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“It was an enjoyable time?” Tristan asked. “The wedding?”
“We were having an amazing time,” he replied wistfully. He smiled with his whole face, eyes softening just so. “I was going to tell her I loved her. The moment was right.”
I shared a look with Tristan. “That’s wonderful, Pierce. I thought you were beginning to fall for her.”
“Head over heels.” He laughed. “I’ve felt like myself these past few months more than I have my entire life.”
I shared another look with Tristan. He shook his head slightly, but I wasn’t going to be deterred. “Pierce, we need to talk to you.”
“Oh? About what?”
Before I could say anything, we heard the familiar sound of helicopter rotors. Pierce went to the window and drew back the curtain. “I didn’t expect her to return for a few more hours. She wanted to stay up late with her parents.”
We went out to meet her by the helicopter pad. As soon as she stepped off, it was immediately obvious that something was wrong. Her mascara was smeared, and tears were still carving lines through the makeup on her cheeks.
“You’re back early,” Pierce said. “What’s wrong?”
When he tried to embrace her, she shook him off. “I had a fight with my sister.”
“Oh, no. About what?”
“I don’t want to talk about it right now. I just want to be alone.” She hurried past us below deck, leaving only the scent of her perfume behind.
“What do you suppose that was about?” Tristan asked.
“I don’t know, but I have my suspicions.” He pinched his nose and sighed. “What did the two of you want to talk to me about?”
“Maybe it can wait…” I began to say.
“I’m all out of patience tonight, Andrew,” Pierce said. “You’ve both been my closest friends for as long as I can remember, and one thing I value about our friendship is that you’ve never been reluctant to speak your mind. Do so now, please.”
Tristan glanced at me. I took a deep breath.
And then we told him.
37
Melinda
I felt like a teenager running to her room and slamming the door. It was made much worse by the fact that I had spent so much time staying in Pierce’s room that my actual room on the Bellerophon didn’t feel like mine anymore.
I ran through the time I had spent since signing the contract.
Almost two weeks on the yacht.
A month on the private island.
More months touring around Europe.
Then another few weeks on the yacht.
I had changed over that time. It had happened so subtly that I didn’t realize it. When I first joined him, I’d spent so much time judging Pierce for living lavishly that I hadn’t worried about what would happen to me after living in these conditions for so long.
Carly was right. I’ve been blind this entire time.
The guilt washed over me in waves, and I cried some more. Guilt for spending time away from my family. For missing all of Carly’s milestones leading up to the wedding. For my behavior at the wedding itself. In a flash of anger, I started to rip off the priceless necklace so I could throw it overboard. That would have been silly, so I stopped myself and calmly removed it and placed it on my nightstand instead. Then, for good measure, I threw it in the drawer so it was out of sight.
Pierce was an amazing man. But I shouldn’t have brought him to the wedding. I should have introduced him to my family another time. When it wouldn’t have upstaged the bride.
