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My love for him was never that strong, it was always linked to the boxes I wanted to tick off in my life, mostly because I have, no—had—a tendency to do what was expected of me. Yet, I never felt like taking any of those next steps with him. Neither did he.
“Oh, Morgan, I’m so sorry.” My voice is deep and sounds sincere. It has the effect I want—his features soften immediately. “I never realized I was like that with you. I guess…my attention was always focused on my work in a desperate attempt to get some fulfillment and satisfaction in life.” I pat his chest, reveling in his frozen expression. “But that’s not an issue now, so I think I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it.”
Now, this is proper retaliation for all those harsh words I’ve heard over the years. I didn’t even plan it. Loosening up is turning out to be the best thing I’ve done in a long time.
Morgan’s expression darkens as he moves closer. “You expect me to believe that he’s better than me?”
“Without a shadow of a doubt,” a voice drawls behind us. Brian stands a few feet away, his hair still a bit wet, wearing a white shirt and jeans. Yes, there’s no comparison at all. “Unless you disagree, Love.”
“Nope.” I shake my head and crash into his arms, planting a kiss on his chiseled jaw. Morgan makes a weird sound and seems ready to snap at both of us, but then turns around, probably heading to his original destination. I think I’ve wounded his ego just enough for him to keep his distance.
I raise my head to look at Brian again, but his eyes are fixed on Morgan’s back. “What the hell did you see in him?”
As much as I’m tempted to tease him too, the conversation with Morgan has riled me up. “I’ve told you, I have—sorry—had a type.” His expression sours as he looks at me, but my smile shows that there’s no accusation this time.
“Carol! Oh, my God, how much you’ve changed! And you must be her boyfriend, oh, what a relief to meet you at last.” Aunt Gemma jogs in our direction, the panting not interrupting her flow of speech in the slightest. She’s my mother’s twin through and through.
I glance at Brian who’s still smiling, unbothered by the start of our inquisition. This is how the day will be, I know it all too well. But for the first time in my life, I don’t want it to end.
Chapter Eighteen
Brian
“Idon’tthinkI’veever spoken so much in my life,” I blurt out as I close the door to our room.
Carol wasn’t joking when she said we’d be interrogated by her relatives and all her family’s guests.
“Wait until the reception starts for the complaining.” She kicks her flats off next to the door and walks across the room barefoot. After her encounter with her ex, she seems in a much better mood and even the prying questions from her old neighbors didn’t seem to faze her.
“No, I’m not complaining, it’s just an observation. To be honest, I find it quite endearing. There’s not a hint of gossip in their comments or questions, just worry and love. Okay, curiosity too,” I add when she raises an eyebrow. “I’ve never seen anything like that.” I stretch my arms behind my head and then open my suitcase. Though small, it can accommodate two suits plus all my other stuff comfortably, so nothing is wrinkled. I pick the black suit, together with a dress shirt, and lay them out on the bed.
“Well, we were—are—a close-knit community. It’s natural to care about people who have been in your life forever. I think that’s why my sister chose to have a wedding like this. She misses that connection.”
“Do you?” No matter how much she complains about that, her eyes lit up every single time we were stopped by the guests, especially the ones she knew well. I get that she can’t stand the questions when she doesn’t want to answer them, but having so many people who care seems like a good deal. From my own experience, the opposite is unbearable. I can’t remember how many times our neighbors ignored me and my mother, just because she had had a kid without being married. If it wasn’t for Mary’s moral support, I don’t know what would have happened.
Carol shrugs. “Maybe. I’m not sure. At some point, that level of prying gets really tiresome. There needs to be some sort of balance otherwise you end up bringing a fake date to your sister’s wedding to avoid it,” she says, but there’s no bitterness there. One could even say she looks rather entertained by the proceedings.
But before I can comment on that, she reminds me we don’t have much time and grabs a deep blue dress from her suitcase. Despite our little dalliance in the morning, she’s still torn about her own feelings, and no matter how much she enjoys teasing me, she snaps out of it fast.
“Carol, don’t.” I grab her hand as she’s about to head into the bathroom. “You are not getting ready for the wedding in there. I’ll wait outside until you are done, okay?”
“You need to get dressed too.” She grabs the belt loop of my jeans sending a jolt to my groin.
“Yeah, I think I will manage to find five minutes to do that.”
She laughs and I seize the chance to steal a kiss again before heading out. It’s the third day and we are already so much closer than I’d imagined. The moments I felt I had to choose my words carefully so that she wouldn’t shut down again, seem less and less with each passing moment. And damn it, there are so many things that I want to ask her... And tell her...And do to her...
I sit on one of the lounge chairs and pull out my phone, mindlessly admiring the view until Andrew answers. There’s a wooden fence with thin bushes throughout the garden, and a second line of trees that offer extra privacy, but on the beach side, the gaps are larger, and the fence is considerably higher. It’s a pity we haven’t gone for a swim in the pool, I’m sure the view from there will be uninterrupted. Not to mention that I’d be in the pool with Carol.
“Good morning, Boss,” Andrew says cheerfully.
“What’s got you in such a good mood?” I ask. When I texted him earlier, he’d been too busy rearranging my schedule again and complaining that now he has to work on Sundays, even after I pointed out that no one asked him to do that.
“I’m almost done with work. Besides, you’ve arranged my activities for the rest of the day so I can’t complain.”
The outing with Daniel. I almost forgot about it. “Did you talk with Sunny?”
He assures me that everything is OK and urges me yet again not to mess things up. “How’s it going so far?” he asks.
