“With the way Kirkman was mysteriously fired, and you came in at the same time she disappeared, we wondered if youand she had had some kind of dark love affair and then you might have kidnapped her.”
It all sounded so stupid now. So absolutely ridiculous. I’d let my imagination run wild in the past, but joining in Grant’s delusions, and then taking action in real life… I waited for Colin to recommend me for a psychiatric evaluation.
“You’re saying that you traveled with me to Chicago thinking I’d kidnapped Maggie? You said that was a passing joke between the two of you.” His face was unreadable. “What about our first date? Our second date?”
He was turning this around.Iwas the injured party here.He’dletmebelieve he was into me.
“Well, I don’t know if Ireallythought you’d kidnapped her, but I thought you were involved somehow. Which you might have been, actually. You’ve said nothing about her week-long absence since your little reveal earlier.”
“I haven’t had much of a chance,” he said. “I didn’t have anything to do with it. I had no clue where she was or why she was gone. Her father was in the dark as well. It’s possible Kirkman was involved, but I’d ruled him out since we continued to lose clients after he left…”
He sat down, leaned forward on his elbows, and shook his head.
“You were investigating me, too,” he said, as if it had just dawned on him.
The way he said the word “too” reminded me of what I’d just been so nauseous about. My stomach started to churn again, so I reached for the sparkling water.
Colin stood up, headed to his closet, and took out his suit for that evening.
“Stephen warned me not to be late for the family pictures,” he said before disappearing into the bathroom. He’d used his expressionless tone that I had associated with his work persona.
But this time, he’d used it on me.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Iwanted to cry, but instead I looked up ferry crossings on my phone. Of course, there were none until the next morning.How was I supposed to stay there?It wasn’t only infuriating; it was humiliating.
I KNEW it. I just knew it was too good to be true. A guy like Colin? Into me?
I considered calling Angie or my mom to vent, but they’d worry since I was still on the island, out of their reach. I’d call them tomorrow and divulge the whole thing. But right now, I was stuck there.
Should I hole up in the room all night?
Another crack of thunder outside had me wondering if the wedding might even move forward. Sure, there was the large tent, but there was at least a five-minute walk to that tent. And with the sky looking like it did, it didn’t look good.
Colin stepped out of the bathroom, glanced at me, and stood in front of the full-length mirror—the same one he’d made me stand in front of the night before when he told me I looked beautiful.
Ugh.
There was a knock on the door. It was Stephen, dressed for his wedding but with a grave face.
“They’re moving everything indoors. There’s a severe weather warning with projected gale-force winds. Come on, let’s get these pictures over with. See you later, Kate,” Stephen said, already out the door.
Colin didn’t even look at me. He followed his brother out the door and closed it behind him.
I lay down on the bed and screamed into the pillow until I had no more breath. I languished there for the longest time, a few tears slipping down my cheek and into my hair.
The day grew darker and darker, and when I’d finally had my fill of wallowing, I stood up.
I wouldn’t let this moment dictate the rest of my weekend. I’d been invited to a wedding, and I would go to that wedding. I’d eat, drink, and be merry if it killed me.
A bright flash and the following ominous crash read like a warning.
But I didn’t heed it.
Instead, I tore through my things, selected the red dress with the long slit I’d brought as an option in case these Brightwater babes liked to show skin. Well, I didn’t care about anyone else right at that moment. My red dress would carry my broken heart through the evening.
An hour later, I was walking down the steps into a completely transformed floral garden. Every surface that could have flowers on it did. Though I had heard the wind picking up outside in Colin’s room as I got ready, downstairs in the main areas there was only the sound of violins, which came from a trio of violinists tucked in a corner under the stairs.
