Page 64 of The Brides Brother

eyes more trained on him than anything else. And so, whenever his face turned, and I assumed he was looking for me, I went out of sight.

I watched them, though. He was forced to accommodate her, or maybe he wanted to, but from the way others gravitated towards them, it was obvious that she was the one that most expected him to be a couple with. She was gorgeous, and her body was insane. She had on the most gorgeous dark one-piece, had her hair tied up with tendrils escaping, and the most gorgeous red lips. She looked wealthy and gorgeous, and I couldn't believe how I felt in comparison.

I needed to get my head on straight but no matter how I tried, I eventually had to accept that taking myself out of the way was the best way to do that. Plus, I had my own special private moments with him from earlier, so there was nothing to complain about. The party was going to be staying later, until past midnight probably, but by 10:00 pm, I was more than ready to call it a night.

There was a party heading home, so as soon as I said goodbye to Aurora, I joined them and headed back to the mansion. It was looking to be a quiet evening, and despite how it currently felt as though my chest was constricted, I had to admit that I was looking forward to it.

I was sure that I could brush away just how closed up I had become as soon as that girl had arrived, but as I brushed my teeth and took off my makeup, it was all I could think about. The way he looked at her seemed eerily like the way he looked at me as well. Sure, I had noted his annoyance sometimes, but how was I to know for sure? More importantly, I shouldn’t care. I didn't want to care; however, just like I predicted, I did, and it was infuriating to say the least.

I was sure that I would prefer a quick shower so that I could head off to bed quickly and forget about my worries and nonsense concerns; however, before long, my phone began to ring.

I was instantly nervous, reluctant to look since I could only assume that it was him calling, but then when I realized that perhaps this was the root of all my problems because my expectations towards him were now becoming too high, I got up and retrieved the phone.

Turns out it was Anna, and she was the one person in the world that I really wanted to talk to at this moment, so I immediately picked up.

“I haven’t heard from you in like two days?” she immediately started complaining. “Are you doing alright? Or are you having so much fun that you just decided to forget about me altogether?”

I smiled about this because of course she was being dramatic. As I thought about her question, however, I realized that it wasn’t quite far from the truth.

I smiled and looked out through the window at the gorgeous stars beyond. This truly was a beautiful place, and for a moment, I couldn’t help but wish that I could stay longer. That yesterday, in particular, could go on for much, much longer.

“I think I have been enjoying myself a little bit too much,” I replied.

“Uh oh,” she said. “I smell trouble in the Hamptons. What happened?”

I sighed then and thought about him.

“We had the most fabulous day today. From the spa to riding motorcycles and then the bonfire at night.”

“What? For a wedding? Wow. Maybe I should have come along. Sure, I can't get an invite?”

“You probably can,” I replied. “If you really want to come over, let me know.”

She sighed then.

“I definitely would, but I can’t because of work. This is a very busy week and given how things are already so awkward between me and my boss, I’m trying to work so hard that it's all we can both think about.”

“Sounds good,” I replied, and she laughed.

“You, on the other hand, sound as though you are barely working. Are you still taking great photos?” she asked.

“I am. All of this is more fun than I had expected.”

“Drake is part of that, I reckon?” she sighed and her smile faded at the use of the word.

“He is, and this is the problem. Today, and after the day we had, I felt like I was floating on clouds, but now...”

“You’re back to walking on the ground like the rest of us?” she asked.

“No, I felt like I was slammed back into the ground,” she replied.

“What happened?” she asked, and I told her about Lindsey.

“The thing is… I don't even know who she is, yet I was so jealous I almost retreated into the shadows completely, ensuring that no one, especially him, saw me. I mean, what was that for? The point of this was that we would both be having fun, and none of us would lay any claim of ownership on the other whatsoever, so what the fuck am I doing?”

“You’re being human,” she replied. “And you’re being a girl. It's quite normal if you ask me.”

“Well, what if I don’t want to be any of those things?” I asked, and she laughed.