Page 58 of Conflagration
He smiles and we both look across the lawn to where Andi and Cohen are talking to Chris, the lead singer of the band that was hired for the wedding. “Those two are good together. I’m glad they worked their shit out.”
Giving him a playful grin, I turn and take hold of his tie, looking up at him. “Just so you know—public singing and song dedications are not my style. I hate being the center of attention.”
“Well, shit,” he mumbles. “Be right back.” I watch as he heads towards where Chris is. He turns his back to me, and all I can see is Chris nodding then looking towards me with a smirk on his face.
When Branson comes back, a look of mock relief is on his face. “Damn, that was a close one. Thank goodness you let me know before I made a huge grand gesture later.”
I give him a playful shove, and he lets out a low, sexy laugh. “You’re such an ass,” I tell him, and he laughs even harder. “You were not seriously planning on anything.”
“Maybe, maybe not. Now you’ll never know. And I may be an ass, but I’m your ass and you love it.” He stills as soon as the words leave his mouth, and before I can respond, he looks over my head and takes my hand. “Come on. There’s someone I want to introduce you to before Knox and Charlie get here.”
He pulls me along with him, stopping briefly every so often as people greet him. He keeps me close by his side, never hesitating to introduce me as his fiancée—and I almost detect a hint of pride in his voice every time he holds up my left hand to show off the Wellington family ring. Every time ‘fiancée’ rolls off his lips with ease, I feel a jolt rushing through me, a shock to my heart. Each one signifies just one more nail in the coffin around my heart because I know the truth.
Branson doesn’t just own my body. He owns my whole heart.
As I try to come to terms with the realization, I barely notice that Branson has come to a stop. He taps a tall man on the shoulder, and as the man turns around, he looks taken aback, his eyes narrowing when he sees me, while mine widen with surprise.
Branson doesn’t seem to notice as his arm tightens around my waist. “Shane, I want to introduce you to someone.” He looks down at me, pleasure in his eyes. “This is Ariana, my fiancée.”
“Your what?” Shane asks incredulously.
I look around, hoping no one heard his outburst. The last thing I need is for Branson and me to be outted at his brother’s wedding.
Clearing my throat, I hold up my left hand, his eyes widening when he sees the ring. “You heard correctly. His fiancée. Hi, Shane. It’s nice to see you again.”
Branson’s eyebrows knit together, and he looks confused. “Again? You’ve met before?” he asks, his gaze passing back and forth between us.
Placing a hand on his chest, I look up at him and give him a warm smile. “Shane’s a friend of Alyssa’s. We don’t know each other well, but our circles in Atlanta cross paths from time to time. How do you two know each other?”
Branson looks relieved, and it’s endearing. As if he thought there’d been more to the history between Shane and me. “Shane’s my cousin. Wow. What a small fucking world.”
It dawns on me, and I have to laugh. “Shane Wellington. Of course. I’m not sure how I never put it together. That’s who you were visiting last winter when we met?” I ask, and Shane’s eyes narrow at that, knowing full well I was engaged back then.
Branson nods and turns to Shane, whose look is a mixture of pure confusion and intrigue as Branson gives him shit for not coming to visit in the last month. “I thought I was your favorite cousin, Shane. What the hell? All I got was a measly get-well card from your secretary.”
Shane raises an eyebrow. “Well, if I’d have known you were shacking up with yourfiancée,maybe I would’ve found the time to get out of the office. Things have been crazy busy this summer and I couldn’t get away. But for this? I’d have made the trip. When exactly did this happen?” he asks, waving his hand between the two of us.
I rack my brain, trying to come up with an answer that will appease him. Shane knows about Benjamin. In fact, he was supposed to be Alyssa’s date to the wedding, so I know he’s aware of the timeline. For once, I hope Alyssa wasn’t completely silent about what happened and that she filled him in on my breaking things off with my former fiancé. Before Branson can explain, Amelia comes over to steal him away, letting him know that it’s time for the wedding party to be formally introduced. He leans down and gives me an apologetic smile with a warm kiss.
“See you in a bit, baby,” he whispers. Then he gives a nod to Shane before following his mother across the backyard.
As soon as Branson’s a safe distance away, Shane turns back to me, a scowl on his face. “What the hell, Ariana? Alyssa said you were holed up somewhere and you were fine, but here with Branson? And engaged? What about Ben?”
Looking around to make sure no one heard him, I take hold of his arm and pull him to the edge of the backyard, far enough away so we can have this conversation in private. “Alyssa’s been covering for me since I left Atlanta. I didn’t want anyone to know where I was. And as far as Ben goes, there’s nothing to tell. I called off the wedding. It’s over between us.”
Shane scoffs, looking skeptical. “Doesheknow that? Because last I heard, the wedding was still a go.”
I sigh, shaking my head. “Yes, he knows that. He’s just too stubborn to believe it. But trust me, Shane. It’s completely over between us. There is no us.”
“Okay,” he says slowly, as if he’s trying to decide if he believes me or not. He runs his hands through his dark hair and looks down at me. “So you and Ben aren’t together anymore. What about Branson? How in the hell did you become engaged to him in such little time after leaving Atlanta? Is he why you left Atlanta? I know it’s none of my business, but if you met last winter, and then all of a sudden you’re here with him now after you called off your engagement… Were you fucking around behind Ben’s back with my cousin?”
The blood drains from my face at his accusation. “No! No, nothing like that. I swear, Shane. It’s… It’s a long story, and it’s been a whirlwind. This isn’t the place to talk about it, but I promise you, nothing improper happened between us while I was still with Ben.”
He eyes me warily then lets out a deep breath. “Look, I don’t mean to sound like a prick. It’s just… I want to see him happy, I really do. Branson’s been through a lot. Just do me a favor. Don’t fuck with him or his heart. He had enough of that before.”
“Shane, you don’t have to worry about that from me. I know it’s been fast and it seems crazy, but I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. I couldn’t bear it if I ever hurt him. All I want is to make him as happy as me makes me.”
“You really mean that, don’t you?” he asks, and I nod. His expression softens. “Then I guess congratulations are in order. And for the record, he looks happier than I’ve ever seen him. I was there on his first wedding day and he tried to fake it, but he couldn’t. Not with me. The smile on his face when he introduced you as his fiancée? It’s about ten times brighter than any I’ve ever seen.”
