Unexpected Entanglement (Echo #3)

33. Chapter 33

thirty-three

Rowan walked Meredith and Sam back to the main house after the meeting with the wedding team at the barn. She was incredibly relieved about her cousin’s reaction to everything. Meredith was delighted with the decor even if it was still half-finished. She had only asked for an additional floral headpiece for her flower girl. Sam was happy if Meredith was happy. Though Meredith was her cousin, Rowan had expected any bride to be more demanding than she was.

“You took everything from Nana’s old wedding picture and brought it to the twenty-first century,” Meredith said. “I was afraid it’d look too old-fashioned and dowdy, but I think it’ll look classically chic.”

“I wish all brides would be as easy as you, Mer.” Rowan laughed.

“Believe me, she wasn’t as easygoing as you might think,” Sam said with a smirk.

“I was worried at first because I couldn’t be here and could only plan things with you through video calls,” Meredith admitted. “But now that I’ve seen it with my own eyes, I can breathe easy.”

“Good. I’m happy to hear that,” Rowan said.

“I’m glad you’ve hired people to help you,” Meredith added. “I really thought you’d rough it all on your own.”

“Are you kidding? I could never pull off a wedding by myself.”

“Not just the wedding. I meant the inn. I see that you’ve hired a manager. I think that’s a brilliant move,” Meredith said .

Sam nodded, agreeing. “Running an inn this size would take all of your day—life, really. Hiring a manager is smart.”

Rowan frowned at Meredith and Sam. What manager?

“What is his name again?” Meredith pondered a second.

“Chris,” Sam supplied.

“Right. Chris is wonderful. My mother and Nana are already halfway in love with him. Mom texted me how he’d taken care of them and helped them settle at the cottage. And, I quote, ‘He’s so handsome.’” Meredith laughed.

“Chris is—” Rowan started correcting them.

“Of course, that’s what Caroline focusing on.” Sam laughed.

“It doesn’t hurt he’s easy on the eyes,” Meredith pointed out.

“Hey, you’re supposed to only have eyes for me,” Sam objected, half joking.

Meredith leaned into her fiancé. “I do, darling. But I’m not blind.”

Then she turned back to Rowan. “My point is having him must free up your time, so you won’t have to be stuck on this island all year long. Now you can come home.”

“This is my home now,” Rowan said, giving Meredith a confused look.

“Come on, Ro,” Meredith said. “This place is beautiful, but you shouldn’t be isolating yourself. What about your career? What about living your life? I know you moved here to finish what you and your dad started, but is living here full time the right thing for you?”

“I am living my life,” Rowan protested.

“Are you?” Meredith pushed. “You had a life back in Freeport with a good job and a good man.”

“Did Richard put you up to this?” Rowan eyed Meredith and Sam who knew her ex from family events and the occasional double dates and dinner parties.

“No!” Meredith said, but then sheepishly exchanged glances with Sam.

“What is it?” Rowan demanded. “You’re hiding something.”

Sam twisted his lips while Meredith looked at Rowan guiltily.

“We invited Richard to the wedding,” Sam confessed.

“What?” Rowan stared at him, then Meredith. “And you’re just telling me this now? I didn’t see his name on the reservation.”

“He’ll most likely stay at the hotel in town,” Meredith answered .

Rowan clamped her mouth tightly, not trusting herself to be charitable in her response. She looked at her cousin and her fiancé and saw the hope in their eyes—especially Meredith’s.

“If you had any delusion I’d get back together with Richard, forget it,” Rowan said. “That’s not gonna happen.”

“But why? You two were so perfect together.”

Rowan’s brow furrowed at Meredith’s claim. “Perfect? No. Is Richard a good man? Maybe. Do I want to be with him for the rest of my life like you and Sam obviously do with each other? No.”

“Why not? You were together for five years. That’s half a decade already. Why did you throw all that away?” Meredith asked.

“Because I can’t see myself married to him,” Rowan said.

“You just realized that after five years?” Meredith questioned.

“I don’t know what to tell you, Mer,” Rowan said as they started up the steps to the main house, not wanting to explain herself. “I mean, Sam, how did you know you wanted to spend the rest of your life with Meredith?”

Sam smiled at Meredith. “I just knew.”

“See.” Rowan gestured with her open hands at the couple. “And you’d only been together for a year when you got engaged. When you know, you know. I have doubted my relationship with Richard for a while. I wasn’t my best self when I was with him. I want more.”

Meredith studied Rowan with concerned eyes. “And how are you getting more here?”

“I’m doing what I need for myself, Mer,” Rowan assured her. “And I’m not alone out here. I have Kieran, Alex…”

“Kieran is a hermit in his own right. And Alex will go back to Portland. What then?” Meredith asked.

“She has me,” Chris’ voice chimed in from the sitting area on the porch.

Rowan spun to the sound of his voice and saw him rising from a chair. Chris smiled at Meredith and Sam as he walked to them.

“How was the tour? I hope you found everything to your liking,” Chris said.

“Everything’s beyond what we expected,” Meredith replied cheerily. “Truthfully, I was picturing a very rustic, down-to-earth decor. And that is exactly what you’re giving us, except it’s dreamier than what’s in my head. ”

“That’s good to hear,” Chris nodded satisfactorily. “Right, hon?”

Meredith and Sam’s eyes widened upon hearing Chris’ term of endearment. They both turned their questioning gaze from him to Rowan.

Damn it, Chris. What is he doing?

“I didn’t want to say anything since it’s your wedding weekend and all,” Rowan started, not having much choice but to play along. “But Chris isn’t my manager. He’s my fiancé.”

“I’m sorry. Your what?” Meredith asked.

“Fiancé.” Chris’ smile grew bigger as he put his arm around Rowan’s shoulders. “Rowan and I are engaged.”

“Why did you do that?” Rowan pushed Chris into her quarters and locked the door behind her. “What happened to keeping things on the DL?”

Naturally, Meredith and Sam had been shocked at their engagement news. They had a lot of follow-up questions Rowan and Chris weren’t ready to answer on the spot. With Gibbes, they had no problem being vague or telling him to mind his own business. But not that simple to brush off Rowan’s cousin.

“Now I have to lie to my family.” Rowan glared at him exasperatedly. “What were you thinking?”

“I overheard Meredith bombarding you about being alone out here. I felt I needed to have your back.”

“I’m capable of standing up for myself.”

“That’s not what—”

“I was handling it before you stuck your nose where it didn’t belong!”

Chris stepped back, nonplussed. “I’m sorry. I was only trying to help.”

“What am I supposed to tell my family when you leave? They already thought I was crazy for ending a five-year relationship. What would they think about me now for being engaged to a stranger?”

“It doesn’t matter what anybody thinks,” Chris retorted .

“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one who has to face them. First, the islanders, now my family!”

“I didn’t start this, Rowan.” Chris was incredulous.

His sharp tone jolted the annoyance out of Rowan. She took a couple of beats and was calmer when she spoke again. “I know I put you in this situation. I’m grateful you went along with this crazy scheme to get Gibbes off my back.”

“Don’t forget Greg,” he pointed out.

“Right.” Rowan scrunched her eyelids shut while pressing her fingers to her temples. “Shit. I’m sorry for yelling.”

“Me, too. I’m sorry if I put you in a difficult position.” Chris took her hands away and took over massaging her temples with his thumbs, and she sighed in relief.

“I also heard Meredith pushing you about your ex,” Chris added, but didn’t say it did not thrill him.

Rowan opened her eyes. “They invited Richard to the wedding.”

Chris’ thumbs froze. “He’s coming?”

Rowan nodded, looking tired. Chris resumed his gentle massage on her temples, continued onto the side of her head, and down to her neck. He felt her tensed muscles and tried to ease them.

“Is it gonna be a problem?” he asked.

“Richard isn’t the type to make a scene, if that’s what you’re asking. He’s a buttoned-up, cardigan-wearing guy who likes his underwear ironed.”

Chris grinned at the description. “The unassuming type usually harbors deeply pressured fieriness that might combust with the right trigger.”

“That trigger isn’t me, believe me.”

Chris studied her nonchalant expression and noticed a slight tremor at the corners of her mouth, regret in her eyes. Suddenly, his chest felt tight.

“You still love him?”

Rowan’s lips parted as she looked at him with a slight frown of confusion. “No, I don’t.”

“Five years isn’t an easy thing to walk away from.” Chris ran his hands down her back. “Maybe he realizes what a gem he lost and is coming here to win you back.”

Rowan just scoffed at the idea and shook her head .

“What would you do if he got down to his knees in the middle of the dance floor this Saturday night, professed his love for you, and begged you to come back to him?” Chris asked.

Rowan looked scandalized at the image he painted. “Richard would never—”

“But if he did?” Chris held his breath, waiting for her answer.

Rowan stared at him with baffled eyes, seeming unsure. “Why are you asking me this?”

Chris swallowed. Why are you asking her that, Sullens?

Disappointed by her nonanswer, he let go of her and stepped away. With a shrug, he played it cool. “I just want to know how to react if that happens. Should I be the outraged fiancé to get you out of it? Or should I take the high road and wish you the best?”

Chris couldn’t decipher the expression on Rowan’s face now. A mixed bag of emotions flitted through it before she turned away.

“I don’t know,” she finally said.

“You don’t know what?”

“I don’t know what I’d do!” Rowan repeated more forcefully.

“I see.”

“What do you want me to say, Chris?” She spun around back to him. “I don’t have time to wonder about what-ifs. Right now, I'm just focused on today, making sure my guests are good, and dealing with Meredith's wedding. I don’t have the luxury to worry about what Richard will do.”

“I’m just trying to help,” Chris said.

“If you want to help, let’s stick to the inn stuff. I’ll deal with my own life.”

Rowan unlocked the door and stormed out.