedding?”
“It’s not that bad.”
“Not that bad? Not that bad?” Her voice rises a few octaves. “I get married in five days, and Mum and Dad don’t fly in until tomorrow. I have a thousand things to do, so imagine how delighted I was to travel across London this morning and find one of my bridesmaids crying because my brother didn’t call her back.”
“Hey. I never promised to call her.”
“Oh, you are such a giant arse, Tyler!”
The front door opens and closes. “I should have guessed you’d be here when I heard the shrieking a block away,” Aaron says dryly.
I cross my legs Indian-style. So I’m enjoying the drama. Shoot me. It certainly beats my book.
“Aaron. Fantastic. Does it get better?” Tessa cries.
“Jeez, Tessa. Do we need to call someone to calm you down?” Tyler asks.
“No need, man. London Zoo put out a call earlier. Their Bridezilla escaped,” Aaron retorts.
Both of the guys laugh, and I frown.
“You two are utter assholes.”
Everyone stops and turns to me. Tessa’s eyebrows shoot up, her lips parting.
“Ooh, is this…”
“Tessa, meet Dayton.” Tyler waves an arm between us. “Dayton, meet my lovely twin sister.”
Tessa springs forward and wraps me in a hug. Oh okay. Okay.
“I’m so happy to meet you! I’ve heard so much about you from Mum, who heard it from Aunt Carly… But yes.” She coughs and sits next to me, her earlier anger seemingly dissipated. “Gosh, you’re pretty. Aaron, why didn’t you tell me how beautiful she is?”
My cheeks flush. Geez, this family has a thing about making me blush.
Tyler stuffs his hands in his pockets, reminiscent of the cocky teenage boy he obviously was. “Yeah, Aaron. Why didn’t you tell her?”
“You.” Tessa turns on him and points a stern finger. “Shut it. I’m not done with you. Aaron?”
“Tess, the last time we talked, you were telling me my wife was an utter bitch who had more Botox than brains.” Aaron shucks off his jacket and drops it over the back of a chair before sitting. “That was two and a half years ago. You’ve avoided me ever since.”
“I’ve avoided you and my brother,” she sighs. “Individually, you’re professional businessmen. Together? You’re knobs. Utter knobs.”
Tyler frowns. “I took it earlier because you were pissed but watch your mouth, Tess.”
“The day I watch my mouth is the day you watch your dick.”
I disguise my snort with a cough. Tessa winks at me and turns back to Aaron.
“I’m glad you divorced her, by the way. If you’d tried bringing her to my wedding, she would have conveniently ended up in the river that runs in front of the house.” Tessa sniffs. “A place my brother may just end up.”
“What did he do now?”
Tessa launches into an explanation, much quieter than before but just as passionate. I can see the ire in her eyes. The anger is practically vibrating around her, and she takes a deep breath when she finishes.
Tyler scuttles from the room and reappears a minute later with a bottle of wine and two glasses. He sets them on the table in front of us, his smile tinged with shame.
“I’m driving,” Tessa snaps.
“I’ll take you home and you can get your car tomorrow.”
“Believe me, Ty. The last place I want to be right now is in a car with you.”
“I’ll have a car collect you,” Aaron butts in. “For the love of God, Tess, just drink the wine and calm down.”
She takes a deep breath, and I hand her a filled glass. She shoots me a small smile, taking it, and downs half of it in one go. I raise my eyebrows at Aaron, and he smirks in response. Yep. I see what he meant when he said she was a proper lady.
Wine-glugging aside.
“Ty, can you just try not to sleep with any more of my wedding party, please? I’m going crazy here without Mum to help me, and I just don’t need any more stress.”
Tyler sighs. “I’m sorry. But next time, can you make sure they all wear badges saying ‘Tessa’s bridesmaid’ so I don’t do it?”
The look she gives him is so heated it could set ice on fire.
“Okay, okay.” He holds up his hands. “I’ll behave.”
“Thank you.” She closes her eyes and sits back.
“Hey!” he cries after a moment. “I’ve got an idea.”
“God no,” Aaron mutters.
“Why doesn’t Dayton help you? With the wedding?”
No no no no no. My eyes widen. “I, uh, um…”
“Oh! Would you?” Tessa turns to me, her eyes pleading. “It’s just until Mum and Aunt Carly get in tomorrow night.”
“I really have no idea what I’m doing with a wedding,” I admit. “I’d be in your way.”
“So? It’ll be good practice.”
I look at Aaron, my eyes even wider, but he just smirks. What. The. Fuck. No. No marriages. No nothing.
“Please!” Tessa takes my hands.
I meet everyone’s eyes in turns, finally resting on Tessa’s brown ones, and sigh in defeat. “Okay. I’ll do my best.”
“Thank you!” she squeals and hugs me again.
I pat her back with one hand and point in Aaron’s direction with the other. “Don’t get any ideas, buddy,” I warn him.
He smirks again.
***
I drop onto the velvet seat at a table in the bar. Never again. Never again am I helping anyone iron out wedding details.
Shit. Today makes me want anything but marriage. Not that the thought has crossed my mind, but still. From finalizing flowers to a last-minute buffet change and a meltdown over the fact that Tessa’s shoes still haven’t been delivered, I’m all wedding-ed out.
I rub my fingers against my temples and let out a long breath.
“Don’t tell her I said this, but there’s a reason we waited until now to fly over.” Carly sits next to me and places a glass of wine in front of me.
“When I get back, I’m going to string Tyler from a streetlight by a very private part of his anatomy.” I sip the wine. “I mean, she’s lovely, but wow.”
Carly smiles and pats my thigh. “Don’t worry, honey. I have it on good authority that you’ll barely be able to finish… Oh, never mind.”
A hand rests on my neck, and I turn, staring straight into Aaron’s face. “What are you doing here?”
He smiles slowly. “I’m coming to steal you.”
I raise an eyebrow. “What if I’m happy here?”
“Then I’m stealing you anyway.” He leans over the back of the chair and kisses Carly’s cheek. “Mom.”
“Son.” She beams at him. “Go on, Dayton. Tessa won’t mind.” She winks, and I shrug.
“If you’re sure?”
“Positive.”
I nod and finish the glass of wine. Aaron rolls his eyes, and I pause before putting my jacket on. “What? It’s rude to leave wine in a glass if you’re leaving.”
His lips curve slightly, and he wraps an arm around my waist. “See you at the wedding, Mom.”
Aaron leads us from the bar and straight into a waiting car.
“What are we doing?”
“You’ll see.” He takes my hand and rubs his thumb across my knuckles. I watch him as he brings our hands to his mouth and kisses my fingers one by one.
“Aren’t you supposed to be in a meeting?”
“Yes, I am. I canceled it.”
“Why?”
He cups the side of my face. “Because, beautiful woman, I missed you. I have all day tomorrow free, but I want you right now. The meeting wasn’t important, so it can wait. You can never wait, and it’s not an option for me where you’re concerned.”
I turn my face into his palm with a smile. Sometimes he says the right words in the right way and they warm my whole body. They give me a glimpse of the feelings he’s yet to say outright, and it’s comforting. It solidifies my reasoning for being here, for forgiving him, for staying in the place my heart cries so desperately for.
And now I have him to myself for just over a day.
“Did you miss me?” he asks, leaning into me.
“Tu me manques,” I whisper, kissing his wrist.
Aaron’s cheek is soft as he rests his face alongside mine and curls his fingers around the back of my neck. I breathe in his scent, woody and so very masculine. So distinctly him. It wraps around me in a cocooning blanket, making my heart pound and my blood rush through my veins in the most comforting way.
“I have a surprise for you.”
“I hate surprises,” I mutter.
“Not this one. I promise you’ll love it.”
The car stops, and he pulls me out after him. I stop him before he starts walking and bring my hands to his neck. I undo his tie, sliding the silk around his neck until it’s balled in my hand, and tuck it into my purse.
“You’re not working now.” I flick open his top button and brush my fingertips across his chest. “No tie.”
He smiles and kisses the end of my nose. “No tie. Come on, Bambi. I want to show you something.”
He links his fingers through mine and tugs me after him. I look around us, noting the River Thames to my left. A small gasp leaves me, and I pull my hand from Aaron’s, walking to the wall that separates the river and the embankment. I rest my arms on it and lean forward, looking down the river at the reflections in it in the night.
London is still buzzing with life at eight p.m. There are still bright slivers of white and yellow in the building opposite me, casting an eerie glow that’s so beautiful onto the water. The face of Big Ben is lit up like a beacon high above the buildings surrounding it.
“That’s the Houses of Parliament.” Aaron points at the building I was just looking at. “If you walk just down from it, you’ll be at Downing Street, where the Prime Minister lives. If you go in the other direction and walk a little, you’ll arrive at Buckingham Palace.”
I nod. “Tyler took me to see it. I wish we had more time to see everything else though. I’m kind of greedy. I want to see it all just in case I never get to come back.”
Aaron takes my hand. “I promise you. You’ll be back. More times than you can count.”
I smile and bring our clasped hands to my cheek. “Really?”
“I promised, didn’t I?” He half-grins and walks backward. “And we have all day tomorrow. We’ll start early and go wherever you want to go, okay?”
“Really? Anywhere?”
“Anywhere. But now, I want to show you it all.”
“All of London?”
He nods, and I raise my eyes to the majestic wheel behind him. The London Eye.
“Oh!”
His half grin becomes a full one. “Surprise.”
“It definitely is!” I cover my mouth with my hand as he leads me to it and we step into one of the clear pods. “Oh, I’ve always wanted to go on this.”
I shrug off my jacket and leave it on the bench in the middle, walking to the edge of it. I press my fingers against the thick glass in front of me as we move around slowly, eager to see everything. I do—I want it all. I want to see this gorgeous city spread before me in the night.
“We came to London right after we’d been to Paris,” Aaron says out of the blue. His words cut through the easy silence that descended between us in the wake of my excitement.
“Really?”
“Yes. Dad had an important meeting I couldn’t attend, so Mom asked me if I’d accompany her shopping. I agreed, and at the end of the day, after dinner, she brought me here. It was marginally lighter on our journey, but I hated every second of it.”
I turn to him. “Why? How could you hate this?”
He crosses the pod to me and brushes the backs of his fingers down my cheeks. “I spent the whole time thinking of you and how much you would have loved to have seen it. I spent the whole time wondering what it would be like to hold you in my arms and stare out at the city with you the way we did at the top of the Eiffel Tower.”
I take a step to the side, into his hold, and relax into the familiar way his arms wrap around my waist from behind. “Now you can find out.”
His lips brush my forehead. “Finally. I can finally take you to all the places I thought I saw you in and do everything I wanted to all those years ago. But most importantly, I can take you home at the end of every single day and know you’re not going anywhere.”
I can’t bring myself to respond to it. I don’t know if I’m ready for that, no matter how natural it feels. It doesn’t matter that we’ve barely spent a night apart the whole time we’ve been together—that’s a final thing I can’t commit to. Not until the past is fully behind us.
“This is beautiful,” I whisper, changing the direction of the conversation.
And it is. London, stretched out before me, completely uninterrupted. Lights upon lights in winding patterns of crazy interconnecting streets. I can see everywhere. There’s Camden and Soho and Piccadilly. The colorful lights of Piccadilly Circus are perhaps some of the brightest I can see despite how small they are from our place in the sky.
It’s beautiful. More beautiful than I imagined it would be, and far more beautiful than it would be had I seen all of this from the ground. The bird’s-eye view is breathtaking.
“I haven’t been on this since,” Aaron says softly into my ear, brushing his nose against my cheek.
“Really? How many times have you been here?”
“More than I care to count. I could never come back on here though. I was always too afraid it would make me think of you. It’s exactly why, whenever I went to Paris, all I really did was work. I haven’t been up the Tower since the day you left.”
I wet my lips. “Do you think we’ll ever go back?”
Aaron spins me in his arms and looks down at me, his eyes full of raw emotion that reaches out and takes hold of every part of my body. “I will take you anywhere you want to go, whenever you want to go. I can do that, and I will. All you have to do is ask me, Dayton. I’ll never say no to anything that will make you happy.”
“But Paris seems to be both a blessing and a curse to our relationship.” I run my thumb along his jaw, his stubble lightly scratching it. “Twice it’s made us and twice it’s broken us.”
Aaron brings his hands from my back to my face and tilts my head back so my eyes are on his. He looks at me with a scary kind of certainty, the hold of his gaze too strong to even consider looking away.
“Dayton, nothing can break us. It can crack us, but it can’t break us. What you feel—what I feel—is far too strong for anything to tear it apart. If it weren’t, neither of us would be here. We would have been able to walk away and forget everything we’ve shared. This isn’t two people clinging on to the past and what might have been. This is two people propelled into the here and now because of the past, and it’s them looking to what could be in the future. There isn’t a day that passes that I don’t think of my life with you. And every thought makes me more determined to have it.” He covers my mouth with his in a warm, honest kiss that sends tingles through my body to my toes. “The next time we go to Paris, I promise you, we’ll be leaving stronger than ever.”
I gaze at him with wide, wet eyes. “You promise?” My words are a whisper.
“I promise. There’s a reason they say the third time’s a charm.”
“Maybe we just needed a couple of tries before we got it right.”
Aaron smiles, one that lights up his whole face and brings a sparkle to his eyes. “And this time, it won’t go wrong, sweetheart. I won’t let it.”
I squeeze my eyes shut as he takes my mouth again and wish. I wish for him to be right. I wish and hope that this time it won’t, that this time it will be the kind of perfect we’ve been holding out for. The kind of perfect little girls dream of after watching too many Disney movies and, later, too many chick-flick movies where the guy always wins the girl.
But the threat nudges at the back of my mind, and I know that, if we have any chance of making it this time, it’s going to cost me.