11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Ethan

"N ope, lass. Try again." I say to Peg, playing with her on the floor, with a wooden puzzle. She's almost got a piece in the right place, but it's tricky.

Laney walks up behind me. "You need a break yet?"

I shake my head no. "She's a smart lass, Laney."

Peg, completely unbothered by us talking, is completely headstrong and eager to complete this puzzle in the set time. It's an old game that me and my brothers used to play, where you have to put the puzzle together before the timer goes off, or the pieces fly out all over the place. She's determined not to have that happen.

"I need to pee." Peg says, shutting the timer off.

"Cheater." I call to her, as she runs to the bathroom.

She turns around and sticks her tongue out at me. I chuckle. Laney sees it. "Sassy girl." She half chides, but I can tell by the smirk that she's half impressed, too.

Something has been on my mind since I spoke with Freya the other day, and I figure now is as good a time as any to get it off my chest. Caleb is talking to da in the other room. We're at Laney's parent's house, talking wedding stuff, but everyone seems to be scattered. "Did you know that Caleb invited Freya Stewart to the wedding?"

"Freya's the one that gave Peg the bear, right?" She checks.

"Aye. She's also the one that had a thing with Caleb before you came around."

Laney smirks, trying in vain to hide a chuckle. "She's made her rounds from what I understand. Is that true?"

I'm sitting on the floor. I lay down on my back, scraping my hand over my face. "Christ, does everybody know? What about Nathan Mackenzie, the goddamn kidnapper? Does he know, too?"

She snorts a laugh. "What does it matter, Ethan? It happened a long time ago."

"I guess discretion in this family is in the past, too." I sit up. "And it doesn't bother you that she's invited to your wedding? Isn't that sick?"

"I think your da's behind that, mostly, Ethan. He knows that you still have a thing for her, and he wants to see you happy."

"And it's doesn't bother you that she once screwed your husband-to-be, and yet she'll be sitting feet away from him when he says his vows to you?"

"Ethan, I'm not sure how to say this, without making you and your brothers sound like whores, but it's likely that Freya isn't the only lass that has a past with you boys, that will be there. You boys know how to get around. It's no secret. Hell, Caleb's been in so many magazines, toted as one of the most eligible bachelors for how long now? It doesn't bother me at all."

"But you've never even met her, Laney. Isn't that weird?"

She guffaws. "From the list our families have compiled, I'd bet on knowing half of them well, but I'll admit to not knowing some of those names. Weddings serve many purposes, Ethan. And as long as Caleb and I are married, and everyone is happy and safe, I don't care if they invite a herd of cows."

"But I thought you wanted a small, quiet wedding."

"I did. But the quieter it is, the more it'll be an invitation for trouble, Ethan. Not to mention, if our wedding is plastered all over magazines, there will be no question with the adoption. I need Peg to be safe, and I'll do anything to get her there. If it means having top CEOs and royalty there, then so be it. Caleb and I can have a quiet honeymoon if we wish."

"I'd feel a lot better if you guys waited until they caught all the assholes responsible for Peg's kidnapping."

"That could take months, Ethan. Besides, with the wedding being at the Ford ranch, it's safer than anywhere else at this point, and the bigger the better."

I swallow, as Peg returns to the living room, ignoring us entirely, as she focuses on continuing the game.

"She thinks we're nuts." I add.

"Who? Peg?"

"Freya."

"Because we've invited her, and we don't know her?"

I look at her, deadpan. "Why do you think?"

Her mouth twists into a smile. "And how would you know that, Ethan?"

"She called to make sure that the invitation was legit."

She lifts a brow. "That da of yours sure is slick."

My phone and emails haven't stopped all day. There was a dip in the stock market, and some of our clients are going insane. Our reps are going nuts with calls, but some are insisting on speaking with us personally, so my assistant is going out of her mind transferring calls to me. "Just relax, Mr. Watson. Your investments are long-term. As I explained when you first signed up with us, there will be dips in the market, but there will also be increases, too. Rest assured, we have the best finance team available in the country, and your funds are safe with us." I think I've said about a hundred times today.

It's funny how the rich are so much more insecure about their money than the poorer ones are. The man with more than ten billion dollars invested with us calls twice as much as the man with just a few million. As I hang up to yet another hesitant client, da walks into my office. "I thought you were supposed to be heading to Scotland." I say to him.

"Na, we've got too much to do for the wedding, and with the kidnapping and all, your mama and I have decided to stay put until everything is settled."

"Aye."

"Crazy day, huh, son?"

"Aye." I repeat, resting my head on the back of my chair.

"We haven't had a response from Freya Stewart. Have you had a word with her?"

"Briefly, about a week ago, why?"

"Well, what was that conversation about, Ethan? What did you say to her? It seems incredibly out of character for a woman that seems so gracious to not even respond to a wedding invitation."

I chuckle softly, meaning to come out casual. "Are you suggesting I threatened her not to come, da?"

"No, not at all, Ethan. But if you spoke with her, and she hasn't responded, what do you think that means?"

I shrug. "I don't know, da. Maybe she doesn't really want to come. Maybe she feels uncomfortable, seeing as she only knows me and Caleb, and with the history, it's a little odd."

Da pauses for emphasis, looking at me like he's about to put me in my place, so I brace myself. "Then, son, it's your job to make it not odd." The way he says it is classic da ‘you better do what I tell you to do, or else' talk. I can't help but feel at an impasse. It still bothers me that Freya slept with both me and Caleb, and what we had is done and over with, yet da wants to get involved, and now he's all but threatening me to make it right with her, yet part of me feels a sense of relief. Once a hard-nosed man about all things business, now da is using his own method of persuasion for matters of the heart. It's a strange position to be in.

"Yes, da." I nod, looking at the floor, as he walks out of the room.

And that's when I do the thing I have to do in order to keep in the good graces of my family.

I can't bring myself to go to her house, so I do the next best thing. And I also can't bring myself to talk to her directly, so again, I do the next best thing. Security lets me know where I can find her, so when I locate her, Trudy does a double take, as she stands in line, ordering her latte. "What…the fuck." She says, giving me a dirty look.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" I ask under my breath, so she has to strain to hear me.

"Sure?" She says, as if I'm a fucking devil worshipper or something.

I roll my eyes and purse my lips as I lead her to a table in the back. She sits down, still with that reluctant look on her face, like I secretly raped and pillaged her best friend. "Look, this won't take a minute, Trudy. I promise."

"Good, because that's all that I'm going to give you, you son of a bitch. Do you know how long I've waited for you to come see me, so I could tear a fucking strip out of you, asshole?"

"Why the fuck do you hate me so much?" I ask, nodding, scrunching my eyebrows.

"Are you fucked in the head? You walked out on my best friend, not even giving her a chance to explain, and then your brother calls, like a year later, asking her to help you put her job on the line to help you solve some fucked up kidnapping case. And then you show up at her doorstep, looking to give her more fucking grief, and she, like an idiot, is nice to you. Then your fucked up family invites her to your brother's wedding? Why, I'm still trying to figure out, but it must be to suck her into your weird Harris dimension or something."

I sigh, clasping my hand together on the table. "I know it looks bad, but how would you feel, man? I mean, she lied to me."

"Then why ask her for a favor? And why invite her to your brother's wedding?"

I grunt on exhale. "To be truthful, it's all my da's doing. If it were up to me, I wouldn't invite her to the wedding, and I certainly wouldn't have called her up on a favor, either. But I was pissed that she wouldn't help, despite the stupid high school shit that happened between us, and that's why I went to her house to tear a strip out of her."

"High school shit that broke my best friend's heart and wrecked her for all other men, Ethan. Do you know that Freya hasn't dated a soul since you two broke up?"

I argue. "Well, neither have I, but that's beside the point. Freya and I would never have been able to be together. At least, that's what I thought, at the time."

"Yeah, so you kept her a fucking secret, like she was a leper, all the time you two were together. She was never good enough for you, Ethan."

"It wasn't me, it was my da, Trudy. Honest."

She grits her teeth. "She never met your father, asshole."

I grasp my hair in my hands and growl. "Look, I know that, okay!" I look around, and notice that people are looking at me, so I lower my voice. "I didn't think that my da would approve of her. That's why I never introduced her. I never wanted her to feel rejected."

"So, you strung her along, all that time, knowing full well that she wouldn't cut the mustard. And the second she gave you cause you bolted. Classy. Real classy."

My gaze goes to hers. I go for as much conviction as I have in my heart. "I loved her, Trudy. That's the truth. If it wasn't for her telling me about her and Caleb, I would have found a way."

"Sure, you would have. You just said yourself that she didn't live up to your expectations. What would you have done, huh? Make her lie? Seems like we have a certain trend here, Ethan."

"Don't be ridiculous. My family is too smart for liars. Anyone that encounters us is thoroughly investigated first. It's standard. I would have never gotten away with that."

Her voice is deadpan. "Well, I'm glad you never thought about it."

"I never did, dammit!" I slam my fist on the table, and the same people that were staring at me a moment ago, I now have their attention again. I lift my hand up apologetically and gain back my control. "I'm telling you I loved her, Trudy. And that's the truth. She knew it. And she loved me, too. When I found out about her and Caleb, make no mistake, it broke my fucking heart, too."

She interrupts me. "Why, Ethan? It's not like she cheated on you with him. They weren't even together. It was lame ass, last minute, I need to fuck tonight sex, and nothing more. And from what Freya tells me, the sex sucked, anyway. She never even liked him. He was just a warm body for her, and that's when he called her. She never called him, Ethan, let's be clear here. It was all your brother's doing."

"She could have told him where to go."

She asks, matter-of-factly. "Would you turn down free sex, Ethan? She's a single, warm-blooded woman, and let's be fair here, Caleb is no slouch in the mirror, pal. He wasn't voted the most eligible bachelor because he's got a face like a hound, buddy." She chuckles mirthlessly. "Hell, I'd fuck him, too, given the chance."

I lift a hand, having heard enough. "Okay. Fine, I get it. But she still could have told me."

Her voice lowers an octave, as she levels with me. "Like I told her a dozen times. But she didn't know where you and she were headed, and when she fell in love, she got scared. It wasn't until you told her you loved her that she knew she better confess." She looks up at me. "She's still in love with you, Ethan. She never stopped."

I stare at my hands. Feeling like a shit.

"And that's why I talked her out of going to this wedding."

My gaze meets hers. I'm shocked. "You? You talked her out of it? I figured it would be the opposite."

"Well, at first, I tried. I figured this was your dad's doing. Trying to get you two together. But when you didn't call her or make any sort of contact with her, I figured she was only going to get hurt again. If you have no interest in her, then what good will it do for her to go? She's certainly not going to see Caleb."

This is a waste of time. It not only looks bad, me going through her best friend, to persuade her to come to the wedding, but clearly Trudy hates me, and Freya's not far behind. Despite Trudy insisting that Freya's still in love with me, I'm not sure what to believe. Too much time has passed, and the first meeting we had since our breakup, wasn't a good one. All this meeting with Trudy looks like is me doing my da's bidding. Like my only motivation for having Freya come to the wedding is to appease my da.

…and I have to figure out why exactly that is.

But before I'm set to say anything else, I see my brother Maverick walk into the restaurant. Now it's my turn to do a double take. Trudy's gaze follows mine as I'm certain my face is full of confusion. Maverick turns to see me, but I'm not sure if he's looking for me, or just here of his own accord. "What are you doing here?" I ask him, as he walks to me.

"Just getting a coffee, man. What are you doing here?" He asks, dividing his glance between me and Trudy.

"Trudy, this is my brother, Maverick. Maverick, Trudy."

I lift a hand, answering the question on his face, as he shakes Trudy's hand. "This isn't a date. She's a friend of Freya Stewart's."

"Freya. That's the lass that gave Peg the bear, right?" Maverick clarifies, placing her.

"Yes, that's right." Trudy answers, face colored slightly.

Maverick smiles, taking a seat next to Trudy. "Do you mind?"

She waves, smiling. "No, not at all."

"Err…anyway, um, we were just discussing—"

I continue, but Trudy cuts me off.

"It's okay, Ethan. I'll make sure Trudy comes to the wedding. In fact, I'll be her plus-one."

"Oh, you're coming to the wedding, are you?" Maverick asks, interest all over his face.

"I was thinking about it."

…and suddenly I realize that I'm being played.