“Aurelie, if you need to talk, I’m here.Just come over later,” Sophie whispered, pulling Aurelie into a tight embrace.The unexpected kindness was jarring, especially when juxtaposed against the immobility of her best friend.
“Thank you,” Aurelie responded.Her wan smile didn’t reach her eyes, though.Nor did her gaze leave Paige, who didn’t budge from her spot on the plush couch.
“Love?”Owen asked, directing his question at Paige.She shook her head at her husband, and her gaze remained pinned to Aurelie.
“No.I’ll follow you in a minute.”
He nodded and took their daughter before leaving the room.
When only Jace, Aurelie, and Paige were left in the living room, Paige finally addressed Aurelie.
“I was supposed to be the maid of honor at your wedding,” she said.Aurelie barely heard the words, but they shot straight through her heart, breaking it in two.Paige’s reticence to speak earlier became crystal clear.Like Jace, Paige clearly believed that Aurelie got married for love and didn’t include her.Nothing could be further from the truth.
“And you will be.When I get engaged for real, you’ll be the first person I tell.And when I walk down the aisle, I want you at the end of it beside me.”Jace winced.Aurelie let that slide right on past her.His fake feelings weren’t her concern at the moment.
Paige seemed to be considering Aurelie’s mini speech.“Okay,” she said, standing up.“I can deal with that.And we’ll get into our stuff later.But right now, what the actual hell is going on with your dad, and what do we need to do to make that right?”
“If I can interject,” Jace said, clearing his throat, “I’ve got that taken care of.Right now it looks like she’s got a temporary stay of execution while they work on finalizing the marriage certificate.On a side note, I’ve got my lawyers on Puckman now.He shouldn’t be able to do more to this town without drawing too much unwanted legal recourse.”
“Thank you, Jace,” Paige said.“You didn’t have to, but God knows you took on your lion’s share of drama with us.”
“It was my pleasure,” he added, his voice softer.“Aurelie, do you mind if I talk to you real quick?”
She couldn’t meet his gaze.He’d done so much for her, and that nagging sense of guilt still plagued her.In fact, it was infinitely worse now that she was using the marriage as the sham it had started as.
“Sure.”She got up and walked to the door, intent on seeing him out.Her eyes stayed locked on the corner of tile that had cracked when Owen redid their floors last year.The only flaw in a seemingly perfect union and home Owen built when he married Paige.Aurelie wanted that, and remembered not two days earlier when she’d ached for that same connection.How could she have settled for so much less so quickly?
“Aurelie, I didn’t mean what I told them,” he started.“At least I don’t now.I want this to work, and I want you.But if I acted like my proposal was built on anything other than a desire to help you, they’d write me off as a crackpot.Because how am I supposed to tell you, let alone your friends, that I’m falling in love with you after just ten days?”
Aurelie’s pulse quickened, and sweat dotted her brow.He moved in closer, and she inhaled the intoxicating scent of coffee and maple on his breath.Between that and his words, she could barely form a coherent thought.What the hell was he playing at?
“Jace.”She held up a hand when he opened his mouth to interrupt her.“I know you think that now, but you have no idea who you’re dealing with.My father won’t stop at a piece of paper, and I was a fool to believe that you could swoop in and fix this with nothing but that.I’m sorry I involved you.”
“Didn’t you hear a word I just said, Aury?This is more than just a fucking piece of paper.I’m falling in love with you.”
“No, you’re not, Jace.”
He sighed, ran a hand through his hair, making her jealous of the fingers that had his soft curls wrapped around them.Despite the fact that she couldn’t be his wife, it didn’t mean she didn’t want him fiercely.
“Don’t tell me how I feel,” he growled.
“I’m not trying to, but even if what you’re saying is true, it doesn’t matter anyway.I have to be there for Jackie and Steve, and if your lawyers really did come through, I have to get back to work.I don’t have time to date you right now, to work on a relationship that was never supposed to be more than a partnership.”
She finished breathless, her pulse racing wildly.At least three times in as many sentences she almost stopped, chucked her good sense to the wind along with Jace’s future, and pressed her lips to his.Sheer force of will let her get her feelings out.
“Never more than a partnership, huh?”Jace’s voice wavered with emotion.
She nodded.“That’s what we agreed to.I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to dissolve the marriage, but you have to know I’m grateful to you for helping me.I get to stay here and care for my friend because of you.Can’t that be enough?”
Ten minutes ago, she’d have given anything to have him tell her he loved her.But it was too convenient, the work of a good actor, nothing more.
A small twitch of the muscle in his cheek was the only proof of emotion that coursed through him.She wanted to kiss the spot, calm it, but she couldn’t have it both ways.
Her body revolted, burning her skin in each place he’d touched her, inside and out.She was on fire, scorched and branded by him, and nothing, especially not leaving him behind, would ever cure her of that.She just had to remember that she was breaking both their hearts for him as well.He’d never really wanted a family.
After an interminable silence, he spoke.
“If that’s what you need, then that’s enough.”His lips were still parted, as if he wanted to say more, but he shook his head and walked out the door without another word.Aurelie’s stomach clenched, and her eyes burned with heat.She wouldn’t cry, though.Not for him.He’d never actually been hers to lose, so mourning his loss was a luxury she couldn’t afford.
