Chapter Fourteen
Lyndsey
Turns out Aiden really didn’t grow up on a ranch.
I have always been teasing him, calling him “cowboy”.
But this, this is so ordinary, the least Texas suburb I could imagine.
The street is lined with quaint detached houses, all fronted with a picturesque porch each; real American dream stuff.
Kids play in their gardens as their parents sit together sipping iced tea, their conversations pausing as we drive by.
I’m not sure if they are noticing that their home-grown celebrity Aiden Anders is back or if they are just shocked by the car.
When we made it to the rental desk I wasn’t expecting the near monster truck Aiden picked.
The SUV is huge, an imposing figure tearing down sweet suburbia.
I guess I won’t be living my rodeo fantasy in any way.
No cattle or ranch hands to watch, no classic truck and no cowboy hats.
Frankly, I think I should just go back home.
“So, did you ever drive a truck?” I ask, trying to connect the man in the car with me to the one I imagined as a kid.
“The idea you have of teenage me is so wrong, darlin’.” He laughs at me as I pout.
“Why?”
“I wasn’t the hotshot quarterback, I wasn’t getting lucky in the bed of a truck with the popular girls.” He turns his eyes on me then. “I played hockey, drove a beater to and from the rink and that was my life. Looking after the girls and trying not to flunk out.”
“So, you want me to believe the girls weren’t falling at your skates?
Yeah, right.” My eyes roll, struggling to believe him.
Aiden is attractive. Unless he blossomed overnight, I can’t imagine him not having a gaggle of girls fawning over his deep eyes and swoopy hair.
And probably enjoying every second of it.
“Okay, maybe a few, but still: no truck.” He winks.
When Aiden pulls to the end of the quaint little street, we come to a house that looks older than the rest. The porch has a bench swing that is swaying slowly in the light breeze.
There are trees along the edges of the garden, giving it a more secluded edge, considering where it is.
There is a two-car garage off to the side and if I’m not getting cowboys this is a good close second.
The panels outside are painted a pale sea-foam colour with white trim, it looks like something from a postcard.
It’s hard to picture Aiden living here, his house now is all cold lines and untreated wood, this feels so opposite to the man I know now.
He showed me hundreds of pictures on the plane, all of his sisters playing in this very garden so I can see them here, but Aiden wasn’t in a lot of the pictures.
He was the one behind the camera. The one making the memories for the girls he loves so wholly.
The car is barely in park before the door at the top of the porch steps swings open and a flurry of green fabric comes flying down the stairs.
Aiden jumps out at lightning speed just in time to catch who I think is his youngest sister Celia.
Alice and Eden come down the stairs next as they seem just as pleased to see their brother, though they keep their feet on the floor as they take turns hugging him.
I have to fight the urge to stay hidden in the car because Celia makes her way around to the passenger door, swinging it open and pulling me out.
I was told they were huggers, but I guess I assumed that wouldn’t apply to the woman who married their brother without inviting them. Apparently not. Celia’s arms wrap over my shoulders, pulling me to her.
“Hey!” she exclaims, her green sundress tangling between our legs. I’m not opposed to hugs, I just didn’t think to expect them so intensely. Once she has had her fill, Celia passes me over to Eden, her hug just as tight.
“Nice to meet ya,” she whispers in my ear before pulling away.
Alice doesn’t pull me in like her sisters.
Her eyes flow over my travel attire, clearly appraising me.
Once she is satisfied, she nods slightly before wiggling her eyebrows at Aiden.
Only then does she pull me into a hug after all, relieving the tension.
Her hug is not as tight, but it feels like acceptance.
Not only is she Aiden’s twin, she is the oldest girl.
Something about her approval feels most important.
If she hated me, I think this whole thing would fall apart before it even began.
I try not to read into the affectionate squeezes as signs of full acceptance.
This could just be that southern hospitality I have always heard about.
Catch more flies with honey than vinegar, so the saying goes.
If they lure me in with kindness and sweetness it will be easier for them to break down my walls when I need to keep them up.
But my walls won’t be broken down here. That isn’t why we came. That isn’t why we agreed to stay married for a while longer.
For a moment, I wish there was a world where I could get to know these three women fully. Without the performance of my fake marriage. Without the pressure to be a pretend wife. But this is not that time.
This trip is a visit full of lies and deception.
I can’t let them in, even as they grin and welcome me with open arms. It will only hurt them, and me, in the long run when Aiden and I inevitably end our charade.
It will be less painful for everyone if I can remember that this trip is a farce.
We are basically here for a job: to help Aiden get his father’s things, to keep Kayla at bay until she moves on, and to run before things become too serious.
Celia slips her hand through mine and tugs me up to the front door, only yelling at Aiden to grab the bags over her shoulder.
The three Anders sisters corral me into the sitting room where they have a pitcher of iced tea, and a plate of what I think might be home-baked cookies is sat on the low wooden table.
It looks pretty as a picture but I know an inquisition when I see one.
There are two mismatched couches either side of the coffee table and I’m herded to one while they huddle on the opposite facing me.
Eden busies herself by pouring out four glasses of tea, the ice clinking against the glasses is loud around us.
Aiden finally makes his way in, leaving our bags in the entryway and joining me on the sage-coloured sofa.
“Oh darn, I forgot to get bread for dinner.” Alice slaps her knee, trying to sell the obvious lie. “Aiden, be a doll an’ drive into town for me.” Her smile is almost genuine. If I didn’t know her twin so well I think it would have even fooled me.
“Alice.” Aiden’s voice is full of warning, but she doesn’t flinch. Masking her face with a look of confused indifference, she shrugs.
“Come on now, we can’t exactly break bread with your bride without bread now, can we?” Beside her Eden tucks her lips into her mouth, trying to contain her laughter. She isn’t quite as practised as Alice seems to be.
“Lynds…” My husband is clearly torn. We all know why they want me alone: an interrogation. But if he doesn’t go now, they will just manufacture another way to isolate me. Getting it over with might be the best way to do it.
“Don’t worry so much, Aid, we don’t bite.” Celia tries to wave him off, but his eyes are still on me. Waiting for me to protest, I assume.
“Yes, you do.” Alice laughs under her breath, causing Celia to smack her arm – which causes all four siblings to burst into laughter. I’m obviously not in on the joke, but at least the tension in the room is broken.
“Well, I don’t bite any more.” Celia smiles at me as though that would be comforting, but that one look is the thing that breaks my composure.
I have been on edge since the airport lounge and this twenty-year-old girl telling me she won’t bite me is what makes me crack.
Giggles burst out of me in a trickle like gas out of a helium balloon until we are all laughing together.
“Hey, it’s fine. If they kill me and bury me under the porch at least I go out with cookies.” I give my assurance to Aiden.
“Fine, I’m leaving.” He lifts his hands in surrender, yet he doesn’t walk out. He edges towards the door, keeping his eyes locked on mine until I nod again, giving him a small smile. “Be nice!” he yells as the door finally closes behind him. The sound echoes around the otherwise silent room.
“So…” I break the heavy silence. “Who wants to go first?” Luckily all three laugh at my bluntness and Alice nods before doing just what I assumed. Interrogating me.
“What do you do?” she asks, crossing her legs.
For the first time I realise how tall they all are.
It looks like they are all genetically blessed.
Alice is the slenderest of the three, whereas Eden and Celia have curvier frames.
Eden actually reminds me a little of Cassie, but with a cheerier disposition.
All three sisters share their brother’s eyes and dirty-blond hair, but beside that they are all starkly different.
Alice is poised and clearly the leader of the family.
Eden is all smiles, even with her curvier figure she has the aura of a Miss America contestant: perfect posture and an open soul.
Celia is clearly more naive than her sisters.
She is openly welcoming and comforting. She is the only one not staring me down as they wait for my answer.
“I work as a florist, the one Ellis Ainsley owns. That’s how we met, through Ellis and Liam.” I tell them the truth. Aiden and I decided that was the best approach. The more lies you tell the easier it is to get caught up in it. As long as we err on the side of truth, it should be more believable.
“Are you a gold digger?” Eden is blunt. I think she even shocks herself. Her eyes widen slightly, as do her sisters’ in her direction. She was obviously desperate to ask, but had probably planned to go about it in a gentler way.
“Damn,” I reply, stunned myself. “No, I’m not after Aiden for his money.
Though I don’t think he has as much as he claims. He made me fly commercial.
” I laugh, settling the dust a little. Judging by their approving nods, they see I’m not being serious.
Celia sips her tea, letting the other two continue to ask their questions as she observes from beside them.
“Are you close with your family?” Alice fires.
“No, not any more.” I try to sip from my glass but my shaky hands clinking the ice around highlight the nerves I’m trying to disguise.
“Has Aiden met them?” Eden asks.
“No, he probably won’t.” God, please stop asking about my parents.
I should have lied and said they live abroad or something, but that doesn’t follow the rules Aiden set out of being truthful wherever possible.
So I go for evasive instead, hoping they will take a hint and drop it. I’m not that lucky.
“Why are you getting all clammed up talking about your family? Are you ashamed of my brother or something?” Alice’s voice is sharp and direct. I’ve inadvertently hit a nerve.
“God no! I’m ashamed of them. My parents suck and my golden-child older brother is a dick.
They don’t like how I live my life, but Aiden tells me that’s their loss.
” I think it best not to disclose the reasons behind my and my family’s feud.
My sexuality doesn’t feel like a first-meeting conversation.
I know Aiden has never blinked twice, but the south isn’t always the most inclusive.
I can’t imagine Aiden would allow me to meet his sisters if they were huge homophobes.
But still, I decide it’s best to wait and ask him about that, if we need to take that step.
I don’t yet know if I’m in enemy territory.
He told me himself that his grandfather is old-school, which is sometimes code for something else entirely.
I doubt it means he’s a strong defender of the LGBTQ.
I guess now wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had to shove myself back into the closet.
I thought if I pushed through enough awkward interaction with my family after coming out that they would realise I’m still their little girl, the same Lyndsey they raised.
But I think instead I showed them time and time again that I would never be who they wished I was.
I will never be the good, straight little Catholic they used to love.
“Well, damn,” Celia whispers.
“Okay then.” Eden nods.
Alice sits between them and they all share a silent moment before their heads all turn back to me while smiles paint their faces.
“I think we’re good?” It’s phrased as a question, but I think it’s Alice’s way of telling me I’ve passed whatever test they set out for me.
“Before he comes back, do you have anything I can use as leverage? A wife’s got to get what she can while she can.
” I laugh and Celia nods enthusiastically.
It feels strangely normal to refer to him as my husband.
Aiden has called me his wife a hundred times since Vegas but using the words myself, referring to us as a married couple, still feels odd on my tongue.
Like they will be able to hear the lie threaded in the letters, I worry that I’ll choke on the words each time I say them, but the girls seem none the wiser.
“Oh, do we have stories, she asks? Of course we do.” Alice laughs, pulling a book from the cushion behind her.
The words “photo album” are painted in gold lustre.
Alice flips the book open before laying it on the table between us, spinning it around to a picture of Aiden wearing the prettiest princess dress next to Alice in a knight-in-shining-armour costume with broad matching smiles.
I think by the time Aiden makes it home I’m going to be stocked with leverage over my fake husband. It’s strange seeing Aiden this way – young, innocent and sweet. To know Aiden Anders as more than just the captain of the Spears. As more than just my fake husband.
A sense of betrayal lingers in my gut as I peek behind the curtain of Aiden’s life. When we are ready to go back to our real lives, I need to leave behind all the things I learn while I’m here. It was never mine to keep.
Knowing Aiden inside and out isn’t part of the plan.