Sailing at Sunset - Cindi Madsen Page 0,100

delicate features, as she slid the other into the crook of Brody’s arm. Suddenly the world started to spin again, a little faster than Paige was anticipating, and she swayed on her feet.

The power couple walked the few steps to the grand staircase and paused, as if displaying their beauty and poise for the whole world to see. All the excitement drained out of Paige’s body, leaving her limbs feeling limp and heavy. She considered running away. Not to hide, per se, because that would’ve been juvenile. She liked to think of it as postponing a conversation until she was fully prepared, which seemed rather responsible. And by fully prepared, she meant the ability to speak without sounding like a blubbering idiot.

But it didn’t matter if running was responsible or not: her legs wouldn’t cooperate. And even if they had, there was nowhere to escape in this otherwise empty, massive room. So she stood there, with no choice but to face him, scattered thoughts and all.

Brody’s gaze landed on her. His polite smile turned up the corners of his mouth, accentuating his strong jaw, before he whispered something to the girl next to him. Her gaze drifted to Paige, then refocused on him. Paige’s stomach dropped when his intimate look confirmed their relationship was more than friendly.

The girl smoothed the emerald dress that elegantly hugged her curves and then draped her hand over the railing. Then they started down the wide stone steps in perfect unison.

Brody stepped with his usual steady confidence. The girl moved with the grace of a dancer, each of her footsteps skimming the surface of the stairs. The four-inch stilettos at the end of her toned legs seemed to be an extension of her foot, as if she were made to wear them. Everything about her radiated beauty and poise.

Paige glanced down at her own look in comparison. About the only similarity between them was they’d both chosen to wear almost the exact shade of green. Other than their shared penchant for emerald-colored garments, Paige was the complete opposite of the beauty on Brody’s arm.

Paige had chosen her loose-fitting A-line knit dress because it had pockets, something she proudly proclaimed to her friends on staff when she arrived earlier. The fact now seemed childish. Her practical dress was paired with sensible ballet flats, which she wore more for function than fashion, and she’d pulled her hair up in a bun about fifteen minutes after she’d arrived at work to get it out of the way. Even if she hadn’t, her mousy brown hair would have been hanging in a stringy mess around her shoulders at this point. It didn’t matter how many products she armed her hair with, the Texas humidity always won. And although she’d put on lipstick before she arrived, she was positive there wasn’t a trace of it left.

Seeing Brody unannounced at one of her weddings with some knockout on his arm was about as far as possible from any of the reunion daydreams she’d managed to come up with over their thirteen-month absence. Every awe-worthy opening line she’d ever thought up—and, embarrassingly, there were quite a few of them—was invalid. To make matters even worse, at the moment her brain seemed incapable of thinking up something new.

Brody reached the last step and his gaze locked with hers. “Hello, Paige.”

The way her name sounded in his smooth voice sent shivers racing down her spine. Although, she had to admit he sounded less surprised to see her than she was to see him, which sent another round of questions swirling through her mind. The girl on his arm smiled.

Paige’s mind went blank. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but nothing came out. Brody either didn’t notice or didn’t care. The couple glided over and stopped in front of her.

“It’s nice to see you.” Brody’s familiar words caused her heart to skip a beat and his gaze burned into her.

She tried to answer, but since the shock of the situation was still holding her voice captive, she offered a grin instead. Hopefully, it looked more sophisticated-alluring and less lovesick puppy.

An awkward pause filled the air. Aiden cleared his throat and stepped closer to Brody, offering his hand.

“Brody, Aiden Pierce. It’s been a while.”

Brody held Paige’s gaze for another millisecond. Long enough for her to be positive she sensed the air between them crackle. Just like it used to.

Then he grasped Aiden’s handshake and shifted his attention. “Good to see you again, Aiden.” He let go of Aiden’s grasp and held his hand in front of the beauty next to him, as if to put her on display. “Allow me to introduce you both to Sasha Kane.”

The bitterness of jealousy mixed with disappointment rose up in Paige’s throat, but she tried to appear delighted to meet someone new. When it was clear that was too tall an order, she settled for an expression she hoped looked pleasant-ish.

Sasha extended a graceful hand to Paige first. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

Now was Paige’s chance to offer some clever one-liner that would remind Brody of their times together and remind Sasha whose turf she was on. But nothing even remotely clever came to mind. And even if it had, it wouldn’t have mattered because her voice still wasn’t cooperating.

So Paige just nodded at her. This was not at all how she imagined their first meeting going. Once again, Aiden stepped in.

“Pleasure to meet you, Sasha.” He took her outstretched hand and lifted it to his lips. Sasha appeared to be charmed. Brody glared. The whole situation made Paige feel like she might be sick.

The harsh, screeching sound of a digital alarm echoed through the room and broke up the moment. Everyone stared at the tablet in Paige’s hand. Everyone, that was, except Paige, who was still trying to figure out what Brody was doing here. And why was he with her? And, for that matter, who was she?

Brody pointed to the tablet. “You, uh, want to get that?”

Paige stared at it for another second, trying to comprehend the sound. Since Brody had walked through those doors, she was having a hard time comprehending anything. 0:00 flashed on her screen.

“The bride!” She bobbled the tablet and fumbled with the off button, trying to get the noise to stop. The heat from her cheeks worked its way down her neck. “I gotta go.”

She looked up at the newcomers. An expression of cool acceptance crossed Brody’s face. Her already sagging spirit plummeted.

Aiden’s hand pressed against the small of her back in a gesture she assumed was supposed to calm her frazzled nerves. “We’ll catch you after the ceremony.” He winked. Then he looked to Brody and Sasha and held his hand out to the side door. “Shall we?”

The trio crossed the room and exited to the garden. Paige stood frozen in her spot, watching through the windows as Brody and his date claimed the last two empty chairs. Brody undid his jacket and ran his hand through his perfect hair before he settled it on Sasha’s knee. Her own knee tingled, remembering exactly how his touch felt.

The string quartet finished their song and silence filled the air. It was the signal for the officiant to lead out the groom. She glanced at her watch, shook her head to try to clear her thoughts, then dashed across the room as fast as her ballet flats could carry her to the bridal suite.

One minute and thirty-eight seconds behind schedule.

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