Hate at First Sight (4 page)

“I wanted to tell you something else as well...” His cell phone rang. “Sorry, I need to take this. We will talk later, okay?”

I nodded and Aiden left, wishing me to get well soon.

I looked at the number on the cell’s screen and frowned.

“Annabel? To what do I owe the honor?”

“Hey, Baby! I thought about Owen’s invitation, and I decided to come to the wedding!”

Oh, no … no, no, no!

“You what?”

“Well, yes. I thought a week in Britain would be great. I’m sick and tired of Scotland. So I’m already on my way to Owen’s.”

Oh, my God….

I leaned against the wall behind me. “How do you know where his house is?”

“I called him earlier today to get the directions.”

My best friend was about to be so dead.

“Okay, I’ll see you soon.” I hung up the phone and sighed.

Annabel was a daughter of my father’s best friend. We grew up together, and most of our friends thought that we had been engaged since the moment we were born. Far from it. Sometimes, when we had a chance, we would go on vacations together, though we never shared anything, but a cheek kiss.

I knew that Annabel would never miss Owen’s wedding. Especially when she got the invitation from Owen himself. She always had a crush on him. And that’s exactly what I wanted to talk to Megan about. I knew that she was the only reasonable person in the house, and only she knew what to do if Mary ever found out about Annabel’s secret affection. I told Owen it was a bad idea to invite her, but he was sure that she would never ruin his wedding, foolishly believing in her strictly friendly feelings for him. Well, now was just about time to think about the saving strategy. Because unlike my friend, I knew that Annabel would never miss her chance to have him for herself.

I heard footsteps, turned around and saw my friend.

“We need to talk,” I said.

“Yeah, I wanted to talk to you too.”

“You did? About what?” I asked, following him to his father’s office.

“About my sister.”

Oh….

I closed the door behind me, saying, “Did she ask you to talk to me?”

“No, she actually said it was the last thing she wanted me to do. But I’d like to make things clear.” He looked at me, smiling cunningly. “Do you like her?”

Well … what was I supposed to say?
I almost slept with your sister a few hours ago?
Did it mean that I liked her? I chuckled nervously at my mental question.

“It doesn’t matter whether or not I like her,” I said, running a palm through my hair. “Megan deserves so much better than me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t give her what she wants. I’m far from being an ideal boyfriend. And she needs perfection in everything. Though I’m sure that at this very moment she doesn’t need any boyfriends at all. She’s too busy studying and building her career.”

“Hmm…” Owen looked at me thoughtfully.

“What?”

“I thought that … never mind. You are not children any more. You will figure it out on your own. Only one warning, Aiden. You are my friend, and I really appreciate you being my best man, but if you ever hurt Megan, you will have to deal with me. Clear?”

“Crystal.”

“Good. So what did you want to talk to me about?”

“Annabel.”

“Oh, yes. I forgot to tell you that she was coming to the wedding.”

“Does Mary know about her?”

“Of course, she does. She read the guest list.”

“No, I mean, does she know about Annabel’s feelings for you?”

“I have already told you that Annabel is my friend. No more than that.”

“I hope your fiancé will think the same thing.”

We talked for about fifteen minutes more, Owen told me about his surprise for Mary and tonight’s beach party. He also asked me to make sure that his sister would be there too. Then he left, leaving me alone with my inner worries.

Suddenly everything that usually didn’t bother me at all, turned into one serious, but a very beautiful problem, named Megan. If last night I thought it would be easy to stay together, under the same roof for the next six days, I was definitely wrong. And today’s feet-curing session proved my worst fears. I was attracted to her. When I was with her, I couldn’t think about anything else, but to have her in my arms, kiss her lips and make love to her….

I could still feel the warmth of her skin touching mine, as if I was back to the old Peterson’s house, lying on the couch with her breath tickling my neck. Surprisingly enough, apart from the wild desire burning in me at the moment, I felt a quiet comfort I never thought I would find in being with anyone. It overshadowed even the electricity passing between us.

I remembered every small detail about her, as if we had been together for ages and not hours. The hint of a smile playing at the corners of her mouth; the way her eyes were changing colors when the illumination changed; or the way she was looking at me waiting for my responses. The memories of her scent, enveloping me with its freshness and softness never left my mind. And no matter how hard I tried to switch my thoughts to something else, all I wanted was to cross the distance between the office and her room and see her again.

I didn’t notice when that thought pulled my body to the door, and a few moments later I found myself standing in front of Megan’s bedroom. I knocked, but no one answered.

“Megan? May I come in?”

When she didn’t reply, I opened the door and let myself in. She was sleeping, curled up under the huge blanket that made me smile. She looked like a little girl, lost among pillows and toys; though her toys were not bears and dolls, but a cell phone, a notebook with a pen hidden in between the pages, and a laptop. It was opened, with a new message flashing on the screen. The first line caught my eye, and I started reading it.

“Hey Sweetheart,

I hope your flight was okay, and you got home safely. I wanted to make sure that you remember about our plans. Miss you like hell! Come back here ASAP!!!

Love you

Z.”

What did she say about a boyfriend? She didn’t have one? Yeah, right … I closed the laptop and stormed out of the room, not even bothering to be quiet.

How could I have been such a fool! I ran down the stairs as fast as I could. I knew she was hiding something, but who would have thought that it was a boyfriend!

“Aiden, would you help me with….”

“Not now, Owen!” I snapped, getting into the car. I started the engine and speeded to the quay.

I was so freaking angry: at Megan for lying to me; at myself for trusting her, for feeling guilty about what happened or not happened last night, for upsetting her. Well, looked like I was angrier at myself.

Serves you right, man, I thought to myself.

I stopped at one of the cafés, sat at the table facing the ocean, and ordered a cup of coffee. I would gladly order something stronger, but I needed to get back to Owen’s, and I needed to be sober, so as not to ruin his surprise for Mary.

I cursed and sighed. Why didn’t she tell me about the mysterious Mr. Z? Did she think it would compromise her in the eyes of her family that truly believed in her hate for men? How ridiculous!

What surprised me most was my own reaction to the damn message. It pissed me off. As if I had any right to be pissed off. Megan wasn’t mine, so why would I be angry? She couldn’t have gotten so deep under my skin, could she?...

I didn’t want to think much about that. I never thought too much about the women I dated. And I never dated Megan, so there was no point in bothering myself with the questions I couldn’t answer.

The moment my car stopped at the porch of Owen’s house, I saw Annabel standing there. She was wearing a short red dress and high heels that made her look like a real Barbie. Oh, man, no sane woman would ever believe that that human creature was just a friend of her fiancé. Poor Mary.

I took a deep breath and went to greet the guest.

“Hey, Sunshine! I always knew it was impossible to talk you out of something that you wanted to do so badly.”

“Good to see you too,” my friend replied, kissing me on both cheeks. “Have you already seen Owen’s fiancé?”

“Yes, why?” I ask suspiciously.

“No reason.” Annabel shrugged, but I knew her well enough to see that she was nervous. “Is she beautiful?”

“I think you and I have different opinions about the definition of beauty.”

“So she is.”

I smiled, took her suitcase and opened the door. “I thought you said you simply wanted to wish Owen a happy wedding.”

“Well, and that too.”

I stopped abruptly, and Annabel ran into me. “Don’t ruin anything. You promised, remember?”

“Relax, Aiden. You know that I can be a good girl,” she said in a sweet voice.

“That’s exactly what worries me most.” I needed Megan’s help, and the sooner the better. “Why don’t you wait here? I’ll go and find Owen?”

“Sure, no problem.” Annabel went to the living room, and I rushed upstairs to see if Megan was awake. My plan about staying away from her was ruined in seconds.

The moment I stopped at her bedroom door, I heard her saying the following, “Don’t worry, I’ll be there on time. Yeah, miss you too. Will call you later. Bye.”

Another wave of anger rushed through my body. The weird feeling that I tried to suppress all the way back to the house appeared with new intensity. Who would have thought that I knew what freaking jealousy meant?...

“Come in!” Megan replied to my knocking.

“Hey,” I said, opening the door. “How do you feel?”

I wish there was someone to ask me the same question, because the view of Megan’s messy hair, spread all over the pillows, reminded me of the things that I shouldn’t be thinking about.

“I feel much better,” she said, smiling slightly. “Thanks to you. The ointment you brought did real magic to my feet. I can barely feel the pain.”

“Good. It means that you won’t miss today’s beach party.”

“Actually, I wasn’t going to attend it.”

I felt a little disappointed. “Owen said he wanted you to be there tonight. He even asked me to make sure that you would come.”

Megan’s cheeks turned pink. “You don’t have to babysit me, Aiden. I can get to the beach on my own. Besides….”

“There you are, Honey!” Annabel said excitedly, entering the room. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere! You never told me that Magy was just a drabbie!”

“Her name is Mary,” Megan said in a harsh voice. “And I don’t remember my parents inviting a Barbie doll to the wedding.”

O-oh … in the blink of an eye I found myself standing in the middle of a cross-fire.

I stared at the girl’s trembling lips. She was furious, and she looked like she was about to cry, but I hardly cared. I didn’t know her, but she obviously knew Aiden whose arm she was holding firmly, as if it was her life saver.

“Who the hell is that?” I asked him.

“Calm down, Megan, this….”

“You tell her to calm down?” the Barbie squeaked. “What about me? She just called me….”

“Nothing happened, Annabel,” Aiden said, breaking free of her death grip. “You two need to apologize for your words, and everything will be fine.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” I snapped.

“No way!” the owner of the bright-red lips said.

I turned to Aiden again. “See? We don’t need any apologies. I’m sure we will survive by simply ignoring each other. Is she one of your sweethearts?” I wasn’t going to ask the question, but somehow the demon inside me won.

Aiden rubbed the bridge of his nose, before he said, “Annabel is my friend, and she’s one of Owen’s guests.”

Who would have thought that my brother had friends like that? “Nice,” I said, smiling sweetly. “Now, when the introduction is over, would you be so kind as to leave my room to let me get dressed?”

Aiden’s jaw tightened. Obviously he wasn’t used to be kicked out of ladies’ bedrooms. Well, sometimes tables did turn. He shook his head and headed for the door, following his charming friend.

“Great…” I muttered, looking at the closed door.

Things were getting worse and worse, and I didn’t like it. I really hoped that my staying at home would be less stressful. No such luck.

When it was about time to get ready for the party, I changed into a light, white dress that went to my feet, took a jacket just in case British weather would bring us new surprises, and went downstairs.

To my huge disappointment Aiden was the only person waiting for me there.

“Where’s everyone?”

“Went to the beach,” he replied icily. “You are going with me.”

“I can take a taxi.”

Aiden rolled his eyes. “Don’t make me drag you to the car, Megan. And trust me I will do that, if I have to.”

“Fine.” I met his stare, waiting for another sharp comment to follow. Instead, Aiden opened the door for me and followed me wordlessly to his car.

Our second ride together wasn’t much different from the first one. I could almost hear the air crack
ling around us. And there wasn’t anything super cool about that. It felt like the more time we spent together, the stronger the hate was. And I couldn’t understand the reason for it. Why would strangers become enemies? If it wasn’t for Aiden’s and my attitude to the relationship, I would have thought that we….

“Welcome to paradise!”

“Excuse me?” I stared at him, confused.

“It’s the name of the party,” he said, pointing to the sign over the entrance to the beach area, rented for tonight.

I grimaced at how ridiculously romantic it sounded.

Of course, my brother knew how to make surprises. And I never doubted that his wife would be one of, if not the happiest woman in the world. Too bad there was only one Owen Brawley on the planet.

“Shall I help you?” Aiden asked, looking cautiously at my plastered feet. The pain was almost gone. I couldn’t wear heels yet, but I could stand on my feet without anyone’s help.

“No, thanks,” I replied, stepping out of the car. I didn’t ask him about his friend, though I desperately wanted to know where she was. What the hell was going on with me?

“Do you mind if I leave you for a while? I need to find someone,” Aiden said.

“Sure, no problems,” I replied absently. My attention was focused on the decorations of the paradise, created by my brother.

Well, hell … maybe even I would love to have such a party.

There were dozens of huge, white balloons everywhere. The street-lamps were decorated with pink roses and ribbons, and the bouquets of hydrangea were swaying in the waves of a private beach, illuminated with thousands of candles.

“A real paradise,” I said quietly, admiring the view.

“Megan!” Owen called.

I turned around and saw my brother and his fiancé. They were smiling, and even from the distance I could see how happy they were.

“We are glad you’ve made it here,” Mary said, hugging me. Owen told me about the awful night you had to spend on the farm.”

“
Awful
is not the word,” I replied.

My brother looked at me suspiciously. And I hated when he did that. It meant that he knew so much more than I wanted him to know. Sometimes it felt like it was impossible to hide anything from him. Maybe he was right after all, and I was the worst liar ever?

“How do you feel?” he asked after a short pause.

“Almost great,” I said, trying to smile.

“Did you come here with Aiden?”

“Yes … I mean, no. He dropped me here, but I don’t know where he is.”

“Then why don’t you join us at the main table?” Mary asked. I couldn’t but admit it: she looked amazing, wearing a long, strapless dress matching the green color of her eyes perfectly.

“Do you know that Aiden’s leaving tonight?” my brother asked, walking beside me.

“What? He never told me about that…” I stared blankly at the sandy path under my feet.

“He said he forgot about some contract he needed to sign. But he’ll be back for Saturday’s ceremony, as I sure as hell don’t have time to look for another best man.”

Well, it’s probably for the best, I thought to myself. I preferred to ignore the inner voice saying that the news was not exciting. I also ignored the feelings of disappointment and sudden sadness overwhelming me.

My cell phone vibrated, and a new message came, saying,
“Turn around.”
I did what it said and froze, speechless.

There he was — the reason for my escape — standing in his full glory, just a few steps away from me.

I swallowed hard. “Jeff? What are you doing here?”

“And hello to you too, Megan,” he responded with the smile that still made me swoon. Seriously?

The guy was a walking dream coming true: tall and broad-shouldered; with dark-brown eyes that any girl would gladly drown in, and sandy hair that my palms always wanted to run through. I felt the predatory nervousness forming inside my chest. Unbelievable, Jeff still had that effect on me.

“I didn’t know you were invited to the celebrations,” I said. My voice cracked on the last word. Crap.

“My mother is the owner of a confectionery that bakes cakes for the wedding.”

“I see. Well, have a great time.” I felt a desperate need to get away from him as soon as possible. And suddenly I saw my rescuer.

“Excuse me,” I said to Jeff. “My boyfriend’s looking for me.” And before he would say anything in reply, I hurried to Aiden. Not the best choice of a fake boyfriend, I know, but still better than staying with Jeff.

I put on my best smile, went up to Mr. Impossible and put my arms around his waist, saying, “Hey, Baby. Would you like to dance with me?”

Aiden spilled half of his drink, and stared at me, shocked. “Are you delusional or something?”

A few men he was talking to switched their attention to me.

“No.” I smiled at them, mentally cursing myself for being so stupid. “But I need this dance,” I added quietly, so that only Aiden could hear me.

He raised his eyebrows, trying to guess the reason for my weird behavior. “Okay. Excuse us, gentlemen,” he said to his companions. Then he put aside his drink and led me to the dance floor.

“So who’s this charade for?” he asked, not even trying to hide the disgust in his voice.

“Why would you think it’s a charade?”

“Because I know that you would rather die than ask me for a dance without a reason.”

I smirked. “How very true.”

Aiden’s eyes darkened.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it.” I lowered my eyes guiltily. My boyfriend wasn’t in a joking mood.

“Whatever,” he snapped indifferently.

Shit, I shouldn’t have used him as a distraction. But it was already too late to change anything. So I decided to talk about something else.

“Owen says you are leaving tonight.”

“Yes. Why?” Aiden’s cold eyes stared down at me. His arms were wrapped around my waist, but it still felt like we were standing too far away from each other. And even though we were dancing, and every dance meant something intimate, our case was different.

“No reason. Just curious.”

Not a muscle moved on Aiden’s face. He was like an emotionless statue. Then he smirked and looked at something behind me, saying, “Looks like I’m not the only man you are going to dance with tonight.”