Ididn’t see Colin for a few days, but I did spend that time agonizing over the upcoming weekend. What would I wear to a multi-millionaire’s wedding? On an exclusive island? With my not-boyfriend, whom I’m supposed to be investigating because he has a secret connection with my direct boss, who disappeared and then reappeared?
And on Monday, Grant apologized.
When I arrived at my desk, a small bouquet of dark pink roses greeted me. I assumed they were from Colin, and the blush on my cheeks deepened when Grant walked over to me.
“Do you like them? I really wanted to show you how sorry I am about last night,” he said, his fingers tracing the top of one of the roses.
“Yougot me these?” I asked, placing the vase I’d found in the break room carefully onto my desk.
“Yeah. I felt like crap all night. I even got some for Kaitlin.”
I shook my head. “Youdorealize that if you just thought things through a little better, you wouldn’t have to do all of this apologizing.”
“Yeah, I guess I should work on that, huh?”
“You think?” I put the roses into the vase and arranged them as best I could.
“What happened after you dropped me off? Any news?”
I sighed and whispered, “Nothing Maggie-related.”
“Anything else not Maggie-related?” he whispered back.
My cheeks heated instantly. I bit my lip. “He asked me to go to his brother’s wedding with him this weekend. By helicopter. For the weekend. At their summer house on Brightwater Island.” I purposely kept looking at my new flowers.
“And you’re going. You don’t know why he lied to you. You don’t even know what he’s lying about, and you’re going to his family wedding?”
Finally, I looked him in the eye and gave a curt nod.
“Are you falling for him?” he asked. I couldn’t tell if his voice was laced with concern, judgment, or something else.
“I will find out what’s going on. Maybe it’s absolutely nothing. What are the chances that something nefarious is going on? Very slim. There’s probably a silly explanation for all of it. And yes, I am falling for him, so I hope that I can get the truth and be horribly embarrassed over how paranoid you and I have been.”
I sat down at my desk and pushed the roses away from me. I’d blocked my feelings for Colin too much for fear of the secrets between him and Maggie, but now that I’d been forced to voice it, I knew what I’d just told Grant was true.
I was falling in love with Colin.
And I had to find out the truth before it deepened. Before my heart had a real chance of breaking if Colin were, in fact, a liar or worse. My concern for Maggie had turned into caution for myself.
I almost stood up and bounded into Maggie’s office.“Why were you really gone for a week, and what does Colin have to do with it?”I wanted to ask outright.
Instead, I forced half my brain to focus on work and let the other half obsess over packing lists and what to say to Colin to draw out more clues.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Grant said when he left for the day. I didn’t reply because he probably didn’t want one. Also, Iwasn’tsure what I was doing.
The next couple of days were uneventful, what with Colin being called away on business again and Maggie mostly staying in her office except for the short motivational meetings.
Colin texted me every day, usually starting with a “Good morning, beautiful,” and then progressing to something or other that reminded him of me throughout the day.
Thursday rolled around, and I packed my suitcase that evening with the help of the itinerary for the wedding weekend that Colin had forwarded me that afternoon.
Friday 8PM: Rehearsal Dinner/Welcome Party
Saturday 4 PM: Wedding Ceremony on beach, Reception to follow
Sunday 10:30 AM: Farewell Brunch
With no time to shop, I made do with old dresses. None seemed fancy enough for this particular wedding, but they were all I had at my disposal. I closed the suitcase, determined not to compare myself to what other women might wear that weekend.
