They might have been interrupted this time, but a reckoning was coming.
Chapter Six
The next couple of hours passed easily enough. They ate steaks cooked on the grill by Matthew and his brother Grady, whom Anna met after her toss up with Delaney. She kept her agreement with Brigid by staying on the opposite side of the fire pit from Delaney, but she needn’t have bothered. Delaney also lurked on the outside of the group, spending some quality time with Grady and then hanging out on the swing, not circulating within the group as Anna had expected. Anna relaxed in the lounge chair and sipped her third—or was it her fourth?—vodka tonic, and studied the flickering flames of the fire in the pit. The small fire cast off some warmth, but she still felt chilled in the late September evening. A light wrap was placed around her shoulders, and she curled into it gratefully, glancing up to see Caroline standing there.
Caroline settled in the chair next to her and sighed. “Was I crazy to get all of you back together this week?”
Anna cast her a sideways glance. “It’s been a long time, Caroline. A lot of time, a lot of stuff. It might be too much to expect us all to link arms and sing the UT fight song.”
“I’m thinking the fight song is not exactly what I want everyone singing. Maybe ‘Deep in the Heart of Texas’ might be more in line with our goals this week.” Caroline laid her head against the back of her chair and closed her eyes.
Guilt prodded at Anna, reminding her that this week was not about her and her petty issues and vendettas, but about something far more pure and wonderful. Caroline and Matthew had been together almost since Caroline’s freshman year at UT. It seemed like they had known they were fated to be together from the beginning. They hung in there, waiting for Matthew to finish law school and his first few years at the firm so they could be established and settle down. They were the nucleus of their group, pulling everyone together at the beginning, almost ten years ago when they all first met, hanging in there for the blow-up, and still acting as the steadying influence to center everyone now. Only, they weren’t kids anymore, and life was infinitely more complicated.
Anna swung her legs around, keeping the wrap around her shoulders, and sat up, facing Caroline. “I’m sorry, Caroline. I don’t know what’s gotten into me. I’d blame travel and a challenging filming schedule, but that would be excuses.”
Caroline opened her eyes and studied Anna, her gaze shrewd. “I know that. That’s why I especially wanted you back here. You needed to get out of that place, remember where you came from, connect with your roots.” Caroline leaned forward and clasped Anna’s hands in her own. “I don’t know what’s going on in LA with you and your career. Judging by some of the faux news articles and gossip rags, it’s not pleasant. I can’t imagine living under that kind of pressure and constant scrutiny is easy.”
Anna froze, Caroline’s words entirely too close to the truth for her to handle. She swallowed convulsively, striving for her mirror calm, the image she always portrayed to keep people from seeing beneath the surface. When she felt she had achieved it, she laughed, although the sound seemed brittle even to her ears. “You know me, Caroline. I asked for that life. So, I got what I wanted, right?”
Caroline tugged her hands, yanking her closer. “That’s bullshit, and you know it. You’re unhappy, Anna. Something is going on with you, and I’m worried.”
Anna’s bravado fled in that instant, drained away by the worry and honest caring in her friend’s voice. What had she done to earn a friend like Caroline? Tears prickled at her eyes, and she blinked rapidly to clear them away before anyone could see. “I promise I’ll try this week, okay? I won’t be such a bitch, and I’ll try to get along with Delaney. Really.”
A broad grin crossed Caroline’s face, and she stood, drawing Anna to her feet. The women embraced. “Thank you, Anna. I hope someday you’ll trust me with whatever’s bothering you. And, please, for everyone’s sake, talk to Delaney. Air out your issues. I know you’re not angry, only hurt, even if you can’t admit that yet.”
Anna smiled through watery eyes. “You’re too smart for your own good, Caroline, and too good to me. I don’t deserve you as a friend.”
“Bull.” Matthew caught Caroline’s eye over Anna’s shoulder, and with one last hug, she hurried off to talk with him.
Before Anna could make her excuses and escape to the privacy and safety of her room, a scrape of shoes on the patio blocks pulled her attention. Wyatt emerged from the shadows, an enigmatic look on his face.
“She’s too good to you,” he said coldly.
She lifted her chin and met his gaze squarely. “I know.”
He pulled her into the shadows and out of view of the rest of the group, around the side of the house. “Then why are you so determined to ruin the wedding? Doesn’t she deserve better?”
Anna yanked her arm out of his hand, rubbing the spot where his fingers had dug in, still feeling the tingle on her skin from his touch. “Of course she does. Why do you always assume the worst of me?”
“Maybe because I’m usually right. Did you or did you not just pick a fight with Delaney Winters, your supposed friend, just a couple of hours ago, in front of everyone? God, Anna, how could you be so selfish? It’s all about you, isn’t it?”
He crowded her against the side of the house, the shadows hiding them from everyone’s view, his large frame easily caging hers. The warmth from his body heated her chilled skin, igniting a fire inside that she wanted to deny but couldn’t. Her hands itched to slip under his shirt and trace the six-pack abs she could see outlined faintly by the taut fabric. She wished he’d wrap his arms around her, pulling her close, warming her up from the outside, giving her a safe harbor in her chaotic world. Judging by the emotions swirling in his eyes, he wasn’t eager to resume their relationship.
She stiffened and pushed against his chest, trying to give herself some space. “It’s clear that Delaney and I are not friends and probably never were, especially if she could just walk away so easily.”
He refused to budge, leaning further forward, bracing himself with one hand next to her head. “Like you stayed around for anyone, Anna? You seemed to have no problem hitting the road when it suited you. How many times did you come back in the past five years? I’ll bet you could count them on one hand.”
She gave up on moving him and clutched the wrap around her like a shield. “I came back when I was needed. My sister’s wedding. Her baby shower and the birth. Caroline’s shower. No one needed me for much else. My parents had my brothers and sisters for the restaurant. Brigid was in law school, and we know how scholarly I was. Caroline was doing her event planning and fundraising business. Who the hell knows where Delaney was, but she made it clear she didn’t want to see any of us.”
“What about me?” His voice was quiet, soft, but it resonated like a gunshot in the night, piercing her armor.
She stared up at him, at a complete loss for words. Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times, but no words emerged. Wyatt waited patiently, a sad bitterness in his eyes.
He pushed off the wall and took a step back. “Never mind. It was a long time ago. Clearly it didn’t matter.”
He turned away, and before she could stop herself, she reached out and took his arm. The muscles in his forearm bunched and tightened under her hand, and he froze, not turning back to her.
It was a bad idea to reach out, and she knew it. It would be better for both of them if she kept her distance. She could keep her secrets, hide the reality of her situation, while keeping her heart safe from Wyatt. He was the one man who could see inside of her, see the truth, and devastate her again. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to survive a second time, especially now when she was vulnerable in every aspect of her life.