"What the hell you did to my dress?" Nadia raised her head to make Dylan the recipient of the most terrifying glare possible.
I raised the hem of my dress a little from the ground and rushed towards my, very furious, best friend.
"Just added a bit more color, I guess," said Dylan in his usual calm tone. My eyes went wide at the comment as I rushed towards them with a higher speed. Aaron had decided to watch their upcoming argument like an entertained audience.
"Very funny, Mr VanAssche. Very funny. Let me throw a glass full of wine on your oh-so-expensive suit and see if you still find it humorous," Nadia threatened. She said it. She would do it. I had no doubt about that.
A side of Dylan's lips lifted in a barely noticeable smile. "Go ahead, Hayden. Do it," he provoked her.
"No. No do it," I went to Nadia's side bracing myself to hold her back if she decided to act on it.
Instead she turned to me. "Look what he did," Nadia said. Her voice instantly changed to that of a complaining child and though the fury in her eyes was still noticeable, she didn't direct any of it towards me. Her gown looked a lot worse up close. She was holding it with her thumbs and index fingers like a dirty, wet cloth. The wine was dripping down the fabric, making the stain worse with every little movement.
I placed a comforting hand over her shoulder. "It was an accident, Nadia. And Dylan must be very sorry about it," I gave a hard glare to Dylan. There was not the slightest hint of regret on his face. It was not his fault. It was not Nadia's fault, but she had received the worse end of it. So even if he was not going to apologize, it would have helped me a lot if he was not being so sarcastic about it.
"He doesn't look sorry," when Nadia looked at Dylan, the bloodshot eyes were back. Nadia had never been one to let go of things easily, but this was surely the first time that I was watching her hold back herself from diving into the pit of insanity. And yet, she had chosen to keep her words at minimum.
"You really don't look sorry, Dylan. A little help here?" I said.
"I wasn't the one running with my eyes closed," he stated.
"But you spilled the wine, VanAssche," Aaron said. Nadia nodded, relieved to have some support. I was sure that his comment was far from being in favor of Nadia. It was meant to annoy Dylan. Of course he was not going to let go of this chance to take a dig at him.
"Are we taking sides now, Aaron?" I asked. My eyebrows were raised in surprise, not for his words or for him taking sides, but the sheer amusement on his face.
"I am," he smiled at me. Even at a moment like this, I could not fail to notice how charming his smile was, or how incredibly handsome he looked when he smiled.
I was thinking of ways to diffuse the situation when Kevin arrived. He joined the group, searching all of our faces for answers to explain what was going on. It was Nate who took the initiative and pulled him a little away to explain it.
"Guys, you see it was a mistake. Why don't you both apologize to each other and end this here?" I suggested. It was the only solution that I could think of while still being neutral. It would not end well for me to take a side here.
"When was the last time I ever apologized, Caro?" Dylan asked me. A question that sounded so genuine, but made his intentions clear to everyone around.
"Yes, Caro. Mr VanAssche is too mighty for an apology. The world revolves around him after all," Nadia's eyes were trained on him as she spoke.
Dylan's face hardened, the little smile vanished, and his composure wavered. But he didn't speak. It was Kevin who took that moment to express his plight.
"I advise you to apologize, Mr VanAssche. She kicks. And she kicks really hard." I saw the hurt on his face and turned to Nadia. She did not meet my eyes at first, but when she did, she mouthed a little 'sorry' to both Aaron and I.
"Alright," I said, wrapping my hands around Nadia's arm, "no apologizing. No arguing. Let's end this here and you come with me." I pulled Nadia away with me.
"Caro wait," Dylan's voice called for me as we turned the corner. I stopped and turned to him, my face stern. He really needed to let go of this argument. But when he came towards me, it wasn't what he wanted to talk about. "I'm leaving now. Enjoy your day."
Nadia freed her hand and stepped away, allowing me that conversation.
"Leaving already?" I asked, worried that he was angry after everything that had happened.
"Something came up."
"Is Uncle William okay?" I asked, concerned. Dylan's father was not in good health. That was the reason he was not at the ceremony. Aunt Jen, Dylan's mother, had stayed behind to look after him.
"He's fine. It's just work," he assured.
"Really? You're not leaving because you're mad, are you?"
He smiled. "Of course not. There was a shooting incident in LA. The situation was brought under control but I need to have a chat with the law enforcement there," Dylan explained casually.
It was difficult for me to wrap my head around what he was saying. "Shooting? Are you in trouble?" I asked.
"Not me," Dylan said. He kissed my cheek. "Congratulations. Ping me up if Woodwords gives you any trouble."
And then he was gone. I smiled and looked over at Nadia, "see. He is nice."
"Only to you," she said, following me inside the room.
"What did he do to you?" I asked. Nadia helped me with my wedding gown. It was too much to handle by myself alone.
"You remember the time when we lost our jobs at the cafe and I told you I'll let you know about my dream job when I get there?" she asked. I nodded. It was the day when Aaron had bought the cafe—correction, the whole area—where I used to work.
"Thanks to your cousin, I'm never getting there," she sighed. She was trying to play it cool, but I could see how troubled she was as she confessed that.
"Don't be cryptic, Nadia," I said, turning serious about it. She noticed the change and laughed in response.
"He's just a jerk, Caro. You love him. Keep it that way, you don't have to see the devil inside him," Nadia tried to convince me. She was quick to change the subject after that. And what she informed me next made me forget about it totally.
The firm she worked at currently had incurred some heavy losses recently. Mr Johnson, the firm owner, had decided to shut down the New York branch and shift everything to the main building in California to make up for the losses. A lot of employees were offered to shift with the firm. She was one of them and had decided to seize the opportunity. Since Nadia was terribly serious about the whole thing, and since I was saddened myself that she was shifting to another state, I refrained from telling her that Dylan lived and worked in California too. Considering how big California was, there were almost negligible chances of them ever crossing paths, so I kept that detail to myself.
"I'm going to miss you," I hugged her tightly.
"So am I," she said with a sad smile.
Later, I joined Aaron outside where the guests were waiting for me to toss the bouquet. It was the last thing after which Aaron and I would be leaving for our honeymoon. I burst out laughing when the bouquet of flowers landed in Nadia's hands. The guests were cheering while the girl holding it was staring at the flowers, her face expressing her confusion.
Aaron came to my side, his hand went around my waist as he kissed me on the temple. "Let's go," he whispered.
"Where?" I asked in hope that he would tell me about the destination. Instead, he took my hand and guided me towards the limousine waiting for us.
"You'll see," he said.
"Come on, tell me," I poked him as we settled inside the car.
Aaron chuckled and pulled me towards him, placing his lips over mine and kissing me passionately. I felt the butterflies dance inside my stomach as he pushed his tongue in my mouth, exploring every corner.
"Too impatient, are we?" he smirked and I blushed.
We sat in silence with my head on his shoulders and our hands entwined together. The airport was a short drive.
Aaron's pilot, Mark, and Lara congratulated us as we boarded the jet. It was going to take a couple of hours to reach the destination—wherever it was. Lara had arranged some snacks for us. My eyes felt heavy as I munched on the delicious truffle crisps. The day was finally taking a toll on me. Aaron must have noticed how my voice had started to get slurry because he pulled me out of the chair and took me to the bedroom.
"Sleep here. I have some things to take care of, I'll join you in a while," Aaron said, pulling the covers over me and planting a kiss on my forehead.
"You have a room here," I chuckled looking around. My voice was sounding drunk to my own ears and when I looked around, there was hardly anything that made sense to my sleepy mind. "Of course, you do. I should have guessed it earlier. You're too rich for my liking."
"Too bad. We're already married," Aaron chuckled.
I saw him smile at me. I loved his laugh. That was my last thought as sleep took over me. I really did love his laugh.
****
"Wake up," Aaron whispered. His hot breath fanned over ear and neck, tickling the sensitive skin there. I opened my eyes as the realization struck me. He was in the bed with me. His hand was wrapped around my waist pulling my back to his chest. I could feel the heat of his body sinking into mine. His lips grazed over my earlobe, then moved south to my neck to kiss me. I shuddered under his touch. I could feel him smile against my skin.
"We're here," he said.
"Where?" my voice was breathy, giving away my feelings.
"Look for yourself," he said. With a feather-light kiss on the joint of my shoulder, Aaron let go of me. I moved out of the bed, hoping my legs wouldn't betray me. My heart wasn't helping much, but I was relieved when my foot touched the ground and I regained a little sense.
I went near the window. We were heading close to the airport, I could see it at a distance. The blue ocean met the orangish-red sky at the horizon. The beaches marked the end of the salty water. The coasts were covered in trails of rainforest. It took me a few seconds to register what I was seeing. Then I gasped.
"Bahamas," I turned to Aaron.
He stuffed a couple of pillows behind his back as he watched me with a charming smile. "You like islands," he stated.
I do. I always wanted to travel around. It was one of those things that I dreamed of doing when I was stuck inside my father's house, not allowed to take a step out without his permission. I wanted to be free. An island was only a stretch. I knew I was never getting there. But I could always dream. I shook my head as I watched the green trees waving to the touch of the ocean breeze. Not a dream anymore. This was real.
"How did you know?" I asked.
"Nadia told me," he said. "We traded information for information."
I didn't even have to ask him to know if the information he gave her must be related to my poor cousin. This explained why he had taken her side. They have joined forces against Dylan.
I shook my head and looked out of the window. "It's beautiful."
Soon, we stepped outside as the jet landed and headed towards a waiting car. Since our luggage and everything was nowhere to be seen, I inquired Aaron about it. His response was short and simple: it was going to be sent directly to the island.
Weren't we already on the island?
It was hardly a 5 minute drive to the coast, where we went directly to the harbor. A man in his late forties, with fiery red hair and ocean blue eyes was waiting for us. He guided us towards a bow rider. Aaron introduced the man as the caretaker. Caretaker of what? Considering his track record, I assumed he might own a house or property in the Bahamas too.
Aaron took my hand and helped me get inside the bow rider. We have been changing transportation for hours now and I could not figure what more was there to do when we had already arrived at the island. The sun was a drowning orange sphere by the time the bow rider was away from the harbor. Aaron was skillfully controlling the helm of the bow rider.
"Why are we going away from the island?" I asked over the heavy noise of the engine and the splashing of the water.
"We're not," he replied, then pointed at something in the distance.
The sun had almost set so it was difficult to focus on anything. But as we got closer, the burning of light and flame became more prominent. I squinted my eyes until I realized we were near the coast of a smaller island. I sighed and looked over at Aaron.
"This is your private island," I said. This was crazy.
Aaron looked over at me and smiled, "our private island."
Yes, I definitely loved that smile. But I loved the man even more.
- Analia