Page 89 of Settling the Score

I’m on my way.

19

After a week of sunshine, on the morning of the wedding, it rained. It wasn’t forecast, expected or ideal.

But when Sienna walked into Astrid’s enormous suite carrying three cups of strong coffee, and one decaf for mum-to-be, and juggling a bag of pastries into the mix, it was to find her three besties locked in whispered conversation, apparently barely cognisant of a little thing like rain on Astrid’s beach-side wedding day.

Something ran the length of Sienna’s spine, something that made her shiver. Or worry. She stopped walking, as three pairs of eyes turned to look at her in unison.

‘Morning,’ she said, but a little hesitantly. She couldn’t say why, but she was picking up seriously strange vibes off these women who she thought of as sisters. She placed the bag down on a table, realising belatedly that there was already an incredible spread of food courtesy of the island staff, so there’d been no need to pilfer the buffet.

‘Hiya.’ Bella smiled, but her cheeks were flushed. Guiltily.

‘What’s going on?’ Sienna asked, handing out coffees.

‘Just a… difference of opinions,’ Paige explained, though the explanation was insufficient, because Sienna had no idea what that difference of opinion could entail.

‘Can I help?’ she offered.

‘No,’ Paige and Bella said.

‘Yes.’ Astrid overrode them. ‘And as it’s my wedding day, and I’m the bride, my vote counts double.’

‘That would still make us tied,’ Bella pointed out.

‘So let me break the tie,’ Sienna suggested. ‘What’s going on?’

Their lips compressed. A knock sounded at the door, and it pushed open. ‘Make-up time!’ a woman’s voice called jubilantly into the room.

Astrid sipped her coffee, appraising Sienna carefully. ‘Would you just give us two minutes, please?’

‘No problem, beautiful.’

The door closed behind the cosmetician.

‘Astrid?’ Sienna tried to keep the impatience from her voice. It was, after all, her bestie’s wedding day. But she didn’t like the feeling that they’d all been talkingabout her.Even though she knew they’d always have her best interests at heart, it hurt to feel excluded, in any way, from this group they’d formed.

‘We think you need to talk to Aiden,’ Astrid said, carefully.

Paige nodded sagely.

‘As in, today,’ Bella added.

‘I thought you had a difference of opinion?’ Sienna said, to buy some time. ‘It sounds to me like you’re all perfectly in agreement.’

Bella pulled a face. ‘In essentials we are.’

‘There was some back and forth about how much we should strong-arm you,’ Paige admitted.

‘Or whether we should just manoeuvre a meeting between the two of you,’ Bella said apologetically.

Sienna shook her head. ‘I don’t understand you guys. Why would you want to manoeuvre a meeting between me and Aiden?’

Paige and Bella looked at each other, then at Astrid, who held Sienna’s gaze. ‘He’s in love with you, babe.’

Sienna stood stock still. No, that wasn’t completely accurate. She almost spilled her coffee, so shocked was she by the most ridiculous, preposterous idea she’d heard in her entire life. She didn’t know what was worse – hearing those words, or hearing them from the mouth of a woman whoknewwhy it wasn’t true. ‘I’m sorry.What?’

‘You should have seen him last night,’ Astrid continued. ‘Like some kind of wounded child bear. All confused and not understanding, trying to connect the dots and make sense of everything that’s happened over the last, oh, I don’t know, eleven years or so.’