Maggie ended up convincing me to play in round two of her Game of Life/Monopoly mashup. Okay, so really Danielle convinced me to play—something I only agreed to under the condition that she team up with me and sit on my lap for the entire game. I was becoming quite the addict when it came to her. Even worse than last time. It was concerning, but I’d deal with it when we were home and away from my father’s controlling nature.
With the exception of him, I loved watching Danielle with my family. They all adored her, and she fit in so seamlessly—like she belonged here.
My family was going to hate me when things ended between Danielle and me. And I couldn’t even blame them.
“Hayden,”Maggie called, running down the walkway that led to the front door of the beach house.
I dumped Danielle’s duffel bag—which I was pretty sure contained at least half of Danielle’s possessions—into the trunk of my car and slammed it closed. We were so close to being able to put the vacation behind us.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“I want to talk to you. You’ve been glued to your wife’s side since you got here. Which is sweet but also makes it impossible to talk to you about her.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
“Are you kidding me? You’re not only dating someone for the first time since Jacqueline, but you’re freakingmarried. So yeah, I think there’s a lot to talk about.”
I sighed. There was no way I was going anywhere until Maggie said what she’d come out here to say. “Fine. Talk.”
“Why did you marry her?”
“What kind of question is that?”
“An honest one. I know you, little brother, despite the lies you tell yourself. And I know that you would never marry someone this quickly without a specific reason, so what is it? Did she need US citizenship? Did you need the connection to her family for some business deal? Oh fuck, please tell me Dad didn’t coerce you into it for his stupid company.”
That one hit a little too close to the truth. Or like, exactly on the truth.
“I thought you liked her,” I said in a poor attempt at deflection.
“I love her. That’s not the point. This is aboutyou, not her or me.”
“What about me? I’m fine.”
“Is she pregnant?”
“No!”
Maggie held up her hands in surrender. “Hey, calm down. I’m not trying to judge you or accuse you of anything. I’m just trying to understand.”
“It’s really quite simple. I asked Danielle to marry me, she said yes, I bought her a ring, we had a ceremony, and now we’re married. What part isn’t making sense?”
“The part where you didn’t tell me she existed untilafterthe wedding. Keeping her away from Dad, and even Mom, I understand. But you didn’t tellme.”
“I’m sorry.” Unlike the apology I’d given her two days ago for not inviting her to the wedding, I meant it this time. Maggie and I had always been close growing up. I pulled back a lot when I left for university, and even more so as I got more entrenched in Blake Hotels, but she was still my sister. I loved her as much as it was possible to love one’s older sister who never outgrew trying to torture you.
“I just need to know that you’re okay, Hayden. Really okay.”
I gave her a tight smile. “I haven’t been really okay in a long time, but Danielle brings me closer to it than anything else.” I was surprised to find that I meant that. Danielle was special, one in a million, and some guy was going to be the luckiest man on earth to have her.
I already hated him—the faceless man who would one day have her in all the ways I couldn’t.
Maggie reached for my hand and squeezed. “You know I’m here for you, right? You can talk to me about anything, and I promise not to judge.”
“I know. Thanks, Mags.”
“And I really do love Danielle. I think she’s good for you.”
Too bad I wasn’t good for her.
