“No—there’s another the bridal car will use. They’ll drop the bride and bridesmaids at the church steps, then park in the area on the other side of that fence.”
“That fence is damn inconvenient. It’s too tall to see over.”
“Monty will be our eyes—he’s standing over near the water tanks and has a good view of the entire parking area.”
I raised an eyebrow. “And you know this how?”
“I was speaking to him just before I picked you up.”
“Huh.” I studied the beautiful old church for a moment. “Were you and Mia planning to get married in a church?”
I could feel his gaze on me, but I resisted the unspoken demand to turn and look at him.
“We split before we got around to details like that. Why?”
I shrugged. “Just curious.”
“For what it’s worth, I’m more a civil ceremony on home grounds type guy, but let’s be honest, a wedding day is never about what the groom wants.”
I laughed and glanced at him. “I’m sure Mia will appreciate that sentiment when she finally gets back here.”
The words were out before I could think about them, and I silently cursed as he went utterly still.
“What makes you think she’s coming back?” His voice was flat; his expression shut down. “Or that I’d even want her to?”
“You heard what Katie said when she was talking to your mother. We both know—even if you don’t want to face it—that she was referring to Mia.”
“Yes, but that doesn’t answer the second—”
“Oh, I think your reaction says everything that needs to be said. Don’t get me wrong, Aiden. I’m hoping like hell she doesn’t arrive anytime soon. But I also know you’re in an emotional holding pattern and have been since she left. That won’t change until she does come back.”
“If that were true, I wouldn’t be—”
He cut the rest of that sentence off, leaving me wondering just what he was about to admit. I had imagination enough to believe he’d come close to admitting his feelings for me. And yet the fact that he’d cut the declaration off meant that no matter what his heart might be saying, his mind had other plans.
And they currently didn’t include a crimson-haired witch. Not in the forever together, white picket fence and babies kind of way, anyway.
The truck’s com system buzzed, breaking the brief but tense silence. Aiden pressed a button on the console and then said, “Jaz? Is there a problem?”
“No—just giving you the heads-up; the bridal car is about to pull into the church’s driveway. Do you want us to remain here or shall we move across to the reception venue?”
“Head on over to the venue and keep alert.”
“Will do, boss.”
Once she’d signed off, he contacted Monty and updated him. Thankfully, we didn’t have to wait that long for trouble to stir.
The wedding cars had barely driven past our driveway to park in the allocated area when my instincts prickled. I frowned and glanced around, but there was no one in immediate sight, either in the church’s grounds or on the street ahead. I flipped down the sun visor and looked behind me.
An oddly dressed man walked toward us. While he was wearing black dress pants, he’d teamed it with an orange cardigan and a green cravat. He was also wearing mismatched shoes—one was black, one was brown. He moved in an almost robotic way, reminding me somewhat of a marionette. And while I couldn’t immediately see the strings of magic, they were obviously there. The distress in his face, the panic in his eyes, all spoke of a man who wasn’t in control.
“Our proxy is approaching,” I said softly.
Aiden twisted around. “The oddly dressed man?”
“Yes. I can’t see a spell, but he’s definitely under one.”
Aiden picked up his phone from the center console. “Warn Monty. I’ll send some pics to Tala and get her to ID him.”