She held her tongue. She’d been dreading this little reunion ever since Grant slid that engagement ring on Jenna’s finger. Even though Aiden moved to Charleston shortly after he graduated, he remained close to Grant.

But not to his girlfriend. No, he just dumped her like yesterday’s garbage.

Sophie shook the thought. For all of their forward progress it seemed they were on a treadmill. Her arm was far from numb. Rather, the springy hairs of his forearm tickled the soft flesh of her wrist. She curled her fingers into fists to avoid touching him unnecessarily. And his familiar smell was about to drive her crazy. It took her right back to high school prom, talks on her porch, making out in his Chevy truck.

“Look, Sophie . . .” His smoky voice made gooseflesh rise on her arms. “I’m really sorry about how I left. You didn’t deserve that, but I did try to call that once—”

“Now is not the time, Aiden.”

Yes, there’d been one phone call three months after he’d left. One voice mail, begging her to return his call. He hadn’t said it outright, but she’d gotten the feeling maybe he felt like he'd made a mistake. But Sophie had her hands full with caring for her family. And she wasn’t eager to pursue a long-distance relationship with someone who’d left her behind so easily.

He glanced her way. “I wasn’t ready for the kind of—”

“Not now.”

“—relationship we had. I was eighteen, and I had things I wanted to do. I didn’t know who I was, and I was too young to—”

“Aiden. Can we talk about this later?”

“When?”

“I don’t know.” The guys were going out after the rehearsal, and the girls were holing up at the beach house. “After the reception tomorrow night.”

“I have to leave early, my flight.”

“During the reception then, but not until after the toast.” Her maid-of-honor duties would keep her busy until then.

“All right. Save me a dance. We’ll talk then.”

They’d finally reached the front. “Fine.”

Sophie gladly let go of Aiden’s arm and took her spot just to the left of center. Only when she realized she’d committed to dancing with the man who’d broken her heart did her practiced smile slip.

chapter three

Sophie blinked back a tear as she watched Jenna and Grant sway under thousands of white twinkle lights. The band had set up on the upper deck, the strains of “All of Me” drifting on the evening air.