Page 63 of Something Borrowed

Caroline had never sounded so cold, so distant, and Brigid could almost feel the ice skate across her skin. Delaney studied her with a coolness that she was famous for, hence her nickname of the ice princess back in college. But Caroline had always been the warm and welcoming one. Now Brigid didn’t know what to do or say. She started up the steps, but Caroline narrowed her gaze and Brigid stopped on the first step.

“Caroline, I’m sorry. I know I have no right to be here or even apologize. What I did was unforgivable; to leave you right before your wedding when all you asked is for us to be here for one week. It was the least I could do for all you’ve done for me.”

“The very least,” Anna muttered behind her.

Brigid shot a dark look behind her but refused to let herself be goaded. She took another step up. “I had my priorities all screwed up. Nothing is more important than my friends, than your wedding.”

“Not even your promotion or your deal?” Caroline arched her eyebrow.

Brigid took another step. “No, I quit yesterday.”

Caroline gasped. She rushed down the steps, completely forgetting herself. “Brigid, I never wanted you to quit. How could you? I’ll talk to Daddy tomorrow. We’ll make sure you have your job, I promise. My wedding shouldn’t cost you your job.”

Brigid hugged her. “It didn’t. I made the decision that I didn’t want to make those sacrifices anymore. Any job that requires me to give up my life, my friends, is not worth it. I can find something else.”

“Hell, yeah. Lawyers are a dime a dozen. You can hang a shingle out of an office and be a lawyer,” Anna said. “Shouldn’t be that hard.”

“Stuff it, Anna,” Delaney said, following Caroline down the stairs, looking exhausted and drawn. She also hugged Brigid. “We’re glad you’re back, honey. You okay?”

Brigid shrugged, blinked back tears at the quiet concern, tears she hadn’t foreseen. “I’ll be okay. I’ll figure it all out on Monday.”

Delaney grabbed her shoulders and peered into her eyes, willing a strength into them. “You’re strong. You’ll survive and figure this out, coming out stronger for it. Trust me; I know this.”

And she did. She’d survived a much more arduous journey after her father’s arrest for a Ponzi scheme and her family’s sudden loss of finances. Delaney had picked herself up and forged her own path in life, maybe not one she had planned but she had done it. And Brigid could do the same thing, had no choice, really.

Brigid hugged her fiercely, clinging for a moment to whisper in her ear, “I don’t know why you look so sad, but I plan on getting it out of you as soon as possible. Don’t even think of running away again.”

Delaney pulled back slightly, a small, sad smile on her face. “Running away is no longer an option. I just have to survive.”

Brigid nodded, then was pulled back to face Caroline. “So, you think you can waltz back in here and be a bridesmaid after walking out on me two days before my wedding?”

Brigid bit her lower lip, not sure how to answer. “Um, yes? If you’ll still have me. If not, I’ll still be here for you. I really am sorry I screwed up.”

“You think I’m mad about the wedding? What about Grady? You destroyed him and, as my future brother-in-law in about eight hours, I feel responsible for him. What are you going to do about that?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “But I’m open to suggestions.”

“Do you want him back?”

“If he’ll have me, although I doubt he even wants to see me after what I did.”

Anna laughed. “That man is totally gone on you, girl. I know men, and he wants you. He’ll take you back. You just need to grovel a little. Come on; we’ll plan it over some champagne.”

The girls linked arms and headed up the stairs. Caroline leaned back and yelled, “You can all come back and bring a couple of bottles of champagne!”

ChapterTwenty-Seven

Grady leaned against the white column on the porch, staring sightlessly out onto the beautiful lawn and garden scene, and the Gulf of Mexico just beyond. It had taken a lot of work to fix the gazebo for the outdoor wedding vows and clean up the gardens after the storm, but he had been motivated. Not just to make the day special for his brother and Caroline, a woman Grady already loved like a sister, but pounding nails and building a new gazebo was an excellent way to work out the aggression and tension that pounded through him since Brigid had left on Thursday.

In his gut, the argument was probably stupid, but, truth be told, the entire relationship was most likely insane and doomed to fail. Better to know it now than waste more time and risk forging deeper ties that would only bind, gag, and destroy them in the long run. Matt had been right; Grady and Brigid were too opposite, had completely different goals and outlooks on life. Brigid was all about the big deals, the money, the status while he was happy with a modest house, restoring Houston’s historical district and taking time to enjoy life. Being in her third-year, she was still tied to billable hours and paid based on that, and he remembered those days, when he was paying off business loans and debts, trying to pay employees and grow, working eighteen-hour days. He was over that, ready for the next phase of his life. Brigid was still in that mode, and he wasn’t sure she would ever not be that kind of person. There was always another deal, another client, more billable hours.

Yes, this decision was for the best for both of them. They were each free to find someone more suited to their lives.

If only his heart would listen to his head.

A glass of scotch appeared in his vision and he took it gratefully. “How did you know I needed this?”

“We all need something today,” Ethan replied, his own voice rough and tight.

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