First Comes Marriage (Aster Bay #3)

Chapter Fourteen

“Knock, knock!” Aunt Lucy stuck her head through the propped-open front door of Sabrina’s new studio. “I come bearing cookies.”

Sabrina set the last jar of glaze on the shelf beside the others and turned to face her aunt, wiping her hands on the navy blue apron she wore over her jeans and t-shirt. “You didn’t have to do that. You know you’re welcome to visit without bringing baked goods.”

Aunt Lucy smiled and set the overflowing tray of cookies loosely covered in plastic wrap on the worktable at the front of the studio. “Jam thumbprints. Both your and Sebastain’s favorite.” She glanced around the studio, her smile widening. “It looks wonderful in here, dear. You didn’t waste any time getting set up.”

“Only thing left to do is put up the sign.”

“When is the grand opening?”

“I’m not sure.” Sabrina focused her attention on straightening the jars of glaze on the shelf, making sure all the labels faced forward.

“Looks to me like you’re ready to open tomorrow.”

“Not quite. I want it to be perfect.”

“Nothing’s perfect, dear heart.” Aunt Lucy lay a hand over Sabrina’s, stilling her nervous arranging. “But this place comes pretty darn close.”

“Thanks, Auntie.” Sabrina looked away, clearing her throat. She wasn’t sure exactly why her aunt’s praise should lodge a lump in her airway.

“Come on. We’re going to lunch. My treat.”

“You don’t have to—”

“I want to! It’s not every day I get to celebrate with my favorite niece. Besides, I’ve had the worst craving for one of Lemon and Thyme’s lobster rolls. Indulge me.”

Before Sabrina could protest, she found herself sitting at a table overlooking the water, eating lobster rolls and the best French fries she’d ever had while her aunt shared bits of gossip about people Sabrina had never met.

“When are you going to tell me what happened in Las Vegas?” Aunt Lucy asked.

Sabrina stiffened as she dragged a fry through the puddle of ketchup on her plate. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t play coy with me, young lady. I had to practically twist your arm to get you to go on that trip.”

Sabrina eyed her aunt carefully. “Did you know Sebastian was the other person going?”

“I honestly did not. Ruthie seemed to think it would be Ethan Hart—the one that lives at the vineyard. Ruthie and his mother are friendly and she and her friends have been trying—to no avail, mind you—to set that boy up with a nice girl for years now.”

“I knew it was a set up.”

“Yes, but not with Sebastian . Even I didn’t think—” Aunt Lucy cut herself off and tried to hide it behind a sip of her iced tea.

But Sabrina had already heard. She twisted her hands in the cloth napkin on her lap. “Even you what , Auntie? Even you didn’t think I’d stoop low enough to marry Holly’s ex-fiancé?”

“That is not what I said. ”

“But you were going to.”

“I certainly was not!” Aunt Lucy reached across the table, capturing one of Sabrina’s fidgeting hands with her own.

“I’m sorry,” Sabrina said. “I’m nervous about what Mom and Dad are going to say when I see them this weekend.”

“I’ve always liked Sebastian, and I know how much you cared for him, even back then.”

Heat rushed to Sabrina’s cheeks. Had everyone known she had a crush on her almost brother-in-law? Had he ?

“Now, I was as surprised as anyone when I heard the news of your marriage, but never for a second did it make me think any less of you.”

You’d think less of me if you knew the truth. You’d be disappointed if you knew this all started as a way to get back at Holly for being the perfect daughter. And now I’m lying to you, to the insurance company, to everyone! Petty, stupid, childish plan gone wrong.

“So tell me, how did you go from not wanting to go on that trip to marrying one of Aster Bay’s most eligible bachelors? I didn’t think we’d ever see you walk down the aisle again. Though, I suppose, we didn’t see it at all, now did we?”

Where to begin?

He held my hand on the plane and didn’t make fun of my morbid mantras. He looks so ridiculously sexy in a suit it’s not fair. We were drunk and impulsive, but really I think we both wanted an excuse to give in to the sexual tension between us. Or maybe that was just me.

“I imagine,” Aunt Lucy said carefully, “there was a great deal of alcohol involved?”

Sabrina’s eyes flew to Aunt Lucy’s. “How did you know?”

Her aunt laughed. “Dear heart, you are hardly the first woman to find herself making rash decisions in the company of an attractive man, especially when the wine is flowing.”

“It was margaritas,” Sabrina said with a begrudging smile .

“Even more deadly!” Aunt Lucy leaned back in her seat. “Then, a grand elopement it was not. And yet, you don’t seem to be in a rush to rid yourself of your new husband.”

“We have a…practical arrangement.”

Aunt Lucy hummed in understanding. “Not a love match, then.” Sabrina shook her head. “Well, I must say that I was hoping there was a bit less… practicality in the mix, but I am perhaps more relieved than I should admit to.”

“Relieved?”

Aunt Lucy’s eyes softened, and somehow Sabrina knew her aunt could see how impractical Sabrina’s feelings for Sebastian really were. “He is a wonderful young man. Kind, generous, loyal, even if he does try to hide all that behind his brooding and his suits. But he’s also closed off. Solitary. I would imagine it would be quite hard to get beneath that grumpy exterior of his, especially when he doesn’t seem inclined to let anyone in. You’ve been through so much over the last few years. I would hate to see you get your heart broken.”

Sabrina’s heart squeezed in her chest. “Don’t worry, Auntie. No hearts involved.”

The lie was bitter on her lips, but it seemed to appease her aunt, who smiled broadly. “Good. Now, what shall we get for dessert?”

***

“Tell me again why you called me instead of Gavin?” Ethan leaned over the jewelry case in the small store on the edge of town, eyeing the display of gold rings.

“Gavin’s too much of a romantic,” Baz said, pointing out a set of simple platinum wedding bands to the man behind the counter.

“Too much of a romantic to pick out wedding rings?” When Baz didn’t respond, Ethan made his way over to where the attendant was showing Baz the platinum set. “Didn’t you already buy rings?” He tilted his head towards the cheap gold band on Baz’s finger.

“Vegas rings. I can’t take Sabrina home to her parents’ house wearing dime store jewelry. What do you think of these?”

Ethan looked at the platinum rings. “They’re nice.”

“That’s what you’ve said about every ring we’ve looked at,” Baz complained, picking up the delicate women’s band to examine it more closely.

“I don’t know anything about wedding rings, Baz. Never worn one, never picked one out. You really should have called Gavin or Jamie, or—”

“I’ll take these,” Baz said, handing the ring back to the man behind the counter, along with a folded piece of paper he withdrew from his blazer’s inside pocket. “These are our sizes. I’d like to pick them up tomorrow afternoon.”

The man smiled the wide grin of someone who was about to make a killing on commission. “Of course, sir. There will be a small rush service fee.”

“Fine.” Baz pulled his wallet out and slapped a credit card down on the counter. The man snatched it up with an avalanche of obsequious chatter and disappeared into the back room to run the card.

“What really happened in Vegas?” Ethan asked when they were alone.

Baz pinched the bridge of his nose, a headache gathering behind his eyes. He had hardly slept last night, too busy berating himself for being an insensitive jackass who couldn’t control his hormones and too afraid to go to bed and hear Sabrina through the wall.

“Come on,” Ethan prodded. “You go to Vegas and get married, without bothering to tell any of your closest friends—or your mother—that you were even interested in someone, then you come home and it’s like you’re doing everything you can to avoid talking about this huge thing that happened in your life. And now you’re dropping a small fortune on new wedding rings to impress her family, but you didn’t want to bring the one person who actually likes this kind of shit—”

“It’s not real,” Baz blurted out. “We didn’t mean to get married.”

Ethan blinked, his forehead wrinkling. “I’m sorry, how does someone get married if they don’t mean to get married?”

“We were drunk and I’m a fucking idiot, that’s how.”

“Okay,” Ethan said, drawing out the word. “Then why not get it annulled or get divorced or whatever? Why pretend?”

Baz sighed, rubbing his thumb and index finger over his eyes as though that could ease the pounding in his skull. “It’s complicated. Sabrina needs health insurance.”

Ethan’s face dropped. “She alright?”

“I don’t know,” Sebastian said helplessly, guilt and worry and frustration twisting in his gut into a tangled mess.

“Okay, forget why. How long are you intending to lie to everyone—”

“It’s not technically a lie.” Baz avoided his friend’s disapproving glare. “We are married.”

“But you don’t want to be.”

Baz shot him a look. Why had he brought him again? Next time you get accidentally married, buy the damn rings yourself.

“I still don’t understand why you’re buying new rings,” Ethan continued as the salesman returned with Baz’s credit card and a slip for him to sign.

Baz signed the receipt and took his copy, tucking it into his wallet alongside his credit card. He thanked the salesman, promising to return the next afternoon to pick up the rings, and led Ethan out of the shop. This part of town had little foot traffic, the street lined with real estate and insurance offices rather than the shops and restaurants that were more common in the center of town. The two friends walked nearly two blocks in silence before Baz finally stopped in front of his car, turning to face Ethan.

“She deserves a real ring,” Baz said, that knot behind his sternum hot and growing by the second.

“She deserves a real marriage,” Ethan countered.

“I can give her the ring.” Ethan stared at him, his gaze boring into Baz like he’d excavate that burning knot from his chest with a look alone. “Don’t say anything to Gav and Jamie, alright? They wouldn’t get it.”

“Alright.” Ethan stood back as Baz climbed into his car, but he leaned down to speak to him through the open window. “For the record, you deserve a real marriage too.”