Page 141 of Pretender

“Thank you. At least I’ll have three days down there before he arrives. I’ve not told him I’m still going early, so I’ll rest up. Enjoy the nature. And Amara’s warm hugs.”

Amara’s hug is as warm and genuine as I remember from a month ago, and it takes every ounce of willpower I have to not burst into tears. This is when I need to activate my professional mask as I used to, but with the energy she’s seen from me before, so she won’t sense anything is wrong. There’s no way I will break her heart right before her wedding.

Her first wedding. She never married Aiden’s dad, and I’ve not dared ask him about it. Is it related to why he’s so weird about the topic?

“This place is incredible,” I say as Amara lets me go. The main house is a light yellow three-storey stone building, with a blue-painted front door, and semi-circular marble steps leading up to it. “Look at that magnificent Star Jasmine—ah, I can smell it from here.”

I breathe in and close my eyes, just for a moment taking in the scent of the flower and the calm of the countryside. The sun warms my face, birds chirp in the trees lining the driveway.

“I know, I love it. This really is a wonderful place,” Amara says and I blink my eyes open again. “We’re quite lucky. And we’re so happy you’re here.”

“I’m thrilled to be part of it,” I say, smiling at her. Despite how I feel about Aiden right now—the confusion and disappointment—I mean that. Making Amara’s wedding as magical as possible for her is something that brings me joy. “Did you receive everything we ordered?”

“I did! It’s all in the garden,” she says, pointing to the far end of the house and the brick-paved courtyard. There’s a large wrought-iron gate that looks to lead to a backyard.

“Come, come.” She waves for me to follow. “Will’s brother’s staff are more than happy to help set it all up. You can direct them.”

“Great. Today, you and I can plan, and I’ll spend tomorrow and Friday setting it up. And you should spend those days relaxing with Will.”

Amara tilts her head up and her warm eyes meet mine. The urge to ask overpowers me.

“Will said it’s your first wedding?”

She smiles. She knows what I’m asking.

“It is. I never married Aiden’s dad,” she says and loops her arm through mine. I drag my suitcase with the heavy garment bag on top behind me over the courtyard as we walk towards the house. She sighs and stops in front of the blue front door. “I didn’t want to press him. He left his family for me, and I knew he loved me more than I deserved. To me, it started as an escape from my village life. I was the one who wasn’t sure.” She shrugs.

“You weren’t sure? I got the impression you had this grand connection. Love of your life, kind of thing.”

“I know.” She hums, her lips twitching. “There’s an expression in Sicilian. Quannu l’amuri tuppulia, unn’u lassari ammenzu a via.” Amara lifts her gaze to mine, her eyes soft. “When love comes knocking, don’t leave it in the road. It means, if you get a chance at love, you should embrace it. So I did.”

I swallow hard, hoping she doesn’t expect me to say anything yet.

“I’ve never told Aiden all that.”

I give her a close-lipped smile and she returns it.

“Can I ask you something?” I ask and she nods. “What is it you call Aiden in Italian? Is it a nickname?”

“Gioia mia. My joy,” she says, laughing.

“Joy?”

“Yes. He was always my sweet, joyful boy. That smile that’s nearly wider than his face. Ever since he was little. And you know those eyes.”

“I do.”

But I try not to think about them.

“That’s why I didn’t tell him. I didn’t want to have to go through this story with him. To see his joy fade. Never wanted to admit it took me years to love his dad as much as he loved me from day one—that the story his dad told him isn’t entirely true.”

“But you did, umm, love him?”

“Yes, very much. We were happy through the years we got. It just took me longer to get to the same place as him.”

“Oh.”

“With Will, though, I did it differently. I showed up from day one, even when I doubted it. It helped to be more mature when I met him, quite different from when I was nineteen, but I still feel like that young woman sometimes. Unsure and vulnerable. But I chose Will. Every day I went to see him and hoped he would choose me back. And he did.”