by L. J. Wilson
Aaron yelled after him, “Did you learn nothing from what happened to me?”
Troy spun around, tucking the envelope in the pocket of his jeans. “Hell, yeah. I learned everything from you. Whose rep do you think got me the job?”
Aaron needed to take one thing at a time. He’d shake the kid down later, call in Alec and Honor. As a unit, they could talk some sense into him. Hell, maybe even Jake would spare the time for his family. Jake. He’d called a few nights before—apologies, excuses. Words about a remote shoot in South America and a schedule that didn’t give him a second to take a piss. Aaron couldn’t relate to any of it, only the awkwardness they both felt. At the end, he did hear Jake. “Hey, I… I’m glad you’re out, Aaron. I’ll never understand what went down… We, um… we’ve been living in two different worlds. But I never stopped thinking about you… not for a minute.”
Standing at the edge of Abstract Enchantment’s kitchen, Aaron felt a pang of guilt. Jake had a right to his life. And present sibling issues aside, Aaron would soon have a right to his too. It settled his mood slightly. Having Ruby there, that alone would be a tremendous help when it came to Troy. He reminded himself again: One thing at a time… Aaron glanced at the clock. He was sure the minutes of that morning had ticked by slower than any others in the realm of time.
“Aaron, did you see Ruby?” Honor asked.
“Uh, no,” he said, the thought jerking him out of his funk. “Is she looking for me?”
“No, not yet. It’s just the look on your face, you seem upset.”
He took a breath and took it down a notch. From across the kitchen, Aaron watched Troy feign the everyday business of being his big sister’s helper, arranging food on a tray. Aaron remembered that state of mind, doing small shit to keep anyone around him from figuring out bigger shit. Shit that mattered. Shit that could get them killed. He forced a smile. “I’m fine. Just anxious. Listen, I know you mean well, but I’ve got to go out there, see Ruby. See what’s going on.”
Reluctantly, she nodded. “I’m amazed I managed to keep you in here this long.”
“Me too,” Aaron said, picking up a tray of napkins and cutlery.
At the edge of Abstract Enchantment’s dining room, Aaron surveyed the collection of suits, men and women. It was an executive blob of Windamere power. But mimosas and Bloody Marys were making the rounds, and the atmosphere was more party than a corporate meeting. That was a good thing. If this part went well, Stefan could fall back on his success. Aaron didn’t see Ruby. But he did find himself thinking about the suits—what those people had accomplished. Their wardrobe did a lot of talking. It made Aaron think about prison orange and what it said about him.
He heaved a sigh as Honor’s voice cut in. “At least look busy.” She brushed by, tending to some cuisine detail. Aaron shuffled into a corner, restocking a prep station. He glanced up and almost dumped the entire tray. Ruby was there, at a distance, the only non-suit in the room. She wore a slinky wraparound dress. It was a brightly colored pattern in a sea of conservative attire. Faster than a blink, she made eye contact—or he did. Even faster, she turned away. He abandoned the prep station and moved through the room. Strangers stood shoulder to shoulder. This wasn’t the place for the conversation they needed to have. It wouldn’t stop him. She startled as his hand brushed along her arm. “Ruby…” She turned and Aaron swore her chin quivered. She was tall in heels, and he couldn’t keep from absorbing the deep plunge of her neckline, more makeup than she’d normally wear. She took a step back, bumping into the man behind her.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured. But Aaron wasn’t sure if she was talking to him or the man she’d collided with. “Aaron. I, um…” She tucked a thatch of hair behind her ear, the large diamond still dancing on her ring finger.
“Ruby, what’s going on?” He managed to say it in a whisper, though the words were screaming out of him. He really didn’t want an answer. Aaron wanted to grab her by the hand and leave Abstract Enchantment behind them.
“I… I can’t talk now.” A man with a camera called Ruby’s name, asking that she join them for pictures. “You should get back. Honor… Troy,” she said loudly, “they’re counting on you.”
Then she was gone, swallowed by throngs of Windamere corporate executives.
Aaron struggled for calm and looked for Stefan. He was making his way toward Ruby. Aaron shoved his hands in his pockets, an old prison trick—a steadying mechanism when you really wanted to rip some con’s balls off. Trusting that Ruby had a plan, that things would work out better if he kept his cool, Aaron retreated to the prep station.
“I’ll take one of those.” Vanessa Trudeau stood—or more like swayed—beside him, a Bloody Mary in her hand. “The napkins… Could I have one?”
He looked at Vanessa like she’d asked the question in another language.
“Hang on,” she said to the nearby waiter. She took another Bloody Mary from the tray and handed it to Aaron, securing her own napkin. “You look like you could use one too. Shouldn’t Abstract Enchantment’s assistant manager be joining the inaugural festivities? Why are you working kitchen crew?”
Aaron dragged his gaze from Ruby, who smiled vaguely into flashing cameras. “Helping Honor.” Vanessa was the only other color in the room, flaming red hair and a violet-colored body-hugging suit.
“Brotherly of you.”
“Whatever Honor needs. She’s, um… she’s counting on me,” he said, repeating Ruby’s words, which sounded like some sort of code. Aaron sipped the drink, staring in Ruby’s direction. But she’d turned her back, talking to people who didn’t matter. Maybe it was caution—of course the ring on her finger suggested she hadn’t broached the subject with Stefan. Aaron tried to be positive, find the benefit of the doubt. Considering the importance of the day, it could be that she’d agreed to a temporary pretense. But why wouldn’t she have given him a head’s up? Ruby’s stare was focused on Stefan, who was focusing on Honor. Their conversation was intense, even animated. Eventually, Stefan strode off, stopping near Troy where he slapped a hand on the shoulder of Aaron’s younger brother. He said something to him. Aaron narrowed his eyes. As far as he knew, Stefan didn’t know Troy. Aaron was back to Ruby. Her gaze was also fixated on the Clairmont siblings. Stefan continued toward her. On his way, he offered a slight nod directed at Chloe Pike, who peddled a tray of mini-quiches. Aaron scanned the scene, trying to match actions with intention, but none of it made sense.
His gaze froze as Stefan’s arm slid around Ruby. It was as if yesterday had never happened. Stefan leaned and whispered intently in her ear. Her expression was hard to read, as if all her energy was accounted for trying to control it. Stefan kissed her on the cheek. Aaron’s grip tightened around the cold glass of the Bloody Mary.
“Lovely couple, aren’t they?”
Aaron’s glance jerked to Vanessa, whose reaction didn’t read lovely. If he had to guess, he’d say her admiring tone was total bullshit.
She took a lingering sip of her Bloody Mary, her eyes meeting his. “And it looks like you need to catch up. Trust me, the third Bloody Mary will dull that pained look on your face,” she said. “Seriously, Aaron, what’s wrong?”
He forced himself to get a grip. Vanessa Trudeau, Stefan’s savvy business better half was the last problem he needed.
“I didn’t think Ruby would be joining this morning’s events.” He shrugged. “She doesn’t work for Windamere or Abstract Enchantment.”
“No, but she does belong to Stefan, and that’s basically the same thing.”
He strongly warned himself not to react.
“Besides,” she said, “I have it on good authority that Stefan will be mixing business with pleasure today. Seems Stefan’s bitc… betrothed is playing a part in his grand ‘Welcome to Abstract Enchantment plan.’”
“You, um… do you have a problem with Ruby?” Aaron said.
Vanessa’s eyes turned cat-like, taking another gulp of her drink. If she wasn’t drunk, she was damn c
lose. “I don’t get the girl, or Stefan’s attachment to her. But mostly I have a problem with any female who gets between Stefan and me.”
“Stefan and…” Aaron’s head shook. “Meaning other than in terms of business?”
She didn’t answer. Instead, Vanessa gestured her drink toward the man in charge, who had moved to a podium. Ruby stood alongside him, her hands wringing together. “Shh,” Vanessa said. “I don’t want to miss this. If I don’t record my exact internal reaction, it will be impossible to convey to my therapist.” Vanessa put down her drink and pushed her shoulders back as if preparing for a moment. She glanced again at Aaron. “Listen, why don’t you come by the carriage house later? I’d love to fuck you there.”
His body jerked toward the remark, the tray of silverware rattling.
“Seriously,” she said. “My therapist would frown on the coping mechanism, but…” Vanessa’s pale eyes washed over him before moving forward into the crowd. “I suspect you could do wonders for my mood. It might even help yours.”
Aaron’s mouth gaped. Fortunately, a reply wasn’t necessary as the room’s collective attention turned to Stefan. At first he prattled on about Abstract Enchantment, sounding like a proud father, stating Windamere’s hopes for its model boutique inn. Aaron’s eyes never moved from Ruby. In turn, she seemed to be avoiding his.
“And now, on a more personal note,” Stefan said, “and because I feel it’s the perfect complement to Abstract Enchantment’s grand opening, I want to make an announcement.” Appearing corporate and svelte, Stefan smiled broader than in the moments before. “Many of you have met my darling fiancée, Ruby Vasquez. We had plans to marry next month in California. I’m afraid I must announce that’s not going to happen.”
Aaron took a measured breath, the Bloody Mary still in his hand. Okay, here it comes… though it doesn’t sound as if… Ruby’s blank stare inched from the crowd onto Aaron. Her onyx eyes were shiny. She blinked ferociously.
“Our California wedding has been canceled,” Stefan said, his arm embracing Ruby, “because we’re getting married here, on the shores of Butterfield Lake!” The crowd burst into polite applause and surprised whispers. “What better way to celebrate the opening of our beautiful Abstract Enchantment than with an ‘in-house’ wedding.” Stefan’s glass motioned toward Ruby. “If you’d all join me in toasting my lovely, soon-to-be wife.”
Aaron couldn’t breathe. There was only a dull awareness of glass shattering, shards sinking into his hand—it paled compared to what he felt inside. He lunged forward. There were only a hundred people and a banquet room between him and Stefan. A hand gripped like a vise on his shoulder, stopping him. Strength equaling his own bent Aaron’s arm back, locking him in place. A voice hissed in his ear. “Just be cool. You’re coming with me.”
At first Aaron was furious. Sometime later he knew he owed Alec a thank you. If he hadn’t shown up, they’d both be waiting for Aaron to be arraigned for murder. And this time, he wouldn’t have missed. This time it would have come off exactly as Brikk and Jerry had planned. Instead, Aaron stood across from his brother, who sat on the hood of his car at the basin of Lake Butterfield.
Alec had stopped by Abstract Enchantment to see how things were going. With the noise, the surprise, and the crowd pulsing forward to offer congratulations, no one had noticed Aaron’s outburst. And for anyone who did, blood was mistaken for spilled tomato juice. Alec had wrapped a linen napkin around Aaron’s bleeding hand and ushered his brother out a fire exit. Since then, they’d talked about what happened yesterday and that morning.
“Aaron, it could be anything. Anything from what I suggested yesterday, Ruby just reliving a moment to something a whole lot bigger.”
“And at this point, I’d stake my life on bigger.”
“I told you, my contacts did a thorough check on Stefan. He reads clean—Hamburg to here.”
“Or he’s really good.” Aaron hopped down off the hood of the car. With his uninjured hand, he grabbed the biggest rock that would fit in his fist. It sailed, hitting the water like a missile. Aaron was surprised it didn’t land on the other side.
“So what’s your next move? Let me rephrase. What’s your next move that won’t land you back at Biddeford?”
Gingerly, Aaron pulled the blood-soaked napkin from his hand. At least it was the left one, and the bleeding had stopped. “Talk to Ruby. But the way she avoided me… Either she didn’t want to, or she couldn’t. But nothing back there added up—including Vanessa Trudeau.
“The fuckable redhead? Honor’s pointed her out. What’s she got to do with this?”
Aaron sighed, his eyes narrowing. “Honor’s right. You are a pig when it comes to women. According to Shauna, Vanessa is deep into all Stefan’s business dealings. But the vibe I got, the way she was acting—that wedding bomb had her as rattled as it did me.” He snickered at his brother. “Of course, you’ll love this part. Out of nowhere, Vanessa does this wicked one-eighty and invites me up to the carriage house—”
Alec hopped down off the car, slapping his brother’s arm. “Was I wrong?”
“You weren’t,” he admitted. “Vanessa seriously offered to fuck me at my earliest convenience.”
“No shit? Damn, different circumstance and…” He raised a brow at his brother. “Sorry. Keep going.”
“Vanessa clearly did not have any love for Ruby, something about not liking anyone who got between her and Stefan. What do you make of that?”
Alec’s arms folded across his broad chest. “I’d have to say it sounds like something is going on there. But Aaron, whatever you do, you need to— ”
“I know. I need to be damn careful for all our sakes, but mostly Ruby and Honor… hell, maybe even Troy.”
“Troy? When did he roll into this mess?”
Aaron shook his head. “Big brother, I’m afraid I have some bad news about little brother. That and now I’m wondering how he might fit into a Stefan Gerard puzzle.”
Ruby was positive about one thing—Aaron wouldn’t give up. He’d demand an explanation. Damn. He may not even wait for that much. He’d just want her away from Stefan. So she took a risk, one that would ensure privacy and keep Aaron from storming Abstract Enchantment. A move like that would be a guaranteed disaster. Sitting, waiting, Ruby understood that her chosen location would require incredible strength, inconceivable resistance. She closed her eyes and curled her fists tight. Emotion could not run this room. Instead of reliving every heated moment that had taken place in the space where she sat, Ruby imagined Aaron in prison. Stefan’s threat was real, as would be Aaron’s fate. Twenty more years of his life behind bars, twenty years as a free man—even if it was without her. There weren’t any choices to make, just the mission she had to execute.
With her eyes closed, Ruby thought about Honor, a woman who’d fought back from two tragedies, her parents’ deaths and Rowen’s. Ruby would not be the cause of a third. And Troy, he’d barely lived. It would kill Aaron to see his brother hooked on drugs or suffering any of the outcomes Stefan had promised. But it was within her power to stop it—all of it. Stefan had set a price, and Ruby would pay it. So she continued to sit, eyes shut, focused on Stefan’s ugly to-do list. Eventually, she heard the door creak open and Ruby’s heart nearly leapt from her chest. How deep was her resolve? Ruby guessed she was about to find out.
“What the—”
The door shut, and Ruby opened her eyes. Seeing him made time fly backward, slamming into her stomach, keeping her seated. Aaron stood in his bedroom, Ruby staring up from the overstuffed chair. Funny. She couldn’t recall ever just sitting there. Well, it was a whole damn new world, wasn’t it?
“Why didn’t you call me? Are you okay? What the hell is going on and how long have you been here?”
Ruby held up a hand. “A while,” she said. “I don’t have your cell phone number. It took you longer to come back here than I thought. I was starting to think I’d guessed wrong. That maybe you’d… Did you go back to—”
>
“Abstract Enchantment? No,” Aaron said, dropping his keys onto the nightstand. “I talked to Alec. He convinced me to wait until tomorrow to burn the fucking place down.”
Despite the inevitable brutality, Ruby smiled. She’d come in time. Aaron appeared physically unaffected—well, almost. She saw a bandage. “What happened to your hand?”
“Nothing compared to what’s happening to my life. But you’re here. So you must be willing to at least talk.”
“Yes, talk. That’s exactly why I’m here.” But his presence had flustered her internal calm, and Ruby was having trouble finding a starting point. She remained in the chair, her fingertips digging hard into its arms. Even in a white dress shirt, which was so not Aaron, he radiated magnetism. Being in a room with him, it forever had the strangest influence. Ruby felt like someone else around him—or when he was around her. All the years gone, and her mind still clouded with visuals, the small mannerisms that matched her memories—Aaron’s rolled-up sleeves revealing the tense muscle of his forearms. Penetrating eyes—they looked right through her, a sweet divot in his chin. His shirt buttons were undone, a sleeveless undershirt exposed. Aaron always favored that kind, the ribbed cotton riding his body like a soft layer of skin. Skin that had so perfectly melded with hers. Pinching her eyes shut, Ruby turned her head. Since he’d walked in, the tension had increased tenfold. Maybe she could say her piece with her eyes closed.
“Ruby.” His voice was filled with so many things—confusion, anger, pain… need. “Look at me.”
She refused, refocusing on the braided rug beneath their feet. Locks of hair slipped forward, covering her face. It helped.
But clearly Aaron was done making polite requests. His hands clasped around her shoulders, and he plucked her from the chair. “Tell me what’s going on. Tell me why that son of a bitch is under the impression he’s marrying you next week on the beach—our beach.”
“Because he is,” she said, fast and sharp. Ruby felt a quake to her body—she wasn’t sure if it was an internal tremble or Aaron shaking her. Her hair shuffled back and bravely Ruby met his dismal gaze. “Be… because that’s what I want. That’s why I came here,” she said firmly. Aaron let go, and it surprised her. Ruby’s gut screamed “Wait… hold onto me…” Her brain maintained control. “Last night was a mistake. I realized that when I got back to Abstract Enchantment. I’m sorry if that hurts you. I’m sorry if I’ve confused things. Aaron, you and I… we have an intense physical attraction. I admit that.”