Then & Now (41 page)

A thrill from Colin’s phone had him pulling a face. His annoyed reaction to the cell made Amy shake her head. This Colin was the one she had fallen for, although he obviously had no real feelings towards her.  He saw a marriage of convenience with her.  But with Ella, he became the charming, awe-struck, gentleman that all women found attractive. Only with Ella though…only with Ella.

Giving Ella a quick, tender kiss, Colin smiled warmly at her. “I’ll have the limo waiting for you, whenever you’re ready.” He turned to Amy and nodded politely. “Thank-you, Amy.”

“You are very welcome
.”  She replied softly as she gave him a once over before he answered his cell. She never got a chance to know this Colin.  Although, she suspected he never wanted her to.

Turning back to her sister Amy found herself smiling. Ella looked amazing, not just the natural glow from motherhood, but radiant. “You look amazing, and Colin…I knew you would make him truly happy.”

Ella dropped her gaze for a moment before she gestured towards Amy to follow her outside.

Amy followed without arguing. It was late summer, the weather warm but not overwhelmingly hot.  As she let Ella guide her to a small garden just off the dinner, Amy couldn’t help but realize that it had been a little over a year since the last time they had met here. Only this time it was Ella with something important to say.

Sitting on a rod-iron bench, Ella patted the empty seat. “How’s everything?”

“You tell me?”  Amy asked carefully. “Was Egypt everything you thought it would be?”

“Yes, I really enjoyed being there.  Just the heat was too much.  I tried to push through for Colin, but the moment he saw me with six fans and a gallon of ice-water, he brought me straight home.”  She laughed.

Amy chuckled at the image of her poor sister sitting on a pile of pillows with fans of all shapes on sizes pointed at her. Unfortunately, their laughter stopped almost immediately.  Silence fell between them for what seemed like an eternity, before Ella finally spoke.

“Amy, I don’t know what to say to you right now.”  She confessed without looking up from her lap. “I was so scared at first that you would never forgive me.  But, then you admitted to setting the whole thing up, and I became relieved. Then the more I thought about what you did and the way Matt had reacted to the whole thing…I didn’t know how to feel.”

“Ella, I’m sorry!  I’m so sorry about everything! Colin was never mine to begin with.  But, the way I saw him with you, the way you made him light up, I thought maybe I could just have a part of that.”  Shaking her head, Amy tried to stay composed. “When you married Matt, I wanted to justify everything I did. Until I really saw you with Colin, then I just knew how wrong I was.”

“Amy, I’m not mad at you.”  Ella said softly as she took Amy’s hands into her own. “In fact I’m happy.  I just wish everything would’ve happened a little differently.”

Amy had to laugh at the comment. “Trust me, if I thought that just leaving Colin would have fixed everything I would’ve.  No, I needed to put you two together.”

She could see the truth of her words sinking in.  If she would’ve merely left Colin, he would’ve gone his own way. He would have never pursued Ella, and she would’ve stayed in her loveless marriage for who knows how long. 

“I see.”  Ella simply agreed. “Are you seeing anyone?”

“Nope.  I’ve been too worried about you.”  She confessed. “Besides, men have never really worked out for me. Even before Colin I had nothing but toads.”

“That’s because you haven’t found what you really want.”  Ella clarified.

This time Amy’s laugh went belly deep. “Now that’s my problem! I have no idea what I want!”

Ella shared in her laughter for only a moment. “Amy, you deserve a happy-ever-after just like the rest of us.”

Even though she nodded she really didn’t agree with her twin. The thought of “a happy-ever-after” for her seemed unrealistic.  Keeping that to herself, Amy helped her sister up and walked arm in arm with her back into the dinner.

As they made their way to the booth full of their friends Amy’s eyes caught
Mike sitting at a table full of his colleagues. He smiled warmly at her as he tipped his head in her direction.  She waved briefly as she past, not turning back until she reached her seat.

While all of her friends chatted happily away, Amy couldn’t help but look them over.
They had all set out to make a change in their lives and they had all succeed. It was strange to think that so much had changed in only a year. All of them had completely different lives now.

Maddie and Sophia were lucky to find out who they really belong to before marrying the wrong man. Leya and Amelia went after their crushes and found out what they had been missing.  Hell, even Alethea the shiest of them all won big with her man.

Glancing back at Mike’s table she noticed his brilliant blue eyes were trained right on her. Oh, who was she kidding?  She knew exactly what she wanted.  Drama.  Plane and nowhere near simple.

Allowing a playful smile, Amy didn’t drop his contact. Who knows maybe
Mike would be up for some drama? Happy-ever-after might just be in her future after all.