Edge of Love (14 page)

Sean removed his jacket then placed it
around my shoulders, keeping me warm in the fabric. He wrapped his
arms around me and the chill dissipated. I still watched the road
and waited for Cortland to appear.

Sean sensed my excitement. “You’re
never this happy to see me.”

I laughed. “When you came back to
Seattle I was. Before you broke up with me, at least.”

He smiled. “Don’t greet your brother
like that.”

I rolled my eyes. “I
won’t.”

We stood on the pavement and waited
for Cortland and my brother to make their appearance. I pressed my
face into his neck to stay warm. The smell of his skin was
intoxicating, and now I didn’t want to go my brother’s
house.

He rubbed his nose against mine. “I
know what you’re thinking.”

“
How can you
tell?”

“
You get this look in your
eye.”

“
You caught
me.”

He smiled. “Now it will have to
wait.”

I sighed. “A hot piece of ass like me
shouldn’t have to wait.”

He laughed. “I’ll make it worth your
while.”

“
I’ll hold you to
that.”

“
Good,” he said. “I was
hoping you would.”

10

Sean

I held Scarlet in my arms while we
waited for Cortland and Ryan to arrive. She pressed her face
against my chest and closed her eyes. I still couldn’t believe that
something so beautiful belonged to me. She didn’t even have to wear
makeup and she still looked gorgeous. Now I really didn’t want to
go to Ryan’s house, but I knew it was unavoidable.

This whole weekend was a complete
mess. I wasn’t surprised Scarlet was irritated by the whole ordeal.
In fact, I was surprised that she wasn’t livid by the experience.
She even heard my mom say that our engagement was a mistake. It
bothered me that my mother and Scarlet would never be close.
Penelope was practically my mom’s best friend. I knew I shouldn’t
compare the two relationships but it was hard not to. Maybe I
should tell my mom the truth about Penelope? Scarlet shouldn’t have
to be ridiculed for being the next girlfriend after
Penelope.

At the time, I was embarrassed that
Sue revealed the truth about the plane incident, but now I thought
it was just funny. Scarlet and I were spontaneous and passionate.
What was wrong with that? If we were married, would it have made it
any more acceptable? I knew Scarlet was frightened of damaging her
reputation, but I didn’t understand what the big deal was. She and
I enjoyed sex. What’s the big deal? Any guy would kill to be
me.

When the Nissan Infiniti pulled up to
the curve, I saw Cortland get out of the driver’s seat. Scarlet
looked away from me and her eyes lit up like beacons. She left my
arms and dashed to Cortland, jumping in his arms. He picked her up
from the ground and held her for a long moment.

“
Safe trip?” he
asked.

“
Yes. I missed
you.”

“
I just saw you the other
day.”

She hit him on the shoulder. “Why are
you and Ryan being assholes? You both missed me. Just admit
it.”

He shrugged. “I’ll take it to my
grave.” He looked at me and smiled. “Hey, Sean. You doing okay?” He
glanced at Scarlet and rolled his eyes.

She glared at him.

I laughed. “Yeah, I survived somehow.”
I reached my hand out and shook his.

Ryan emerged from the passenger seat
and Scarlet jumped on him as fast as she could.

Cortland looked at me. “They are the
weirdest siblings I’ve ever known.”

I nodded. “I’m more worried about her
cheating on me with her brother than any other guy.”

Cortland laughed. “I can see
why.”

Scarlet held onto him for a long time
and Ryan returned her embrace. Their relationship was odd and I
never understood it, but it was special. Ryan was there for her in
a way I could never be. I knew Scarlet had been through a lot and
Ryan was her rock. He took care of her when no one else did. I was
grateful that she had him. As much as I loved Scarlet and wanted to
give her everything she ever needed, I knew I never could. Only
Ryan would be able to fill that void in her. And even though Ryan
acted indifferent to her, I knew he loved her with just as much
intensity. He would die for her. There was no doubt about
that.

Ryan pulled away and looked at
Scarlet. “How was your trip?”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m so glad to
be home.”

“
That bad? What did you
do?”

“
What makes you assume
that I did something?”

“
Because I know
you.”

She hit him on the shoulder. “Let’s
get in the car. I’m freezing.”

We climbed into the vehicle. I sat in
the front seat next to Cortland so Scarlet could sit next to her
brother in the back. Now that Scarlet was with her brother, I
didn’t exist anymore. She didn’t look at me once. It made me feel
slightly jealous.

Ryan looked at Scarlet. “So what was
so horrible about this weekend?”

She sighed. “Well, Sean’s parents had
their neighbors over for dinner and they didn’t like me
much.”

“
I can’t imagine why,”
Ryan said sarcastically.

I laughed.

Scarlet scowled at him.

Ryan sighed. “Well, what did you
do?”

“
Well, it’s a long story,
but—”

“
Great,” Ryan said
sarcastically.

She glared at him again before she
continued. “Sean and I had sex on the plane on the way to
Connecticut, and this old haggard bitch knew what we did and
proceeded to glare at me the whole time.”

Ryan started laughing. “And she was
the neighbor?”

“
What are the odds of
that?” Scarlet yelled. “She called me a tramp and a
whore.”

Cortland looked at them in the
rearview mirror. “Well, she’s dead on.” Cortland smiled at me.
“She’s always been a little wild.”

I raised my eyebrow, unsure of his
meaning. “What?”

He quickly looked away. “I just meant
that she’s adventurous.”

I looked out the window and faced the
road.

She rolled her eyes. “Now Sean’s mom
is thoroughly embarrassed of me.”

Ryan laughed. “Man, that’s hilarious.
Only crazy shit happens to you, I swear.”

She sighed. “I was so glad when we
finally left the house.”

“
Poor Sean,” Ryan
said.

“
Poor Sean?” Scarlet said
incredulously. “How is this bad for him?”

I laughed. “I couldn’t care in the
least if my parents think Scar is a whore.”

Ryan laughed. “He brings his fiancé
home to announce his engagement, but instead its announced that you
screw on planes. It’s not very classy.”

She glared at her brother. “Well, it
takes two to tango.”

Ryan smiled at her. “And we live in a
sexist world.”

She sighed. “I couldn’t agree
more.”

Cortland looked at me. “Coming to the
apartment?”

I looked in the backseat and listened
to Ryan and Scarlet talk like chipmunks. Her face was so animated
while she spoke to him. I just wanted to go home, but I knew she
wanted to spend time with her brother. We had only been gone for a
weekend but she acted like she hadn’t seen Ryan in a
month.

“
Yeah,” I said. “I’m sure
Scarlet wants to see Janice.”

Cortland nodded. He drove off the
freeway and entered the city then parked off the street. Cortland
and I walked to the building first while Scarlet and Ryan trailed
behind us, talking the whole way. When we got inside, I immediately
grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat down.

Janice walked down the hallway.
“Scarlet?”

Scarlet turned away from her brother.
“Hey, Janice.” They hugged each other.

“
So, how was the
announcement?” she asked.

“
Which one?” Ryan asked.
“The engagement or the plane fucking?”

Janice raised an eyebrow.

Scarlet shook her head. “It’s a long
story.”

They all sat on the couch while
Scarlet detailed the events of our horrible weekend. When she
explained that my brother kept trying to sleep with her, Ryan
looked confused.

“
Wait. Why would Mike
start acting like that suddenly? Was he drunk?”

“
No,” Scarlet said. She
looked at me, silently asking my permission to reveal my story. I
nodded to her. It was going to get out anyway. Scarlet told them
the story.

Ryan looked at me. “You’re such a
dog.”

I shrugged. “I know.”

“
How long is this rivalry
going to last?” Ryan asked.

“
I have no idea,” I
answered truthfully. “But I’m not worried about it. He would only
have Scarlet if he took her by force. I know my brother is an ass,
but even he wouldn’t do that.”

Scarlet nodded. “I don’t think he
would either.”

Ryan stared at her for a moment,
making sure she meant what she said.

She understood his underlying meaning.
“Sean would never let anything happen to me, Ryan.”

That seemed to reassure him because he
nodded.

I leaned back on the couch and looked
at Scarlet sitting next to her brother on the sofa. It bothered me
that she wasn’t sitting next to me. Cortland sat on the other side
of her while he drank his beer. He seemed to be tired. Even Janice
got squeezed out and she was sitting next to me on the couch. This
was the loser sofa, apparently.

Janice leaned toward me. “Are you as
annoyed as I am right now?”

I laughed. “I just try to ignore
it.”

“
I guess you’ve had more
practice than I have. I’ve never been jealous of a sibling before.
Ryan acts like she’s a pain in the ass, but he puts her on a
pedestal.”

“
He treats you the same
way.”

“
I know,” she said. “But I
want all the power.”

I smiled. “I guess that makes
sense.”

Janice looked at Scarlet. “So, did you
finalize any plans for the wedding?”

Scarlet rolled her eyes. “Don’t get me
started on that.”

“
What?” Ryan
asked.

“
Sean’s mom had magazines,
wedding books, and all this junk, and practically planned my whole
wedding for me. There’s going to be five hundred guests, Venetian
decorations, and a Tuscan feast—whatever that is. I couldn’t get a
single word in.”

Janice shrugged. “That doesn’t sound
so bad.”

Ryan looked at Scarlet. “It sounds
expensive.”

I put my beer down. “We won’t be
paying for it.”

Janice clapped her hands together.
“Perfect.”

“
No,” Scarlet said. “Why
would I want to get married around a bunch of pretentious people
t\I don’t even like?”

I understood why Scarlet was annoyed,
but I was getting irritated with her constant attacks on my family.
I knew my family was different than hers, but my mom was just
trying to help. It was important to my family that I had a
traditional wedding since they were so influential and well-known.
My wedding day couldn’t be ordinary. The fact that they were
putting up with Scarlet’s scandalous behavior was
astonishing.

She continued to ramble on. “I’ll know
like ten people there, and the rest of the time I’ll just be having
small talk with people I’ll never see again. And all they’ll talk
about is how much money they have.”

Janice smiled. “At least
you’ll get
a lot
of gifts.”

She rolled her eyes. “I couldn’t care
less about that. Sean and I have everything we need. We aren’t
pretentious, greedy people like they are.”

I wanted to hold back my thoughts
until we were alone, but I felt my anger bubble to the surface. “So
that’s what you think of my family?” My voice was harsh and cold.
Scarlet jumped at the venom in my voice. Even Ryan avoided my gaze.
“My mom was just trying to help, Scarlet. And it’s generous of them
to offer to pay for your wedding and take care of everything. But
all you want to do is be ungrateful about it. I admit that my
mother’s behavior was wrong this weekend, but she does care about
both of us. Don’t sit here and talk shit about my family. Your
family is far more dysfunctional than mine has ever
been.”

I saw the tears bubble in her eyes and
knew I had gone too far. She rose from the chair then walked down
the hall. I heard the bathroom door slam a moment later. I leaned
forward and buried my face in my hands. I should have just kept my
mouth shut.

Ryan sighed then leaned back in his
chair. “So your weekend just keeps getting worse, huh?”

I didn’t respond to his
words.

Janice rose from the couch. “I’ll go
talk to her.”

I shook my head. “Please give her a
moment. I’ll talk to her.”