Page 129 of Stolen Summer

A MATRIMONY DRIPPING IN MONEY

Today, Rowan and Krista Riley of Haven Ridge and Ryan and Lauren Rossi of Long Haven announce the upcoming wedding of their children.

My eyes snapped up, and I dropped Frankie’s phone on the bed. “He’s marrying her?” I whispered. I couldn’t believe it. I hadn’t wanted to believe Crew would give up and yield to his father’s demands, especially when I knew how much he hated Gianna.

Why would he go through with it?

What happened to changing his mind? For him to surrender?

Stomach churning, I felt on the edge of a panic attack. It hit me that I waited too long. I should have told Crew how I felt the night I went to his dorm—the night we slept together. Why hadn’t I had the courage to tell him? In every other aspect of my life I could be a badass. I snubbed my nose at gossip. I was so damn driven when it came to school. Yet when it came to my heart, nothing scared me more.

“It appears so,” Frankie said dryly, plopping on the bed next to me. “What are you going to do about it?”

I blinked, meeting my best friend’s gaze. “What can I do?”

“That’s not the Arie I know. Are you really going to let your man marry a woman he doesn’t love?”

“He’s not mine.”

“He could be. You love him. He loves you. It’s that simple. Don’t let yourself get in the way. I understand you’re scared. You don’t want to be hurt. But if you don’t take chances, Arie, you could be missing out on the best parts of love. Money isn’t everything. No one knows that better than us, but you don’t have to prove yourself worthy to someone like Cole or Crew. You know you’re damn worthy of a hundred Rileys. Don’t let insecurities stand in your way.”

“I don’t know that he loves me.”

“And you won’t find out unless you take the risk. Go, Arie. No regrets.” She squeezed my hand.

I stared at her, my mind spinning. She was right. “No regrets,” I echoed.

“What are you waiting for?” she asked when I just sat, suddenly overwhelmed to the point my brain stopped functioning.

I couldn’t figure out what to do first. Or where to start. Getting off the bed and putting on some clothes was probably a good place to begin. I inched to the edge of the mattress and headed to the bathroom. One look in the mirror and I cringed. It would take more than some deodorant and a hairbrush to make me look presentable. Impatience made me want to bolt from the room. I had this feeling I needed to see Crew now. Not tomorrow. Not in an hour. I needed to do this before I lost my gumption, but I was just vain enough to want to look less like a hag when I told the guy I was in love with not to marry someone else.

I hoped it wasn’t too late.

“Do you know where he is?” I asked as Frankie tossed me a shirt from the closet. I’d put some product in my hair, giving it a refresh, brushed my teeth, and applied enough makeup to make me look like I hadn’t been in bed all day.

Frankie flashed a grin like she was damn proud of me. “As a matter of fact, I do.”

Of course, they were throwing a party. Why wouldn’t they be? They needed little reason to celebrate at Kappa Chi, but an engagement of a fraternity brother had to be a bash deserving of being shut down.

I was jumping to conclusions. The party probably had nothing to do with the engagement. It was a Friday night and a tradition at this point to throw a bash.

Chewing on my lip, I stared at the house swelling with people. This was so not how I pictured telling Crew about my feelings. There was no sandy beach between our toes. No lulling roll of the ocean’s waves. No squawking of seagulls. At least the moon shone full in the star-strewn sky, illuminating the house. One out of four conditions. It would have to do. Perhaps I could get Crew to go on a walk, lure him away from the party, somewhere more private.

I just hoped Gianna wasn’t inside.

But my first obstacle was finding Crew, and it took a minute of me battling against the sea of bodies in every room to realize it was no easy task. I pulled out my phone, thinking it might be easier to send a damn text when I spotted them through the open doors leading out to the back patio.

They stood side by side. Firelight highlighted their faces, and embers danced in the air surrounding them from the bonfire. Cole threw his head back and laughed, but Crew only scowled, shrouded in a bit more darkness than Cole who was closer to the fire. How very appropriate.

I stood there studying them. How hadn’t I seen it before? How hadn’t I been able to tell they were two different people? As I looked at them now, it was so clear. Yes, they shared the same face, but each had telling signs and mannerisms that allowed me to identify who was who easily.

Cole’s smile was infectious. He had a boyish charm about him, and it drew people to him.

The obvious identifier for Crew was the lip ring. He drew it into his mouth now, my eyes devouring the movement, remembering what it was like to be kissed by those lips, the cool steel of his piercing pressed against mine.

Crew rarely smiled.

Taking a breath, I braced myself for what I came to do. Cole and Crew both turned toward me at my approach. Crew’s eyes darkened, the gold flecks in his irises nearly winking out entirely. He rubbed his chin, his eyes remaining intent on me.

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