CHAPTER8
Rose had arranged for each bridesmaid to get a massage and a mani/pedi on Thursday morning, plus a discount on any other treatments offered. Megan was grateful for the gift, but really enjoyed the excuse to get out of the farmhouse and away from Caleb, clear her head.
The Starfire Lake Spa was downtown and had been open for less than a year. The owner, Christine, had also welcomed a new baby only months before the official opening.
The men were off doing their own thing. Megan hadn’t asked too many questions.
“Anyone else here think Caleb is sexy as hell?” Ainsley asked the group as they all sat together for their pedicures.
Megan didn’t say anything. A pang of worry erupted in her belly. Even though they’d been fucking like crazy the last few days, there was nothing official between them. No relationship to speak of, so she had no right to tell Ainsley that Caleb was taken. Technically, he wasn’t.
Megan examined her recently completed nails. The simple french manicure was elegant and would look lovely in photos.
“Is he seeing anyone?” Ainsley asked. “Because if not, I wouldn’t mind a ride on that rollercoaster.” Her giggle made Megan see red.
But she reined it in. Ainsley could proposition Caleb all she liked, and Caleb was free to accept if he wanted.
That didn’t mean Megan had to like it.
“There’s no way he’s single, though. Beautifulandsweet? He’s gotta be taken already,” Rebecca chimed in.
Ainsley shrugged. “I guess I’ll find out tonight.”
Megan snapped her head in Ainsley’s direction. “What doesthatmean?”
“Just that I have an outfit he might enjoy. I saw the way he was looking at me yesterday when I was by the pool.”
Megan wanted to slap the simpering smile off Ainsley’s face. Maybe if Megan shared some details about how Caleb had looked up at her last night, with his mouth between her legs…
Still, Megan kept quiet. It wasn’t worth the trouble. For all she knew, after the wedding was over, Caleb might very well go out with Ainsley. She tried to ignore the stab of pain at the thought. He wasn’t hers to claim; carrying a torch for him for years didn’t make him hers.
There had been no discussion about what would happen when they weren’t sleeping in bedrooms across the hall from each other.
Once the wedding was over and Rose and Henry happily married, Megan and Caleb would go back to their separate lives.
It was the best thing for both of them. He would put all of his attention on the bookstore, and she could get back to focusing on her career and finding a way to open her own bakery.
Running her own business had always been Megan’s goal. The building two doors down from the spa was still vacant and used to be a restaurant; she’d seen the sign as they’d parked on the street in front of it. She’d have to make some inquiries about the building before she could do anything, of course, but it was in a good location. The previous restaurant had closed when the owners retired and none of the kids wanted it, and the economy had been in a downswing, so nobody wanted to take on such a risk.
Her parents tried for years to get Megan to follow a different career path, but the kitchen and baking had been her dream since she was a kid standing in front of a bakery display, realizing peoplemadethem.
If she was going to finally make it happen, she couldn’t afford any distractions. She owed it to the younger version of herself and owed it to who she was now to keep her head down and focused.
No distractions meant no Caleb. After this week. She could give herself these last two days. Rose was getting married on Saturday. Which meant Megan had two days and nights left to be distracted.
As long as Ainsley didn’t get her hooks into Caleb.
“You brought lingerie to the bonding week before my wedding?” Rose’s shock was clear enough, and loud enough that it brought Megan back to the conversation.
Ainsley scoffed at Rose’s surprise. “Why not? There are single groomsmen with us, aren’t there?”
“It’s bold, that’s for sure,” Rebecca said.
“Not to mention cliché,” Megan said before realizing she said it out loud. She tried to find anything else to say but Ainsley cut her off.
“Maybe, but when was the last timeyoubought lingerie, Megan?”
She had to grind her teeth to stop herself from telling Ainsley that she too had brought lingerie to the farmhouse, and with the intention of having Caleb take it off her. Exactly like he did last night. Ainsley didn’t need to know any of that.
