Fiance Next Door

My eyebrows arch. Is that how he really thinks of me? Wow. I don’t know what to say.

“I mean look at you,” Leander goes on. “You’re a millionaire now.”

Billionaire, I correct him silently.

“And you’re saving the world.”

I shake my head. “I’m no hero, Leander.”

He just chuckles before lifting his beer bottle to his lips once more. I do the same with mine, letting the cold, bitter alcohol glide down my throat. It feels good, but I think I need more to wash down everything my brother just told me.

“One more bottle?” I ask Leander when he’s finished.

He grins. “Yeah. Why not?”

~

After three bottles, I make my way inside the house and up the stairs. Leander has decided to stay outside and Marissa is with him now. I’m guessing they’re making out on the patio. I just hope Aster doesn’t see it.

At the top of the stairs, I try to sneak a peek of her room. I can’t. Not from here. But the house looks dark. The lights are off. Maybe Aster already went to bed. Like she said, she has a lot on her mind, and she still has a busy day tomorrow.

“Hey,” Giselle calls from the hallway.

I look at her. “Hey. Can’t sleep?”

She shakes her head as she walks towards me. “Where’s Lee?”

“Outside,” I answer. “I heard he was able to talk Mom out of that hideous dress.”

“Thank goodness,” Giselle says.

She doesn’t sound too thrilled, though.

“Is everything alright?” I ask her.

“Yeah.”

She stands next to me. Her nose wrinkles after she gives me a sniff.

“You stink.”

“Well, Leander and I were drinking.”

“Ooh. Would you look at that? Seems like the Burke brothers are finally getting along. Good. Your coming here isn’t a complete waste.”

I narrow my eyes at her. “What do you mean?”

“I mean neither of you wanted to come home but now you’re both glad you did. Am I right?”

“Leander didn’t want to come home?”

That’s strange. Or understandable if it’s because he knew Mom would never approve of Marissa.

Giselle nudges my arm. “I’m right, right? You should both thank me for bringing you home.”

I don’t, because I’m still not sure if I am glad I came home. On the one hand, I’m glad I was able to see Aster again. On the other, though, I wish I hadn’t because it seems nothing has changed. I still want her and I still can’t have her.

“By the way, did you and Aster talk?” Giselle asks me. “Because she was looking for you, earlier.”

I throw her a puzzled look. “She was?”

“Yeah. That’s why she was at home when Leander arrived.”

And here I thought she came to the house to see Leander.

“She said she wanted to ask you something,” Giselle adds. “Something to do with her father, I think. She seemed a little… lost.”

She did? This is unexpected. Well, I did say she could come to me if she needed something, but I didn’t really think she’d ask.

Yet she did. She wanted something from me. She was here because of me and because of something to do with her father.

I touch my chin as I try to remember the conversation we had earlier. What was it she said about Noah?

I can’t even give him the only thing he wants even though I want to so badly.

The only thing Noah wants. The same thing he asked of me? And Aster wants to give it to him? Is that why she was here?

The wheels in my head start to turn. Excerpts of the conversations I’ve had play in my mind. The pieces of the puzzle fall into place. The answer to the problem I’ve been having was right in front of me all along.

“Mason?” Giselle gives me a look of concern. “What are you thinking of?”

“That I’m done being someone I’m not.”

Leander is right. I’m a man who knows what I want and I go get it, no matter what other people think. I’m stubborn. I’m ruthless. I don’t care about consequences.

I’m done playing the nice guy.

Chapter Seven ~ I Do?

Aster

It’s a nice day for a wedding, I think as I look out the small window of the bathroom from the bathtub.

I don’t usually soak in the tub in the mornings. I simply don’t have the time to wait for the tub to fill, nor do I have the luxury of being carefree and whimsical when I know I have a ton of other things I have to do. This morning, though, I’m making an exception because it’s Giselle’s wedding day and I’m her bridesmaid. I have to look my best, or at least try.

So I’m pulling out all the stops – shampoo and conditioner, this bubble bath, a full makeup later, hair polish with a touch of shimmer spray and a splash of perfume. Oh, and I already exfoliated my face with a peel-off mask last night – Dali was trying to eat it off my face, probably because it smelled like food, but I was able to stave him off. I’ve even shaved my legs and armpits and painted my nails.