Page 54 of Something Old

ChapterSeventeen

Thursday passed in a flurry of pre-wedding activities—guest gift bags, cleaning up the outside of the hotel, and putting together centerpieces for the tables. The day was marred by only one huge fight, when Brigid was summoned back to Houston on her legal case. Caroline was furious, especially when Matthew backed up Brigid. No one knew if Brigid would be back in time for the wedding, even though she promised. Grady took off for the hotel and repairs and everyone scattered. By dinnertime, everyone was tired, but the mood was still upbeat and it looked like Caroline had at least two successful matches, while they all avoided the topic of Brigid. They all separated to get ready for the bridal party dinner, the last time they would all be together alone.

Delaney slipped into her Donna Karan cream silk sheath dress and twisted around to reach for the zipper. Another set of hands replaced hers and zipped her up. Ethan then placed something around her neck. She fingered the necklace and walked to a mirror to check it out. Her hand caressed a piece of rare, blue sea glass wrapped in silver and dangling from a silver chain. Tears stung her eyes, and she turned to Ethan.

“I thought we gave this to Caroline after the scavenger hunt?”

He smiled. “I stole it back and had the jeweler set it last night.”

“So, that’s why we had to stop in Galveston again? Why didn’t you tell me?”

He smiled sheepishly. “I wanted it to be a surprise. You’re not disappointed, are you?”

“Why would I be disappointed?”

“You deserve diamonds.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and tugged his head down to her. “No, Ethan. This is perfect. I don’t need diamonds or jewels. I need you. Only you.”

She pressed her lips to his in a sweet, nonsexual kiss that rapidly heated. He dragged her up against him, pressing her into his arousal. She wound her hands around his neck, burying her fingers in his hair, holding him in place. Finally, they broke apart, breathing heavily.

“We don’t have time for this.” His voice was filled with regret.

She glanced at the clock. “Are you sure?”

He laughed. “Positive. Let’s go before we miss it completely.”

* * *

Much later, the group was gathered around their favorite spot, the fire pit on the patio, wanting to prolong the intimacy of the group before the insanity began the next morning. However, Caroline and Matthew seemed tense, on edge, not like a couple about to be married. Caroline passed it off as the stress of the wedding, but she barely touched dinner and turned in early, saying she had a headache.

Ethan stood and held out his hand to Delaney. “Want to take a walk on the beach?”

Delaney took his hand and stood, ignoring the smirks of the remaining couples. Ethan wrapped her in his jacket and retook her hand. They walked across the grass to the dunes and the soft beach. Delaney slipped her shoes off to walk barefoot in the sand, holding her shoes in her opposite hand. The moonlight reflected on the waves softly rolling in. They walked quietly, enjoying the night and the silence, not wanting to disrupt the peace by talking. Finally, Ethan broke the silence.

“I’ve made a decision.” He stopped and drew her in front of him.

“What decision is that?”

He took a deep breath and held both of her hands. “I’m going back to Houston.”

His words sent conflicting emotions through her. Fear, excitement, anger, happiness. Everything rolled up into one conflicting mass of emotion tumbling inside her. She pulled her hands out from his grasp and turned away, pulling his jacket around her tighter, clinging to it like a lifeline in the sea of swirling emotion. She walked a few steps away, the ripples of the ocean licking at her feet. After a few moments, Ethan joined her, hands in his pockets, silent as he padded next to her.

After a few long moments, he spoke. “I thought you’d be happy.”

How did she feel? How could she explain the conflict warring inside her, fighting for dominance? What could she say? For so long, she had wanted her old life back, her money, her status, but somewhere along the way in the past five years, that dream had died. She didn’t know where that had happened, or when, but it was dead and buried so deeply she wasn’t sure she could resurrect it, or if she wanted to. She didn’t want to go back to being the old Delaney Winters, the spoiled, selfish girl who had everything handed to her. Her life was far from perfect and she struggled more than she was comfortable, but it was all hers. She had earned it and the pressure was off. No one reminding her how to act, how to talk, how to be a Winters. She could just be Delaney, and that was enough. But if she went back with Ethan, she’d be in the same old pattern again except she’d have the lodestone of the Winters’ name attached and that could drag them both down until they drowned under the resentment and pressures. Could she really do that to Ethan? Wasn’t that why she’d walked away the first time?

As the silence dragged on, she had to say something. Ethan shifted restlessly next to her, but he didn’t push.

“I’m happy for you, if that’s what you want.” Her voice was soft, tentative, still testing their fragile union.

Ethan made a sound of annoyance. He grabbed her shoulder and turned her to face him, both of his hands grasping her upper arms. He leaned forward to look her directly in the eyes. “I am happy. I’m doing this for us. Once back in Houston, we’ll have the life we were meant to have. Your mother won’t have to worry about people rejecting her. And you can do anything you want. We’ll be a team again. And my dad had been sick, so this will help him too. It helps everyone.”

She raised one hand to his cheek. “But what about Hermitage Vines? I thought you loved it there, had such plans for it.”

He shrugged. “You said it yourself. Someone can do the events for me. I already have someone to run the farm and make the wine. I just need to oversee the operations. We can drive up there on weekends. It will be our getaway for us and our kids.”

The mental image he painted was so real, so desperately wanted, that she could almost see it, as if it had already happened. They could turn back the clock, return to a time when life was planned, safe, easy. But at what cost?

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