Eastern Lights (Compass 2)

He walked away, and the second he turned away from me, my stare moved back to Aaliyah—at least where she had been, but now she was gone. I looked around the space, on a mission to spot her, but she was nowhere to be found.

“Looking for someone?” a voice said, breaking me away from my search. I turned to see Walter approaching me with a smile on his face. Since Walter and Marie had adopted Jason, they shared none of his facial characteristics, which I was thankful for. If Walter had looked like his son, I’d have wanted to punch him on the regular.

“No. Just surveying the event. Seems to be going well.”

“I’m just thankful the photographs were taken before Jason got hammered.”

I snickered. “You noticed, too, huh?”

“I always do. I don’t want you to think this is any representation of how he’ll perform once he’s in California. After hours, he’s a mess at times, but during business, he’s levelheaded.”

I wasn’t sure who Walter was trying to convince—me or himself.

Instead of commenting on how incorrect Walter was about his son, I smiled and lied. “I’m not too worried.”

“Good. Plus, after the wedding, I’m sure he’ll settle down from his old habits, be the husband Aaliyah deserves.”

The wedding.

I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that Jason, the scum of the earth, had somehow landed Red as his wife-to-be. He didn’t deserve her. Honestly, I wasn’t certain any guy deserved her. Even though it’d been so long, I hadn’t forgotten how she made me feel that night. Hell, after our Halloween night of escapism, I’d had dreams about the girl for weeks.

The one who got away.

Really, though? After our intense soul connection and deep, meaningful conversations, she ended up with Jason? Jason. Jason Rollsfield. The man who thought global warming was a myth. The one who’d pissed on the Washington Monument. The one who had spent a few nights in jail for groping a police officer’s butt.

Yeah—that was the man she was choosing.

Christ, Red. We taught you better than to settle with Jason.

I couldn’t stop trying to figure out how she’d ended up in the position she was in, but hell, there we were.

“Speaking of the wedding…I have a favor to ask you,” Walter said. He brushed his hand against his fully gray beard then pushed his round glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Aaliyah and Jason decided not to have groomsmen or bridesmaids of any kind for the ceremony, but there is the issue of the night before—the bride and groom aren’t supposed to see one another. Now, normally, I wouldn’t think anything of Jason spending the night alone, but I know he gets anxiety at times, and I don’t want him to freak out the night before his big day. So, I was thinking, perhaps he can stay with you that night? You can have some guy bonding time.”

I blinked a few times, trying to comprehend exactly what Walter was asking of me. “You want me to keep him on a leash?”

“To be frank? Yes. I don’t want him ruining this one this time around. The last two Vegas crash weddings left a bad mark on his name, but Aaliyah is different. She’s a good girl, and she could be really good for Jason. So think about it as an IOU from me to you, Connor. If you do this for me, I’ll do something for you.”

And he could be very toxic for her.

“I can do that. Not a problem,” I agreed, knowing an IOU from a person like Walter would come in handy.

“Also, I heard about the Brooklyn property—shame. We’ll get them next time, though.”

He nodded once then walked off, leaving me alone to down my whiskey before venturing off through the crowd. I got stopped a few times for conversation, and I engaged, even though my mind was focused on one thing and one thing only: Red.

I found her on the rooftop.

Her eyes were shut as the late-night breeze swept across her skin. Other people were on the rooftop, but I wasn’t paying them any mind. In my head, she was the only one standing anywhere near me.

She looked beautiful. It wasn’t that I was looking, but holy shit, I was looking. She could’ve walked out wearing a trash bag and still been the prettiest woman alive.

The more I thought about it, the more irrationally irritated I grew about the fact that the following week she was going to walk down the aisle and marry Jason. Was I in the twilight zone?

Nothing makes sense anymore.

I hesitated a few moments before building up enough courage to walk in her direction. “If memory serves me right, you owe me two dollars,” I said as her back was to me. She jumped, looking startled as she turned to see who was standing behind her. The moment she realized it was me, her eyes grew gentle, and she smiled.