by Aria Scott
Of course, I couldn’t help overhearing them.
“It’s a business deal,” Aubrey said to Lisa, after glancing over her shoulder. I figured that she probably didn’t want anyone to overhear her. Unfortunately for her, she didn’t see me standing there.
“A business deal?” Lisa sounded deeply shocked...as if Aubrey had just admitted to a pact with Satan.
“That’s it. That’s all it is.” Aubrey nodded her head to emphasize her words, and I felt a sharp, relentless pain somewhere near my heart. “I got into this for the money. He has a lot of it, of course.”
“Holy God.” Lisa squeezed Aubrey’s arm for support, then let it go. “How much is he paying you?”
“Enough for me to get something going for my dogs.”
“Dogs?”
“You know, the rescue dogs.”
Lisa’s face scrunched up with a new kind of shock--one liberally laced with disapproval. “Do you mean to tell me that you’ve put up with this...this charade....all for the sake of some damned strays?”
Aubrey hung her head. I interpreted the look as guilt, with a dash of revulsion thrown in.
It was all I needed to see.
Thank God I hadn’t opened my mouth.
I turned from them, turned away, and settled my attention on the dry bar set up in the corner. My gaze fell upon the whiskey decanter. I imagined a harsh, burning alcohol slipping down my throat and knew it wouldn’t be enough to dull the pain that was now raging inside me like a wildfire. Nevertheless, I staggered in that direction, ignoring the wishes for happiness that a few of my mother’s friends threw my way.
I noticed that Emma the cheerleader was watching me weave my way across the room. I had the sudden sense that I must have looked drunk. I didn’t care. With unsteady hands, I poured myself a glass of whiskey and began drinking.
“Hey, Chase, what’s wrong?” a soft female voice asked me, and I turned around to find myself staring into warm brown eyes. Emma’s eyes.
My brain screamed danger, but my heart said fuck it.
“Want a drink?” I asked.
She smiled and held up an empty glass.
Chapter 16
Aubrey
I should have felt more relieved to be back in Grove, Oklahoma. I fit in here. I glanced around the room, which was standing room only - packed full with people who all seemed genuinely happy for Chase and me. Here there were no plastic bimbos to compete with for Chase’s attention. No fake smiles from fake friends who’d just as soon stab me in the back. I heard no snide insults about my appearance or my clothes. Here in Grove, people treated Chase as a regular guy and my being his fiancée didn’t seem preposterous to them.
In fact, I couldn’t have been more welcomed by Chase’s family. I had expected to be intimidated by his large family, but every last one of them that I had met went out of their way to make me feel accepted. His mother had been especially sweet to me.
That’s why my stomach was tied in knots.
I hadn’t invited any of my family. My parents knew nothing of my so-called engagement and I planned to keep it that way. I had invited a few friends and old co-workers from the restaurant at Chase’s insistence, but I didn’t feel nearly as uneasy about this epic lie in front of them. Repaying the Wilder’s hospitality with this utter deceit felt like crossing a line that I was not comfortable with.
Maybe that’s why I couldn’t lie anymore to Lisa. She knew me better than anyone else in the room. When she pulled me into a corner and asked me a few probing questions, I crumbled like a house of cards.
“Why aren’t you bouncing off the walls with happiness?”
She didn’t accept my weak answers and kept digging until I admitted the truth. Finally, with a huge sigh, I let her know that the engagement was a sham and I was only going through with it for the money.
After she got over the initial shock of my confession, I had to admit that somewhere along the way, I had developed deep feelings for Chase. I had to get it off my chest. I had fallen head over heels in love with him even though he was planning on divorcing me as soon as his contract was re-signed. That the whole thing was all a business deal to him.
I squirmed while Lisa digested the bombshell I just dropped on her.
Luckily she was more the pragmatic type than judgmental. “And what are you going to do about it?”
I shrugged in resignation. “I’m going to make damn sure he never finds out my true feelings. That way, when this debacle is finally over, I can retreat to lick my wounds without feeling like the world’s biggest fool.”
“Wrong answer,” she replied, shaking her head. “You have a lot of work to do and not much time left. You need to start making him realize how much he needs you. Fight for him!”
“That’s exactly what I shouldn’t do!” I protested.
Lisa looked at me with wide eyes. “You really are insane! How could you let a man like that slip away? You need to stop holding him at arm’s length and go get him. In fact, you should be with him right now. Not with me! Go find him.”
“Lisa…”
She pushed me towards the sound of the party. “You are the world’s biggest fool. So, listen to me – right now, I am going to go find one of Chase’s hot brothers - and you need to find Chase. Now!”
I stepped back into the thrum of the party, my eyes automatically searching the room for Chase. My eyes seemed to be drawn to him like a magnet, but when I saw him, I felt my blood begin to boil. He was leaning up against the mantel of the fireplace, standing awfully close to a curvy brunette. She had on a skin-tight mini-skirt, thigh-high leather boots and bright red lipstick to match her low-cut blouse.
She was touching his arm familiarly as they laughed together, and Chase’s hand was draped casually around her back. I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach. Chase, the manwhore, didn’t even have the decency to keep his hands to himself at his own engagement party. Lisa was right. I was the world’s biggest fool.
Ignoring a few people who tried to get my attention, I made a beeline straight for the front door. I had to get out of there before I screamed. I stepped out onto the covered front porch and closed the door, cutting off the noise of the party behind me.
I took a deep breath of crisp air, trying to collect my jumbled thoughts. I wasn’t alone for even a minute, when the door opened and Chase’s sister, Dakota, joined me.
“Are you okay?” she asked tentatively.
I leaned up against the railing, surveying the landscape. “I just needed a bit of fresh air.”
Dakota joined me near the railing. “I don’t blame you. The Wilders can be a tad overwhelming. Especially Mama.”
“You’re mother has been wonderful,” I said with sincerity.
Dakota snorted. “She hasn’t started naming your children yet, has she?”
“Not that I know of…” I laughed.
“She was so excited when Chase called with the news of your engagement. We all were. It’ll be nice for me to have another woman around here.” She put her arm around my shoulder. “You can’t imagine - all the testosterone!”
“You are a bit outnumbered,” I agreed.
“The only girl and the youngest, too. I might as well live in a convent with the way my brothers are always trying to protect me.”
Dakota was a beautiful girl with stunning features that she didn’t need to highlight with a lot of makeup. Unlike her mother, she was tall like Chase, and had an air of vulnerability about her that inevitably triggered a man’s protective instinct whether she wanted it to or not. I remembered being jealous of Dakota in high school – without even lifting a finger, boys flocked to her.
I smiled. “That doesn’t seem so bad – having a bunch of people looking out for you. I guess it’s hard for me to imagine. I’m an only child.”
“Oh, as much as I complain, I do love my brothers. Funny – I didn’t expect Chase to be the first of my brothers to get hitched. I thought for sure it’d be Gage.”
I shrugg
ed non-committedly and she continued, “I definitely thought Gage would be the first to find a wife and settle down, right here on the ranch. Now, Brody – wait until you meet him – he puts the ‘wild’ in Wilder. And Cade is too busy making money. I’m not sure he’ll ever settle down. Luke, well, after his tours of duty in Afghanistan… he needs more time. But Chase? I wouldn’t have guessed him in a million years.”
She must have seen the look of despair cross my face, because she hurried on trying to reassure me. “I don’t mean that in a bad way. It’s just that you must be something special to have tamed my brother. I’m happy that he found someone like you, Aubrey.”
The conversation was suddenly making me uncomfortable and I didn’t know how to answer, so I left it at a simple ‘thanks.’ Dakota said she was getting chilly, so she left me alone on the porch with the parting instructions to ‘not take too long’ and ‘rejoin the party before Chase misses you.’
I couldn’t hide outside forever, but I was more confused than ever. Seeing Chase with that woman had hurt me. It was a grim reminder that our relationship was not real. But, if I didn’t want to look like a fool in front of all those people and if I wanted to protect our phony relationship for Chase’s sake, I had to get the drunken fool away from that bimbo.
I entered the house and immediately headed straight toward Chase and the woman. If anything, they had gotten cozier while I had been sulking on the porch. I plastered a smile on my face, marched right up to them and wedged myself between the two, which was quite a feat. “There you are, sweetheart!”
Chase looked momentarily taken aback. “Aubrey… uh, let me introduce you –”
Cutting him off, I asked in an uncharacteristically bubbly voice, “Are you having a good time, sweetheart?”
If the voice didn’t throw him off, my arms wrapping possessively around his body certainly did. Chase looked surprised, but the bimbo behind my back who he’d been flirting with knew damn well that I was marking my territory. She had no choice but to slither away in defeat.
I was about to remind Chase of the importance of keeping up appearances for the sake of his contract when someone began tapping their glass hoping to prompt a kiss between us. All eyes fell upon us as the clanking grew louder as other guests joined in.
Looking up at Chase, already trapped in my embrace, I expected to see a gleam of mischief in his eye, but was surprised to see reluctance. He must be more uncomfortable fooling his family with this phony engagement than he had let on.
I gave him a dazzling smile, meant to reassure him, before I looped my arms around his neck and pulled him down and kissed him like I meant it. Chase returned the kiss stiffly; he was clearly taken aback at first, expecting a much more modest kiss from me, but I didn’t hold back. I drew him in until I felt him returning my kiss in earnest. My heart felt as if it would burst from my chest.
In the back of my mind, I heard the polite applause from our audience turn into bawdy whoops and cheers at our lengthy romantic kiss. Somewhere in that time, I lost all control of the toe-curling kiss and surrendered to Chase. Luckily, he held me steady when he lifted his lips from mine.
The guests returned to their conversations and drinks, while I self-consciously unwrapped myself from Chase. I was still reeling from the heady kiss and silently berating myself for taking it too far. How would I explain that one to Chase?
Chase’s mom picked the right moment to join us, smoothing out the awkward scene. “Chase, do you mind if I steal Aubrey away for a moment?”
Chase was looking at me quizzically. “No. I just saw Pete Fowler arrive. I’d like to say hello to him. He’s my old football coach.”
Chase’s mother took my arm and guided me away. “Aubrey, I hope you’re having a good time.”
“Oh, I am, Mrs. Wilder. Uh… Mary.”
“Good. Good.” She led me to the staircase. “Come upstairs with me for a moment. I have a present for you.”
I immediately felt guilty. “A present? That wasn’t necessary, Mary. You shouldn’t have.”
Mary waved away my protests. “Oh, it’s nothing much. Well, it’s not really worth a lot of money. But it has a lot of sentimental value.”
For some reason, that seemed even worse.
Mary led me into her bedroom. She took a long rectangular jewelry box from off the top of her dresser and opened it. Smiling, she pulled the delicate chain of a necklace from the cotton lining, gently fingering the gold ring that dangled from the end of the chain.
“This belonged to my mother – Chase’s grandmother. It’s a promise ring that my father gave to her before he left to serve in World War 2. I believe they called it a ‘forget-me-not’ ring. He gave it to my mother so that she wouldn’t forget him while he was fighting in the war.”
She handed it to me, pointing out the inscription on the inside. “Can you see the lettering inside? It says: No Love More True Than Mine To You.”
I turned the gold band so I could make out the tiny words. “It’s beautiful!”
“As my mother told me, it wasn’t an engagement ring, but more of a symbol of their love and trust. They were quite in love when he went off to war. She knew she wouldn’t see him for years, very possibly she would never see him again. With this ring, he was asking my mother to wait for him…”
“I can’t accept this gift, Mary. I’m sure you want to keep this ring in the family—“
Mary laughed and patted my arm. “Of course I want to keep it in the family. That’s why I’m giving it to you!”
She paused for a moment, as if considering something and then continued, “I can tell by the way Chase looks at you and how he talks about you – that he’s very much in love. I know my son. And you love him too. You need to trust in that love. It will pull you through any hardships or trials that you go through. And believe me--it’s never smooth sailing when it comes to love.”
I wanted desperately to believe what she told me was true – that Chase and I were in love and we could work through any problem together. Instead, I was just as guilty as her own son in deceiving this incredibly sweet and kind woman.
“Thank you. It’s such an honor to receive this.” Secretly, I knew I’d be shamefully returning the gift in the near future.
Mary gave me a hug. “I thought that it’d be the perfect ‘something old’ for you to wear on your wedding day. I have a feeling my parents will be watching over the ceremony from above.”
We rejoined the party. After Mary’s touching gift, I was feeling especially guilty. I was trying to find Chase when I quite literally bumped into his brother, Gage.
“Whoa. Where’s the fire?”
I felt my face heat with embarrassment for being so clumsy. “Sorry! I’m looking for Chase. Have you seen him?”
Gage crossed his arms, looking me over as if he’d just caught me stealing the silver. “I saw him talking with Bud Stevenson out on the porch.”
“I didn’t know Bud was here. I should go say hello.”
I took a step to head for the door, but Gage inched in front of me blocking my way. “Be careful what you’re doing, Aubrey. Don’t break his heart.”
Gage turned and walked away, leaving my mouth gaping in disbelief behind him. What was he talking about? The only heart in danger was my own. I shook my head at his cryptic remarks and decided I needed some fresh air.
I found Chase and Bud on the front porch talking urgently together in hushed tones. Chase, who was facing me, looked angry.
I pushed open the screen door and stepped onto the porch. “Hi Bud. It’s nice to see you again.”
Bud spun around guiltily, as if the two were just talking about me. He smiled uneasily. “Hi Miss Aubrey. My congratulations on your upcoming wedding.”
“Thank you. What do you two look so serious about?”
Bud shuffled his feet. “I don’t want to ruin your party. It’s best I let Chase here tell you about it. I’ll just go say hello to Miss Mary.”
Bud left Chase and me standing on the p
orch alone.
“What’s going on?” I asked. “Is it about my shelter?”
He hesitated.
I needed to know. “Chase, just tell me!”
“The letter from your lawyer didn’t work,” he admitted. “Your appeal has been denied. Spencer Cortland and the rest of the town council want to shut you down – permanently.”
A bolt of anger shot through me. “Unbelievable! It’s so unfair. What a bunch of corrupt, heartless jackasses! They couldn’t even hear my case because they know damn well just how wrong they are.”
“To hell with them.” He shrugged, as if I shouldn’t have a care in the world. “Don’t worry about it.”
I stared at him in outrage. He sounded so...complacent. “Don’t worry about it? Don’t worry about it? How can you say that? My life’s dream has just gone up in smoke, for God’s sake!”
“Easy, Aubrey—”
“The letter was my last hope,” I bit out. Tears pricked the backs of my eyelids. “And I can’t ask your family to take my rescue dogs forever. Especially after our…you know.” I couldn’t get myself to utter the word ‘divorce’.
Chase folded me into his arms and stroked my hair softly. “Shh. Don’t worry about that.”
I yanked myself away from him. “It would be nice if you tried to give a crap!”
“I do care,” he started, but I didn’t want to hear his platitudes. Chase was the kind of guy who’d always gotten what he wanted. What did he know about broken dreams? I spun away from him.
“Hey, Aubrey. Wait!” He caught up to me and grabbed my arm. “Where are you going?”
Again, I pulled away. “Home,” I snapped.
“Let me come with you. There’s something I want to tell you--”
“Go back to your party!” I started walking faster. “I don’t want to hear any more.” After a few seconds, I risked a glance backward, and saw him standing there, hands open, his handsome face creased with a frown.