“No,” I say again, shaking my head. “He wouldn’t.”
Emily lifts one shoulder. “I hope not. I believe he’s deeply in love with Ariel, but Jake being here changes things.”
I press my lips together. “Jake being alive shouldn’t change anything. Alex loves her. Love doesn’t just go away.”
Yet that’s exactly what I’ve feared since Jake showed up—that Brett’s feelings for me have somehow changed.
Emily looks at me sideways. “I know. But we’ve seen how weird River and Brett have been acting since Jake showed up.”
“Like they’re holding their breath,” I say. “Or waiting for a bomb to go off. Or wanting to kick the snot out of each other.”
“Exactly. If they’re this tense…”
“Then maybe they know something we don’t.”
The thought sits heavy between us. It’s too quiet now. That uneasy hush right before a summer storm splits the sky in two.
“Ariel’s not even in this room and I feel like we’re all orbiting around her,” I say.
Emily leans in slightly. “That’s because everyone’s waiting to see what happens now that Jake is back.”
I glance toward the staircase. Still empty. Still quiet.
“What are we going to do if Alex panics?” I ask. “If he calls off the wedding?”
Emily goes still for a moment. “We hold the line. We remind him what matters. That love like that—real love—doesn’t vanish just because the past shows up wearing someone else’s face.”
I blink at her. “That was poetic.”
“I’m British,” she says. “It happens.”
I smile, but it’s weak. “You know, I’ve never seen Brett so unsteady. And it’s not just him. It’s all of it. Misty fainting. June scheming. The guys acting like they’re sitting on a landmine.”
It feels like something’s coming. Not just drama, not just another scandal. Something final. Like the last move on a chessboard that’s been in play longer than any of us realized.
Then footsteps on the stairs.
Emily slowly turns her head.
I already know. I feel it.
Jake.
He’s descending. But what makes my stomach twist isn’t the sight of him.
It’s who’s on his arm.
June.
She’s changed. No longer just in a towel, but a slinky sundress that clings to her curves like it’s trying to seduce the air. She holds onto Jake’s forearm, and her smile is smug enough to slap.
Jake doesn’t look smug. He doesn’t look pleased or even interested. He looks…controlled.
Measured.
But he lets her hold on.
Emily exhales sharply. “Oh, bloody hell.”
