“Yes—we’ve been together since December.”
After the warning we got from Eli to get our dating history straight, we made up a narrative about running into each other at Boots and Buckles.
“Now remind me,” I ask. “Was it your dance moves that swept me off my feet, or another off-key serenade?”
He turns back to face me. “It was my irresistible charm, obviously.” Then he smirks.
I love this version of him—stone-faced one second, then slipping into humor the next.
“Good,” I exhale. “Because I’m going to need to borrow that charm for tonight.”
“Are you nervous?” Brendan studies me.
“No, of course not.” I lower my voice. “I’m terrified, actually.”
Then he takes my hand. “Don’t forget to breathe.”
I think I’ve already forgotten, from the moment he took my hand. I drop my head, afraid to meet his eyes.
Brendan reaches over and tips my chin up. “Hey, they will love you, Scarlett.”
“But there are so many reasons why this could go wrong.”
“Well, I can’t think of one. Not if we’re together.”
Before I can respond, the door flies open and Aunt Elana appears, welcoming us with hugs and kisses. “Leave your luggage in the corner, and one of the staff will take it to your assigned rooms.”
Over her shoulder, I notice Carmen talking with her other two bridesmaids—Jaz and Taylor, Aunt Elana’s daughter—while Carmen’s fiancé, Tony, chats with a few of the groomsmen.
Then Isabella rushes to the door, kissing my cheeks just likeshe did back in the coffee shop. “You’re just in time for a tour of the house before dinner.”
“That’s really not necessary,” I stammer, but judging by their expressions, I don’t get a vote.
“We don’t want you to get lost,” Elana says, pulling me away from Brendan. “And we’ll show you your room on the way.”
The women sweep me through the first floor: kitchen, solarium, library, dining room, living room, ballroom, and indoor pool, where Elana claims she has pictures of six-year-old Brendan jumping into the pool wearing only his Superman undies.
On the stairs, I stop at a framed photo I don’t recognize at first. A younger Isabella with her arm around a man with dark eyes and thick hair, the same features as his son.Brendan’s father.Seeing him here, frozen in time on a staircase wall, makes my chest ache for the boy who lost his father too soon.
Losing my dad is something I can’t let myself think about just yet. But seeing this photo makes me understand something about Brendan. He knows what it means to lose someone important. Maybe that’s partly why he’s trying to help me save the cafe. Not just because he needs a wedding date, but because he wants to do whatever he can to help my dad.
“Scarlett?” Isabella calls from the top of the stairs.
I pull myself away and follow her voice to the far end of the third-floor hallway, where she and Elana are waiting.
“The Blue Suite,” Elana announces, holding out a key like she’s presenting me with the keys to paradise. “Our favorite room. And it’s yours for the week.”
I start to protest, but Elana is already closing my fingers around the key.
“You are Brendan’s special guest,” Isabella says. “We want you to enjoy every minute.”
There’s no arguing with the Marco women. Once they’ve made up their minds, there’s no hope of changing it.
When I enter the Blue Suite, it’s easy to see why it’s their favorite—deep-navy walls, brass accents, and a massive four-posterbed with blue silk bedding that looks too expensive to sleep in. Stunning floor-to-ceiling windows open onto a balcony overlooking the gardens. There’s even a sitting area with a couch and minibar.
When I step inside the bathroom next, I audibly gasp. There’s an enormous walk-in shower with expensive tile and at least a half-dozen showerheads from every imaginable angle. Next to that is a separate bathtub so large, I could stretch my legs out completely in it.
“Do you like it?” Isabella asks.