Page 17 of Something Borrowed

“Like you ever let me get away with that.”

“Damn right. And I won’t this week either.” Caroline stood up. “Let’s get you settled, okay?”

* * *

Brigid and Caroline headed up the stairs and to the right, toward the master bedroom. Just past the landing, Caroline opened a door.

“Your old room, a little changed, of course.”

Brigid laughed. “I remember when your mom redid the place. The downstairs looks awesome.”

“Well, I hope you like this update. Blues and yellows, vintage cottage style.” Caroline threw open the door and gestured for Brigid to head inside. “I’ll let you unpack and rest a bit. I’ll be downstairs.”

The bright yellow walls were accented with white trim. The queen-sized bed was adorned with a blue and white toile comforter and looked so amazingly comfortable. Brigid couldn’t remember the last time she had slept through the night. Maybe it was when she was last in undergrad, just after senior year.

It had been a quiet fall. Anna was off practicing in the town theater, close to getting her big break in Hollywood. Delaney was back in Houston, dealing with the legal fallout from her father’s arrest. Only Caroline and Brigid spent time on the island, with Matthew working at the firm between law school semesters. It was her last fall without worries, the time she used to rest up for the ordeal ahead and to grow closer to Caroline. While they had always been friends, Caroline and Delaney had had a special friendship, one that had developed over a lifetime. Brigid had almost not gone to the island that fall, feeling awkward and uncomfortable with it not being a group. But Caroline needed her and she couldn’t let her down.

Coincidentally, that fall had been when she first met Grady. Matthew would come over on weekends and he had brought his brother, probably to make Brigid feel less like a third wheel and more like a part of the group. She had also found out later that Matthew was trying to reconnect with his brother, after almost a decade apart, thanks to their parents’ divorce. Just hearing about that divorce and custody agreement made her glad she had no interest in family law.

She and Grady hadn’t hit it off at first. He was too laid-back, too easygoing. He was content with not finishing college and going into his father’s contracting business. She tried to convince him of the benefits of a business degree, how he could grow his business so much more if he had business knowledge. He said he didn’t need a fancy college degree to know how to help his customers. His trade school background was enough. She had given up convincing him. If he wanted to waste his life and not reach his full potential, that wasn’t for her to decide.

Brigid ran her hand over the light and fluffy comforter. She sat on the edge and lay back, falling into the five pillows on the head of the bed, her troubles, and a persistent headache, fading away. She let out her breath and her muscles unwound and loosened. God, she needed this vacation, more than she had ever thought.

Her gaze fell on her suitcases and the laptop bag and right like that, her tension was back. She needed to get up and hang the dress in the closet before it needed pressing again. But her body refused to move, loving the soft comforter that felt like she was sleeping on clouds. Her eyes suddenly flew open.

Why was there a duffel bag with her suitcases? She only owned one for the gym, another place she hadn’t been in months, thanks to her crazy work schedule.

The doors to the balcony opened, and Grady walked into the room. “Hey, Brigid.”

She sat poker straight. “What are you doing in my room?”

“Our room.” He gestured to the luggage. “Apparently, you weren’t kidding about Caroline and her matchmaking ways.”

She jumped to her feet. “There’s no way Caroline would do this. Not even to Delaney and Ethan, and they used to be engaged. This is crazy. I need to talk to her.”

She bolted out the door, and from the open landing, she leaned over the railing. “Caroline!”

Caroline emerged from the kitchen and looked up to the stairs. “What’s wrong, Brigid?”

“My room. You put Grady in there too.”

Caroline looked confused. “But I thought you two were a couple. And it solved our room problem.”

Matthew stepped out next to her. “What’s going on?”

Brigid sighed. “I told you. We’re not a couple. Grady was just helping me out on Friday night.”

“Really?” Caroline arched her brow. “Are you sure about that?”

“Of course. Now, one of us needs to move.”

Caroline was already shaking her head. “There’s no room. The other four rooms are for Delaney, Ethan, Anna, and Wyatt. Matthew is in my room. I’m staying in the master suite until Friday when my parents come.”

“What engaged couple doesn’t stay together before their wedding? You’ve been living together for years.”

Mathew grimaced. “Caroline thought this would be a nice idea for us to stay apart for the month up to the wedding. It would make the honeymoon and wedding more special. So, she moved back home.”

“Fine. I’ll sleep in the office. There’s a pullout there, and I’ll probably spend more time there, anyway.”

---