Heart of Stone - Book 1: Fighting Fate

“I think we found the dress,” Aubree’s mother announced in a singsong voice when they returned home.

Aubree had tried to tell her mother that it was too soon to make a decision on a dress because they were all still emotional about the engagement itself. Her mother shushed her and told her that she knew the moment she saw it that that would be her dress.

“I can just see it! You walking down the aisle with your father, Pachelbel’s Canon playing softly in the background, rose petals sprinkled along the floor, Dan in his cute little tux, looking all dashing as he waits patiently for you to meet him at the end.”

She started getting all choked up at the end. Aubree couldn’t help gaping at her because her mother rarely, if ever, got emotional in front of others.

“Oh, Aubree. You’ll be the most beautiful bride in that dress,” her mother gushed, her eyes brimming with tears again.

“Way to go, Bree,” her father said as he met them in the foyer. “You broke her.”

Her mother shot him a glare and smacked him lightly on the chest.

He clutched his chest as if it hurt. “See? Defective. Take her back.”

“You’re defective.”

“See?” He jabbed his thumb in his wife’s direction. “She can’t even come up with a decent comeback. You broke your mother.”

“Shut up, Steve.”

As her parents continued their normal bickering into the living room, Dan arched his eyebrows at Aubree as she slipped off her flip-flops. “I take it the dress shopping went well?”

Her face grew warm and she bit her lower lip. “Yeah.”

He rubbed her arms as she stepped toward him. Closing her eyes, she leaned into him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Holding him reminded her of how secure he made her feel, and right then, that was what she needed.

“Is everything okay?” he asked as his hands began to rub her back.

Shit, he’s worrying.

“Mom’s stressing me out,” she admitted into his shoulder, omitting the bigger issue on her mind that he didn’t need to know about.

As if wedding planning was the least of her worries.

“Don’t worry. She’s just excited. She’ll settle down once we leave.”

Aubree nodded against his chest. The distance will be good for all of them. Her mother won’t be in her hair constantly over the smallest things like rose petals scattered down the aisle. Wasn’t that the job of the flower girl anyway?

After a minute in his arms, she was already starting to feel calmer. Pulling back, she gazed up into Dan’s eyes. “I love you.”

He kissed the tip of her nose. “I love you too.”

“Aubree!” her mother called from the living room. “What colors have you thought of for your bridesmaids’ dresses? I think magenta will look lovely on your girls!”

Aubree shot Dan a ‘save me from this crazy woman’ face, earning a chuckle from Dan.

Turning on her heel, she marched into the living room. “Mom, no pink!”

After a late lunch, they spent an hour flipping through bridal magazines, followed by another hour of surfing the Internet for venues in Minneapolis.

Aubree kept reminding herself that her mother was excited and wanted to help.

At three-thirty, she was able to escape her mother and call her best friend, Brooke. She had debated on calling Brooke to tell her the news because, well, she wasn’t sure what to make of her confused feelings regarding Stone—and Brooke would definitely pick up on the lack of excitement in Aubree’s voice about the engagement. She knew how long Aubree had been dreaming of this day.

She didn’t know who to turn to—if she should even mention it to someone. It wasn’t like she had confronted Stone about it. He might not feel anything at all toward her for all she knew.

She rolled her eyes at the thought. Didn’t he give her three options? Leave town on her own accord, force her to leave, or make her his? What the hell? Make her his. What was that even supposed to mean? He didn’t seem to be the joking type and he said it with a straight face.

And her heart had raced when he said it.

Pressing her hand against her face, she cursed at herself again.

What is wrong with you?

But why would he say that if he didn’t intend to make it so?

Chewing on her bottom lip, she picked up her phone and looked up Brooke’s number, grimacing when she noticed the last time she sent a text to Brooke. Sure, she’d been busy this past week but that was no excuse to forget her best friend.

She inhaled and exhaled slowly, her stomach flip-flopping, and dialed Brooke’s number. Pressing the phone to her ear, she waited with bated breath.

"Oh my God, Bree! How have you been, girl?" Brooke’s voice was upbeat, as usual.

A nervous smile tugged on Aubree’s lips. “Good. How about you?”

"Oh, you know. The usual. My boss at the bar is really riding my ass these days. I swear, one of these days I’m going to tell him to stick it where the sun don’t shine!" She laughed.

Aubree cringed. “Yikes. It’s getting that bad, huh?”

"Meh, I’ll live. It’s a job and the money’s decent. So, what’s up? Haven’t heard from you in, like, forever!"

Sighing, Aubree brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “Well, I’m not sure where to start.”

"Uh oh. That doesn’t sound good.”

“Well. “Aubree swallowed. “I have good news and bad news, so let’s start with the good news.”

"Okay.”

Gearing herself up for it, she took a deep breath, squeezed her eyes shut, and shifted the phone to her other ear. “Dan proposed last night.”

"Oh my gosh!" Brooke squealed into the phone. ”Congratulations! What did he say? Dish!"

Aubree rubbed her forehead. “Well, we’re back in Chicago now, visiting my parents for the weekend. We went to the Pier yesterday and... yeah.”

She giggled. ”Did he popped the question during the fireworks?"

Aubree shook her head. “No, but he said that was what he was planning to do. He proposed at sunset. The moment felt right, so he popped the question.”

"That’s too cute. But now you’re worrying me. You don’t sound as happy as I thought you’d be. You’ve been dreaming of this moment for years. What’s wrong?"

Aubree hesitated. “That’s the bad news.”

"Oh my God. You’re pregnant."

Aubree’s brows pulled together. “What? No.”

Brooke exhaled loudly in relief. ”Shit. Don’t do that. Kids are freaking scary.”

Aubree rolled her eyes. Just because Brooke didn’t want children, didn’t mean Aubree felt the same way about them.

Brooke continued guessing. ”Is Dan okay?"

“Yeah, he’s fine.”

"Then, what’s wrong?"

Aubree opened her mouth and closed it again. Her tongue felt like it was made of cotton. Her cheeks grew hot as her stomach churned. She glanced at the door, as if afraid that Dan or her mother would suddenly come in without warning. She pressed her hand to her face in shame.

“I...”

"Bree?"

“I don’t know what to do,” she confessed.

"About what?"

She struggled to swallow, fighting her emotions. “I don’t know if I should marry Dan.”

Brooke gasped. ”What? Bree, what’s going on?"

The hot sting of tears pricked Aubree’s eyes. She squeezed them shut to try and prevent the tears from falling as she forced the guilt down into the pit of the stomach.

I’m the worst person in the world. How could this happen?

"Bree?" Brooke asked, her voice laced with concern.

Admit it, she told herself. Just admit it. There’s no point in denying it now.

Aubree cleared her throat and took a deep breath. “I’m so confused right now.”

"About what? Tell me!"

Brooke’s voice was getting very edgy with worry. Aubree knew she had to spit it out.

“I met someone recently.”

Aubree let her words sink in as the line fell silent.

"Holy shit.”

With the ball rolling now, Aubree urged herself to come clean. Brooke would always stand by Aubree no matter what, she knew. It didn’t make it any easier, but she had to get it off her chest now.

“And the thing is,” Aubree said, “I can’t stop thinking about him and I don’t know what to do.”

"Shit.”

“Brooke, I’m so torn,” she whispered, her heart twisting painfully in her chest. “I mean, I love Dan. Really, I do. But...”

"But?" Brooke urged, taking the news better than Aubree had hoped.

Aubree exhaled a shuddering breath. “I’m so confused.”

Silence fell over her as she curled up in on herself as she sat at the edge of her bed.

"Woah.”

Aubree hated herself at that moment. It was one thing to develop feelings for someone else when in a committed relationship, it was another to admit to having those feelings when she clearly shouldn’t have them in the first place. Admitting them was the first step to acting on them.

She didn’t want to cheat on Dan. She wasn’t that kind of person and he didn’t deserve it.

“Brooke?” she begged in a small voice. “Say something”

Her best friend hesitated, struggling to find her words. ”I’m still in shock, Bree. I mean... you just gave me the best news a best friend could ask for, and then you dumped a bucket of ice water on my head with this... this... shit.”

Aubree cringed. “I feel like shit.”

Sighing, she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear as she shifted the phone to her other ear. “What am I going to do, Brooke?” she asked in a small voice. “This is so messed up.”

"I’ll say. I can’t imagine you cheating on Dan.”

She flinched. “I haven’t done anything yet.”

"Yet? How hot is he?"

Aubree raised an eyebrow. “Does it matter?”

"Yeah!"

Swallowing, she twisted a lock of hair around her finger, thinking about what his body must look like underneath his clothes. “Really hot. Like, movie star hot. Like, the-hottest-guy-in-the-world hot.”

Brooke whistled. ”Damn girl! You sure it’s not your hormones or something? He sounds like he could be a sex god!"

Aubree pursed her lips. Hormones? Yeah, that must be it. “I hope it’s just hormones. That would make everything a lot easier.”

Easier to turn Stone down. Easier to forget about him. Easier to focus on Dan. It would make everything a hell of a lot easier.

“Either way,” Aubree said, heaving a sigh, “I need to figure this out.”

"Yeah, the sooner the better.”

“Exactly.” Aubree was starting to feel better now. Still, she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to figure out her feelings toward Stone. It wasn’t like he was easy to talk to.

“Well, wish me luck.”

"Good luck!"

“Oh, by the way,” Aubree said, perking up a bit and unwinding the twisted lock of hair around her finger. “Will you be my maid of honor?”

"Fuck yeah! God, I was getting worried you wouldn’t ask!"

Aubree rolled her eyes. “Of course I would ask you. You’re my best friend.”

"Sweet! Well, I’m sure you’ll make the right choice in the end. Tell me what happens! Don’t be a stranger, kay?"

“I won’t,” Aubree said with a small smile.

"Have a safe trip back.”

“Thanks.”

Aubree hung up, feeling a little better about the situation. Brooke was probably right. It was probably just hormones because Stone was the epitome of godliness, and as much as she wanted to deny the physical attraction she felt toward him, it made sense.

It’s all biological, she told herself as she began to pack the last few remaining items they had brought with them.

Glancing at the alarm clock next to her bed, she sighed. It was getting late and they had to head out.

The thought about going back to Minneapolis and running into Stone again scared her. She wanted to forget everything to do with him. It was all in her head, right? In a few weeks, he would be nothing more than a memory of some weirdo she ran into.

Taking a deep breath, she zipped up her luggage and headed downstairs.