Something Borrowed

by Kincaid, Kimberly

  He took a step toward her, his heart slamming in his chest from how badly he wanted her to believe him. “I don’t want a glass that’s half-full. I want the whole damn bottle. I want you. I know you. And I think you meant it when you said you think we could be happy together.”

  For a split second, her gaze softened, but then she snapped an expressionless stare in its place. “If that’s what you think, then you don’t know me at all. I’m not a glass half-full kind of girl. Especially not with a manipulator like you.”

  #

  Sasha tucked her knees to her chest, curling deeper into the chair in the lobby of the inn as she watched the muted sunlight poke through the trees. She’d given up on sleep at about two AM, and even though Sully had silently packed his bag and headed to the airport an hour before that, Sasha hadn’t been able to bring herself to even think about lying in the bed they’d shared.

  How had she been so stupid? And worse, instead of being mad that she’d been duped—or even better, not caring—why did she feel so…broken-hearted?

  Because for just a minute, you believed happily-ever-after existed for you…and it turns out, you’d been right about relationships all along.

  “Sasha?” Jace jerked to a stop in the doorway of the tiny sitting room, dark brows dipped in concern. “What are you doing sitting here all alone?”

  “Oh!” She scrambled for an answer, but her brain was too short-circuited to come up with anything other than, “Just thinking.”

  Her brother’s snort hammered home the disbelief on his face. “Right. I might’ve been born at night, but it wasn’t last night, sweetheart.”

  Sasha straightened, sudden realization streaking behind her breastbone. “No, but you did get married last night. What the hell are you doing down here at this hour?”

  “Grabbing some coffee,” he said, sipping from the Styrofoam cup in his right hand while offering her the one in his left. “Here, take this. No offense, but you look like you could use it.”

  “Thanks. And thanks.” At least her sarcastic nature hadn’t taken a complete hike. “But really, you should take this back to your room and enjoy it with Delaney.”

  Jace’s freshly minted wedding band gleamed as he passed the second cup over and sat down across from her. “Delaney’s got the rest of her life to be stuck with me in the morning. I think I can spare a minute or two for my twin. So do you want to tell me what’s on your mind?”

  Sasha’s sigh emerged on a slow leak, and she wrapped her fingers around the cup without taking a sip. “For starters, Sully isn’t my boyfriend.”

  “You might want to tell him that,” her brother said, his shoulders hitting the back of his chair in surprise. “Because you two have looked pretty cozy since you got here.”

  “Yeah.” Her heart twisted beneath her dark blue hoodie, and God, she hated everything about this. “It’s complicated.”

  She gave her brother a shortened and somewhat sanitized version of the events of the last four days, starting with Sully’s idea-slash-strategy that she’d bought into hook, line, and gullible-girl sinker, and ending with his stony-faced exit to try and get an earlier flight home.

  “Wow,” Jace murmured, several expressions vying for attention on his face. “You don’t aim for halfway, do you?”

  “Nope.” Sasha’s hollow laugh fizzled out halfway to her lips. “When it comes to dating disasters, I own the copyright to the whole enchilada.”

  “Not so fast. I’m not sure this is the tangled mess you think it is.”

  Shock crowded her chest, and she blinked at her brother with tight, tired eyes. “You did hear the story I just told, right? With all the cloak and dagger relationship strategy?”

  “Oh, I’m not saying Sully’s methods were admirable.” A muscle ticked beneath Jace’s five o’clock shadow. “But don’t you think it’s possible they were genuine even though he didn’t come out with the truth right away?”

  “No,” Sasha said, although the word burned like a mouthful of hot ash. “Come on, Jace. It’s no different than Mom and Dad pressuring me toward what they want. Sully used this trip to manipulate me into thinking a relationship wouldn’t be a nightmare. And I fell for it.”

  Her brother didn’t relent, though. “I think what happened with Sully is different than what goes on with Mom and Dad.”

  Funny, Sasha didn’t relent, either. “What happened with Sully was just another mark in the loss column.” Her throat knotted, but she continued past the traitorous lump. “He’s just like all my other relationship fails.”

  “I’ve got something that might change your mind.” Jace leaned forward, sliding his cell phone from his back pocket to hand it over.

  “Your iPhone is going to change my mind about Sully?” Ooookay, Jace’s brain was officially tapioca from all this wedding stuff.

  “In a manner of speaking. I think what you’re looking for is eleven photos in on my camera roll.”

  Sasha frowned. “I don’t get it.”

  “The picture,” he prompted, nodding toward the phone in her palm.

  “Okay, okay.” She tapped the phone to life, flicking through the digital grid of wedding photos on the screen and counting in her head. As soon as photo number ten hit the past tense, she tapped the tiny thumbnail for number eleven to bring up the image. At first glance, the photo was a lot like any other of a couple at a wedding. Handsome guy with a crooked tie gets a little help from his date.

  Only the guy and his date were obviously familiar, and from the photograph it was obvious that they were clearly head over heels, one-hundred percent crazy about each other.

  Oh…God. Sully might not have been upfront with her, but he had been honest about his feelings last night. He really did care about her.

  Or at least, he had before her cynicism had sent him packing.

  “Look,” Jace said, leaning in with a knowing smile. “I get that you have good reason to be cynical. Mom and Dad didn’t exactly set a great example for relationships, and the added pressure they bring to the table doesn’t help. But Jesus, Sash. You can’t be afraid to break the patterns you’ve set for yourself. Not for the right guy. Not when it looks like that.”

  “But I told him no.” Sasha’s heart began to pound in earnest, her eyes filling with hot tears. “I told him I think relationships all end in heartache.”

  “Do you?” Jace asked, and her answer came right from the heart.

  “No.” Her voice wobbled with the emotion coming up from her chest. “I think Sully and I could fall in love with each other.”

  “Well then go un-tell him.”

  Jeez, would this love stuff ever make sense to her? “You can do that?”

  Her brother laughed, jerking his head toward the door. “No, you can do that. But you’d better hurry. According to the detailed travel itinerary dad left at the front desk, there’s a flight leaving for DC in ninety minutes.”

  Sasha’s pulse tried to make a jailbreak in her veins. “But I don’t have any cell service!” she said, springing out of her chair. “How am I supposed to stop Sully from getting on that flight?”

  “By not aiming for halfway. Now come on. Let’s get you out of here.”

  #

  Sully slumped against the black vinyl bench seat he’d inhabited for the last eight hours, watching Sunday morning travelers walk past the airline ticket counters without seeing a thing. His eyes burned from lack of sleep, but between the bench and his circumstances, Sully had forfeited any hope of shuteye hours ago.

  He’d told Sasha the truth. And she’d told him in no uncertain terms to take a fucking hike, just as he’d feared she would.

  There was no strategy for getting over this.

  “Begging your pardon, Mr. Sullivan?” A pretty, red-headed airline employee with a thick Irish accent looked at him across the mostly-empty waiting area. “The next flight to Washington Dulles is quite empty. Looks like you’ll be able to fly standby with no problem a’tall. We should begin boarding in just a moment.” />
  He worked up a weary smile. “Thank you.” At least by catching the earlier flight, he could spare Sasha—and himself—the awkward ordeal of flying home together.

  As much as he hated it, he should probably get used to doing everything without Sasha.

  Sully exhaled, shuffling to his feet. The sooner he got back home, the sooner he could forget about this and move on. Not that it would be easy, with the way he could still see her as if she were standing right in front of him.

  Wait a minute…

  “Sasha?” He took a step forward, and damn it, sleep deprivation was a cruel bitch.

  But the Sasha-image nodded, taking a step toward him too, and holy hell, she was standing in front of him.

  And despite her rumpled sweatshirt and her tear-filled baby blues, she was the most gorgeous woman Sully had ever laid eyes on.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked, hope flickering in time with his racing heartbeat.

  “I came to stop you from getting on that plane.”

  As if on cue, the redhead behind the desk began the boarding call, and Sasha rushed toward him, her panic clear on her face. “I know I told you to leave. I told you…a lot of things I thought I meant. But you took me by surprise too, and I was scared.”

  “I should’ve been honest with you from the start,” Sully said, but she shook her head, adamant.

  “If you had, I would’ve shut you out. Instead, you made me feel at ease, and little by little, I began to see who I really am. Not to mention what I could have if I believed in myself enough to take a chance.”

  He locked his gaze on hers, pouring nothing but honesty into his words. “I wasn’t trying to scheme my way into a relationship, and I never meant to manipulate you. I only wanted you to see what I see.”

  “Actually, your strategy showed me exactly what I needed to learn most.” Sasha smiled as she spoke, and great God in heaven, she would never, ever stop saying what he least expected.

  “What?”

  “You taught me that some relationships really are worth taking the risk for. I don’t want a glass half-full, either, Sully. I want the real deal. But I only want it with you.”

  The tears rimming her bright blue eyes spilled over her cheeks, but Sasha didn’t make a move to hold them back. The loudspeaker crackled as the airline attendant made a second boarding announcement, and Sully realized he and Sasha were the only two people left standing at the gate.

  And that was just fine with him.

  “I want it too,” he said, pulling her toward him with a smile. “All I ever wanted was you.”

  She pressed up to her toes, kissing him gently, and damn, he’d never felt so good or so right in his life.

  “Well good, because you’ve got me. And I don’t want to ever let you go.”

  And now, for some bonus content, here’s a deleted scene from SOMETHING BORROWED…

  Sasha swept her gaze around the cozy bridal suite at the Willow Cove Inn. The bridesmaids and female members of Delaney’s family were busy enjoying brunch, mani-pedis, and enough happy chatter to sink an ocean liner. Delaney looked radiant already, even with her jeans rolled up to accommodate her fresh pedicure and a plain long-sleeved sweater. She sat perched in an overstuffed pink chenille chair, waggling her toes while she talked to her nine-year-old niece serving as the flower girl. The air buzzed with the excitement of the impending wedding, but as Sasha took in the closely knit groups of women, from Delaney’s grandmother sitting by the stone fireplace to the flower girl’s little sister drawing pictures of stick figure brides and grooms, she realized with a jolt that maybe Sully was right.

  Maybe her family, with its arguments and not-so-veiled barbs and skewed expectations really was the exception, not the rule.

  Sasha dropped her chin, her grip on her empty plate going thermonuclear. She hadn’t meant to go all gooey in the middle last night with Sully. For God’s sake, she’d nearly cried right there in front of him. But he’d been so honest with the suggestion that relationships—their relationship—could work out just fine, that she’d let her tough-as-nails guard tumble right to the ground.

  And then he’d kissed her, slow and steady and sure, and she’d been lost for him before their clothes had even hit the floor.

  Sasha swallowed hard, filling her plate with a blackberry turnover and some fresh fruit and trying her best to look downright angelic even though she was tempted to check herself for a fever. Her cheeks flushed with scalding heat at the memory of her double-orgasm midnight romp with Sully. And the one at one-thirty, when they’d gotten creative with that chair. And who could forget the screaming-hot quickie they’d had in the shower, not even an hour and a half ago? It had taken all of Sasha’s willpower not to order room service, curl back up with Sully in their bed, and try to figure out Willow Cove’s specialty jam recipe while nestled in the strength and safety of his arms.

  Oh God. Sticking to just friends with Sully was going to be just impossible. She couldn’t stop thinking about him. She’d just seen him, yet she missed him. He was the only person who could make the insanity of her family situation and the uber-romantic wedding that went with it seem not just bearable, but fun. Despite her parents’ laundry list of her shortcomings, Sully still believed in her, and when they were together, she believed in herself with him, as so much more than friends.

  How had she let this happen?

  “Sasha?”

  Her head jerked around just in time to see Delaney slide in next to her on the couch, peering at her with a curious, steel-gray stare. “You okay? You look absolutely zoned out.”

  Sasha blinked, gripping her fork even though her breakfast still sat untouched in front of her. “Oh, yeah, no. I’m just a little tired.” Well, at least that wasn’t a lie.

  “Ahhhh. Gotcha.” The smile on her soon to be sister-in-law’s face said Delaney had read Sasha like a forty-foot neon sign, and damn it, she really needed to stamp out this post-coital glow.

  “So, only seven hours to go, huh? Are you honestly sure you want to marry my brother?” Sasha arched an eyebrow, hoping she sounded jokingly carefree even though the cynicism she normally relied on stuck in her throat.

  Delaney laughed, not seeming to notice the subject change. “I’m sure. I mean, we are sort of madly in love with each other, even if the actual wedding plans did all shake out pretty quickly.” She paused to soften her smile before adding, “We’re just so glad you and Sully could be here. You two look really happy together.”

  “We are,” Sasha said, a strange thrill chasing the shock of how automatically the words had flown past her lips. But they’d had an incredible weekend together, and even the tense moments with her parents had been mostly bearable with Sully at her side. No matter how realistic her view on relationships might be, Sasha couldn’t deny how purely good he made her feel, both in bed and out.

  Or that she didn’t want to lose that feeling, not even when they landed back in DC tomorrow night.

  Sasha’s stomach back-flipped behind the red cotton of her sweater, and she took a bite of her breakfast even though she didn’t taste a thing. The flutter in her stomach became a triple knot at the sight of her mother wending her way across the room, her sights locked and loaded on the spot where Sasha and Delaney were currently sitting.

  Delaney peered down at her watch with a frown. “Ugh, I’m sorry, Sasha. I need to go make sure the flowers are on the way to the church. I swear I won’t get to sit for a minute until the last guest leaves tonight.”

  “Do you want me to do it? That way you can relax and spend a little time with your family.” Sasha gestured to the women clustered around the room, her gaze landing on the oversized damask chair where Delaney’s grandmother sat sipping a cup of tea.

  “I really would like to spend a few quiet minutes with Gran,” Delaney said, biting her lip in clear indecision. “Are you sure you wouldn’t mind?”

  Sasha caught sight of her mother standing by the table loaded with beauty supplies, bottles of neon-co
lored polish in both hands and her sights locked and loaded on Sasha’s glaring and apparently offensive lack of manicure.

  She edged toward the door. “Oh my God, yes. I’m positive.”

  Managing a few last-minute details would give Sasha the perfect opportunity to avoid another discussion with her mother about her terminally single status and its direct effect on her fertile bits. Plus, keeping her mind busy might distract her from all the fairy-tale feelings flinging themselves around in her rib cage right now.

  The ones she wanted to take from fantasy to reality. Despite believing that she wasn’t good enough for happily ever after.

  Sasha slid her breakfast plate to the nearby side table in order to hide her shaking hands. “In fact, why don’t we head to the lobby for a pad of paper so you can make me a list? Feel free to run me all over Willow Cove.”

  Want chefs who sizzle in the kitchen as well as the bedroom? Sign up for Kimberly Kincaid’s newsletter, and check out these other hot titles, available at your favorite retailers!

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