Seven Days (12 page)

Luke came to a stop outside Rhys’ door and it would take
him a few minutes to move from the spot. So many thoughts and emotions swirled
through him. He would catch ahold of one, only to have it slip away as his
attention was distracted by something else.

As with anyone, his thoughts turned to how the changing
situation would affect him. Milan would be free—available for him! The glimmer
of hope he had extinguished earlier that evening relit, only to be quickly
devoured by the guilt at even thinking of that possibility. What kind of man
was he to feel the happiness of opportunity at such a cost?

Just as fast, he was overcome with anger again. That
Julian had the nerve to think that they would just give their blessing and hand
over their sister to him as if she was the reward for his selfish decisions!
And Rhys! His dogged devotion to Julian was just as upsetting; he wasn’t
looking out for Carolyn at all.

Luke knew Carolyn’s heart. He was the brother who truly
knew her. She wouldn’t be swept up in the tide of Julian’s charisma. Like him,
her head was squarely on her shoulders.

It was Milan he had to worry about. They hadn’t seen the
Milan she had shown him last weekend. She was not as tough as people thought.
He knew that he couldn’t have her, but he could be there for her. She wouldn’t
have to go through this alone.

Luke returned to the hall and immediately scanned the
room for Milan. She was talking with Sabrina, but her eyes had been on the door
and he saw the flash of disappointment cross her face when he entered. She’d
been watching for Julian.

He wanted to go to her and put his arms around her, give
her the strength that he knew she would need later on. His instinct was to tell
her now rather than have her remain in the dark, but in this maybe Rhys was
right.

He joined Carolyn at their table and ignored her
questioning look. She didn’t press him and he took the time to get his thoughts
together. The number of people in the room had dwindled as some guests had
already left. He toyed with his empty goblet, rolling it between thumb and
middle finger.

Milan had been trying to catch his eye since he’d
returned and he had been studiously avoiding making contact. He could tell she
was losing patience; it was all over her body language. He was such a jerk, but
what could he do?

In a hushed tone he whispered to Carolyn, “Julian's
calling off the wedding.” He watched her reaction closely wondering if she
already knew, but her saw pure surprise in her brown eyes.

She made him repeat what he had said and stared at him,
confused. She seemed nervous and a little upset. She looked over at Milan and
he noted with relief the concern in her glance.

“Does Milan know?”

“Not yet.”

“Why?” she asked him. “What happened?”

“You don't know?”

Carolyn shook her head at his leading question and waited
for an explanation. Luke considered telling her that the wedding was off
because of her but decided against it. Now that he had opened the jar, he had
to tell her something because he knew she wouldn't let him off the hook without
an answer.

“He says he's in love with someone else.”

Carolyn gasped and searched his face but he had no
answers for her.

”Who?” she finally asked, to Luke’s relief. If she had to
ask then she wasn't a part of this whole thing. He knew that in Carolyn at
least he had an ally in common sense. She was someone who wouldn't allow
herself to get swept away in the moment and make bad decisions. She and he had
always been the stable half of their foursome and he took comfort in the fact
that they still were.

Rhys chose then to enter the room. He’d changed clothes,
Luke noticed, and he looked as relaxed as ever as he worked the room with ease
and made his way over to Milan and Sabrina. He leaned in, gently rested his
hand on Milan's back and whispered something in her ear that made her smile.
She pecked Rhys on the cheek and then grasped his hand as he cleared his throat
to get everyone's attention.

Luke had to admire his brother's ability to handle
anything with ease. Rhys thanked everyone for coming and wished them all a good
night. He had slipped into the groom's role so quickly that it seemed no one
even noticed Julian's absence.

Once the good-nights were said, Rhys smoothly escorted
Milan out of the hall with what looked to be only an afterthought glance at his
brother and sister. Luke and Carolyn both knew, however, that Rhys had looked
to them for reassurance because he was leading Milan to the beginning of the
end.

Milan chided herself for having worried at Julian's
absence. She had been losing patience with Julian and Rhys’ disappearing act,
but now she was filled with anticipation at the surprise that her fiancé must
have for her.

Rhys had told her that Julian was waiting in her hotel
room and that Rhys was to help her say good night to everyone in the hall.
Seeing how well both Julian and Rhys looked out for her, she knew she was the
most cherished woman in the world. She couldn't wait for tomorrow to come. She
checked her watch. It was almost ten o'clock, “We'd better hurry,” she said to
Rhys, “I want to get to Julian before midnight. I don't want to see him on our
wedding day. It's bad luck.”

“You'll be fine,” Rhys said and stopped in front of her
room door. He leaned down to hug her and she thought again how alike he and
Julian were. “I'm in room 1032 if you need me for anything. Okay?”

“Thanks Rhys,” she smiled up at him, “I think I'll be all
right. Julian's here.”

“I know,” he replied but she couldn’t interpret his
expression. “Okay then,” Rhys turned and headed back toward the elevator.

For a moment his words brought back the foreboding Milan
had felt earlier in the week, but she brushed it off and opened the door to her
suite. She saw Julian immediately; his presence seemed to fill the room. He was
standing across the room looking out the window with his back facing her. He
didn't turn around when she entered, so she walked up behind him and wrapped
her arms around his waist. She felt the dampness of his clothes.

“Why are you so wet, honey?” she didn't really care why
and didn't wait for an answer. She was happy to be with him again. She turned
her head to the left, resting her right cheek against his back and was
comforted by his solid body. She didn't mind that her dress was absorbing the
moisture from his clothes.

“Can you believe we’re going to be married tomorrow? I
almost can't believe it's really going to happen. After all this preparation
it's finally here.” She listened to his breathing and the sound of his heart
beating. Comforting sounds, always. “Are you nervous?”

“Yeah, I am nervous,” he replied, loosening her embrace
so he could turn around and face her. He was almost a foot taller than she was
and she leaned her head back to look at him. She wanted to memorize this moment
so she would always remember it.

“Milan, why don't you sit down over here?” He motioned to
the red overstuffed side chair beside the bed. He was being so formal, he
really must be nervous, she thought.

“Yes sir,” she said gamely and plopped herself into the
seat, “see what a good obedient wife I'll be?” she giggled. From her vantage
point she could now really see Julian's condition. “Baby, why are you so wet?”
she asked again.

“I was outside in the rain. I didn't realize it was
coming down so hard.”

“Well you need to get out of those clothes, you don't
want to catch a cold now. And your cast, you didn’t get that wet too, did you?”
She tried to get out of the chair to go get a robe from the bathroom but Julian
stopped her and pressed her back into her seat. He sank down to one knee in
front of her and in his face she saw not excitement, not anticipation, not joy,
but anguish and heartache. Something was wrong.

He started speaking and an acrid stinging started at the
back of her throat, the feeling you get when trying to keep from crying. But
she didn't cry.

Milan sat in the chair, Julian holding her hands in her
lap as he told her he couldn't marry her. She watched his lips moving as he
explained how he'd realized that they weren't meant to be together and that not
getting married was the best answer for them both. She looked at his face,
which she knew so well, and didn't recognize the man in front of her.

She didn't cry. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of
seeing her cry. He was in tears, though, asking her if she was okay, begging
her to say something, to yell at him. But she was numb. What am I supposed to
say, she thought? So she said nothing and while he cried she pulled her hands
from his and wrapped her arms across her taut belly. Her whole body was stiff
as she sat there, muscles tense, trying not to shake.

“Milan?”

She finally found her voice but didn't recognize it. The
sound was harsh, grating to her ears, “I think you should go.” It was all she
could get out without losing it.

“I think we should talk about this,” he said.

“Do you?” his suggestion made her angry. “Well I don't
think I want to
talk
Julian,” I think I want to kill you.

She got up from her chair and brushed passed him as he
remained crouched on the floor. She picked up her purse from where she had
tossed it on the bed earlier and removed her compact and lipstick. Deliberately
she began to reapply her lip color—her armor—but her movements were stiff and
she pressed the stick too hard against her lips. It didn't matter to Milan that
her application wasn't perfect, she found comfort in the familiar movement and
was able to begin to clear her mind while seemingly focusing on the simple
task.

Julian watched her fix her face and wondered how she
could be so cold when this was tearing him apart. He almost hated her in that
moment. Everything is a façade, there's no depth to her, no feeling. He
couldn’t believe he had almost gone through with this wedding.

He rose awkwardly from his position, taking care with his
injured leg and picked up his wrinkled suit jacket from the bed. He went to stand
behind her hoping to reach some common ground, but when he touched her
shoulders she shrugged his hands off.

“I'm sorry,” he said, “I'll take care of things for
tomorrow.”

He started for the door so he did not see the tears start
to come. He did not see her struggle to keep them from falling, nor did he see
her lose the battle. He had opened the door, about to walk away from the
devastation he had wrought, when she wobbled as if the bones inside her were
disintegrating. She gripped the table for support.

“Julian!” it was almost a whisper but it stopped him cold
in his tracks. “You can just walk away from me?”

It was then that he saw the depth of emotion on her face,
which he hadn't thought her capable of. She wiped violently at her tears.

“I can't marry you.” He said, knowing that to soften now
would just make it hurt worse later on.

“Why!” her voice cracked.

He shook his head as if he were hopeless to find the
answer, “I can't marry you, Milan.”

“Why Julian, why?” she cried out, “I love you!”

“I love you, too. I'm so sorry.”

He exited and outside her door, Julian heard the thud of
something break against the door and then the sound of tempered weeping. She
was crying, he thought, and he almost felt better at the sound of her distress.
She wasn't as cold as he’d feared. Maybe he didn't know her as well as he
thought he had.

He put his hand back on the knob and turned it, wanting
to return and comfort the woman he had been with for the last few years, but he
stopped himself, knowing that she wouldn't find comfort in his arms ever again.

The Jameses had gathered in Rhys' room while Julian was
breaking things off with Milan and as her brothers explained what had happened,
Carolyn wondered if there was anything she could have done to stop it.

“It's probably better that you weren't there,” Rhys said,
not wanting her to feel responsible in any way. This was Julian’s doing.
“Julian was in a pretty bad way. He probably wouldn't have wanted you to see
him like that.”

Luke snorted, “I wonder...this whole mess might have been
avoided if she were there.”

“Maybe I could have talked him out of making such a rash
decision,” Carolyn offered.

“You're probably the only person who might have been able
to set him straight,” Luke agreed.

Rhys was tired of dancing around the subject. In their
recounting of the night’s events, neither he nor Luke had directly told Carolyn
that she was the reason Julian called of the wedding. Something was missing
though, and Rhys couldn't help wondering just how his sister fit into this
equation.

This past week he had observed a closeness between Julian
and Carolyn that he didn't recognize from before he had left Philly.  Now
with the incident at Cera's Place and the talk he had with Julian at the bar,
Rhys was curious about her role in the breakup.

Unsure how to put it, he asked her point blank. “Carolyn,
do you know how Julian feels about you?”

Luke's head popped up. His eyes were wide with surprise
but not nearly as wide as Carolyn’s.

“I'm not sure I understand your question.”

“Julian thinks he's in love with you,” Luke blurted out,
and Rhys gave him an irritated glance.

“What?”

Rhys nodded, “It's true.”

“But as I was saying earlier,” Luke explained, “if you'd
been in the room you could have told him that you're not interested in him and
he probably would have come to his senses and realized he was just nervous.”

“Come on,” Rhys interrupted his brother, “You really
think this was about nerves? Julian's not the nervous type.”

“The point is that Carolyn's not in love with him. Maybe
if she were there she could have told him, and this fantasy he had might have
been dealt with.”

“Wait...wait!” Carolyn had to stop the conversation.
“What do you mean?”

In hindsight everything was clear to Rhys, “You never
suspected that Jules liked you?”

“We just figured you weren't interested,” Luke added
offhandedly, as if this was all old news. It was to them, but Rhys saw that the
knowledge was new for Carolyn.

She looked from him to Luke and back again. “Well, how
long has this been going on? I mean he's been with Milan for years and before
her...well, he was never alone for long.”

“Carolyn, it's been like forever,” Luke stated.

 “How come no one ever said?” she asked, in a little
girl’s voice that made Rhys want to hug her. He almost did, but the door
opened, Julian walked in and all eyes turned his way.

Conversation stopped when Julian entered and three sets
of eyes turned in his direction. His own found Carolyn and he tried to determine
if the brothers had disclosed all his secrets. He couldn't be sure.

“So I guess you were talking about me.”

Julian pushed the door closed and limped over to an empty
chair. When he had left Milan, he suddenly felt the chill from his wet clothes
seeping into his skin. He returned to his room, wrapped his cast in plastic and
took a steaming hot shower. The water nearly scalded him but he kept the
temperature where it was, needing to feel something of the world around him. It
had been a rough night and he was emotionally drained and physically tired, yet
all he wanted to do was see Carolyn.

“Well, it is all about you, isn't it,” Rhys tried to
lighten the mood.

Julian half smiled and stole another glance at Carolyn.

“So do we all know everything?” When no one responded he
continued, “Well, I know that I got myself into it deep this time,” he let out
a big sigh.

“Jules, what happened?” Carolyn asked as if she were
holding broken glass, afraid to close her hand on the topic lest she cut
herself. He didn't know where to start and while he pondered the events of the
evening, Luke asked an elephantine question.

“How's Milan?”

He’d grown tired of Luke’s attitude by now but was not
about to be distracted. “To be honest, she wasn't too good when I left her.”

“It had to be done,” Rhys said, but Luke disagreed.

“How can you continually defend him? Can't you see what
he's done?”

The escalating tension distressed him. Coming between
these two was the last thing Julian had ever wanted, yet the collateral damage
was piling up.

“Luke, please!” Rhys said with a hard edge. “This is
complicated to say the least.”

“Yes, it is,” Luke fired back. “I’m going to go tend the
injured party. Remember her?” The door closed behind him with a thud. They sat
in the silent wake of his exit looking across the room at each other. Finally,
Rhys got up.

“I’m going to go call Cera and check on things. She had
to work tonight, remember?”

Julian let the statement wash over him as it really meant
very little. He already knew Cera was working. Why Rhys felt the need to repeat
that information eluded him when there were other, more pressing things at
hand. He studied his hands while waiting for Rhys to leave so he could talk to
Carolyn. All he needed was some time alone with her to explain everything and
then see if she would have him.

Rhys hadn’t moved and Julian looked up wondering why his
friend was waiting. Oh, he thought catching Rhys’ eye. The man had a message to
deliver. In all their years of friendship, they’d never had to navigate the
space between family and friend, but in this moment Rhys was letting him know
that no matter their history, there was a difference. If he hurt Carolyn, Rhys
would be coming for him.

Julian nodded once and Rhys smoothed the hair on his
sister’s head. “I have my phone if you need me,” he told her and left the room.