5. Chapter 5
Chapter five
Aiden
The truce ended less than ten minutes after we arrived at the villa.
“Why should I take the kiddie room?” Lauren asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
I wanted to tell her that the room suited her because she acted like a child. “You and Cammie were supposed to share. I figured you’d want your own beds.”
To her credit, Lauren had backed me up when I'd suggested the couples take the two rooms with ocean views. The villa sat on the side of a mountain overlooking Cruz Bay. The two rooms at the back of the house faced a wall of vegetation. One had a double bed and the other had twin bunk beds. Unfortunately, they shared a bathroom.
“Well, Cammie’s not here, and we all know whose fault that is. Besides, who made you king of the house?”
Me. When I forked over two-grand a night to rent it. Not that Lauren knew that little detail. I’d told everyone it cost that much for three nights, which split three ways, since no one thought Cal and Rowan should pay for their room, came out to a devilish $666.66 per room, which Lauren and Cammie had planned to split between them.
“I’m six-one. It makes sense I’d take the double bed. I’d bump my head whether I slept in the top or bottom bunk, assuming I could even fit.”
“Trust me, I’ve slept in enough bunk beds to know I’ll whap my head just as much as you would. I’m not fun size like Poppy and Rowan.”
“I’ve got a good seven inches on you.”
“Five at best,” she said, letting her eyes roam to my shorts and back up again.
I took a step closer and leaned down until our eyes were level. “Feel free to measure anytime, Princess. You’re welcome to share that double bed with me.”
“Don’t call me Princess. What is it with you and nicknames?”
I shrugged. “You seemed pissed I’d given Poppy one and not you. You’re welcome, by the way. I could think of a lot less flattering things to call you.”
Lauren waved her hands toward herself in the universal motion for bring it on. “Go ahead. I’m sure nothing you could come up with would sting.”
Of course she’d think that. But I grew up with three sisters. Three older sisters. My verbal barbs were fine-tuned and sharpened to slice. I tapped my chin like I was trying to unravel string theory or compose the next great American novel. “My favorite is SPAM.”
Lauren tilted her head. She always did that whenever something confused her. I hated myself for knowing that, and I hated her for looking so fucking adorable every time she did it.
“Like junk mail?”
“Like canned ham. Might be tasty, but full of unhealthy crap. Highly processed, low nutritional value piece of meat. Though calling it meat is generous.”
“You think I’m fake?” she asked, her eyes widening.
“It’s made of ham,” I said back pedaling.
“But you think I’m fake?” she asked again. “And just a piece of meat?”
I wish. I wouldn’t be this hung up if my attraction to her was purely physical. I thought she was SPAM. Something I craved on the regular, but knew wasn’t good for me. “No. Not really.”
“No or not really?” she asked, her voice rising with each word.
“Hey,” I said, taking an involuntary step toward her. Shit, I was trying to be funny. I lived to irritate her, but I never wanted to hurt her feelings. “Why do you care what a dumbass like me thinks?”
“I don’t,” she yelled. But the tears forming in her eyes suggested otherwise.
“Everything OK?” Rowan asked, sticking her head into the hallway from the primary suite.
“All good,” I said, walking past Lauren into the room with the bunk beds. When I turned, she was still standing in the hallway with her back to me. I closed the door and leaned my forehead against it replaying our conversation. Had I really called her a piece of meat? Fuck, I had. I wanted to punch myself in the face. Who said that to a woman? Me, apparently, to the girl of my dreams.
A moment later, someone beat on the door, which sounded fantastic with my face pressed against it. I braced myself for a well-deserved round two with Lauren, but instead, Poppy shoved her way into the room, almost knocking me on my ass, and shut the door behind her. She had on the ridiculous hat she’d been carrying around all day and enough sunscreen to cover an elephant, which I guess was necessary since her hair was as red as Rowan’s beneath the black dye.
“How much did this place really cost?” she asked, putting her hands on her hips.
“The girls look great in that suit,” I said, pointing to her chest. “Even with all that white crap.” OK, so ours was kind of a weird friendship. I looked after her like she was one of my sisters and ribbed her like one as well. And since we weren’t actually related, I considered her smoking body free fodder.
“Cut the crap, Stud Man.”
“Two thousand, like I said.”
“No way in—” Her green eyes doubled in size. “Crap on a cracker,” she mumbled. “It’s two thousand a night, isn’t it?”
I pretended I didn’t hear her.
“Aiden.”
I didn’t like how she’d said my name. Hell Cat was a force of nature who stomped through bullshit with her combat boots and sass, but she was most dangerous when she pulled in her claws.
And she knew my soft underbelly. I had so many medical expenses after the accident, my parents had no choice but to sue Cal’s and Theo’s parents. Just their insurance companies, not them personally. Even so, friends shouldn’t sue each other. Theo’s parents bailed on him right after the case settled and moved back to Greece. Cal’s parents never discussed the suit with me until I tried to pay them back, so there’s a good chance they didn’t mention it to Cal either. As far as I knew, neither of my friends were aware that I’d built my career on money I’d taken from their parents. After paying the bills, mine handed me the rest of the settlement to start my construction company. I’d taken that $50,000 and doubled it, then doubled that, and so on until I had a multi-million-dollar operation. Even with all that, Cal’s parents tore up the check I wrote them. I figured Theo’s parents owed him, but I couldn’t exactly hand over a stack of cash to him without an explanation. Which meant I either fessed up to the lawsuit or paid Cal and Theo back whenever I could, usually without them knowing. Like upgrading plane tickets “with points” and finding an “excellent last-minute deal” on a vacation villa.
“Have you seen this place? No way anyone would believe this is five hundred a night.”
“Honestly, I haven’t seen much of it. I’ve been fighting with Lauren over bedrooms.”
Poppy glanced at the bunk beds and the dancing seahorse wallpaper and smiled. “Guess she won.”
“This round,” I said and winked at her.
“I’m serious, Aiden. There’s no way the others will buy it.”
I shrugged. “They’ve never noticed before. I’ve covered way more than my share of stuff in the past. Nights out. Things like that.”
“Like buying the building for our bakery, remodeling it for free, and charging way less rent than you should?”
“Exactly.” I kind of regretted that one since Poppy figured it out and confronted me. Though it was kind of nice that someone knew I wasn’t always a selfish prick. “But you paid for materials.”
“Maybe the things we shopped for with you, like the sink, but don’t pretend you charged us for all the drywall and other stuff you used.”
“Rowan said I could have free baked goods for life. We’re even. And for the record, Cal never suspected a thing.”
“Cal’s clueless, but are you sure Theo hasn’t caught on? You bought him a house.”
“I’m renting Theo a house.”
“For the price of a storage unit.”
I shrugged. “I’m the reason he went to jail. I’d owe him whether or not I sued his parents.”
Poppy bit her bottom lip and tiny creases formed on her forehead. “I don’t like keeping this from him,” she said, quietly. “It feels dishonest.”
The knots in my stomach pulled taunt. Based on the pain in my gut, I either needed food ASAP or an antacid. “His parents left him right after the lawsuit, Hell Cat. He’d never forgive me if he knew.”
Poppy’s eyes hardened. “He’d never blame you. His parents left because they suck. Period. Fuck them. Or at least his dad. His mom might be coming around, but I’m holding judgment until after I meet her. Honestly, Aiden, Theo probably knows. I’m sure the lawyers had to interview witnesses, and he was the driver.”
“Shit,” I said. I wished I could sit on the bed without knocking my skull. I settled for leaning against the wooden bunk frame.
“You OK? You’re really pale.”
“You’re right,” I said, my chest aching. “I never read through the suit, but he’d have to know.”
“Just talk to talk to him,” Poppy said, gripping my arm. “Please.”
That was a hard no. The last thing this trip needed was more drama on top of the tension between Lauren and me. “Come on,” I said, wrapping my arm around Poppy’s slim shoulders. “Show me what 2K a night gets us.”
She let out a sigh but walked with me to the main room where Cal and Rowan were already snuggled together on the plush sofa.
“The kitchen is insane,” Rowan said. “We should grab groceries today. I can’t wait to get in there.”
“Not until breakfast,” Poppy said. “You deserve at least one day out of the kitchen. Plus, if we don’t get lunch or dinner or whatever you want to call it soon, I’ll have to dig into my emergency beef jerky, and that will leave me at risk for being hangry at some point on this trip.”
“I’m all for going somewhere to eat,” I said. “Give me the abbreviated tour, Hell Cat.”
I knew from the online photos that the couples’ rooms had king-sized beds and top-of-the-line bathrooms, so I skipped those and headed for the sliding door leading to the deck.
“Definitely worth $2K,” I said, admiring the view of the ocean and the town below.
The grief hit me like a rogue wave. One minute I was enjoying the paradise before my eyes, the next I was reminded of all the views I’d seen with Logan when we hiked the Bay Reef Trail back in high school.
“Walk to the edge and take a peek at the pool,” Poppy said, hopping beside me and bringing me back to the present. I’d never seen her so peppy. That alone was worth the price tag.
I walked to the plexiglass wall surrounding the deck and looked over. A story below, an infinity pool stretched off the side of the mountain, the water the same stunning turquoise as the Caribbean.
“It’s incredible,” Lauren said, stepping out from under the deck and walking around the pool to the stairs that led up to us. The sight of her in a short yellow dress, her brown hair cascading freely down her back, made me grip the railing. I wanted to scoop her off her feet and show her exactly how we could share that double bed.
Poppy chuckled. “Close your mouth, Stud Man.”
Theo let out a whistle at the view and joined us on the deck at the same time Lauren did. “Great job finding this place, man,” he said, slapping me on the back. “It’s a steal.”
Poppy glared at me. “An unbelievable deal.”
I cleared my throat. “Let’s grab some food before Poppy gets hangry.”
“Oh, what level are we at?” Lauren asked. “I have a granola bar in my purse, but I’m saving it for a level three or higher.” She started digging into the faded tote bag she’d kept at her feet on the plane. Of course, she’d packed an emergency snack for Poppy. As if I needed more proof of how thoughtful she was with everyone but me.
“I’ll be good if we leave now,” Poppy said. She looped her arm through Theo’s, and they headed for the sliding glass door.
Lauren started after them, but I laid my hand on her arm. Her smooth skin had already soaked up some heat from the sun. She shrugged off my hand and kept walking.
“Hey, can we try that truce again?” I called after her.
“Depends,” she said, without stopping or turning to face me. “Can you try not to be an asshole?”
“I’ll do my best,” I shouted. And this time, I meant it.