Wednesday - Sunset cruise
Thursday - Spa day for girls, chartered fishing boat for boys
Friday - Rehearsal dinner
Saturday - Wedding
“This looks”—I find my sister’s eyes, lit up like a Christmas tree—“fun.”
I’m not lying. It looks like a week of laughter, of hair that smells like smoke and sunscreen and salt. Sun-kissed skin and sandy toes.
“That’s good to hear,” Sienna says, “because I’ve already booked everything. And Klein—” She glances above my head. I can’t see the man, but every part of me knows he’s there, feels it with a heightened awareness I’m not sure I’m comfortable with. “I know you’re not a partof the bridal party, but I’ve included you in everything. I hope that’s alright.”
“Thanks for including me,” Klein responds politely, the deepened voice tumbling down around me. “That was kind of you.”
“Are you kidding?” Sienna’s eyes widen, happy and excited. “It was my pleasure. Paisley hasn’t dated anyone in a long time.” She looks at me accusingly. “That I know of, anyway. You being here is a big deal. She must be serious about you.”
It’s like there’s an alarm in my limbs. Everything is on high alert.
But then there are warm hands on my upper arms, long fingers wrapping around my skin, squeezing me softly, reassuringly. “That’s good to hear,” Klein says, voice warm and spicy like cinnamon. “I’m serious about her, too.”
The wailing siren stops. Later, I’ll have to thank Klein for that perfect response.
“Whoa,” a voice says from the entrance. “Is this awkward, or what?”
Swallowing my groan, I rip my gaze from Klein and to the voice.
“Spencer,” I greet my little brother. “Hey, dude.”
Spencer grins, leaning against the wall, arms crossed and staring at the four of us. He loves poking at people, their pain points and weak spots. Triggering people is a favorite pastime.
His hair is dark, like our dad’s, and messy on purpose. He wears linen khakis I’d call too short, but I know is the style for boys his age. At seventeen, I was nothing likeSpencer. I was serious about school, focused and ready to follow in my dad’s footsteps. I was going to major in business finance and be his right-hand woman.
I envy Spencer, the carefree way he behaves. The carefree way he lives. What a gift it is, to be young and unsaddled with the secrets your parents keep.
Klein holds out a hand to Spencer, introducing himself. They make conversation about the player changes in the English Premier League. From listening, I gather they’re talking about soccer. Shane has nothing to add to the conversation because he was never interested in the sport, but he hangs on the periphery of their conversation.
“You ready to see Dad tomorrow?” Sienna asks.
I shrug. “As ready as I ever am.”
He’s not cold to me, per se, but he’s standoffish. He cannot get over how I forged my own path. I can’t get over how swiftly he blocked me from his life once I did it. I wonder if he realizes he set it all in motion? If I’d never seen him cheating, if he’d never asked me to keep it from my mother, I would have stayed on the path he laid out for me. His lying, his duplicitous behavior, was like a tree falling in the path. It was the roadblock I needed to see there was another way for me. It went against the person I’d been until then, the girl who bent over backward to make sure everyone in the Royce family was happy.
At the end of the day, I am his biggest regret. And he is the cause of it.
Spencer grabs a soccer ball from the room he’s staying in, returning with our triplet fifteen-year-old cousins. He makes quick introductions, which includes them gruntinga hello. Spencer asks Klein to go outside and kick the ball around. Klein agrees, and Shane joins. That should make for an interesting sight.
Shane turns back on his way out the door, pausing to say, “Hey, Pais. My mom said she’s looking forward to seeing you.” Then he’s gone, no response needed from me.
His mom, Rebecca, was always kind to me. It will be nice to see her.
Before Sienna has a chance to say a word about her soon-to-be mother-in-law, our mom breezes in wearing a Lilly Pulitzer maxi skirt and fuchsia tank top, Ben in tow. When is he not attached to her side?
“Paisley, I didn’t realize you’d returned from your bike ride.” She offers a perfunctory hug in greeting, stepping back and looking into the kitchen behind me. “Where’s Klein?”
“Downstairs playing soccer with Spencer and the triplets.”
“And Shane,” Sienna adds.
