Her eyes were rounded and reflected the glow of the moon when they met his. ‘I can’t say right now,’ she admitted softly. ‘It’s not my story to tell,’ she explained, ‘and I need to check with the person whose story it is before I go into it with you. But… can I count on your help, if I can think of a way to take the bastard down a peg or two? And make him pay for some of the very not nice things he’s done in the past?’
‘Nothing illegal?’ he prompted. ‘No daggers at midnight? Shovels by morning?’
She rolled her eyes. ‘If I wanted to do something illegal, I probably would have done it by now.’
‘Okay,’ he said, shrugging, like it was easy. ‘Count me in.’
And Sienna’s heart could have damn near burst out of her chest. The way Paige had been wronged was one of the worst, most violating things that could happen to a person, and Sienna would be damned if she’d let the guy get away with it. She couldn’t wait to tell the others. Not tonight – they’d all had too much champagne. And maybe not even tomorrow. The focus needed to be on the wedding. But as soon as possible, she’d call an emergency meeting of the Karma Club and plotting would begin, in earnest.
15
‘I just think we should call a spade a spade,’ Astrid said softly, as the flames raged and the dancing continued, close to the shore. ‘He can’t stop looking at you.’
Sienna glanced across at Aiden who was, in fact,notlooking at her. He was standing on his own, eating a hot dog, and just the sight of that – this big guy on the fringes of the group, for all his success, fame, money, looking kind of… lost – made her whole body ache in the strangest way.
‘I haven’t noticed.’ Sienna shrugged. It was true. She’d spent the whole night locked in a silent battle of wills, determined not to look anywhere even remotely in his direction. She was partly worried that if she looked, she wouldn’t be able to look away.
Something had shifted inside of her, or maybe between them, last night. Something had made her feel differently towards him. Less angry, more sad. Less hurt, more disappointed – not in him, but in the future that should have been theirs, and how they’d somehow failed that future.
‘Oh, come on,’ Paige said with a wagging finger. ‘You’re kidding, right? When you were dancing with Chuck, he looked like he wanted to explode. Surely you felt two hot spots on your body thanks to his laser vision.’
Bella giggled. ‘He’s not a superhero.’
‘You know what I mean. He’s like literally staring at you as if he can seethroughyou.’
Sienna stood, brushing the sand from her butt with one spare hand, champagne flute – now empty – in the other. ‘You guys are imagining it.’
The three other women shared a look that only frustrated Sienna more. Theyweren’timagining it, necessarily, but she had no idea what to say, nor how much she could confess. To herself, let alone them. It wasn’t like anything physical had really happened with her and Aiden, but last night, they’d shared moments that somehow seemed more intimate than anything they could have done in bed. She felt torn between her loyalty to her Just Desserts buddies, and what she knew to be their good wishes for her, and a loyalty to whatever she and Aiden had once shared.
She felt torn, period.
‘I’m going to get a drink. Anyone else?’
Paige held up a still half-full bottle but Sienna shook her head. ‘I think I’m done with bubbles.’ She smiled brightly and blew a kiss. ‘I’ll be back,’ she promised, and she meant it. Once conversation shifted away from Aiden and his supposed burning eyes.
At the bar, she looked over the list and selected a diet soda, watching as the waiter opened a small bottle and decanted it into a glass with ice. When she turned around, to survey the bonfire and the party that was still raging despite the fact it was getting close to midnight, she came face to face with Aiden.
Aiden ‘Can’t Stop Staring at You’ Carter.
The first – and only – love of her life.
Top three buttons undone, revealing his tanned chest and a sprinkling of hair, reminding her of the tattoos he wore on his skin. Shorts. Bare feet. Dark hair brushed back from his brow. Eyes, indeed, boring into her.
‘Hey.’ Voice, deep, gruff, pouring over her frazzled nerves like treacle.
Conscious that her friends would undoubtedly be watching and speculating at a fever pitch, she gave him a curt smile. ‘Hello.’
His brow furrowed. ‘Having fun?’
‘Sure. It’s a great party.’
‘Right.’ He nodded once, his head bobbing mechanically. ‘It’s kind of loud, though.’
Her insides felt all squishy. It was kind of loud, down near the water, but where they were standing was okay. Which meant either he had supersonic hearing to go with his laser vision, or he was trying out a pick-up line? Surely not.
‘Are you about to suggest we go somewhere quieter and talk?’ she asked with a hint of a smile – a smile that slipped as dark colour ran over his cheekbones, embarrassment clearly written on his features.
‘Oh, come on, Aiden. Surely you’ve got better lines than that?’
