fault that his sister had drowned?
That dark cloud had hung over him his whole life, even now, no matter how hard he’d tried to shake it.
That night he’d opened up to Melissa, she’d assured him that he did deserve love, happiness and success. And he had so wanted to believe her. Their relationship had seemed perfect, but perfect never lasted, did it? He’d learned that with Chantelle, so before it was too late, he’d ended the relationship with Melissa.
“Did you try the cheesecake?” Arlene asked, extending the plate of bite-size desserts past Carlton and toward Melissa. “This is to die for.”
“No, let me try one.”
Melissa took the plate of desserts, plucked a cherry cheesecake, then placed it beside the fruit on the small plate she already had. She didn’t bother to extend the dessert plate to Aaron; she just put it down.
Aaron smirked slightly. Yeah, she was upset with him.
At the front of the tent, Ryan stood and spoke into the microphone. “Just so you all know, the party’s not over. Please join us for some dancing. DJ, hit it!”
The next instant, a funky old school tune exploded from the speakers. People were standing, sitting or chatting, and some now made their way out of the tent, jiggling their bodies as they did.
“Please, enjoy the bar, the dance floor, the music,” Ryan went on. “The dinner is over, but the night is young. And the wedding is in two days, so you can sleep in tomorrow.”
Melissa quickly got up from the table and walked over to Arlene. They shared some conversation that Aaron couldn’t hear. His eyes were on her, watching her every move.
She was mesmerizing. She was as enthralling as she had been when he’d known her years ago. If she had come here hoping to avoid him, she should have picked anything other than the sexy red dress she was wearing. Because she had his attention. And he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. She was the most gorgeous woman here.
The dress was stunning. The formfitting, stretchy fabric highlighted her hourglass figure. She was the epitome of a sexy vixen, with those large breasts, narrow waist and voluminous hips. The black pumps she was wearing had a streak of red on the underside, and Aaron found himself thinking about sex.
With her.
As soon as he could get her naked.
Her hair was pulled up into a chignon and he wished more than anything that he could hold her in his arms, release the hairpins and let those raven strands down. He was tired of her frosty reaction to him, and he wanted to help her warm up to him and unleash her inner vixen.
The first song faded into another upbeat tune. “Ooh, that’s my song!” Bonnie exclaimed. She took both Melissa and Arlene by the hand and pulled them out from the tent. The three women made their way to the dance floor that had been set up while everyone ate dinner. Aaron watched them go, his eyes fixed on the shapely figure in the red dress.
Out of nowhere, his brother Keith, younger by a year, appeared and plopped himself down on the chair that Melissa had vacated.
“Have you finalized the plans for the bachelor party?” Keith asked.
Aaron nodded. “The limo’s arriving at eleven.”
“And he knows nothing about it?”
“Ryan is clueless.”
Keith smiled. “Good.”
* * *
Melissa had had enough, and she kicked off her heels. She wiggled her bare toes, hoping to bring circulation back into them. The shoes were beautiful, one of her rare splurges, but she could only wear them for so long. She had passed the threshold of comfort quite some time ago. There was no way she could continue on the dance floor in these.
“Whoever invented high heels wanted to torture women,” Melissa said above the music. She was dancing with Arlene now, as Bonnie had bopped off somewhere else.
“That’s why I wear flats as much as I can,” Arlene said, then raised a foot to show her sensible flat sandals.
Melissa typically did sensible, but today, she’d wanted to do something different. Wanted to come back to Sheridan Falls and make a certain someone realize what he’d missed out on. The beauty of it was, Aaron could only look but not touch, because he was married.
Speaking of married, where was his wife? She hadn’t been here all evening.
Arlene leaned close and asked, “Are you going to the bachelorette party?”
“I’m here, so I guess I’m going to join everyone as we make the rounds.”
“I’m not sure I’ll be able to make it.” Arlene frowned. “Craig says he’s busy tonight, and he’s giving me a hard time about being a neglectful mom. I might have to pick up Raven from the babysitter’s.”
“Neglectful mom? What the heck is he talking about? You’re an awesome mother.”
“He’s just...he’s finding any excuse to pick a fight with me. I don’t know if I have it in me tonight to argue with him.”
“How’s he even going to know if you go out?” Melissa asked.
Arlene’s lips twisted as she looked at her. “This is a small town, remember?”
Her sister was right. The smallest of news spread like wildfire in this town.
“He’s been on my case about having the babysitter watch her too much. I don’t know how he expects me to hold down a job...”
“Why don’t you ask Mom and Dad to watch her?” Melissa suggested. “He can’t complain about doting grandparents.”
“They’re always coming through for me. Sometimes I feel guilty for leaning on them too much. I don’t know. Tonight I might just stay home.”
Melissa’s eyebrows shot up as she looked into Arlene’s eyes, trying to gauge her sister’s mood. “Everything okay? Is there more going on than you’re telling me?”
Arlene shrugged. “I’m just a little bit stressed. Working, being a single mom...it’s not easy.”
“All the more reason for you to come out with us tonight and enjoy yourself.”
Melissa knew that the plan was to head to Buffalo and make the rounds at several bars. Tasha was ready for her big night, complete with an outfit that would let everyone know she was a single woman about to be married. The bridesmaids were going to treat her to her last big hurrah, so to speak. Perhaps there would be some flirting, but nothing outrageous. They weren’t going to have strippers or anything like that. Just enjoy a great time bonding before Tasha’s big day.
“I’ll see,” Arlene said with a shrug.
The music had changed from a hip-hop beat to something slow, and Melissa watched as Ryan pulled Tasha into his arms in the middle of the dance floor. A smile tugged at Melissa’s lips. It was nice seeing her cousin so happy.
“Mind if I steal you?”
Melissa’s spine stiffened. Certainly Aaron was not speaking to her.
Swallowing, Melissa glanced up and over her shoulder and saw that her ears had not been playing tricks on her. “Steal me for what?” she asked.
“To dance with you.”
Was he out of his mind? “Arlene and I are discussing something.”
“No, you go on,” Arlene said. “Dance. I’ll talk to you in a little bit.”
“But...” Melissa’s protest died in her throat when Arlene smiled at Aaron, then headed off the dance floor.
Melissa wanted to scream at her sister. Why would she encourage Aaron dancing with her? She knew how much he had hurt her years ago. Besides, he was a married