to perfection. Wide shoulders, a muscular chest and brawny arms fully visible in his short-sleeved dress shirt. His strong upper body tapered to a narrow waist. A wave of heat flowed through Melissa’s veins, and she swallowed at the uncomfortable sensation. She quickly averted her eyes from his body and took a sip of champagne, trying to ignore the heat pulsing inside.
Good grief, what was wrong with her? She should be immune to Aaron’s good looks. And yet she couldn’t deny the visceral response that had shot through her body at seeing him again.
It was simply the reaction of a woman toward a man who was amazingly gorgeous. She wasn’t dead, after all. She could find him physically attractive even if she despised him.
Although despised was too strong a word. He didn’t matter to her enough for her to despise him.
Still, she couldn’t help giving him another surreptitious once-over. He had filled out—everywhere. His arms were bigger, his shoulders wider, his legs more muscular. His lips were full and surrounded by a thin goatee—and good Lord, did they ever look kissable...
“I can’t believe it’s been ten years,” Aaron said.
He didn’t even remember. Why was she surprised? And worse, why was she irked?
“Closer to twelve,” Melissa corrected him. “Eleven years, nine months. Something like that.” She shrugged, hoping he didn’t think that she had kept track of the exact date that they’d stopped talking.
“You’re right,” Aaron said, nodding. “It is almost twelve years. Wow, time flies.”
“It sure does.”
Melissa could hardly stand this. She glanced away, and relief flooded her when she saw her sister and Tasha. They were chatting with a group of guests about thirty feet away.
“You look good,” Aaron said. “Amazing, actually.”
His eyes roamed over her face, then her dress, and heat erupted inside her. Oh, how Melissa wished she could pretend the heat was simply anger, but it was more than that. She could see in Aaron’s eyes that he thought she was beautiful, and her body was reacting to that reality.
Betraying her was more like it.
“It really is good to see you again.”
Somehow, Melissa stopped herself from snorting. Was it really nice, she wondered. If he was so happy to see her now, why had he cut off all communication with her years ago?
Melissa looked in Arlene’s direction, and finally her sister saw her. Arlene’s eyes lit up, and she waved.
Melissa waved back. Arlene was a lifeline at this moment, and Melissa took it. “Ah, there’s my sister. I have to talk to her about something.”
“Oh—”
“Later, Aaron,” Melissa interjected, then strode off without giving him a chance to say another word.
She didn’t dare look over her shoulder. Her heart was still pounding, a ridiculous reaction. So what if she’d seen Aaron Burke again? He didn’t have the power to hurt her anymore. Her feelings for him had died years ago.
Was he watching her walk away?
Why did she care?
She didn’t. But if any part of Aaron felt a measure of regret at cutting her out of his life, then good. She relished that thought.
He was happy to see her...as if! Why would he even say that? Was he trying to make nice after all these years, pretend that he’d never hurt her?
Well, if he thought there was a chance the two of them could ever be friends, he had another think coming.
Melissa inhaled deeply as she neared her sister. She was finally regaining her composure and her dignity. So what if Aaron was sexy? One of the sexiest men she’d ever laid eyes on, granted, but what did it matter when his character left so much to be desired?
She hoped he was happy with Ella, but she wasn’t about to ask him about his wife. Nor was she about to spend any more time with him than was necessary. She didn’t want him asking her about her life, and she didn’t want to ask him about his. She would be paired with him for the wedding, deal with him as minimally as possible, and then go home to Jersey and forget all about him.
She had done it once. She would do it again.
Ryan Burke clinked a fork against his champagne glass, effectively getting everyone’s attention. Tasha stood beside him, a permanent smile on her beautiful face.
“Excuse me, everybody,” Ryan said, looking around at the crowd of people. “Will you all please head into the tent and take your seats? Dinner is ready, so I hope you haven’t indulged too heavily in the amazing hors d’oeuvres.”
Ryan patted his stomach, as if to say he was guilty of exactly that. There were chuckles among the crowd.
“As you make your way into the tent,” Ryan continued, “be aware there are names on the tables indicating where you’re to be seated. We figured this way there’d be less confusion and less scrambling. It’s buffet style, so please wait for your table to be called before heading into the line.” He gestured toward the tent, indicating that everyone could proceed.
Melissa and Arlene wound their way into the tent with the rest of the guests. Melissa was already getting a bad feeling about the seating arrangements, and she crossed her arms over her torso as she glanced down at the first table to find her name.
“Oh, here we are,” Arlene announced.
Melissa hurried to her sister’s side. As she looked down at the names on the table, her stomach sank, her fear confirmed. Aaron Burke was seated to her left.
Oh, good God...
Not that she should be surprised, since they were paired off for the wedding. But still, this was too much for her to deal with.
When most of the guests were seated, Ryan and Tasha stood at the front of the tent. “We’ll commence with the buffet line in a minute,” Ryan said into a wireless microphone. “But Tasha and I would like to say a few words first. As you know, this is a welcome dinner for all of you who have come from far and near to be here with us for our special day.”
Melissa glanced over her shoulder, saw Aaron entering the tent and quickly took her seat. As she did, she continued to survey the crowd. Where was Ella? As Aaron’s wife, shouldn’t she be here? Melissa would expect the woman to attend if for no other reason than to gloat. To show off to all those who had returned to town just how special she was because she had snagged a Burke brother.
Aaron and his father, Cyrus, were standing near the entrance of the tent chatting. An old classmate, Douglas Hanover, walked past them, heading in Melissa’s direction. Before she knew what she was doing, Melissa was jumping to her feet and practically throwing herself into Douglas’s path.
“Douglas?” she all but squealed. “Douglas Hanover!”
“Melissa?” His eyebrows raised as a question flashed in his eyes.
“Yes, it’s me.” She beamed at him. “Oh my goodness, it’s been so long.” She hugged him and noticed that he was stiff for a moment before hugging her back. “I see you on television all the time,” she said as they pulled apart. “I always trust your forecasts.”
“You watch me on the morning news?”
Douglas was employed by a network in New York City, and Melissa watched him every morning as she got ready for work. “Every day,” she said. “I’m in Newark.”
“Ah, okay.”
She glanced beyond Douglas’s shoulder at Aaron, trying to not make it obvious that she was looking at him. He was staring at her, watching