Sailing at Sunset

by Cindi Madsen

  There was a twinkle in his eye. The same friendly one that won over almost everyone he spoke with. From what Paige had gathered in the eight years she’d known her best friend Ciera’s older brother, it was impossible for anyone to be upset with him. Plus he had the kind of charismatic personality that made him instant friends with everyone in the room.

  Paige glanced out the window again at her perfect wedding. Almost all of the two hundred white wooden folding chairs were occupied, but she could see the empty one on the end of the second row she’d saved for him. It just so happened that Aiden’s very punctual mama, who was also aware of his tardiness, had chosen the seat right next to it. What could she say? While she could plan for most things, she wasn’t a miracle worker.

  “I’m afraid I’m not the one you have to convince.” Paige pulled a face to show her mock concern.

  With his tie in a loose knot, he buttoned the top button of his shirt and ran his hand through his wavy, sandy blond hair in a vain attempt to style it. “Mama talks a big game, but she’ll be glad her baby boy’s sitting next to her.”

  Paige tightened his tie for him, smoothing it out against the front of his shirt. This was something she did often because he claimed he liked the way she made it perfectly straight. Perhaps, if he wasn’t her best friend’s brother, she might’ve appreciated the way his strong chest felt. But he was, and their relationship, since the day she first visited the Pierce household, was nothing more than friendly.

  “Or she’ll be wondering why her baby boy couldn’t pull himself off the golf course early enough to be here on time.”

  “Is it that obvious?”

  She put her hands on her hips and pretended to examine him with a stern eye. Other than his wind-blown hair and his sun-kissed face, there was no sign he’d been swinging a golf club until less than five minutes ago. In fact, she found it a little unfair that he could look so great with such little effort. “I suppose you’ll pass.”

  Half of his mouth pulled up into a guilty grin and he motioned outside. “With a day like this, can you blame me? Plus, it was more business than pleasure. I had to be there.” He adjusted the sleeves under his jacket.

  “You know what they say about excuses.”

  He gave her an apologetic shrug highlighted by his charming grin. Yep, it was true. It was impossible to stay mad at him. She pointed to the door on the far side of the room.

  “If you slip out that door you can walk down the side and slide into your seat without anyone but your mom noticing.”

  “Thanks for having my back, Westmoreland.” He buttoned the top button of his jacket. “On the bright side, at least I’m not as late as that guy.” He nodded his head toward the main entrance above them.

  For the first time during this wedding, Paige felt the slight flutter of surprise. Now that Aiden was here, she thought everyone had arrived. She followed Aiden’s gaze up the grand stone staircase to the mezzanine level lobby until she saw him.

  At that very moment everything stood still. It was entirely possible even the world stopped turning. Out of all the things she considered that could’ve gone wrong today, all the contingencies she prepared for, this one never entered her mind. She stood there, stunned.

  “Hey, isn’t that…” Aiden broke her trance.

  “Brody Paxton,” Paige finished. Her voice had a sort of breathless quality to it that she hated, but she couldn’t help it.

  Brody stepped up to the railing and paused. Perhaps he had a valid reason for stopping in that particular spot, but as far as Paige could tell, it was only to smolder. Which, by the way, he did so well it made her weak in the knees.

  His dark hair was perfectly styled in his signature Ivy League haircut, and his well-tailored suit accentuated his lean, athletic frame. The light flooding through the door cast a halo-type glow around him, making him look like a vision out of a dream. The string quartet behind them picked that moment to reach their crescendo, and she couldn’t be sure, but she thought she even heard angels singing. After all this time, her ex-boyfriend was still the most beautiful man she’d ever laid her eyes on.

  He slipped off his sunglasses and gazed out the massive windows. Even from a short distance, she could see the hypnotic sparkle in his cobalt blue eyes, and something inside her fluttered. Was it her or was there a sudden lack of oxygen in the room?

  “Didn’t he move to Europe?” Aiden asked.

  Paige nodded, trying in vain to get her scattered thoughts under control. “His company transferred him to Luxembourg.” At least that’s what he’d told her thirteen months and eight days ago, when he’d ended their blissful eleven-month relationship with the news that he was moving overseas. Alone.

  The familiar ache pinged in her chest.

  “Why is he here?” Aiden whispered.

  “I don’t know.” The same question had been swirling around her mind as well. It had been a while since she’d talked to him, but as far as she knew, he was still living in Europe.

  Visions of the dismal day she drove him to the airport trickled to the front of her memory. Watching him walk away was one of the hardest things she’d ever done. She knew the move would be good for his career, but it didn’t make the ache in her chest hurt any less.

  The one thing that had made it easier was hope and a promise. A faint spark of excitement tingled in the tips of her fingers as the pieces of this puzzle started to come together.

  On that dreary day in the busy airport, tears had stung her eyes. Brody had told her it wasn’t a breakup, just a pause. They weren’t saying goodbye, just see you later. His final goodbye kiss still burned on her lips as his airport promise rung in her ears. Someday, I’ll be back.

  She would adamantly deny it if ever asked, but she’d often daydreamed about what their reunion could be like. Maybe she would meet him at the airport with a welcome home sign and a teary-eyed smile. Or perhaps he would surprise her and show up on her doorstep with a bouquet of flowers and, during some of her more hopeful moments, a ring. The setting might have changed, but the ending was always the same; he’d come back, and they’d be together again.

  And here he was.

  The fingertip-tingles started to work their way up her arms. She hadn’t known if it would really happen. Time had a way of changing things, but what they’d shared was special. She’d been certain then he was the one, and seeing him now, all of those feelings came rushing back.

  She started to call his name, and the excitement flooding into her threatened to launch her up the stairs and into his waiting arms. But as she took the first step, she caught sight of something else. Or rather, someone else.

  Brody turned and offered his elbow to the woman stepping through the door. A smitten smile spread across his face. A smile not made for Paige. She froze in her tracks.

  “Whoa. Who’s that?” Aiden’s words didn’t help the sucker punch to the gut reality had just dealt her.

  An elegant woman stepped up next to Brody. With one hand she tucked a strand of her long, auburn hair behind her ear, highlighting her delicate features, as she slid the other into the crook of Brody’s arm. Suddenly the world started to spin again, a little faster than Paige was anticipating, and she swayed on her feet.

  The power couple walked the few steps to the grand staircase and paused, as if displaying their beauty and poise for the whole world to see. All the excitement drained out of Paige’s body, leaving her limbs feeling limp and heavy. She considered running away. Not to hide, per se, because that would’ve been juvenile. She liked to think of it as postponing a conversation until she was fully prepared, which seemed rather responsible. And by fully prepared, she meant the ability to speak without sounding like a blubbering idiot.

  But it didn’t matter if running was responsible or not: her legs wouldn’t cooperate. And even if they had, there was nowhere to escape in this otherwise empty, massive room. So she stood there,
with no choice but to face him, scattered thoughts and all.

  Brody’s gaze landed on her. His polite smile turned up the corners of his mouth, accentuating his strong jaw, before he whispered something to the girl next to him. Her gaze drifted to Paige, then refocused on him. Paige’s stomach dropped when his intimate look confirmed their relationship was more than friendly.

  The girl smoothed the emerald dress that elegantly hugged her curves and then draped her hand over the railing. Then they started down the wide stone steps in perfect unison.

  Brody stepped with his usual steady confidence. The girl moved with the grace of a dancer, each of her footsteps skimming the surface of the stairs. The four-inch stilettos at the end of her toned legs seemed to be an extension of her foot, as if she were made to wear them. Everything about her radiated beauty and poise.

  Paige glanced down at her own look in comparison. About the only similarity between them was they’d both chosen to wear almost the exact shade of green. Other than their shared penchant for emerald-colored garments, Paige was the complete opposite of the beauty on Brody’s arm.

  Paige had chosen her loose-fitting A-line knit dress because it had pockets, something she proudly proclaimed to her friends on staff when she arrived earlier. The fact now seemed childish. Her practical dress was paired with sensible ballet flats, which she wore more for function than fashion, and she’d pulled her hair up in a bun about fifteen minutes after she’d arrived at work to get it out of the way. Even if she hadn’t, her mousy brown hair would have been hanging in a stringy mess around her shoulders at this point. It didn’t matter how many products she armed her hair with, the Texas humidity always won. And although she’d put on lipstick before she arrived, she was positive there wasn’t a trace of it left.

  Seeing Brody unannounced at one of her weddings with some knockout on his arm was about as far as possible from any of the reunion daydreams she’d managed to come up with over their thirteen-month absence. Every awe-worthy opening line she’d ever thought up—and, embarrassingly, there were quite a few of them—was invalid. To make matters even worse, at the moment her brain seemed incapable of thinking up something new.

  Brody reached the last step and his gaze locked with hers. “Hello, Paige.”

  The way her name sounded in his smooth voice sent shivers racing down her spine. Although, she had to admit he sounded less surprised to see her than she was to see him, which sent another round of questions swirling through her mind. The girl on his arm smiled.

  Paige’s mind went blank. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but nothing came out. Brody either didn’t notice or didn’t care. The couple glided over and stopped in front of her.

  “It’s nice to see you.” Brody’s familiar words caused her heart to skip a beat and his gaze burned into her.

  She tried to answer, but since the shock of the situation was still holding her voice captive, she offered a grin instead. Hopefully, it looked more sophisticated-alluring and less lovesick puppy.

  An awkward pause filled the air. Aiden cleared his throat and stepped closer to Brody, offering his hand.

  “Brody, Aiden Pierce. It’s been a while.”

  Brody held Paige’s gaze for another millisecond. Long enough for her to be positive she sensed the air between them crackle. Just like it used to.

  Then he grasped Aiden’s handshake and shifted his attention. “Good to see you again, Aiden.” He let go of Aiden’s grasp and held his hand in front of the beauty next to him, as if to put her on display. “Allow me to introduce you both to Sasha Kane.”

  The bitterness of jealousy mixed with disappointment rose up in Paige’s throat, but she tried to appear delighted to meet someone new. When it was clear that was too tall an order, she settled for an expression she hoped looked pleasant-ish.

  Sasha extended a graceful hand to Paige first. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

  Now was Paige’s chance to offer some clever one-liner that would remind Brody of their times together and remind Sasha whose turf she was on. But nothing even remotely clever came to mind. And even if it had, it wouldn’t have mattered because her voice still wasn’t cooperating.

  So Paige just nodded at her. This was not at all how she imagined their first meeting going. Once again, Aiden stepped in.

  “Pleasure to meet you, Sasha.” He took her outstretched hand and lifted it to his lips. Sasha appeared to be charmed. Brody glared. The whole situation made Paige feel like she might be sick.

  The harsh, screeching sound of a digital alarm echoed through the room and broke up the moment. Everyone stared at the tablet in Paige’s hand. Everyone, that was, except Paige, who was still trying to figure out what Brody was doing here. And why was he with her? And, for that matter, who was she?

  Brody pointed to the tablet. “You, uh, want to get that?”

  Paige stared at it for another second, trying to comprehend the sound. Since Brody had walked through those doors, she was having a hard time comprehending anything. 0:00 flashed on her screen.

  “The bride!” She bobbled the tablet and fumbled with the off button, trying to get the noise to stop. The heat from her cheeks worked its way down her neck. “I gotta go.”

  She looked up at the newcomers. An expression of cool acceptance crossed Brody’s face. Her already sagging spirit plummeted.

  Aiden’s hand pressed against the small of her back in a gesture she assumed was supposed to calm her frazzled nerves. “We’ll catch you after the ceremony.” He winked. Then he looked to Brody and Sasha and held his hand out to the side door. “Shall we?”

  The trio crossed the room and exited to the garden. Paige stood frozen in her spot, watching through the windows as Brody and his date claimed the last two empty chairs. Brody undid his jacket and ran his hand through his perfect hair before he settled it on Sasha’s knee. Her own knee tingled, remembering exactly how his touch felt.

  The string quartet finished their song and silence filled the air. It was the signal for the officiant to lead out the groom. She glanced at her watch, shook her head to try to clear her thoughts, then dashed across the room as fast as her ballet flats could carry her to the bridal suite.

  One minute and thirty-eight seconds behind schedule.

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