31. Isla
ISLA
Liddy: Are you and Aiden hooking up?
The text message had come in while she’d been filming, which gave Isla an excuse not to answer for a while. But now that they had wrapped for the day, she had to figure out what to do about this.
If Liddy was this suspicious, then Callum probably was—even if he hadn’t said anything. He couldn’t believe her brother would be so obtuse that his mind wouldn’t go there.
Unless he just entirely trusts that Aiden would never cross that line.
She sank onto a park bench at Eiffel Tower Park beside Davy, watching the sun setting.
Boyd had decided they had enough scheduled filming for the day and let them wrap early.
The entire production crew would be heading to the country dance—this time, for some fun—though Boyd had hinted the camera operator might get some candid footage.
And that all would have sounded exciting—if Aiden was still in town. But he’d left the hotel shortly after she had and gone to the airport.
“What’s wrong?” Davy asked, studying her face. “You seemed pretty happy this morning.”
Isla rested her head against Davy’s shoulder, taking a few moments to think about what to say. Everyone knew, somehow, that Aiden had arrived last night—even though most of them hadn’t seen him.
They also all understood that Isla and Aiden were dating. Of course, Kyle had already known about it—since Nashville—and he’d simply winked and said, “I kinda figured that one out.”
So really, outside of their parents, Callum, and Liddy—and Aiden’s brother Logan, who wouldn’t care—this wasn’t a secret anymore.
They were just intentionally lying to Callum.
Or really, I’m lying to him. Because Isla was 99 percent sure Aiden would have told Callum the truth this morning if not for her.
“Do you remember in high school when Megan started dating Blair’s brother?” Isla asked, instead of answering the question.
Davy furrowed her brow. “Yeah.”
“Blair didn’t get angry. Didn’t threaten to punch Megan. She was happy—excited, even. Kept talking about how they were going to be sisters.”
“Okay, yeah, but what’s your point?”
Isla sighed and sat straighter. “My point is that women don’t do this crap to each other.
If their friends date their siblings, they’re usually cheering for them.
I just don’t get what the big deal is. Why are men such morons about this sort of thing?
Why is it such a huge deal if you date your brother’s best friend? ”
Davy leaned down and plucked a dandelion from the grass in front of them, blowing soft gusts of air at the globe of feathered seeds.
The seeds took flight, dancing in front of them as Davy said, “Lots of reasons. To begin with, women think about the fairy tale of having a best friend that becomes a real sister, while men think about the fact that their best friend is now fucking their sister—and they don’t want to think about anyone doing that. Or really think of that.”
“I guess that’s true.”
“It also depends on the brother. In your case, Callum is rather protective. He’s the definition of a protective older brother in the dictionary, actually.”
“You’re lucky you’re an only child.”
Davy shook her head and gripped her hand.
“I have you. I haven’t thanked you enough for what you’re doing for me here, Isla.
You gave me the idea, went to bat for me with Aiden over the financing, and rearranged your whole life to film with me.
” She gave her a sad smile. “It’s almost like those days we spent in London eating curry takeaway and ramen are finally paying off.
Especially given Antony is considering extending the series. ” Davy’s eyes misted with tears.
Pressure tightened around Isla’s chest. “You know I can’t do any more of these, right? I have to return to my life, Davy. To the inn. This has been fun—the martini shot to my own career as an actress—but I’ve moved on to other things.”
“I know, but you don’t really want to run an inn for the rest of your life, do you?”
“I don’t know. I don’t hate it. I think I’ve just felt burned out.” Isla lifted her gaze at the towering structure in the distance. “And all these trips to Paris have been fun, but they don’t really fit with the life I committed to. I gave Callum my word.”
“Speaking of Callum—” Davy tilted her head.
“Everything is all set for us to film in London at the party, right? Boyd already has the whole schedule laid out for the week, but I haven’t gotten back the release paperwork I sent you to give to Callum.
I really need to get it back to Antony. We’re sort of flying by the seat of our pants with this segment. ”
Oh...shit.
A deep, sinking feeling went through Isla.
Oh my God. How could she have forgotten?
Davy had sent paperwork—the day Boyd had suggested the filming in London at the party—but Isla had procrastinated on it, not wanting to think of one more thing she needed to discuss with Callum.
She’d seen the email in the hotel room in Arkansas, meant to forward it to Callum, and then Aiden had shown up. ..
And everything else had faded.
She’d totally, completely forgotten.
“I forgot,” Isla whispered, barely able to move. She met Davy’s eyes, the terribleness of it all crushing the oxygen from her lungs.
Davy stared at her with a mixture of alarm and shock. “What do you mean you forgot?”
“I forgot to ask Callum if we could film there. Forgot to tell him what Boyd had requested.” She tried to steady herself, gripping the scarred wood of the bench. “I-I forgot about the whole damn segment in London.”
“What?” Davy stood, her eyes going wide.
“I didn’t mean to?—”
“Isla! Are you kidding me? This is all supposed to be happening in five days!”
“I-I . . . why hasn’t it come back up again?” Isla asked, brows lifting. “Why didn’t you ask me for the paperwork sooner? I’ve had a lot on my mind, Davy.”
“Are you joking right now? Your boyfriend problems shouldn’t prevent you from being a competent professional.
I sent you all the paperwork. Detailed paperwork that I took hours to draw up.
I emailed everything that we’d come up with for timeline and the types of footage we’d need.
All you had to do was run it by Callum and get his signature. You agreed to it.”
Hurt enclosed around her heart, and she stood, not wanting to have to look up at her. “Yeah, well, maybe cut me a break for once, Davy. Because the last time I said yes to something for you, I was obliterated. Possibly drugged. And I still kept my word.”
Davy flinched. “Are you suggesting I took advantage?—”
“I’m suggesting I’m your friend. Which you know I am—because you just were thanking me two seconds ago.
And I’m doing everything I can to help you.
So maybe when I mess up, cut me a break for a fucking moment.
I’m not just having boyfriend problems , as you call them.
My whole life is in absolute crisis. I didn’t just hook up with Aiden in Vegas—we got married.
And the catastrophe to my life has been spreading ever since. ”
Davy’s jaw dropped open. “You and Aiden are married ?”
Isla crossed her arms, the wound from Davy’s words still cutting her deeply. “Yeah. We’re getting it annulled. I think. But yeah.”
“Oh my God. What do you mean, you think? ”
Isla held her breath.
What are we doing?
She and Aiden hadn’t discussed the whole marriage thing. Yet calling each other husband and wife hadn’t seemed strange. Not like a fetish. But real.
They needed to hash this out.
“I don’t know. That’s the plan. But yes, we’re married. But we’re also in a relationship now.”
The two of them stared at each other in silence, the discomfort between them growing.
Then Davy blinked away tears. “Look. I’m not saying that you’re not dealing with a lot right now, but this is my career.
You don’t even want to be part of the show after this,” she said, her voice wavering.
“That’s fine. But don’t act like none of this matters just because your life is a mess.
I know you don’t care about this like I do, but it matters. To me. To my life.”
Isla didn’t answer, for the first time understanding her father’s business advice, many years earlier, about not doing business with friends.
Isla looked at her best friend—the same girl who’d snuck her tequila at her twenty-first birthday party, who’d cried with her during Isla’s first breakup, who’d slept in the hospital room chair the night Isla had gotten viral pneumonia and Callum had been out of town on a job.
Yet, at this moment, Isla felt like she was staring at a stranger across a fault line she hadn’t even realized they’d crossed.
“I’ll talk to Callum.”
“And if he says no? At this point, it’s going to really mess up our plans.”
Something snapped inside Isla. Exhaustion from being held accountable for way too much that wasn’t her fault, maybe.
“Maybe then you shouldn’t have made plans without important documents in hand, Davy.
You’ve got to take responsibility, too. You can blame me all you want, but this one is on you.
I saved your ass last time. Next time, don’t confuse verbal agreements with commitment. ”
She walked away, anger and frustration rankling her. She didn’t want to be fighting with Davy. They’d been best friends for so long.
But it wasn’t fair, either.
She was putting Isla in an impossible situation.
Callum was going to flip at the idea of having a camera crew at his party, especially with so little warning.
The guilt he’d been harboring because of everything with Tomas would probably be enough to help her convince him, even if she felt horrible for being so manipulative and using it against him.
But how could she go to her brother and say, hey, I need a huge, intrusive favor and also, by the way, I’ve been sleeping with Aiden and lying to you ?
She wouldn’t blame Callum for saying no to the film crew after feeling hurt and betrayed by Isla and Aiden. And that was exactly what would happen.
Which means I can’t tell him about Aiden yet.
Or Liddy.
She wouldn’t ask Callum’s wife to lie to him. That wouldn’t be fair. She loved her sister-in-law and considered her a friend—lying to her wouldn’t be easy. Liddy would be hurt, and it would just make everything so much worse when they learned the truth.
Isla clenched her jaw, tears threatening her as she pulled her phone out. Her hand shook.
Then she texted Liddy.
Isla: !!! Hilarious. Gross, no thank you.