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Was he watching her walk away?
Why did she care?
She didn’t. But if any part of Aaron felt a measure of regret at cutting her out of his life, then good. She relished that thought.
He was happy to see her...as if! Why would he even say that? Was he trying to make nice after all these years, pretend that he’d never hurt her?
Well, if he thought there was a chance the two of them could ever be friends, he had another think coming.
Melissa inhaled deeply as she neared her sister. She was finally regaining her composure and her dignity. So what if Aaron was sexy? One of the sexiest men she’d ever laid eyes on, granted, but what did it matter when his character left so much to be desired?
She hoped he was happy with Ella, but she wasn’t about to ask him about his wife. Nor was she about to spend any more time with him than was necessary. She didn’t want him asking her about her life, and she didn’t want to ask him about his. She would be paired with him for the wedding, deal with him as minimally as possible, and then go home to Jersey and forget all about him.
She had done it once. She would do it again.
Chapter 4 (#u9414bf9d-fb63-5444-971d-d8423f7a2047)
Ryan Burke clinked a fork against his champagne glass, effectively getting everyone’s attention. Tasha stood beside him, a permanent smile on her beautiful face.
“Excuse me, everybody,” Ryan said, looking around at the crowd of people. “Will you all please head into the tent and take your seats? Dinner is ready, so I hope you haven’t indulged too heavily in the amazing hors d’oeuvres.”
Ryan patted his stomach, as if to say he was guilty of exactly that. There were chuckles among the crowd.
“As you make your way into the tent,” Ryan continued, “be aware there are names on the tables indicating where you’re to be seated. We figured this way there’d be less confusion and less scrambling. It’s buffet style, so please wait for your table to be called before heading into the line.” He gestured toward the tent, indicating that everyone could proceed.
Melissa and Arlene wound their way into the tent with the rest of the guests. Melissa was already getting a bad feeling about the seating arrangements, and she crossed her arms over her torso as she glanced down at the first table to find her name.
“Oh, here we are,” Arlene announced.
Melissa hurried to her sister’s side. As she looked down at the names on the table, her stomach sank, her fear confirmed. Aaron Burke was seated to her left.
Oh, good God...
Not that she should be surprised, since they were paired off for the wedding. But still, this was too much for her to deal with.
When most of the guests were seated, Ryan and Tasha stood at the front of the tent. “We’ll commence with the buffet line in a minute,” Ryan said into a wireless microphone. “But Tasha and I would like to say a few words first. As you know, this is a welcome dinner for all of you who have come from far and near to be here with us for our special day.”
Melissa glanced over her shoulder, saw Aaron entering the tent and quickly took her seat. As she did, she continued to survey the crowd. Where was Ella? As Aaron’s wife, shouldn’t she be here? Melissa would expect the woman to attend if for no other reason than to gloat. To show off to all those who had returned to town just how special she was because she had snagged a Burke brother.
Aaron and his father, Cyrus, were standing near the entrance of the tent chatting. An old classmate, Douglas Hanover, walked past them, heading in Melissa’s direction. Before she knew what she was doing, Melissa was jumping to her feet and practically throwing herself into Douglas’s path.
“Douglas?” she all but squealed. “Douglas Hanover!”
“Melissa?” His eyebrows raised as a question flashed in his eyes.
“Yes, it’s me.” She beamed at him. “Oh my goodness, it’s been so long.” She hugged him and noticed that he was stiff for a moment before hugging her back. “I see you on television all the time,” she said as they pulled apart. “I always trust your forecasts.”
“You watch me on the morning news?”
Douglas was employed by a network in New York City, and Melissa watched him every morning as she got ready for work. “Every day,” she said. “I’m in Newark.”
“Ah, okay.”
She glanced beyond Douglas’s shoulder at Aaron, trying to not make it obvious that she was looking at him. He was staring at her, watching her with curiosity. Even when she’d left him and joined her sister and Tasha, she’d noticed Aaron looking at her here and there.
“You always said you wanted to be a weatherman,” Melissa said and grinned widely. Did she look idiotic? Or like a woman flirting with a potential new guy?
Aaron and his father were walking toward the front of the tent now—and heading right in her direction. “We should get together for coffee sometime,” Melissa said to Douglas, speaking loudly enough for her voice to carry. “I get into the city quite a bit.”
“That would be awesome,” Douglas said. “Here, meet my wife.” Douglas extended an arm, and a gorgeous woman Melissa had noticed heading in their direction sidled up next to him. “This is Diana. She’s one of the producers of the morning show.”
“Oh...” Melissa wanted to slink into her chair. Not because she cared that Douglas had a wife. She was happy for him. But because she had hoped to find someone—anyone—with whom she could flirt. There was something about the intense gaze Aaron had been leveling on her that had her distinctly uncomfortable. If she had someone else with whom she could spend some time, maybe he would throw his wandering eyes in someone else’s direction.
“Very nice to meet you,” Melissa said, shaking the woman’s hand.
Diana’s smile seemed forced, and Melissa couldn’t blame her. To her, Melissa must have seemed like a threat. A woman determined to pounce on her husband.
“Lovely to meet you as well,” Diana said, her voice professional and poised but lacking sincerity. “Sweetheart, we should go get our seats.”
“Of course,” Douglas said. “Melissa, we’ll talk later.”
No, they wouldn’t. Melissa had already made a fool of herself. She felt bad for her pathetic display of flirtation, but seeing Aaron had gotten to her.
She glanced at her old flame again, saw that he was indeed looking at her even as he spoke to another guest. She quickly sat back down.
“What was that about?” Arlene asked, her gaze following Douglas.
“I just... I guess I reacted as a fan,” Melissa lied. “I watch him on television every morning.”
Arlene didn’t look entirely convinced, but Melissa was saved from having to answer any more questions when Ryan began to speak again.
“Thank you, everyone, for taking your seats,” Ryan said as the last of the stragglers found their tables. “And thank you all for being here. Isn’t it a great day?”
People clapped, and some cheered.
“Tasha and I are glad that the sun is shining and that the forecast for the weekend is clear skies all around. I put in a special request to Douglas, and he delivered!”
There were chuckles among the crowd, and Douglas waved a hand.
“But more importantly,” Ryan went on, “Tasha and I are happy that each and every one of you is able to join us for our special occasion. This wedding wouldn’t be the same without you here. So we thank you so much for taking time out of your schedules to be a part of this.”
“There’s nowhere else we’d rather be,” someone said, raising a wineglass.
There was a round of hear hears, and people raised their glasses in turn.
Ryan smiled. “Many of you here are in the wedding party, and some of you are dear family and friends. All of you are important in our lives in some way. So this welcome dinner is as much about thanking you all for being here with us as it is a cause for celebration.”
Aaron slipped into the seat beside Melissa. She twirled the stem of her wineglass, pretending she hadn’t noticed.
“Some of you asked why we’re not having the wedding here,” Ryan continued. “And this is certainly a stunning location. But aside from the fact that this house might not hold all the guests my wife-to-be wanted to invite...” Ryan glanced down at Tasha, who was now seated, and she gave him a sheepish smile. “It’s also very important to Tasha and to me that we have our wedding in a church. We want God’s blessing on our union, and we feel that’s the right way to do it.”
“Amen,” Cynthia Burke said. Beside her, Cyrus patted her hand.
The one thing that Melissa had always liked about Cyrus and Cynthia was their absolute devotion to each other. Even as a child, she had seen how much they loved each other. How odd that their sons had become such players, despite the example of their loving and doting father.
Why was she even thinking about this?
But she knew why. She could feel the heat emanating from Aaron’s body beside her, and it was stressing her out.
Tasha got to her feet and took the microphone from Ryan’s hand. “But despite the number of people attending the wedding, it will still have an intimate feel. Because we love each and every one of you so much. Blood or not, you’re all family.”
Melissa lifted the bottle of Riesling that was on the table and poured some into her glass. A whiff of Aaron’s cologne, musky and masculine, wafted into her nostrils. The heat from his body continued to radiate toward her, and she had to swallow.
He was entirely too much man. The problem was, he knew it.
She should be counting her lucky stars that their relationship had fallen apart. God forbid, what if they’d gotten married? He would’ve broken her heart the way he had Ella’s.
Ella had fought so hard to snag a Burke brother, no doubt for the bragging rights, but she’d had to endure Aaron’s infidelity. Successful soccer player, wanted by many women around the world—it was no wonder that he had such an inflated sense of ego and had not been able to remain faithful.
At least Melissa had avoided that very life, a life she would not have been able to deal with. She didn’t care how successful a man was; she demanded fidelity. She would not stand by her man as he cheated on her, just to keep the facade of a happy home and to maintain whatever luxuries she had become accustomed to. Material things didn’t matter when your heart was breaking over and over again.
“Melissa, will you pass the wine?” Aaron asked.
A simple request, yet Melissa wanted to pretend she hadn’t heard him. But a nanosecond later, she knew the evening would be that much harder if she played this game.
So she raised the bottle and poured him a glass.
Carlton appeared at the table then and took a seat on her right. She had already learned that he would be paired with her sister for the wedding.
“Melissa Conwell,” Carlton said, smiling warmly at her. “It’s good to see you again.”
“It’s good to see you as well,” Melissa said, and she was glad that she had Carlton to chat with. It saved her from having to spend more time talking to Aaron.
“I can see that the staff is itching to take over,” Ryan said, glancing at a man standing off to the side who was dressed like a butler. “But despite the table numbers, I’d like to ask that the table with my parents, grandparents and our gracious hosts for this evening, my uncle Cyrus and aunt Cynthia, make their way to food line first. Please, everyone, give them a round of applause.”
People clapped as two generations of Burkes stood. They acknowledged the guests with warm smiles before making their way over to the food.
A hum of chatter filled the tent. Wilma, Tasha’s aunt, was seated with them because she was in the wedding party, and Melissa was glad that she was. Wilma was a talker, the type who liked to be the center of attention. She regaled the table with a story about how she’d been out with one of her sons in Buffalo and people thought they were dating. Wilma was in her fifties, but looked no older than her late thirties. She loved that no one was able to guess her age.
“So, Melissa,” Aaron said.
She started to turn toward him, but the butler called their table then, announcing that they could proceed to get their food.
Melissa was the first one to jump up.
Anything to escape Aaron.
Chapter 5 (#u9414bf9d-fb63-5444-971d-d8423f7a2047)
She was ignoring him.
Aaron had made that determination shortly into dinner, when Melissa turned her attention to those on her right and kept it there throughout the night. She threw her head back and laughed many times, as though the conversation on that side of the table was utterly fascinating. She barely threw him a second glance as she proceeded to have the time of her life engaging with everyone at the table but him.
Which meant only one thing. She was angry with him. Maybe she even hated him.
Almost twelve years had passed since he’d last seen her, and apparently those years had not been long enough to bury any animosity between them. He had hoped that now, years later, with both of them more mature, they could rekindle their friendship. Even though things had fallen apart between them, he’d missed her friendship.
She had been a godsend in his life that summer when they’d dated, especially when he had been able to open up about the tragedy that had shaped his life. His little sister, Chantelle, had drowned. On his watch. He’d never been able to forgive himself.
Every great milestone he’d achieved had been marred by guilt. Good things were happening for him, yet Chantelle was dead. Did he actually deserve happiness when it was his fault that his sister had drowned?
That dark cloud had hung over him his whole life, even now, no matter how hard he’d tried to shake it.
That night he’d opened up to Melissa, she’d assured him that he did deserve love, happiness and success. And he had so wanted to believe her. Their relationship had seemed perfect, but perfect never lasted, did it? He’d learned that with Chantelle, so before it was too late, he’d ended the relationship with Melissa.
“Did you try the cheesecake?” Arlene asked, extending the plate of bite-size desserts past Carlton and toward Melissa. “This is to die for.”
“No, let me try one.”
Melissa took the plate of desserts, plucked a cherry cheesecake, then placed it beside the fruit on the small plate she already had. She didn’t bother to extend the dessert plate to Aaron; she just put it down.
Aaron smirked slightly. Yeah, she was upset with him.
At the front of the tent, Ryan stood and spoke into the microphone. “Just so you all know, the party’s not over. Please join us for some dancing. DJ, hit it!”
The next instant, a funky old school tune exploded from the speakers. People were standing, sitting or chatting, and some now made their way out of the tent, jiggling their bodies as they did.
“Please, enjoy the bar, the dance floor, the music,” Ryan went on. “The dinner is over, but the night is young. And the wedding is in two days, so you can sleep in tomorrow.”
Melissa quickly got up from the table and walked over to Arlene. They shared some conversation that Aaron couldn’t hear. His eyes were on her, watching her every move.
She was mesmerizing. She was as enthralling as she had been when he’d known her years ago. If she had come here hoping to avoid him, she should have picked anything other than the sexy red dress she was wearing. Because she had his attention. And he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. She was the most gorgeous woman here.
The dress was stunning. The formfitting, stretchy fabric highlighted her hourglass figure. She was the epitome of a sexy vixen, with those large breasts, narrow waist and voluminous hips. The black pumps she was wearing had a streak of red on the underside, and Aaron found himself thinking about sex.
With her.
As soon as he could get her naked.
Her hair was pulled up into a chignon and he wished more than anything that he could hold her in his arms, release the hairpins and let those raven strands down. He was tired of her frosty reaction to him, and he wanted to help her warm up to him and unleash her inner vixen.
The first song faded into another upbeat tune. “Ooh, that’s my song!” Bonnie exclaimed. She took both Melissa and Arlene by the hand and pulled them out from the tent. The three women made their way to the dance floor that had been set up while everyone ate dinner. Aaron watched them go, his eyes fixed on the shapely figure in the red dress.
Out of nowhere, his brother Keith, younger by a year, appeared and plopped himself down on the chair that Melissa had vacated.
“Have you finalized the plans for the bachelor party?” Keith asked.
Aaron nodded. “The limo’s arriving at eleven.”
