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Aiden Pierce was more punctual than she was. Tonight was full of surprises. “Thanks.” She looked into his eyes, trying to convey how much she appreciated his help.
“My pleasure. Now, what’s with the somber mood? What are we talking about?” he asked through a full mouth.
Ciera cut into her cake and the liquid chocolate center oozed out. “Unexpected wedding guests.” She nodded her head at the dance floor.
The music had changed to a fast song, but Brody and Sasha were still out there. Even though they weren’t touching now, watching them dance to this song was even worse.
Aiden scooped up another forkful of pie and shoveled it into his mouth. “Aww, yes. The European dude.” He reached across, snagged Ciera’s chocolate cake and slid it to Paige. “Looks like you could use this.”
Ciera, whose fork was midway between the cake and her mouth, froze. “Hey. What about me?”
Aiden tipped his chair to look at his sister from behind Paige, held his hand up to block his mouth and pretended to whisper. “Cici, you’re not the one whose ex just waltzed back in town with a Hollywood actress on his arm.”
“You know I can still hear you.” Paige grabbed the fork from Ciera’s hand and cut off a hearty-sized bite of her absolute favorite thing on Cedar Break’s menu. She hoped the bitter taste of disappointment wouldn’t ruin it.
Aiden draped his arm over her shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze. It had been a crummy night, but the embrace of a good friend brightened her gloomy spirit a bit. Chocolate cake didn’t hurt, either.
“If it makes you feel any better, I heard everyone thinks she’s not all that,” Aiden said.
Paige rolled her eyes. “You’ve known about her for like five minutes. How do you know what everyone thinks?”
Aiden swallowed the large bite in his mouth. “I’ve been shooting the breeze with everyone in the room for the past four hours. People talk, and they have a lot of opinions about her.”
Ciera took a sip of her drink. “I already told you Lane said she has no personality.”
Paige cut off another big bite of the cake and swiped it across the bottom of the bowl to soak up the liquid chocolate. “Is this supposed to make me feel better? Brody’s gorgeous new girlfriend is boring?”
“Boring is a big deal,” Aiden said. “No one likes boring.”
Ciera nodded. “Truth.”
It could’ve been truth to these two, but the fact was, Sasha had Brody and all she had was a growing void where he had once been. “Maybe being devastatingly beautiful trumps boring.”
“Occasionally in the short term, but never in the long term.” The seasoned voice came from behind them. All three turned around to find Aiden and Ciera’s grandmother, lovingly known to all as Gram, standing behind them.
Aiden hopped out of his seat and kissed her on the cheek. “Gram, here. Take my seat. How are you enjoying the reception so far?”
“I’d be enjoying it more if I were involved in this beautiful versus boring conversation. Sounds scandalous. I need a little scandal in my life.” There was a twinkle in Gram’s wise eyes as she sank into the seat Aiden had vacated with her gaze glued to Paige.
Ciera leaned across her to fill Gram in. “Paige’s ex-boyfriend is back in town and he brought an actress with him.” She snagged the fork from Paige and pulled the cake in front of herself.
Gram nodded as if considering the situation. “And how much of a looker is this new girl?”
Ciera shot Aiden a worried look. Paige appreciated her friend trying to spare her feelings, but it wasn’t a secret. Anyone with eyes could see what kind of beauty they were dealing with. Paige looked right at Gram and gave her the most honest answer she could think of. “She could launch a thousand ships.”
“She’s very pretty,” Ciera added. Aiden gave Paige’s shoulders an encouraging squeeze.
“I see.” Gram twisted her mouth to the side in thought. “This reminds me of the time when Lorissa’s ex-husband returned with a supermodel who was as dumb as a box of rocks.” Gram often lacked a filter. Whatever thought ran through her head came out of her mouth, which Paige loved. It was always entertaining and so different from anything she’d grown up with.
“Are these real friends or soap opera friends?” Aiden asked. Until Paige met Gram, she was unaware soap operas still existed. Apparently they did. And Gram still watched them with diligence.
Gram gave Aiden a stern look. “Soap opera friends are real friends, dear.” She turned to Paige. Her weathered hand wrapped around Paige’s. The warm, maternal gesture was like a hug to her broken heart. “Did you love him?”
Visions of their year together paraded through her mind. Happy memories of sweet moments when the word forever sparkled with anticipation.
Paige let out a sigh. “Yeah.”
Sympathy flashed across Gram’s face. “Do you still love him?” Her voice was a little quieter this time, a little more personal. Which seemed appropriate since the question felt personal.
