Carol sighed and studied me closely. “No, you don’t. You smirk; you do these half-smiles. Sometimes you bare your teeth in imitation of a smile, but it doesn’t reach your eyes. It’s like you’re going through the motions. You don’tsmile… unless it’s with her. She brings you peace, Flynn. She brings you to life. I’ve never seen anything quite like it, and I think the idea of relyingon her so much scares the hell out of you. Because what if she’s taken away like your parents were?”
My chest constricted painfully, and my next breath hurt to take. Fuck, it felt like she’d just taken a battering ram to my heart.
She reached over to pat my hand. “Sorry, but the truth hurts, son. You need to stop hiding behind your walls, behind your fears, or I worry you’ll lose her forever. You’ll miss your chance. She’s a beautiful soul, and someday someone is going to come by who will see her and appreciate her for all the good she has. I don’t want to see you lose your shot at that kind of happiness because you’re scared to get hurt, or scared to let her see every side of you and trust that she’ll love those parts too.”
Fucking hell, since when was Aunt Carol a goddamn psychic? It was like she’d reached inside my head and pulled out all my thoughts before shoving them back down my throat to get me to absorb them.
I shifted back and shrugged. “Who says I want that kind of relationship? Who says I’m not perfectly happy the way my life is now?”
She raised an eyebrow as if I was dumbandstupid, and that both words were different levels of idiocy. Not bothering to answer that question, she sighed and got to her feet before turning those all-knowing eyes on me once again.
“I love you, Flynn. I know you’re happy on your own and with your life as it is now, but there’s more out there, son, and I’m afraid you’re going to let it slip through your fingers. I don’t want you to live with that kind of regret.”
With those softly spoken words, she stared at me a moment longer before walking away, leaving me feeling as though she’d punched me right in the gut. My gaze trailed to Chiara as she and Trev made their way back to Sofia and Kate, and Trev gripped her upper arms while talking to her. Ara was looking at him with wide eyes, shock still on her face, and I was at once curious as towhat he was saying to her. Whatever it was, it was a surprise, but she nodded and pasted on a fake smile.
Trev grinned and pressed a kiss on her forehead before reaching for Carol and wrapping his wife in his arms.
When Chiara’s eyes landed on me, there were questions there, doubts, confusion. After a long moment, she sighed and shook her head, turning back to her friends, and I was left feeling colder and a little more alone than before.
~
I stood on the balcony off mine and Chiara’s room hours later and listened to her, Sofia, and Kate laugh as they got ready. Apparently, none of them wanted to get ready alone and needed several opinions on dresses, shoes, accessories, and hairstyles, so our room had become a disaster zone. After the first few comments about panty lines, cleavage, and being asked to help with the ‘bend over test’ I’d decided to step outside and get some fresh air. With the exception of Chiara, these women were like my sisters, and a guy could only take so much.
There had been a dinner downstairs for all wedding guests, but I’d bowed out of that one and enjoyed a dinner alone. There were too many of them all there, and I wasn’t in the right headspace to play my part. Besides, I was pretty sure Ara wanted to keep some distance from me.
The moon was almost full and it up the night sky brilliantly. The sea air was as therapeutic, and I closed my eyes to the sound of crashing waves.
My mind had been chaos the last few hours, and it was nice to stand in silence and simply let the world fall away for a moment. This job was messing with my head, and I hated that I was screwing up so much.
The door behind me opened and closed, and I turned my head to see Sofia step up beside me and lean against the railing. Sheclosed her eyes and drew in a long breath. She let it out after several seconds and I could practically feel calm envelope her.
“Feel better?” I asked softly.
She smiled, eyes still closed. “A little.”
The wind pulled at locks of her hair, and she repeated the breathing exercise a few more times. Guilt stabbed at me for my contribution to her misery, and shame came next. This was her wedding weekend, for fuck’s sake. Even though I didn’t approve of her choice of groom, she had been so happy when we first arrived. I felt like Chiara and I had added alotof stress to her plate. I couldn’t imagine Ellis being very fun these last few days. Not wanting to encroach on her attempt at calm, I kept my gaze on the ocean and let myself focus on the sounds of the waves and the feel of the cool air on my face.
“Flynn?”
“Hmm?”
“I don’t care about how you two happened, why, or what lies you have spouted since being here,” Sofia said. She opened her eyes to look at me, her expression dead serious. “If you are using Chiara to get back at Ellis for whatever the hell went on between you two, if you hurt her, I will hunt you down and remove your testicles with a rusty spoon.”
I stared at her with wide eyes while subtly edging back, the thought of injury to the jewels was enough to make me squirm. Her words finally sunk in, and I narrowed my gaze.
“What are you talking about?”
Sofia rolled her eyes and blew out a puff of air. “She’s my best friend, Flynn. I’ve known her since we were little girls, and I know her tells. She’s always been a sucky liar. Besides, it was obvious Kate knew something too, so I went digging. I knew this thing between the two of you was off since that first dinner together. She told me everything.”
My mouth fell open, and I scrambled for a response. What thehell? I would have thought that if Chiara had told anyone the truth, she would have clued me in on it too.
“Umm…”
Sofia raised an eyebrow as I floundered, and I finally sighed and shook my head. I opened my mouth to cover my ass, but Sofia scoffed.
“Don’t you even think of lying to me, Flynn. Not now.”
I hesitated, weighing the pros and cons, but looking down at her serious gaze, I sighed heavily and shook my head. “Fine. It’s all fake. She asked me to come because she was desperate, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to piss off Ellis or see Chiara again. She helped save me as a kid, and if I could save her now, then I was more than happy to repay that debt.”
