Chapter 41 - Aiden
W ith Ellen’s wedding ceremony over, the bridal party was enjoying a brief respite in a private suite before joining the rest of the guests at the reception. Aiden, Ethan, and Nathan were all groomsmen, along with Tommy’s best friend, Will.
Tommy and Ellen had gone off to have some alone time, and Will was flirting with one of Ellen’s bridesmaids. That left the three brothers standing around a high-top table, talking about the Major League Baseball playoffs.
Their sister, Lauren, joined them, two bottles of beer in each hand. Her dark Wescott hair was swept up behind her head, and she was wearing a burgundy bridesmaid gown.
Handing out the beers, she asked, “So, Aiden, what’s the story with Olivia? What happened? Ethan has been very stingy with the details.”
“Yeah, Ethan hasn’t told me anything either,” Nathan confirmed .
“That’s because I don’t know anything.” Ethan sounded defensive. “And…I respect Aiden’s privacy,” he added less convincingly.
The four clinked their bottles, and Aiden groaned. “Ugh, I was an idiot.”
“Well, yeah,” Aiden’s three siblings said in unison.
“But how exactly were you an idiot?” Lauren asked.
Begrudgingly, Aiden told them the whole thing. He wanted to omit the more incriminating details, like what he’d said about not being able to trust women, but in the end, his shame led him to confess it all as penance.
“You said what?” Nathan laughed. “How are you so smart and so dumb at the same time?”
“Dude, she is never going to forgive you,” Ethan said.
Aiden slumped over the table and put his head in his hands.
“Hold on, hold on,” Lauren said. “Let’s not give up hope just yet.”
She gave their brothers the stink eye, which Aiden appreciated but also felt was pointless.
“What we need here,” she added, “is a grand gesture. Aiden, you need to apologize for being an ass, and you need to humiliate yourself while doing it.”
“I don’t know…” he said skeptically, not sure Olivia was the grand gesture type. She seemed too low-key for something like that.
“No, no,” Nathan said. “Lauren’s right. Women love that shit.”
“Really, Nathan? Have we learned nothing from Aiden’s dumb-assery about generalizing women?” Ethan asked, laughing.
Lauren saluted him with her beer .
“Okay, fine, but what am I supposed to do? She stopped replying to my texts after I fucked up.”
“I bet I can find her,” Ethan said matter-of-factly. “If she’s out tonight, and if I can locate her, do you agree to a grand gesture, brother?”
In elder brother fashion, Nathan jumped in. “Aiden, do you or do you not accept the terms of Ethan’s bet? If Ethan can find Olivia by the end of the night, assuming she’s not at home, do you agree to make an ass of yourself?”
“Fine,” Aiden acquiesced. “Whatever.”
He rested his chin on the lip of his beer bottle in defeat.