Her Substitute Groom

Discomfort

Carys

Annis practically drags me from the plane when we land. I’d been speechless riding in first class. When the stewardess offered me wine or champagne I had stammered out a no thank you. I’ve never had alcohol and it’s probably not the best idea to try it for the first time as we fly to my wedding destination. Lorenzo warned all of us about our public behavior and that reporters or photographers could be lurking around any corner. My dad has kept a tight leash on my mom although she has been loving the idea she could be featured on a social media gossip site or a magazine. She makes sure she is dressed to the nines anytime she even checks the mail. She offered to take me shopping but I refused. I hadn’t liked the look in her eyes when Lorenzo dropped off a credit card for me and told me to shop for new clothes. Mom acted as if she was going to add a new wardrobe for herself. I did buy my dad a new suit and a few dress shirts and pants via Annis. She went shopping for me because going always gives me anxiety. I don’t like salespeople watching me or judging my figure as I try things on. Especially because Annis told me I would need to visit some higher end boutiques. I remember going to those when I was in high school with my mom and they would always talk about fitting my hips into things. One time I ended up crying in the dressing room and my mom had gotten so upset she made me go sit out in the car because I was embarrassing her.

I smell the ocean as we wait for my parents to deplane. My mother had one too many cocktails and Dad is holding her close as they descend the stairs. She is waving like a crazy pageant contestant though there is really no one here right now.

My mom keeps laughing like she’s having a funny internal conversation the whole ride. Dad whispers “I’ll make her take a nap as soon as we are there.”

Annis nods “maybe she needs to eat too.” She rolls her eyes at me. My mom has been pissing Annis off the whole plane ride. At one point, I thought Annis might slap her.

The resort is beautiful. Open air lobby and tropical flowers everywhere. It’s decorated in muted pinks, reds, oranges and gold. Appropriate considering the name of Sunset Dreams.

My mouth drops as Annis and I open the door to our suite. It’s pure luxury with white marble flooring and the same color scheme as the lobby. Two bedrooms with beds as soft as clouds piled high with pillows. A fruit basket and vase of tropical flowers sit on the living room table. Annis plucks the card from them reading aloud, “Welcome to Sunset Dreams. Please enjoy your stay Miss Blake.”

“Wow you are like a fancy celebrity. I have an idea. Let’s throw on our bathing suits and go check out the beach.” Annis is opening the doors to the balcony and I join her.

“Let me text Belinda and Lorenzo first to make sure I don’t have something to do.”

Belinda responds quickly. I need to go approve flowers and the tulle color for the archway.

Lorenzo answers that everyone will meet for dinner at six in the resort’s main restaurant.

Annis decides she’ll take a nap and wait for me so we can hopefully hit the beach before dinner.

I hurry off the elevator following Belinda’s directions and run into Lorenzo. He stands talking animatedly to a guy even taller than him. I see dark brown hair neatly tousled like he styled it that way and he’s wearing a black suit. Lorenzo smiles and waves to me motioning for me to join them. I stand beside him and he says “Carys you remember my cousin Maxim.”

I haven’t seen Maxim Taylor in six years. He’s aged well in those six years though. He was hot in high school and that level of hot seems to have quadrupled. His warm brown eyes meet mine and while the color is warm, the greeting and look from those eyes is not welcoming. Perfectly tan skin graces his chiseled face. I can tell his body is toned even in the suit. A light dusting of facial stubble covers his jawline. He got the best of both worlds, his mother’s Italian genes giving him that dark and mysterious look while he’s tall and built like his father.

I give him a smile “Hi Maxim. Nice to see you again.”

He nods barely “Carys.” That’s it. My name and nothing else. But the way it sounds coming from his mouth makes shivers run down my spine. As I listen to him I am thinking over the things I remember about him.

Maxim is two years older than us and he was reserved growing up even. He would hang around Lorenzo at the house with a friend of his, Carl or Carlo, I can’t remember. He always seemed to quietly watch us like a hawk. He was super handsome and had this deep velvety voice back then. Lorenzo once mentioned his cousin took singing lessons. We went to a carnival once and I got separated from the group at the end when I ran into a friend of my parents. They left me accidentally and said they would be back to pick me up. Maxim showed up to my surprise and I ended up riding home with him. The two hour drive started out awkward but then I started talking to cover the awkward silence and to my surprise he joined in. He had a dry sense of humor and I found myself laughing at him.

He turns and says something to Lorenzo in Italian before walking away. I watch his broad back disappear.

“Where are you headed?” Lorenzo asks causing me to gather my wits.

“Meeting Belinda to approve some decorations.” He smiles.

“Go then. See you at dinner.” He squeezes my shoulder and follows in the direction Maxim went.

As I walk toward Belinda’s meeting, I find my mind wandering again to Maxim Taylor. He looked incredible even better than he had in high school. He got more brooding especially after his mom left. There were all kinds of rumors about that too. Some said she was taken away by her father who was in the Italian mafia and didn’t like the fact she married an American man. Others said she cheated on her husband and ran away with an Italian boyfriend. I never thought she would leave Maxim. I’d met Mrs. Lucia before and she seemed to adore her son. I remember feeling so bad for Maxim one day after a bunch of kids had been talking about it in the hallway. It had just happened two weeks prior but the whole school didn’t find out about it until that morning. I had pushed past all of them gossiping and saw him standing in the hallway perpendicular to where his friends were. He looked so forlorn it had torn at my heart. I remember standing there holding my book to my chest not knowing if I should make a sound or not. He’d heard something though and looked right up into my eyes and I had seen the tears. Before I could say anything, he had turned and stalked off in the opposite direction. Later that afternoon I had felt compelled to do something stupid and give him a gift. His confused look made me realize I had made a big mistake but it was too late. I left the school and thankfully he never mentioned the incident. He graduated that spring and it was my last year at the private school.