Chapter 23 : Making the Best of an Awkward Situation

Staring dumbly out the window, my mind reeled. I'd have to be crammed on a plane with two people I absolutely despised and at least one that I knew despised me. "Cat, are you sure you're okay with this?" Luke asked, standing close behind me. I whipped around and stared at him. "I'm fine!" Luke put his hands up. "Okay, I'll let the pilot know he can begin pre-flight." Jason's attention was now on me. He'd been silent since Luke announced his entire family would be joining us. He stood and sat down next to me. "What's going on? Cat, do you know Luke's family?" he asked. I shrugged. "Loosely," I muttered. "There's a story there," he commented. "One that we'll have to recount another time," I murmured sourly. I heard Mr. and Mrs. Carter before I saw them come into the plane. Mrs. Carter stopped talking and grabbed her husband's arm when she saw me. She sucked in a sharp breath, her lips getting tight. "That's right, you're Luke's newest architect," Mr. Carter said, nodding stiffly to me and guiding his wife to the opposite end of the plane. I looked at my lap. Yes, this was just a routine business trip. Nothing at all to worry about. "Jason, are you coming to the wedding, too?" Mrs. Carter asked, smiling at him and completely ignoring me. Apparently, professional courtesy didn't extend beyond abrupt greetings. "I'll be there. My main focus is on the development site," he assured her with a nod. "We're happy to have you there," Mr. Carter said, refusing to look at me. He kept smiling at Jason, though. I glanced sideways at him, and Jason shrugged. He patted my knee quickly. I was grateful for the momentary touch of comfort. Pulling out my headphones, I brought up my playlist on my phone. I'd made it specifically for this trip. It was taking forever to load. Just a few moments ago, I was so excited about this. Now, it was like everything that could go wrong had gone wrong. "I don't know why we had to rush this so much," Fiona's nasally voice butted into my thoughts. I cringed and looked back to the plane door. Fiona and Aaron were walking in together. She was wearing a sunhat and sunglasses and Aaron had on a tropical shirt. They looked ready to enjoy the beach. I noticed that Aaron wasn't completely listening to what Fiona was complaining about. He looked disconnected like he'd rather be anywhere else. That wasn't exactly the look he should have while they were preparing to take off for their wedding. Fiona saw me and clamped her mouth shut. Her entire face turned red. Just then, Luke appeared from the cockpit. He grabbed Fiona's arm and pulled her back off the plane. I could hear them yelling back and forth harshly, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. Whatever it was, they were definitely having a heated discussion. My stomach dropped, and a giant pit formed. I got the feeling that they were talking about me. "Aaron, make yourself comfortable. Come sit by us," Mrs. Carter called, motioning to him. Aaron looked at his soon-to-be mother-in-law. She patted the seat beside her but he shook his head. Instead, he took the seat across from me. I stiffened and pulled my knees to my chest. "I'm sorry about this, Cat. I didn't know this would happen so soon. Or that it would take place where Luke is doing business," Aaron said. I scoffed and balked at him. "That's all you have to say?" I asked. "I'm just… sorry." Aaron shrugged and sighed, looking more pathetic by the second. I rolled my eyes and turned away from Aaron. He wouldn't get any sympathy from me. This was all his own mess. If he was having buyer's remorse now, I'd given him several chances to come clean and make amends. He'd made his bed. I glanced at Aaron quickly. He was looking down at his lap, hands splayed out, eyes haggard. It looked like he hadn't slept in days. He really did look miserable about having to get married. "This has all been a lot faster than I imagined," he admitted. "I'm not here as your friend, Aaron," I told him. I kept trying to get the playlist to load, looking away from Aaron. I even picked another one, but the cell service refused to work. I was sure that Luke had WiFi on his plane, but I needed the password, and he was busy with his sister. I definitely wasn't going out there. Jason chuckled uncomfortably beside me and stood up to get himself a drink. Aaron kept looking at me. I could feel his eyes but I wasn't looking at him. His presence was annoying me, and I didn't need to keep looking into his sad, puppy dog eyes. Mrs. Carter came down the cabin and sat next to Aaron. "Did you like the suit? The tailor only made time in his schedule because it was us who asked," she said, casting a snide look at me before looping her arm through Aaron's and pinching his cheeks lightly. "It's the one Fiona wanted," Aaron said. Trying to ignore them, I pulled a book out of my carry-on bag, and I started reading. Or I tried to read, but I couldn't completely block out their conversation. "Well, I think it looks amazing. We just need to get you fitted in case it needs alterations, and then you'll be the most handsome groom on the island," Mrs. Carter gushed. I chewed my lower lip as I kept my face covered with the book. "As long as Fiona is happy," Aaron said, nodding. "You've never been to the island before. It is absolutely gorgeous and so romantic. I suspect you two will have the perfect wedding night," Mrs. Carter giggled like a schoolgirl. "I'm really looking forward to it," Aaron said, but his voice didn't sound remotely excited. I glanced over the top of my book and looked at him. He was angled toward Mrs. Carter, and she was smiling and gushing about the wedding. Aaron wasn't making eye contact with her and every so often, he'd dart his eyes toward me. What was going on with him? He'd made his choice and his choice was Fiona. Just then, Fiona and Luke came back on board. A flight attendant closed the door behind them. Fiona's eyes were sharp daggers searing into me, but she didn't say anything. She glared until she got to Aaron and then sat down next to him, draping herself over him. Aaron winced but put his arm around Fiona and hugged her against him. Luke was right on her heels, and he came to sit beside me. I kept my legs curled up and my book open, still trying to ignore everyone. "I don't see why we have to take this plane," Fiona whined. "It is almost as bad as flying coach." "We will have more time to prepare for the wedding this way," Mrs. Carter said. "If we waited for your father's plane, we would have arrived tomorrow." She gave a sweet smile and headed back to her seat beside her husband. "It's so cramped! There isn't even a bedroom or any other private room," she said, huffing. Then, Fiona leaned closer to Aaron. She ran a hand down the front of his shirt, slipping it underneath. Her hand disappeared under the palm tree pattern. Smirking, she glanced at me and then kissed Aaron on the cheek before biting his ear. "We could have a lot of fun on a plane with more privacy," she whispered teasingly. Aaron sighed and rolled his eyes. "I hardly think a plane ride is the time for that." "Haven't you ever heard of the mile high club?" Fiona teased, now laughing loudly. I lifted my book up to block them out. I could hear Fiona giggling and the sounds of her hands moving all over Aaron. She could play her games. I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of looking hurt and upset while she toyed with a man who didn't even want to marry her. Inwardly, I felt a little glimmer of joy. Aaron had ruined our relationship and hurt me in ways I could hardly imagine. He'd gotten himself into a situation where he had to marry Fiona and now he didn't even seem happy about it. Maybe he'd really freed me to find happiness while he was stuck in misery. "Luke, is Victoria joining us for the flight?" Mr. Carter called down the cabin. I set my book down and glanced at Luke, arching an eyebrow. It hadn't occurred to me that his girlfriend might be tagging along. "No," Luke muttered. "Why not? This is as much her achievement as it is hers. You should call her and see if she can make it in time to fly down with us," Mrs. Carter said. Luke shook his head. "Pre-flight has already started. We'll be taxiing down the runway any moment." "You can tell the pilot to wait," Mr. Carter suggested. Luke groaned and tilted his head back. "She's not coming." Mr. and Mrs. Carter exchanged a look, but they didn't push the matter further. Luke put his headphones on and met my gaze. He looked at me like he was trying to decipher what I was thinking. I bit the inside of my lip to keep from smiling and then buried my face in my book again. For some reason, it made me happy to hear Luke denounce Victoria. It wasn't like I forgave him for what he did, but it did open up the possibility that things with them had been wrong for a while. I didn't want to be happy about his feelings toward his girlfriend, but I still hoped that maybe.... With a lurch, the plane started rolling forward. The plane engines kicked on, getting louder and louder. Jason returned to his seat, on the other side of Luke. The three of us sat in a row with Aaron and Fiona directly across from us. "I can't wait to get to the beach. Have you ever made love on the sand with waves all around?" Fiona's voice rose as the plane engines roared. "No. Have you?" Aaron asked, raising his eyebrow at Fiona. She giggled and shrugged. "I can't wait to show you all the fun things about the islands." "I'm looking forward to it," Aaron said in a dull, unexcited voice. Was the entire trip going to be like this? I wondered how Luke, Jason, and I were even going to get any work done. With a wedding and constant family drama, it didn't seem like we'd have much time to do any work. Luke gave me the WiFi password, and the music from my phone finally loaded. I pumped up the volume on my music, ready to finally shut everyone else out. There was a new message on my phone from Jason. He'd been so quiet, taking everything in. I hadn't even seen him reach for his phone. *Well, I knew this trip would be interesting, but I didn't think I'd get front-row seats for all this drama.* Giggling, I hugged my knees and bit my lower lip. I glanced over at Jason. He wasn't looking at me, but his lips had a subtle smile on them. Between us, Luke cleared his throat. I looked at Luke. He had his eyebrows raised and quickly glanced between me and Jason, his mouth curved down.