Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Ididn’t see Colin for a few days, but I did spend that time agonizing over the upcoming weekend.
What would I wear to a multi-millionaire’s wedding?
On an exclusive island? With my not-boyfriend, whom I’m supposed to be investigating because he has a secret connection with my direct boss, who disappeared and then reappeared?
And on Monday, Grant apologized.
When I arrived at my desk, a small bouquet of dark pink roses greeted me. I assumed they were from Colin, and the blush on my cheeks deepened when Grant walked over to me.
“Do you like them? I really wanted to show you how sorry I am about last night,” he said, his fingers tracing the top of one of the roses.
“You got me these?” I asked, placing the vase I’d found in the break room carefully onto my desk.
“Yeah. I felt like crap all night. I even got some for Kaitlin.”
I shook my head. “You do realize that if you just thought things through a little better, you wouldn’t have to do all of this apologizing.”
“Yeah, I guess I should work on that, huh?”
“You think?” I put the roses into the vase and arranged them as best I could.
“What happened after you dropped me off? Any news?”
I sighed and whispered, “Nothing Maggie-related.”
“Anything else not Maggie-related?” he whispered back.
My cheeks heated instantly. I bit my lip. “He asked me to go to his brother’s wedding with him this weekend. By helicopter. For the weekend. At their summer house on Brightwater Island.” I purposely kept looking at my new flowers.
“And you’re going. You don’t know why he lied to you. You don’t even know what he’s lying about, and you’re going to his family wedding?”
Finally, I looked him in the eye and gave a curt nod.
“Are you falling for him?” he asked. I couldn’t tell if his voice was laced with concern, judgment, or something else.
“I will find out what’s going on. Maybe it’s absolutely nothing.
What are the chances that something nefarious is going on?
Very slim. There’s probably a silly explanation for all of it.
And yes, I am falling for him, so I hope that I can get the truth and be horribly embarrassed over how paranoid you and I have been. ”
I sat down at my desk and pushed the roses away from me. I’d blocked my feelings for Colin too much for fear of the secrets between him and Maggie, but now that I’d been forced to voice it, I knew what I’d just told Grant was true.
I was falling in love with Colin.
And I had to find out the truth before it deepened. Before my heart had a real chance of breaking if Colin were, in fact, a liar or worse. My concern for Maggie had turned into caution for myself.
I almost stood up and bounded into Maggie’s office. “Why were you really gone for a week, and what does Colin have to do with it?” I wanted to ask outright.
Instead, I forced half my brain to focus on work and let the other half obsess over packing lists and what to say to Colin to draw out more clues.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Grant said when he left for the day. I didn’t reply because he probably didn’t want one. Also, I wasn’t sure what I was doing.
The next couple of days were uneventful, what with Colin being called away on business again and Maggie mostly staying in her office except for the short motivational meetings.
Colin texted me every day, usually starting with a “Good morning, beautiful,” and then progressing to something or other that reminded him of me throughout the day.
Thursday rolled around, and I packed my suitcase that evening with the help of the itinerary for the wedding weekend that Colin had forwarded me that afternoon.
Friday 8PM: Rehearsal Dinner/Welcome Party
Saturday 4 PM: Wedding Ceremony on beach, Reception to follow
Sunday 10:30 AM: Farewell Brunch
With no time to shop, I made do with old dresses. None seemed fancy enough for this particular wedding, but they were all I had at my disposal. I closed the suitcase, determined not to compare myself to what other women might wear that weekend.
The next day, work was a struggle. As soon as I’d try focusing on an account, my mind would wander.
I had an image of myself tripping in my heels down the stairs of a grand mansion.
I’d be toasting the bride and groom and spilling champagne on Colin’s mother.
I’d be dancing and slam into Colin, who would then start the largest domino fall of human bodies ever recorded.
Even watching Grant sit quietly and absorbed in his work all day didn’t help me relax. How often had he teased and interrupted me? Nothing today to ease my mind?
“Grant,” I whispered. “Are you upset with me?”
He turned to face me, his mouth turning up in a resigned smile. “How can I be upset with you?”
“You’re just so quiet.”
“I don’t have much to say. I’ve always joked around with you because you were single. It wouldn’t be right to hit on you, even if it is in fun, when you’re getting serious with someone.”
“We can still be friends, though,” I pointed out, surprised by what he’d said. I was surprised at myself, too. How often had I wanted to be rid of Grant and his inappropriate behavior?
“Can we, though?” He rolled his eyes and gave me the same half-hearted smile.
“When I’m still here, banging my head against the wall about that one stupid night I took you out and ruined my one shot.
I didn’t realize I’d never even had a shot.
I don’t have a summer house or a helicopter… or a CEO dad.”
My heart sank, and I felt sick to my stomach. “You don’t really believe that, do you? That I’m a gold-digger? Grant, that’s so mean.”
My chest tightened.
He just shrugged and turned away. I stayed staring at his back, tears burning in my eyes while my stomach was still queasy. I stood up quickly and walked to the bathroom as I wiped a tear away.
For the rest of the afternoon, I was an awful mixture of anger at Grant and dread about the weekend. Somehow, it all seemed to ease when I received a text around 4 o’clock.
Colin: I should be right on time to meet you in the lobby in an hour. I can’t wait to start our weekend together.
My nerves transformed into excitement, and my mood shifted.
Grant was not my problem. If he didn’t want to be friends, then we’d strictly be coworkers who spoke only on work matters.
It didn’t seem like I’d be missing much from the way he’d deliberately tried hurting me with his words like an immature man-child.
I texted my mother then, apologizing once more for not seeing her yet another weekend.
Mom: Sweetie, I told you it’s not a big deal. I miss you, but I’m glad you have something nice planned. Send me pictures!
The last thing on my mind would be taking pictures. I let the clock run out, and at 4:50 I logged off my computer and walked to the elevator without saying a word to Grant. I retrieved my suitcase from my trunk and waited inside the lobby.
When the elevator opened and Colin looked up from his phone and saw me, his face lit up, and he stuffed his phone in his suit pocket.
I took a few steps toward him, but his large strides met me more than halfway, his hand outstretched.
I took it, giddy, and matching the excited energy he was exuding.
“Ready?” he asked, pausing to gaze into my eyes and wait for my answer.
“To crash and burn?” I joked. I hoped.
He chuckled. “We’ll make it to the island in one piece. Not sure about making it out in one piece after a weekend with my family.”
I was nauseous as he reached over and took my suitcase handle, dragging it as he guided me toward the exit.
A massive SUV waited for us, and the driver took my suitcase to the back.
Colin sat with me in the backseat, and we were driven to a small airport nearby, where I boarded a helicopter for the first time in my life.
I’d been on airplanes before, and the slight nerves that accompanied every takeoff were nothing compared to the extreme fear I had stepping into a much tinier metal box with windows all around.
When Colin handed me the headset I would wear, my fingers trembled as I tried to put it on.
He must have noticed because he took it back and placed it on my head, arranging my hair so that it wouldn’t be in the way.
I was grateful for his help, and even more so when he took my hand and sandwiched it between both of his hands.
“We’ll be there in no time. It’ll be a smooth ride,” he promised.
“Okay,” I said, nodding and trying to convince myself that everything would be fine.
Of course, it would be, but my body wasn’t cooperating.
My heart rate was through the roof as we took to the sky.
When I finally opened my eyes again, I was relieved to see that we were having a very smooth flight.
The helicopter soared over the traffic I’ve always hated, the bridges, and the bay.
By the time the island was within sight, my fears had jumped to a new target—the Gordon family.
Between the roar of the helicopter blades, Colin rattling off facts about the coastline, and the never-ending loop of “What the hell did I get myself into?” in my head, I was seconds from panicking.
Then, I saw where we were headed—a sprawling estate that dwarfed the nearest houses.
Grounds so vast that I’d need a shuttle to get from one end to the other.
And when we flew over the monstrosity, more land, tennis courts, gardens, a swimming pool, and finally…
the beach. There were hordes of workers milling about with chairs and flower arrangements, all headed to a large tent on the sand.
We landed in a grassy field behind the house that I assumed was reserved just for this. The first to greet us on the ground was Malia, the house manager. She was a small woman, but Colin informed me she ran their house like a military general.