Page 82 of Settling the Score

‘It’s been so beautiful,’ she added, ignoring the twisty, turning, not-easy-to-understand feelings that were moving inside of her. ‘All of it, Astrid.’

Astrid angled her face to regard the large mass of people who were moving off towards their separate boats. Four tour guides in matching uniforms stood with matching clipboards, writing names down as everyone boarded. Paige and Bella had worked as a team to coordinate this, too. Their organisation skills were a thing to behold.

‘It really has been. Seeing our friends, from all different parts of our lives, and our families…’ Her eyes shifted to her mother and her mother’s partner, who were standing on the grass, waiting for Astrid. ‘Spending time with family,’ she corrected, smile wistful. ‘I think that’s been my favourite part. Even more than actually getting hitched,’ she added with a laugh. Before Sienna could object, she held her hands up in the air. ‘I’m kidding, I’m kidding.’ She flashed a smile, but it wobbled a little, and they all understood why.

‘You ready, babe?’ Blake’s voice cut across the group.

‘You betcha,’ Astrid said, reaching back for his hand.

‘You know, you guys are kind of inseparable. I don’t think I’ve looked for my fiancé once this week and not found her with one, or all, of you.’

‘Yep, we know,’ Paige said.

‘We’re a package deal,’ Bella agreed.

‘Uh huh. You might be marrying me, but you’re inheriting three best friends.’

‘I can live with that.’ He pulled Astrid closer. ‘Especially when they clearly love you so much they’re happy to put up with all this madness.’

‘We happen to love madness,’ Paige promised.

‘Yeah, it’s kind of a part of how we met.’

‘And don’t I know it,’ he teased, so Sienna glanced nervously over Blake’s shoulder, to Aiden, who was now standing with his mother. Her heart ratcheted up a notch, as she contemplated that. Blake knew the truth of their plan. Sienna had been there when it had all come out. Even though he’d been sworn to secrecy, Sienna couldn’t help worrying that it might not hold.

At some point, would Aiden find out that she’d been part of a revenge plot against him? Admittedly, a pretty funny one – that had been organised with the precision of a golden retriever marching band, but nonetheless, wouldn’t it give him just a little too much insight into how messed up she’d been?

Or did he already know that?

Her mind was spinning like a top, refusing to settle in any one direction. She ground her teeth and tried to focus back on Astrid, but her own thoughts were too loud, making it almost impossible to hear anything anyone else said.

‘Okay, ladies. So, dinner tonight, just the four of us, yes?’

Sienna finally lurched back into the present. ‘Yeah, dinner,’ she agreed, as they began to walk towards the jetty. It was only as she stepped foot onto the boat she’d been designated, she realised that Aiden ‘Heartbreak’ Carter was right freaking behind her.

18

‘This suits you, you know.’ Ten minutes after setting off from the island, she felt the moment he came and stood beside her.

She glanced to him, the sun bouncing off the Mediterranean and landing against his dark hair, glinting like onyx. ‘Being a tour guide?’

He laughed. ‘Relaxing. Sunshine. Island hopping.’

She pulled a face. ‘I didn’t even own a passport three months ago,’ she pointed out. ‘This is hardly my normal.’

‘Nah, maybe not. But, like I said, it suits you, Mastrangelo.’

‘I’ll put it on my bucket list. Except I’m a little short of billionaire friends,’ she said with a small smile. ‘Though I am warming to the whole boat thing. Maybe a bigger boat is what I need?’

‘Bigger boat, less vomit?’

Her cheeks flushed pink at the memory of losing her lunch right at his feet. ‘Well, that could have been the boat, or it could have been seeing you again,’ she teased with saccharine sweetness.

‘Great, so I literally make you sick?’

She laughed. ‘Okay, it was probably the boat.’

‘My ego is glad to hear it.’