When I peek around the corner, I see Pierce wrap his arms around Colin, pulling him into his chest. I hear the sound of his hands running over the fabric of Colin’s shirt.
“Just trust me, sweetheart, okay? All of our friends will be here. It’s going to be so much fun, and it’s going to be so fucking hot.”
“What if he doesn’t say yes?” Colin replies.
“He’ll say yes. Trust me. This place was famous for these parties.”
Fuck, is he seriously thinking about this?
“Fine,” Colin says, his voice sounding despondent.
“What time will your parents be here today?” Pierce asks, changing the subject.
“I think around noon,” Colin responds.
The reminder that his parents are coming to see the house today makes me instantly uncomfortable. I’ve only met his mother in passing a couple of times, and I’ve never met his father, but I don’t have to meet him to know that I hate that son of a bitch. He treated Colin like second-best his entire life. How anyone could discard their own flesh and blood like that man did baffles me. But knowing he hurt my best friend, I’ve never hated someone so much in my life.
“Wonderful,” Pierce replies. “We’ll have a perfect day, and then the rehearsal in two days, and party that night… It’s all coming together beautifully, my sexy little Brit.”
The sound of that cocky American getting what he wants makes me sick. With a gnawing uneasy feeling in my stomach, I back away from the doorway and head into the kitchen quietly so the couple doesn’t hear me.
What the fuck did Colin agree to? I know I shouldn’t care. What he does is none of my business. But he’s been here with his fiancé for the past four days, and I can tell something about himis off. He might smile and pretend like everything is great, but I know therealColin. The affection Pierce shows him doesn’t sit right with me, and I can’t explain why. This wedding is making me uneasy, but I just have to keep reminding myself to go through with it, do the job, get the house, and move on. That’s all that matters.
Colin is not my responsibility anymore. What he does with his life is up to him, and trying to live in the past isn’t going to do me any good.
* * *
Two hours later, the impending doom of Colin’s parents’ arrival at the house is signaled by the sound of tires on gravel. It’s been one fucking hell of a morning, and I’m really not in the mood to deal with pompous arseholes today. Nothing has been managed, and if I don’t get the cake and the tux and the flowers figured out soon, there might not be a wedding after all.
But as Colin used to say when he was in theatre, the fucking show must go on.
Because of the rain, the staff meets Mr. and Mrs. Shelby with umbrellas by their car, ushering them inside where it is dry.
I stand off to the side as they enter, letting them greet Colin and Pierce first. Blaire is by my side, knocking my shoulder playfully with her arm and rolling her eyes to try and make me smile. It works for a moment.
“Please, for the love of God, win that bet,” she whispers under her breath.
I give her a lopsided smile. What a mess this has turned into. A fucking bet. I nearly forgot that’s what this was all about. The stakes seem higher for some reason now. Perhaps I’m just in over my head.
The Shelbys make a big fuss in the entryway, greeting Colin and then Pierce. Seeing Colin’s father for the first time is a bit surreal after all the shit I’ve heard about him.
Colin resembles him far more than he resembles his mother. The man is tall and quite handsome, with fair skin, light hair, and piercing blue eyes. But that’s where the resemblance ends because Colin’s father carries himself with an arrogance that Colin never does.
Colin’s mother affectionately hugs him, kissing his cheek and ruffling his hair in the same way I’ve seen her do it before. It’s how I can tell she loves him very much. He smiles back at her adoringly as she touches his cheek.
Meanwhile, his father shakes Pierce’s hand proudly, and Pierce is eating it all right up. With a big smile and an overdramatic show of excitement, Pierce proves to be quite the actor. Naturally, Colin’s father approves of the attention.
Colin doesn’t get half the enthusiasm when his father greets him. There is no pride. There is no joy. There is no love. It’s almost robotic, the way he acknowledges Colin, clapping him on the shoulder, shaking his hand, and turning away as quickly as he can.
I watch the way this affects Colin, the subtle sadness in his eyes. It shatters something inside of me. I want to drag him away or put myself between him and them. That’s my job. I’m his best friend—the person supposed to look out for him. I’m not supposed to let him feel shite like this.
These must be old feelings preserved from years ago when that’s quite often what I had to do—when he needed me. But he doesn’t need me anymore.
While the four of them make small talk in the entryway, Colin’s eyes drift over to me. They stay locked with mine for a moment, and I wonder if he notices that I’ve witnessed his pain, as if maybe I was the only one who could see it. His fiancé is too busy laughing with his father, trying to impress him with his good looks, his money, or his charm.
“Mum, you remember Declan Barclay, don’t you?” Colin asks as he guides his mother over to where I’m standing.
“Of course,” she says excitedly as she reaches out her hands topull me in for a hug. It takes me by surprise, so I awkwardly tap her back as she hugs me.
