AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Molly looked at Mary Ellen. She was laughing, apparently thinking that idea was ridiculous.
Antonio wasn’t laughing, but he was looking at her as he spoke. “No. I’m not stupid. I might hold some traditional values, but I was happy to let them go when they didn’t match my beautiful wife’s ideas.”
Molly turned to look out the window again. She was glad that Antonio thought it natural to put Mary Ellen ahead of his traditional ideas, but it only reinforced the difference between the way he loved Mary Ellen and the way Marcos had loved her.
The conversation moved on; they were talking about baby names and Antonio was joking about wanting ten children. She hoped for Mary Ellen’s sake that he was joking. Every now and then he’d catch her eye. She wondered what it was that he wanted to say but wouldn’t in front of the others. Mary Ellen didn’t know all of her history with Marcos. Chelsea did but seemed oblivious to how deeply she’d been hurt.
Grant leaned over from his seat across the aisle. He’d taken that seat so he could get some work done—even though Molly would have preferred he sat with Chelsea so she wouldn’t have been part of all the chatter.
“What are the plans when we get there?” he asked.
“Smoke has organized a minibus to pick us up at the airport and take us to the resort. We have this afternoon to get settled, and then we’re all meeting up for dinner this evening,” said Antonio.
Molly liked the idea of having the afternoon to get settled in. To her, that meant having the afternoon to herself. She loved these guys, but she needed some alone time before she faced Marcos again.
“And we’re staying at the new resort, right?” asked Chelsea. “Where the wedding is.”
Mary Ellen nodded. “Yep. It was tight. They had another large group booking this weekend, but I got us a block of rooms with enough for everyone.”
“Is that okay with you?” Antonio was looking at Molly.
She realized her disappointment must have shown. She’d only been to the lake once before, but they’d spent the night at the old resort. She loved it there. “Of course. Will we be going over to the Boathouse? I loved the food there.”
Mary Ellen nodded. “We will. Tonight, we’re all meeting up at the lodge where we’re staying, and tomorrow night is the rehearsal dinner, but we can go over there for lunch tomorrow.”
Molly nodded. Maybe it was just her nervousness about seeing Marcos again, but this weekend wasn’t sounding like a whole lot of fun. Being herded around in a group really wasn’t her thing.
Chelsea smiled at her. “I know you, missy. You’re wondering when you can wander off by yourself, aren’t you?”
She shrugged, not wanting to admit that she didn’t relish the prospect of spending every waking minute with them.
Mary Ellen smiled. “It’s all flexible. You can do as you please. My arrangements are only so everyone has something to do if they want it. If you don’t want, that’s fine by me.” She held Molly’s gaze for a moment. “You do whatever you want to do. I’ll email you the schedule of everything that’s planned, and you pick and choose. You don’t even have to go to the rehearsal dinner if you don’t want to.”
Molly felt bad. “I’m not saying I don’t want to hang with you guys.”
“I know. All I’m saying is you do what you want to … and don’t do what you don’t.”
“Thanks.”
When they landed at the little airport at Summer Lake, Molly looked around as she made her way down the steps. She loved this place. If she was honest, she loved this life. She could get used to flying around in a private jet, taking the weekend off to spend with her friends.
Smoke greeted them inside the building. She’d always liked Chelsea’s eldest brother. He greeted her with a warm hug—which took her by surprise since it wasn’t normally his style. She stepped back and gave him a puzzled look.
“I’m glad you’re here, Molly.”
Oh. Smoke and Marcos had been close when they were in high school. She had to wonder what—if anything—Marcos might have said to him about her.
“Are you okay?”
She held Smoke’s gaze for a moment longer. “I don’t know. I want to be, but I’m not sure that I am.”
He smiled and put a hand on her shoulder. “I hope you will be, and I know someone else who hopes you will, too.”
She nodded. She didn’t know what to say.
~ ~ ~
Marcos sat at the bar inside the Boathouse. It was a beautiful day outside, but the brightness and the sunshine felt like hope and happiness, and he didn’t know if he dared allow himself that.
