Chapter 14 #2
I reached for the door, and we made our way down the hall. The party was down by the ocean, and all the commotion we’d seen earlier had resulted in what looked like a very elegant beach party under a large, clear-ceilinged tent.
We walked from a wooden boardwalk directly onto another wooden path that led to the luxurious tent with wooden floors.
Delicate coastal features decorated the ceiling and the tops of tables.
Unique porcelain plates and exotic flowers adorned the tables.
Having helped Angie plan her wedding and gotten quotes for simple tents, I realized that the amount of money spent on just the entire rehearsal dinner was enough to fund all of my yearly expenses.
I marveled at everything I saw, including the obviously fine clothes the other guests were wearing. Not a stitch of clothing looked like it had come from a discount store, the way mine had.
“That’s my younger brother,” Colin whispered to me, motioning to a handsome man who looked to be around my age. He had a drink in his hand and rushed over to greet us.
“Hey! When was the last time I saw you?” Colin’s brother asked, giving him a half-hug.
I watched their interaction and noticed Colin straightened up a bit before answering. “Christmas, I suppose. How are you? Not hurt from breaking my kayak, I hope?”
Landon gave a laugh. “Sorry, man. That was not my intention. Aren’t you going to introduce us?”
“I’m glad you didn’t intend to break my prize-winning kayak as you hurled yourself through jagged rocks and risked your life for whatever reason you imagined was worth it.” Colin’s face was hard and emotionless.
“Damn, you still can’t let things go, can you?
It happened. What do you want me to do about it?
I already sent you the money for it.” Landon looked at me, back to Colin, then me again.
He extended his hand to me. “Sorry for my brother’s bad manners while he judges me for my poor life choices.
I’m Landon, the fuck-up of the family. What’s your name? ”
"Katelynn," I answered, wishing this sudden conflict between the brothers had not erupted in my presence.
Colin must have noticed my discomfort because he took my hand, softened his voice, and said, “Katelynn and I work together.”
Landon snorted. “Everything revolves around that company, doesn’t it? Well, I’m glad to have stayed away from it.”
“How’s your arm?” Colin asked.
“So nice of you to take an interest! My arm? My arm is shot to hell, and I’ll never play baseball again, but I appreciate you asking. I’m going to get another drink. Want one?” Landon asked me.
I shook my head and said, “No, thanks,” but Landon was already weaving through people to the bar on the sand.
“Whoa,” I said.
“I’m sorry about that. In fact, let me just give you a blanket apology for anything my family members say or do throughout the weekend.
I shouldn’t have brought up the kayak now, anyway.
He’s right that I hold a grudge, though,” he said.
Then he shook his head and chuckled. “But he really shouldn’t have taken it. ”
“You see, I never had a sibling to fight with or take their things,” I said.
“I doubt I had the typical sibling experience. I saw them only during the holidays and summers. Landon was the only one who didn’t go to boarding school, but that’s because he started young with baseball and was really good at it, so my father took an interest in that and hired a local coach to train with him.
He played in the majors. I saw a game once.
But he injured his shoulder last year somehow.
It wasn’t at practice or during a game, and I don’t have the full story. ”
“How come you haven’t asked?”
“We’re not close,” he reminded me.
Colin led me to a bar in the middle of the tent, greeting people along the way and introducing me as “a coworker.” Never mind that I’m a couple of rungs below him on the corporate ladder. Or that we were about to get hot and heavy earlier in the evening.
It was almost pitch black by now, and the thousands of fairy lights lining the tent, along with the torches outside it, provided a magical glow.
We walked around with our drinks—me sipping on my white wine, clutching the glass for a sense of security.
I kept trying to find any similarities between myself and anyone in the tent, but it seemed impossible with the jewels, obvious cosmetic surgery, and affected laughter surrounding me.
I smiled often at the bartenders and waitstaff, knowing I had much more in common with them than anyone else on that beach.
Colin’s father snuck up on us, and I said hello to the man I’d seen walking around the company building every so often.
As owner and CEO, Charles Gordon was always polite enough to give everyone he passed a quick hello.
Here was no different. After shaking Colin’s hand and my own, he moved along to others—a handshake here, a touch on the shoulder there, but always moving.
I noticed Colin’s mother sitting at a table with a few other people. She smiled at us and raised her glass. I did the same to her, and Colin gave a curt “Hmph.”
“What?” I asked.
“She’ll be more than drunk before the night is through. But nobody can comment on it,” he said, putting a finger to his mouth to indicate silence.
“Is that…usual for her?” I asked.
“More than I’d like to admit. But I’d say everyone here has an addiction to something. Some addictions are more visible than others.”
His free arm encircled my waist.
“And what are you addicted to?” I said it in a whisper to make sure he understood there was a sexy undertone to my question.
“I’m sensing that I’ll be trading in my work addiction for something new. Or someone new,” he replied in the same hushed voice.
I was still reveling in the way he gazed at me when applause suddenly swept through the tent and across the sand. I joined in to the best of my ability, a glass in my hand, and stretched my neck to see what I assumed was the soon-to-be-married couple.
The crowd started parting behind us, and we moved out of the way too, finally seeing a beautiful blond in a pale yellow dress and Colin’s older brother, Stephen. They walked toward the clearing in the center of the tent.
As they passed right next to us, Stephen came up close to Colin and said in a low voice (but still loud enough for me to hear), “Make sure she doesn’t get in,” and continued on his way.
I looked at Colin, who was clenching his jaw muscles. He stared away from me toward the house.
Without warning, he took my wrist and led me away.
“Come with me,” he said. It was the boardroom voice. The one he used in meetings. The unemotional side of him.