Chapter 17 #2
Emmaline notices me first, waving at me as she sits in the chair with Rafael next to her, and this makes Aileen and Rush turn, who sit together on the opposite side of them. “Hi. I’m sorry for being late.”
I grab the empty chair at the head of the table, which gives me a clear view of everyone, and sit, reaching for the menu.
“You aren’t late. We just made our orders,” Aileen says. “You look very pretty.”
I chose to wear an emerald-green dress with silver flats, pulled my hair into a ponytail, and used all the foundation and concealer to cover up the hickeys. I was surprised how well it actually worked. “Thank you. It’s hot today.” Hence, I appreciate the various fans scattered all over the place.
Emma comes to our table with a tablet, and asks, “Welcome, Miss Wright. Happy to see you again. Do you want the usual?”
“Hi! Just green tea, please, and eggs. No dessert.” I’m not hungry at all, but it would be suspicious if I didn’t eat anything.
My brothers might act all relaxed, wrapped up in their wives, but I don’t miss their hawklike gazes scanning me from head to toe, or the silent communication between them, which I always found annoying.
Or maybe I’m just jealous I don’t have a twin with whom I can share such a connection.
The possibilities are endless when it comes to my fucked-up mind, so I prefer not to examine it.
Emma nods, picks up the menus, and dashes off inside the restaurant while I plaster a brighter smile on my face since my brothers continue to stare at me.
“How was dinner on Saturday night?” I glance at Aileen.
“I’m sorry I left in such a hurry. I shouldn’t have done that.
I’ll make sure to call your parents and apologize. ”
Aileen pats me on the hand. “Don’t stress over it. My parents understand. They’re always happy to talk to you, though.”
They have always been kind, although I’m not sure how kind they would be to me once they find out I slept with their twenty-year-old son.
“Are you all right?” Aileen asks, and presses the back of her hand to my cheek. “You look flushed.”
More like embarrassed and horrified, hoping Lachlan and Valencia never know the truth.
“Here is your tea.” Emma places the porcelain cup, along with a teapot, in front of me, the steaming, fresh scent tickling my nose.
“Thank you.”
“The eggs and avocado will be out shortly.” She pours the tea into my cup and walks off once again.
Lifting the mug to my mouth, I take a sip, welcoming the earthy taste and the warmth gliding down my parched throat, only to cough when Aileen exclaims, jumping from her seat, “Levi!” I look to the side and watch him walk toward us, his lean, muscular form covered in jeans and a shirt, while various young women glance his way and smile.
The man attracts attention wherever he goes, and the desire to stab something envelops me while I hate it with every fiber of my being.
I shouldn’t be jealous over him. It’s just a meaningless…well, whatever that is.
“Hi, princess,” he says as he joins us, and Aileen jumps into his arms. “I started to think all these wedding preparations took you hostage.”
She rolls her eyes. “You’re the one who bolted on Saturday.
It’s not my fault.” Her brow furrows. “Where did you go, by the way? The staff said you arrived only to leave, like, ten minutes later.” She crosses her arms. “Also, it’s so unfair and sexist that you are allowed to live in a city alone while I had to stay at the family mansion before getting engaged. ”
Aileen is a genius who finished school at fourteen. At nineteen, she already has her bachelor’s degree and has recently started her master’s.
Still, despite all that, Lachlan guarded his daughter like the rarest of diamonds and forbade her from moving out until she turned twenty-one.
She had a whole future ahead of her when my brother decided to kidnap her to our island, where she had to endure hell.
A certain darkness blankets Levi’s eyes for a second at the word engagement, but he keeps his smile intact while tapping on her nose.
“We make no apologies for protecting you, princess.” He kisses her on the forehead and then moves his attention to Emmaline.
“Hi, graceful girl.” There is a certain warmth in his greeting.
Based on the stories the girls told me, Wyatt, Ian, and Levi have good relationships with each other’s sisters since they all grew up together.
“Looking stunning as ever.” Emmaline laughs as he leans down to hug her.
“Lay off the compliments, Scott. The woman is married,” Rafael says as he extends his hand, and Levi shakes it. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh no. You aren’t happy to see me?” He turns to Rush, and they exchange a handshake as well, but I don’t miss how my brother’s grip on Levi’s hand tightens for a fraction of a second while a chill trickles down my back.
Does he suspect something?
Impossible.
If he knew, all hell would have broken loose.
“Lavender.” Our eyes meet, and goose bumps pop up all over my skin, reminding me of his deep voice whispering illicit things to me less than an hour ago. “It’s nice to see you again. How have you been?”
So is this how he wants to play it? Be extremely nice to me when he was anything but in the past?
“Splendid.”
Amusement crosses his face, and he grabs the chair opposite mine, sitting at the other end of the table. He addresses Rafael. “To answer your question, my sister invited me.” Emma brings him a steaming black coffee. To my knowledge, that’s his favorite drink. “Thank you.”
“Do you want anything else?”
“No.”
She places my plate in front of me, along with a fork and a knife. “Here.”
As she goes away to take other orders, Rush speaks up. “We’ve been inviting you for some time now, and you always refused. What changed?”
“Apparently, I’m in the wedding.”
Aileen huffs. “I’m not sure why it’s such a surprise to you. You’re my brother!”
“Yes, but I’m not Rush’s brother or his friend.”
“We didn’t want you to feel left out,” my brother says, drumming his fingers on the table. “Besides, blood doesn’t define family.”
Levi picks up his steaming mug and takes a large sip while a certain coldness emits from him that’s probably barely noticeable to anyone else. I’m used to studying his microexpressions, though. “Right. We’re all one big, happy family.”
I still don’t get it.
According to Aileen, her brother was the one to encourage her to accept her feelings for Rush and even helped them out when Lachlan almost caught them at their family mansion.
If he considered what my brother did such a crime, why did he never confront him about it?
The answer comes to me instantly when Levi winks at Aileen, who slides her plate to him, removing all the seeds from the bread since he hates them, and he takes a piece.
Aileen loves my brother, so he accepted it, but the need for revenge didn’t go away.
Not the kind of revenge that involves Rush being physically hurt or separated from Aileen. He wants my brother to experience the emotional pain he’d understand how much he hurt their family with his actions.
Am I the collateral damage in all this? Is he screwing me so he can one day hurt my brother with it by telling him about us?
“So what does my being in the wedding mean?”
I grab my fork and dig into my eggs, doing my best to act nonchalant while I’m drinking in every word.
I’m usually super quiet during these breakfasts, so it shouldn’t be suspicious to anyone.
“We have five bridesmaids and five groomsmen.” I put a bite of the eggs in my mouth, welcoming the delicious taste, while the future bride-to-be explains everything, and I’m still confused about why I need to be here for this.
“It’s Pierre and Eve, Caroline and Dante, Emmaline and Rafael, who also happens to be the best man, and Orion with Diana. ”
Our second cousin is also part of the wedding with his new wife? Color me surprised.
Orion rules his empire in Boston, and he also has a scar that scares everyone away.
No one fucks with him, for his wrath would be devastating.
Due to his father’s will—a man who is hopefully suffering in eternal hell, amen—he had to marry before turning thirty-six, and Diana wanted to save her family, so they entered a contract marriage.
At some point, it became a love union, as they looked smitten at Aileen and Rush’s engagement party.
“So that leaves Lavender and you,” Aileen finishes, and the eggs turn bitter in my mouth as I freeze at this and look at him as he listens to his sister. “I know you guys have your differences, but we thought you could put them aside for the wedding and walk together down the aisle.”
“I don’t mind.”
“Absolutely not!”
We both respond at the same time. Everyone’s heads turn in my direction, so I put my fork down and clear my throat. “I mean…wouldn’t it be strange for us to be paired up?”
“Why?” Emmaline asks, scooping some ice cream with her spoon. “What’s weird about that?”
This is a nightmare! I can’t walk down the aisle with this guy after everything! There will be videos, photos, and God knows what else.
This has disaster written all over it. I can’t say the truth, so I come up with something else that’s an issue as well.
“Our age.” Silence meets this statement, so I decide to elaborate, hoping they’d see my side of things. “I’m way older than him.”
“Rafael is fifteen years older than me,” Emmaline replies, munching on her ice cream. “And Dante is older than Caroline by a decade.”
“It’s different.”
“Different how?”
“You’re an actual couple. You need to be paired up together.” More like their possessive men wouldn’t allow anyone else to touch them. “Anyway…maybe you should find someone else? Someone who’d match perfectly with Levi. I don’t mind.”
What a lie.
I would love to participate in their wedding, and if I’m being super honest with myself, I wouldn’t want anyone else with Levi, because it would show me, once again, how wrong we are for each other.