Chapter Eighteen

Aiden Smells A Rat

Saturday, December 10

Becca strode toward her mom's car, so fast that Will had to run to keep up with her.

"You don't think you were a little hard on Kelly?" he suggested as they came to a stop. He'd had the same reaction to Kelly's proposed dishes for the reception, but unlike Becca, he could be diplomatic and keep his mouth shut.

Becca whirled around to gape at him. She pointed to the house. "You were in there, right? That was you trying lavender asparagus risotto, right?"

"It wasn't that bad," he remonstrated, not entirely truthfully. Kelly had attempted to create something sophisticated.

It hadn't worked. Like, at all.

"Oh really? And what about the quiche?"

"Yeah, that was a little…underdone," he admitted.

Becca's eyes bulged. "Underdone? The bits of sausage were swimming in it. And they were still oinking ! And while we're on the subject… sausage? In a quiche? At a wedding ?"

"You've eaten Quiche Lorraine, haven't you?"

"Yeah. What's your point?"

"That has bits of ham in it, so I guess my point is, what's the difference between ham and sausage?"

"At least the quiche I ate was cooked. And what about the dessert?"

"What's wrong with ginger ice cream?"

"Oh, nothing at all," she said, her voice laced with sarcasm. "It just took the top of my head off and killed every last damn taste bud, there was so much ginger in it. And who has ice cream in December? Is she going to bring that over by car too? It'll melt by the time it reaches the tables."

Will snickered. "Not in December, it won't."

Behind them, the front door slammed.

Becca sighed. "Great. Mom's pissed."

"And you're surprised?"

"Rebecca Jane Taylor, you get right back inside that house this minute and apologize." Louise walked briskly toward them, her face like thunder.

"Louise, please, slow down," Will pleaded. "The path is really slippery." He had visions of her breaking a leg or something even worse.

She changed her pace, coming to a halt in front of Becca, who squared her shoulders and folded her arms.

Will knew the signs. It was Becca-speak for ‘I'm not gonna budge so don't even waste your breath.'

"No, Mom." Thankfully Becca kept her voice at a reasonable volume. "It's my wedding, my day."

Will was going to strangle her.

You're supposed to be breaking up with me, not arguing about food for a wedding reception that isn't even going to happen.

That did it. Once he'd enjoyed a final pleasant evening with Aiden, he was ending this.

Can you hear yourself? You're as bad as she is. You could say something right now. But you won't do that, will you? Because—

Aiden. Because of Aiden.

"Fine." Louise spat out the word as though it had a sour taste. "But that doesn't give you the right to hurt Kelly's feelings the way you did."

"What did I say?" Becca demanded, eyes wide.

"Seriously?" Will chuckled. "I think saying that she should demand her money back from culinary school so she'll be able to afford the lawsuits from the guests was pretty cold. I'm surprised you didn't pull out the Peanut Corporation of America while you were at it."

"Huh?" Becca frowned.

"The what?" Louise seemed confused too.

He groaned. "One of the biggest outbreaks of salmonella in the US in 2009."

Becca narrowed her eyes, then turned back to her mom. "Ignore the nerd. I still have the right to choose what everyone eats, don't I? So if I want to order in subs from across the street, I'll do it." Becca snorted. "Come to think of it, subs would be a damn sight more edible than what Kelly is proposing."

Louise got behind the wheel, Becca beside her. Will climbed in the back. Louise gripped the steering wheel. "It's not ideal, I know. It isn't an ideal situation. But unless you have another idea?"

Will was staring daggers at the back of Becca's head.

Yes, you do. Tell her. Now. Or at least tell her we all need to sit down and talk.

Judging by the way Becca squirmed in her seat, she could feel every inch of those daggers.

"Not right now, I don't," Becca murmured. She glanced toward the house. "But you're right. I should go back in there and apologize."

Louise patted her shoulder. "I'd wait a while. Let her calm down. Why not come over for a chat tomorrow morning before you leave? Just you and Kelly."

"Yeah, I can do that."

"At last. Sanity restored." Louise switched on the engine and pulled away from the curb.

It took Will a second or two to notice her shoulders were shaking.

"Louise? Are you okay?"

She made a choking sound as they stopped at the lights. "I shouldn't laugh. I really shouldn't." Then she bent over, the laughter bursting from her. "It was pretty awful, wasn't it?"

Will couldn't help but join in. "I agree, we shouldn't laugh." Except he couldn't hold it in a second longer. He guffawed. "Did you see Deborah's face when Kelly brought out the quiche? I thought she was gonna barf right there and then."

"Maybe Kelly needs to rethink her career choice," Becca said in a sweet voice.

Will wasn't fooled. "Do you have an alternative?"

She shrugged. "I don't know… Bioweapons specialist?"

They were laughing so hard, the car rocked.

Louise glanced at Will in the rearview mirror. "What time does everything get going this evening?"

"Aiden says he'll pick me up at six-thirty." Will had thought of little else for the past few days. Not that he was all that keen to get drunk.

He just wanted to be with Aiden.

She narrowed her gaze. "Will there be food at this party?"

Becca chuckled. "Mom, it's a bachelor party. We're talking beer pong and strippers." She gave Will a mock glare. "I don't have to tell you to behave, do I?" Her eyes twinkled.

Will drew a cross over his heart with a finger. "I'm not about to be led astray by a stripper, I promise," he announced for Louise's benefit.

Unless Aiden is the stripper. Then all bets were off.

The Becca he knew was back. She'd been in a good mood all the way from Minnesota, and he was glad to see her smile again.

Will got his phone and sent her a message. You had a good birthday, didn't you?

Her phone buzzed. Becca glanced at him over her shoulder, grinning. She typed The best. Thanks for not coming over last night.

I didn't want to interrupt anything. He wanted to add an emoji to clue her in that he knew what had been going on, but then he figured an eggplant was so wrong in the circumstances.

Will grinned to himself and sent a scissors emoji instead. Then he reconsidered and sent a whole line of them.

He thought Becca was going to choke.

"Are you okay?" her mom asked.

"I'm fine," Becca spluttered. Her fingers danced over the screen.

You are so dead. Seconds later a link appeared.

What's this?

She typed again. TikTok. Lesbian emoji combinations. If UR gonna do it, do it right.

He chuckled. Lesbian 101. I like it.

"Are you two texting each other?" Louise demanded. "Stupid question, because you obviously are, which means it's something you can't share in front of me, so you know what? I'm going to change the subject. What are you going to do until Aiden arrives?"

"Carl said something about me helping him clear snow from the paths."

Becca snorted. "That'll keep you out of trouble."

Will didn't mind. He liked spending time with Carl, especially since he'd learned Carl was a fellow Douglas Adams fan. The time would fly by.

And then I get all night with Aiden.

For the last time.

Aiden got out of the car. The lights on the front of the house revealed his dad and Will standing at the edge of the lawn, chatting. It was obvious from their body language that they felt relaxed around each other, which boded well. Aiden had a couple of married friends who said conversing with their in-laws was like digging through a layer of ice.

"Nice work." Aiden gestured to the path scraped clean of snow. "I've got lots more at my place if you need something else to do."

Dad laughed. "I think you're old enough to clear your own path."

Aiden gestured to the lights. "Isn't it a little late to be clearing snow? Shouldn't this be a daylight activity?"

Dad coughed. "We were supposed to do it a couple of hours ago, but we got to talking about… something." Another cough.

Aiden had to laugh. "Dad, I've known for a long time that I come from a long line of nerds. And yes, I mean you. So are you really surprised Becca is marrying one?"

"I'm too old to be called a nerd." Dad grinned. "Now I'm just eccentric."

Aiden looked Will up and down. "You going out like that?" Not that Will didn't do justice to jeans, boots, a thick coat, hat, and gloves, but it was hardly the attire for a night of bar crawling.

Will chuckled. "I'll grab a quick shower in a sec. We're almost done here."

"Clearing or chewing the fat?"

Dad waved his hand. "Go find your mom. Will can come out to play when he's finished."

Aiden climbed the steps to the front door, smiling to himself. From the kitchen came the sound of Mom singing. Then he recognized the lyrics to ‘Dancing Queen'.

He leaned against the door frame, watching her bopping around the kitchen island, the music pouring from the Echo Dot. "Which one did you want to be—Agnetha or Anni-Frid?"

Mom froze. "Are you trying to give your poor mother a heart attack?" She grinned. "Maybe I always wanted to be Benny." She grimaced. "No, Bjorn would be better. I'm not into beards. Have you ever wondered why your dad has never had a beard?" She turned her head toward the countertop. "Alexa, stop."

"Don't let me interrupt you, not when you were having such a good time."

Mom went to the oven and peered through the glass. "I'm glad I've got you alone for a second. Don't do anything stupid, will you?"

"That depends what you classify as stupid."

Her eyes grew flinty. "You know what I'm talking about. Tying Will naked to a lamp post or something equally juvenile."

Aiden laughed. "In this weather? It would freeze his… toes off. Where's Becca?"

"In her room." Mom rolled her eyes. "It's incredible how she manages to disappear every time I want her to lend a hand."

He chuckled. "It's a gift." Mom opened her mouth, and he held his hand up. "Don't worry. I'll have Will back here in the morning, safe and sound, though not necessarily completely sober." He turned and headed for the stairs.

"Tell your sister to get her butt down here and set the table," Mom hollered after him.

Aiden paused at Becca's door when he heard her voice.

"Last night was amazing."

He smiled. He still thought her talking on the phone to Will was a weird habit, when they were literally feet away from each other. Then her words registered.

So they finally bumped uglies. I guess it had to happen sooner or later. He had to admit it was the perfect birthday present. Even better, it seemed as though they were a good match in the sack.

Sex wasn't everything, he knew, but for many it was a pretty vital component.

Who am I kidding? If the sex wasn't good, then it just wasn't going to work.

"I could have spent hours just kissing you."

Aiden's chest tightened. I shouldn't be listening to this.

His stomach clenched. She was kissing Will .

Something Aiden had thought a lot about since the night they'd met.

"I love you so much."

And that was Aiden's cue to creep away, his face hot.

At the top of the stairs, he caught the sound of laughter from outside, and he peered through the window. The lights picked out the sight of Will on his ass in a pile of snow, and both he and dad seemed to find it amusing. Dad was hauling Will to his feet.

From behind him came the soft murmur of Becca's voice, the words indistinct as she continued talking.

Then it hit him.

Wait a sec—talking to who?

Oh. My. God.

Aiden walked downstairs in a daze, his head reeling. This doesn't make sense.

The only problem was, it made perfect sense. It answered a lot of questions, for one thing. And what burned him most was the idea that Will was going to be the one who got hurt in all this.

He went outside to where Dad and Will were stomping the snow from their boots. "You done?" he asked Will.

"Sure, but I haven't had my shower yet."

"Just bring a change of clothes. You can shower at my place." Aiden wanted to get him away from Becca.

He wanted to discover just how much Will knew.

Dad laughed. "This brings back memories. I was Will's age when I had my bachelor party." He patted Will on the back. "Go have a great time. Don't get arrested."

Will blinked. "You think that's even a possibility?"

"Not really. Have fun." He aimed a hard stare at Aiden. "And you? Keep him safe. It's Saturday night in Milwaukee, and we both know that means the assholes crawl out of the woodwork."

What Dad didn't know was that going on a bar crawl was the last thing on Aiden's mind.

A conversation loomed on the horizon, one that Aiden did not want to be having, but Becca had left him with little choice.

How do I tell my future brother-in-law that his fiancée is cheating on him?

Okay, maybe it wasn't cheating , but it was definitely confirmation that something wasn't right with their relationship.

What that something was, Aiden aimed to find out.