She sighed. “Yes.”
“Then you must not want him enough.”
“I don’t,” she said. “Not anymore.” That didn’t mean what she was going through didn’t hurt. The disappointment, the disillusionment, the sense of betrayal and the blow to her self-esteem were very real and ever-present, especially when she was in Whiskey Creek. But she couldn’t get back with Kyle knowing he had a child with her sister. How would they interact with that child? How would they interact with her family?
At least, for the first time since falling in love with Kyle, she was feeling desire for another man. The excitement that brought told her life after Kyle was possible; she just had to be careful or she’d land herself in an even worse situation.
“I’m glad to hear it,” he said.
Suddenly she became very conscious of the fact that she was wearing nothing but her panties and shirt. She was better covered than if she were wearing a bathing suit. But what had almost happened last night, what she’d wanted to have happen, made her feel very exposed.
The way his gaze traveled over her body, as intimate as a caress, made her breasts tingle. She struggled to find her voice. “Did I really try to rip off my clothes when you put me to bed?”
He grinned, which was answer enough.
“Thought so.” She’d actually brought it up so she could apologize. “I’m sorry. From what you said on the phone, I assumed that…that you might welcome a bed partner.”
“You think I was rejecting you?”
She felt her eyebrows slide up. “Weren’t you? I slept alone last night.”
“Next time ask me when I have the option of saying yes.”
Chapter Eight
Olivia had left her luggage at Brandon’s house. Since she didn’t have a better place to stay, it’d seemed silly to lug it in so she could get ready, then lug it back out. He would have done the carrying for her, of course. He was a gentleman that way. But since her family already knew she was with him, there was no reason to leave his cabin on their account. He’d invited her to use his guest room for as long as she wanted, and she figured she might as well take him up on it.
That meant she’d be going back.... “Olivia, what do you think?”
She blinked before focusing on her mother, who was wearing a flowery dress and had her hair sectioned off in rollers with a scarf tied over the lot, making her look very 1960s housewife. “About what?”
“The bows that go on the chairs!” The impatience in Nancy’s voice suggested she’d already asked once. “Noelle doesn’t think they match the table runners.
Are you sure these are the shade we ordered?”
Removing the sunglasses she’d been using to hide her bloodshot eyes, Olivia tried to focus. She’d expected these meetings to be difficult. But she was so preoccupied with Brandon, she was finding them more of a nuisance than a challenge.
“They’re a shade off,” she admitted. “I borrowed these from River City to save money, remember? That’s what you wanted me to do.”
“But will they look bad?” Nancy refastened a roller that was threatening to fall. Olivia had tried to convince her that a round brush and a blow drier would give her the curl she wanted, but she insisted her hair looked best when she “put it up” for a day—and she was going all out for the wedding.
“I think they’ll be fine,” Olivia assured her. “They won’t be right up against each other. See?” She held the two fabrics a few inches apart. “You won’t notice they’re not exact, especially with all the shades of pink and peach in the flower arrangements.”
“I don’t know....” Noelle shot her an accusing glower. “I thought they’d match better than that.”
She said this as if it was Olivia’s fault they didn’t, although it had been Noelle’s choice. She’d wanted to save money on the chair covers so she could get a pair of very expensive heels that wouldn’t even show beneath her dress.
Noelle wanted this to be the wedding of the century, which was so unrealistic.
But it wasn’t only the color of the chair bows that was bothering her. She’d been hostile all morning. Olivia could feel the animosity; she just wasn’t sure of the cause. Was it the difficulty of pulling off an event like this? Or was it that Noelle knew Kyle had called her last night? That he’d come to the bar to get her?
Maybe she’d been the cause of a fight....
Or was Noelle upset that she was hanging out with Brandon?
The suspicion that her sister was once again jealous of the man in her life— even though she and Brandon weren’t as romantically involved as Noelle thought—made Olivia nervous. After everything Noelle had done to get Kyle, including, possibly, a purposeful pregnancy, she had no business even noticing Brandon.
“Regardless, it’s too late to change now,” Olivia said. Normally she would’ve gone to greater pains to reassure the bride, but she meant that statement in more ways than one. Noelle had made her decision. And in the process, she’d hurt and embarrassed Olivia, cost their parents a great deal of money by demanding such an expensive wedding, made a public fool of Kyle and humiliated herself.
Now she was carrying Kyle’s baby.
It was time for her to quit being so selfish.
“We could do without the bows,” her mother suggested, obviously trying to placate Noelle.
“Is that what you want?” Olivia turned to her sister, making it clear by her tone that she didn’t care either way.
Noelle pressed her fingers to her eyes. “Ugh! This is turning into a nightmare! Some wedding planner you are. I thought having a wedding was supposed to be fun.”
“I think it helps to be in love,” Olivia murmured. Fortunately Nancy didn’t hear. Abby was showing her where they’d set up the table for all the candy.
“I am in love!” Noelle insisted.
“With Kyle or Brandon?” Olivia asked.
Noelle’s lips thinned and her eyes grew so cold they gave Olivia chills. “You’re trying to ruin my wedding!”
Seriously? Was that all she was concerned about? There was so much more at stake!
“I’m afraid you’re going to ruin Kyle’s life,” she responded, realizing, for the first time, that what she’d suffered might turn out to be paltry by comparison.
***
“How’d it go today?” Brandon asked as he let her in.
Olivia was so tired she could scarcely move. This week had been emotionally draining. Add to that her late night at the bar, and a day spent in her sister’s company, and she was ready to crawl into bed. She hadn’t even taken the time to have lunch. She’d been running too late, so she’d gone all day without a meal. But they had to be at the rehearsal dinner in an hour. She’d eat then.
“It was weird,” she told him.
He went into the kitchen as she dropped onto his couch.
“It’s always weird when your sister is marrying the man you love,” he said. Love? Or loved? She couldn’t decide anymore.
She thought back on the last seven hours. Her sister had grown more and more hateful throughout the day. Olivia felt sorry for their mother, who’d worked extra hard to stay positive and enthusiastic in the face of their long, sullen silences. “It got even weirder than that,” she said.
“In what way?” He brought her a sliced orange, which she accepted gratefully.
“I’m beginning to feel sorry for Kyle, if that makes any sense.”
“Makes all the sense in the world to me. I feel sorry for him, too.”
She offered him a tired grin. “That’s harsh. Just because she stalked you for a few months?”
A chuckle let her know he understood she was teasing. “It was the creepiest thing I’ve ever been through, seeing her face staring in at me through the window.”
“I suspect she still has a thing for you.” He tried to shrug it off. “Don’t say that.”
“It’s true. Our…relationship is driving her crazy. I’d tell her we haven’t slept together, but I don’t think she’d
believe me.”
“She’s getting married. It shouldn’t matter to her either way.”
She savored the sweetness of the orange he’d given her. “Unless she’s only in it for the shoes.”
“The shoes?”
“The trappings, the party, the celebration, the attention. This wedding shines a bright light on her and announces to everyone in Whiskey Creek that Kyle, a guy highly admired, prefers her to every other woman, including me.”
“The sad truth is…he doesn’t.”
“I don’t even care anymore.” Pushing her plate away, she leaned back and closed her eyes. “All I want is for this wedding to be over.”
“You’re exhausted.”
She didn’t answer. She told herself she could rest for fifteen minutes. Then she had to get ready. She had to get through the rehearsal dinner. But Brandon nudged her before she could drift off. “Come on. Nap on the bed. It’ll be more comfortable.”
“I can’t move,” she objected, but that didn’t deter him. He simply scooped her up and carried her down the hall.
When he took her to his room instead of hers, she didn’t have the energy to protest. At the moment, she was worthless as a sex partner. She just hoped he’d curl up beside her, lend her his strength and his warmth. But the next thing she knew, she was facedown on his pillow, breathing in the scent that lingered there—the same scent that clung to his body—as his fingers massaged the tight muscles in her neck and shoulders.
She groaned. “Why are you being so nice to me?”
He laughed softly. “Don’t trust it. Considering what you do to me, I have only evil intentions.”
“Would it make you any less of a villain to lie down with me?”
“I suppose that wouldn’t hurt my reputation too much,” he said wryly and scooted in beside her.
With his shoulder as her pillow and his fingers moving gently through her hair, she felt oddly content as she drifted off.
***
A screech woke Brandon from a dead sleep. One look at Olivia, blinking awake next to him, told him she hadn’t made that sound. She was as startled as he was. So what—
Then the sound came again—”O-li-via!”—and he realized what was going on. “Shit! The rehearsal dinner!”
Olivia was already scrambling off the bed, but she didn’t have a chance to speak before Noelle started screaming again.
“I know you’re in there, damn you!” She banged on the door. “How could you? How could you do this to me?”
“What time is it?” Olivia cried. “Nearly eight.”
Her face went pale. “Oh, God! I overslept.”
Brandon felt terrible. “I’m sorry. I never intended to fall asleep. I just shut my eyes for a minute.”
She rubbed her face as if trying to get her bearings. “We have to go.”
Galvanized into action, he hopped out of bed. “You go change. I’ll answer the door.”
“No, I’ll answer. She’s so upset there’s no telling what she might say.”
“Exactly.” He gave her a little push. “Better if she says it to me. She can’t hurt me, and it might blow off some of the steam. Get ready.”
Although reluctant to let him handle her temperamental sister, she seemed to understand the urgency of showing up at the dinner party—where the rest of the wedding party was waiting for them.
“I’ve got it,” he assured her, and she hurried into the bathroom. “Olivia!” Noelle yelled.
He opened the door before she could knock again.
She immediately stepped back so she could look up at him. “Where’s my sister?”
“Getting ready. You can head back. We’ll be there as soon as we can.”
“You’ll be there? Why weren’t you there an hour ago?”
He stepped out and closed the door so that Olivia wouldn’t have to hear this. “We fell asleep, okay? I’m sorry about that—”
“You’re not sorry for anything!” She looked a little crazed with her hair falling out of whatever was holding it up. “You’re busy banging my sister when it’s supposed to be my turn!”
Knowing she couldn’t have meant that quite the way it sounded, he raised his eyebrows, giving her a chance to clarify.
“To have what I want,” she said, her cheeks flashing red. “To have everyone’s cooperation. It’s my wedding. This isn’t about you…or her!”
“Then don’t make it about us,” he said. “Go ahead and enjoy it. We aren’t standing in your way.”
“Yes, you are! She’s my planner! She’s supposed to be there taking care of things!”
He lowered his voice, hoping she’d do the same. “The wedding isn’t until tomorrow, Noelle. Everything will be fine. Just…calm down, okay? Your sister doesn’t need you to flip out right now.”
“You’re worried about what she needs? What about me?”
“What about you?” he retorted. “Have you ever stopped to consider how what you’ve done—what you’re doing—might be making her feel?”
She narrowed her eyes at his mussed hair and wrinkled clothes. “I know what she’s been feeling,” she said and stomped away.
***
Olivia was so self-conscious about entering the ballroom more than an hour late, and with Brandon at her side, she could barely stand it. But she couldn’t turn back time. And since Noelle had probably announced that she’d found them together, Olivia saw no benefit in appearing separately. Bringing two vehicles to the rehearsal wasn’t going to fool anyone. She’d actually been glad that, with her nerves in such a riot, she hadn’t needed to drive the steep mountain road from Brandon’s house to town.
The instant they stepped through the door, twenty-four sets of eyes turned in their direction. Kyle’s family. Her family. Lindsey Manelli, Noelle’s maid of honor and best friend. The tight-knit group Kyle had grown up with, including the female members, who were in Noelle’s line because she wouldn’t have had much of a line without them.
Olivia had expected to attract everyone’s attention—the entire party had been waiting for her—yet she still felt her stomach muscles tighten. Brandon, on the other hand, seemed to take it in stride. He smiled as if he was completely relaxed and had no reason to be embarrassed. And he kept his hand at the small of her back, encouraging her to follow his lead.
She tried, but her smile faltered when her father pinned her beneath a disapproving stare. She’d figured her mother would squawk and Noelle would rant and then pout. She’d known their reactions wouldn’t be easy to take—she still had that to look forward to—but this was harder. Unlike her mother, who refused to see her sister’s shortcomings, her father knew Noelle had problems. Although he obviously loved his youngest daughter, Ham often shook his head in disgust when she was being shallow or selfish.
With Olivia, however, it was different. She had always been able to maintain his respect. But with that came high expectations. And she’d just let him down.
Trying not to allow his disappointment, her sister’s angry glare or Kyle’s stony expression to attack her confidence, she apologized to the wedding party at large, without providing an excuse for her tardiness. Then she ran through a brief rehearsal just to make sure everyone was aware of how the ceremony should proceed. Fortunately Abby from the Pullman Mansion had taken over in her absence, so they already knew what she was telling them.
Then they were off to the upscale restaurant in the front of the mansion, where Kyle had booked a private room for everyone to have a steak dinner. The chicken or pasta would’ve been cheaper. Olivia had pointed that out. But Noelle had insisted that she could never serve less than the best at her wedding. And since Kyle was paying for it, Noelle was getting everything she wanted—the most expensive meal on the menu along with some fancy Napa Valley champagne.
“Was being in his bed worth it?” Noelle hissed in Olivia’s ear.
Olivia turned to see her sister filing into the room behind her as everyone fanned out, trying to find a seat.
“Wor
th what?” She edged toward the middle table, where the bride and her family and the groom and his family were to sit. She was hoping to avoid a confrontation by slipping away before Noelle could really engage her, but Noelle managed a parting shot all the same.
“Looking like a slut in front of both our families and all of Kyle’s friends!”
Those friends used to be her friends, until Noelle had stolen Kyle and made it too awkward for Olivia to hang out with them. Incensed to think her sister would dare take that tack after what she’d done, Olivia almost let her have it.
But then she glanced up and caught Brandon watching her. As he walked through the crowded room, he gave her a half smile and a wink that reminded her to take it on the chin—or at least pretend to.
Ignoring Noelle and Gail DeMarco, Noah Rackham, Baxter North, Callie Vanetta, even Cheyenne Christensen, her favorite of Kyle’s friends, Olivia began to circle the center table. She was hoping to put several place settings between her and Noelle. But her sister had saved the seat next to her.
“Olivia, why don’t you sit here by me?” she said as sweetly as if she hadn’t just called Olivia a slut.
Olivia suspected her sister of trying to keep her from sitting beside Brandon, but she had no intention of doing that, anyway—not under the watchful eyes of both sets of parents, neither of whom seemed pleased by their friendship.
Maybe they believed Noelle and thought she and Brandon were trying to ruin the wedding.
“Noelle!” Kyle’s chastening tone surprised Olivia. Clearly he wasn’t happy. He seemed to be cautioning his fiancée against baiting her, but Noelle ignored him.
“Well?” Her sister lifted her eyebrows.
Feeling Kyle’s parents’ attention on her, Olivia suppressed her anger. She’d be damned if she’d let Noelle make her look any worse than she already did. “Coming.”
Once they were all seated, the tension eased enough for polite conversation. Everyone joined in except Kyle. He remained silent, drinking far more than he ate.
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