Author's Note: I've modified the character of Alice to how I always pictured her, not how she appeared on the show. (In my opinion, she just wasn't pretty enough for the likes of Vaughn. I guess that makes me a lot shallower than he is, but then again, he's perfect! (grin))
Thank you all so much for your feedback! You guys rock!
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As Sydney put the finishing touches on her makeup the next evening, she felt extremely satisfied that she had made the right decision with her outfit. Since she would be seeing Vaughn for the first time in almost a year, she had gone shopping that afternoon wanting something decidedly alluring without being provocatively so. She wasn't looking to play Sydney the Seductress, after all, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't want him to notice her.
She felt she had achieved just the right balance between tasteful and tempting. Her new little black halter dress with a sexy lace up-style back skimmed her figure as if it had been made for her, showing off her shimmery bare shoulders and her long tanned legs. Her jewelry was minimal but classic. A diamond solitaire lay nestled at the base of her throat, suspended by a fine gold chain. She also wore matching earrings, which would be plainly seen as she was wearing her hair swept away from her face, twisted very loosely and gathered at the nape of her neck by a simple black lacquer barrette. Her makeup was smoky and dramatic, highlighting her big brown eyes and full lips.
"Wow!" Will came into the bathroom and whistled when he saw her. "Someone is certainly pulling out all of the stops tonight!"
"Do you think it's too much?" Sydney looked alarmed.
"Relax, Syd, I'm not saying that you look desperate." Will gave her an impish grin. "Just hot."
"Oh." She said meekly, looking a little embarrassed. She met Will's eyes in the mirror as he combed his hair. "Are you sure I'm doing the right thing by going with you tonight?"
"Well, I think it's right for you." He replied, setting his comb down on the side of the sink. "I don't know what Mike and Alice are going to think."
"I'll be lucky if he doesn't want to throw me overboard into the marina." Sydney said pessimistically.
Will shot her a sympathetic glance as he fiddled with his tie. "Look, Syd, if Mike is truly committed to Alice, then it shouldn't matter to him whether you're there or not." He let out a frustrated groan as his tie came out crooked and he had to start over. When he'd been a reporter, his ties were expected to look rumpled, so he'd never bothered to learn how to tie them to look neater. "But if seeing you causes him to have some doubts, then maybe he'll step back and figure out if marrying Alice is really what he--damn it!" He cursed, undoing his tie again.
"Here, let me do it." Sydney turned around to face him.
"Thanks." Will said gratefully, giving her an appreciative look. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask you something. Does Alice know about you?"
"I don't know if he ever mentioned me to her." Sydney shook her head. "They broke up shortly after we met and at the time, I didn't think I had anything to do with it, but now I don't know. Vaughn's so unrelentingly honest he might have told her that he had developed feelings for another woman, but maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part that he loved me even back then."
"Well, I guess you'll find out when she hears your name." Will cackled gleefully.
Sydney gave him a disapproving look. "You are enjoying this way too much."
"Only because I love a good catfight, Syd." He said affectionately. "And because I know I can always count on you to come out victorious."
"I wish I had your same confidence." She said glumly.
"Don't be so negative." Will tried to cheer her up. "For all you know, Mike's just looking for a reason to stop this runaway train he's trapped on."
"That very well could be," Sydney said, thinking about her mysterious wedding invitation. "I'm just not sure I'm the person he'd like to see jump in front of the train."
"His preferred scenario would probably have me chained to the train tracks with a locomotive bearing down on me full speed ahead." She added ominously, giving Will's tie a final straightening. "I'm sure he thinks I deserve that."
"Oooh, chains. Kinky, Syd." Will deadpanned and she playfully punched him in the arm.
As befitting its name, the Haviland Bay Yacht Club was located at a nearby marina. During the drive over, Will warned Sydney of what to expect.
"It's pretty much what the name sounds like." His mouth quirked. "All of its members are of the blue-blooded sort with too much money to spend and too much time on their hands. They go sailing every weekend and think nothing about knocking back a few vodka martinis while the underpaid deckhands work their tails off to keep the tub afloat."
"If memory serves, you will no doubt meet a Muffy and a Bunny and maybe even a Kiki, if you are so unfortunate." Sydney grinned at Will's disdainful tone. "There will also be quite a few blue blazers about with these godawful embroidered insignias on their breast pockets."
"Should I even ask what they stand for?" She inquired amusedly.
"Not if you don't want to be bored to death." Will shuddered.
Sydney let out a laugh. "How do you know so much about these people? Running around with a different crowd these days?" She teased him.
"You can blame that on Mike." He shot her a grimace. "He's always inviting me to Alice's parties. There was the pre-holiday party last year and then the New Year's party this year and of course, the big engagement party with three hundred of Alice's closest friends." He rolled his eyes satirically.
"Maybe he sees you as a familiar port in a storm." She said quietly. It made her feel warm inside that Vaughn thought of Will as a friend upon whom he could lean. For all that she had taken from him, maybe she had given him something as well.
"Yeah, well, I figure it's the least I could do." Will said modestly. "The guy did help you save my life, once upon a time."
"It's not just gratitude, is it, Will?" She looked sideways at him. "I mean, you do consider him a true friend, don't you?"
"Yeah, Syd." There was a firm note in his voice. "He is a friend and that's why I want what's best for him. I feel the same way about you." He reached out with his free hand and grasped hers tightly. Sydney smiled at him as she squeezed his hand.
Will turned into the marina parking lot and took a few minutes to find an empty space. As he came around the car to help Sydney out, a cool sea breeze gently caressed her bare skin as she alighted from the car. She pulled her silky wrap around her shoulders and took Will's arm. She was wearing a new pair of three-inch strappy high heels and if she tripped, she wanted someone to be able to catch her before she fell.
"So am I going to know anyone else besides you at this party?" Sydney asked Will.
"Well, Francie's going to be here to supervise the catering." He volunteered.
"Yeah, but she's going to be working. Alice won't want her chit-chatting with me."
"True." Will conceded. "Actually, from what Mike said, this party is mostly for Alice's wedding guests. They're not all here yet, but the ones who are needed a place to eat, drink and be merry for the night, right?"
"Oh, so she's just trying to keep them occupied." Sydney remarked.
"Plus it's an excuse to have a party." He smirked. "Oh, hey, I'm forgetting about Eric! I know he'll be tickled to death to see you."
Sydney's face curved into a smile. It would be good to see Weiss again. She had missed the quirky and sarcastic banter that had developed between them in the last few years.
They came upon the entrance of the yacht club. It was a two-story affair with several private dining rooms as well as a formal banquet hall upstairs. There were kitchens on both floors to aid in the preparation of meals or in Francie's case, to help her warm up her hot hors d'oeuvres and to keep her cold ones chilled.
Alice's party was being held downstairs in the Main Hall. The décor was heavily into the nautical theme, of course, with lots of white and navy blue with brass accents. A huge stone fireplace dominated the center wall, its mantelpiece littered with small antique-looking brass lanterns from long ago. There were a number of colorful banners on the walls highlighting the various yachting trophies the club had won along with a few awards and citations. The artwork was predictable, the whitewashed walls serving as the backdrop for a variety of oil paintings depicting sleek and majestic sailing vessels, their white sails full and billowy as they skimmed across the high seas.
A handsome walnut bar with a brass railing was located against one wall and the buffet station was set up next to it. After securing food and drink, the guests could adjourn to one of the tables outside on the wraparound deck, which could be accessed by a set of double French doors on three sides of the room. If it was too cold to sit outside, there was plenty of comfortable seating placed in conversational groupings all about the room.
As Sydney made her approach towards the Main Hall, she could see that there was already quite a multitude of people milling about inside. The butterflies began to do their thing in her stomach as she realized Vaughn was probably in very close proximity to her.
There was a reception line at the door. Sydney and Will had to wait as each guest was personally greeted by their host and hostess. Sydney was afraid she was going to hyperventilate before she could even get inside.
"Jesus, Syd, your hand is like ice!" Will whispered in her ear.
"I can't help it." She shook her head. "What if he looks at me and there's nothing there, Will?"
"That's an impossibility." He told her. "If he's not happy, he'll be angry. He won't be a blank slate."
"Oh, that makes me feel a lot better." She muttered under her breath.
They finally reached the point to where there was only one couple left in front of them. Sydney was able to get her first face-to-face look at the woman Vaughn was planning to marry.
Oddly enough, the first thing she noticed was that Alice was several inches shorter than her. They were both wearing high heels, but Sydney suddenly felt like an Amazon. Vaughn probably has to stoop over whenever he wants to kiss her and why did I suddenly cause that picture to pop into my head? She silently berated herself.
Alice was wearing a strapless ice blue satin dress, the hemline brushing just above her knees. Her professionally highlighted blonde hair was pulled back from her face and twisted into an elegant chignon, which was held in place by a bejeweled clip. Prominent cheekbones and a pair of cerulean blue eyes made her pretty features stand out, but at the same time, there was a certain hardness to her looks that was a bit disconcerting. A glittery diamond necklace encircling her long, slender neck only served to intensify the whole Ice Queen image Alice seemed to give off.
Sydney couldn't help but notice the ring on Alice's left hand, especially when the light hit it just so. Not that she was an expert on Vaughn's taste in jewelry, but it just didn't look like something he would have chosen. The large emerald-cut diamond was almost too big for Alice's slender hand and looked slightly gaudy somehow, as if it were all for show and not for sentiment. She made a mental note to ask Will about it later.
"Will! How nice to see you!" Alice greeted him prettily, allowing him to kiss her cheek while being careful not to muss her makeup. Up close, there was no denying that Alice was very attractive, but it was in a made-up sort of way. Her foundation flawlessly matched her skin tone, her eyeliner was skillfully applied and her lips were pink and rosy, but the combination of all that perfection made her come across as rather artificial. Makeup was supposed to enhance a woman's looks, not act as complete cover-up. Sydney pictured her as the type who would never let her husband see her without mascara and blush, not even at night when they went to bed.
"Good evening, Alice." Will said amiably. "Where's Mike?" With a start, Sydney realized that she had been staring at Alice so intently that she hadn't even noticed Vaughn was nowhere to be seen.
"Fetching my wrap from the car." She replied. "It's so chilly out here on the water." Alice suddenly directed an inquiring look at Sydney, who stood there rather pointedly as Alice gave her the onceover from head to toe. Yeah, that's right, Blondie, don't mess with me.
"Will, I didn't know you were dating so soon after Sam." Sam. As if she and Will were such good friends that she could call his ex-girlfriend by a nickname Sydney knew for a fact that she hated. There was a reason Alice was trying to taunt her. Hate at first sight, maybe?
"Oh, this isn't a date." Will shook his head. "This is my good friend, Sydney Bristow. Syd, this is Alice Fairchild, the blushing bride."
"Sydney." Alice uttered her name as a statement of fact, her eyes narrowing and her lips pursing. Sydney realized in that instant that Alice knew exactly who she was. "It's so nice to finally meet you." Her hostess managed to spit out in an entirely insincere manner.
"Does my reputation precede me?" Sydney quipped and Will grinned. "I'm very pleased to meet you, Alice. Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials."
"Thank you." Her icy blue eyes shot a few daggers at Will before returning to focus on her. "I was under the impression that you no longer lived in the area. Are you just passing through town?"
"Actually, I'm here for a little impromptu visit and Will was kind enough to invite me to stay for the entire weekend." Sydney said pleasantly, pretending not to see the ticked-off look slowly spreading across Alice's face. "Will's told me all about the festivities you have planned to celebrate your wedding. It's quite a lot to have on your plate."
"Yes, well, all of the parties are just to keep my guests happy and occupied." Alice said offhandedly. "Rest assured that I haven't lost sight of the fact that the main event is, of course, my wedding." Will could tell Alice was frantically trying to figure out if she could tactfully exclude one of her fiancé's groomsmen from the remainder of the pre-wedding events she had scheduled. Just the thought that she might be scrambling tickled him to death. "Are you planning to attend the wedding as Will's guest?" Her smile was most disingenuous.
"I don't know yet." Sydney replied demurely, tiring of the woman's fake sincerity. "Will, my throat's a bit parched. Let's get something to drink, shall we?" She turned back to Alice. "We'll see you later, Alice." Sydney took hold of Will's arm and led him inside towards the bar.
Will threw a glance over his shoulder as they were walking away. He noted with some amusement that Alice looked torn between wanting to remain a good hostess or hightailing after Vaughn to warn him of Sydney's presence.
"God, I felt as if her eyes were boring a hole through my forehead." Sydney muttered as they reached the bar. "A Cosmopolitan, please." She smiled at the bartender, who smiled back.
"Well, she did just come face-to-face with the competition." Will chuckled as he asked for a beer.
"Stop that." Sydney scolded him. "Francie was right about her not being Vaughn's type, though. She's too…polished, as if she's hiding behind some fake veneer to mask how she's really feeling."
"As opposed to you, the girl who wears her heart on her sleeve." Will teased.
"Didn't I just tell you to cut it out?" She elbowed him before taking a sip of her drink. "I may have been out of the spy business for a year now, but I can still kick your ass."
"Yeah, I had ample proof of that when you tackled me in my apartment the other day." He rubbed his stomach and winced. Sydney grinned in response.
"Hey, Syd! Will!" Someone was calling to them. They looked around and saw Francie beckoning to them as she stood off to the side of the buffet tables. She was currently supervising the refilling of the cold platters.
"Francie!" Sydney hugged her. "The food looks fantastic!"
"Thanks." She smiled gratefully. "Hopefully it will please Her Royal Highness." She rolled her eyes.
Francie leaned in close to her. "I'm so glad you decided to show up." She lowered her voice conspiratorially. "Have you seen Mike yet?"
"No." Sydney said nervously
Will popped a stuffed mushroom into his mouth. "Excellent, Francie."
Sydney and Francie exchanged grins. "Well, he'll probably be back soon or else Alice will send Will out as a search party." Francie snickered.
"Yeah, heaven forbid the guy should spend two seconds out of her sight." Will munched on a crab cake.
"You guys are so scaring me about her." Sydney shook her head.
"And the worst part is that we're not exaggerating." Francie said soberly. Suddenly a sparkle appeared in her eyes. "Oh, God, Syd, I have to tell you what happened earlier when I arrived to set up."
"What is it?"
"Well, I got here early with my crew and while we were bringing in some of the food, Mike and Alice arrived and he offered to help me bring in some of the trays."
"He's a nice guy." Sydney said approvingly.
"I know, I know, but that's not what I'm talking about." Francie gave an impatient wave of her hand. "The thing I wanted to tell you is that knowing what I know now about the man, he's like ten times hotter than I originally thought he was." She said with an impish grin. "I could barely keep it together when I was around him."
"Francie!" Sydney blushed embarrassedly.
"I'm serious. When I think about all those late-night clandestine meetings you used to have with your 'handler.'" She said suggestively.
"It was never like that." Sydney said laughingly.
"But you wanted it to be!" Francie singsonged.
While Sydney and Francie were talking, Will was appropriated by one of Alice's bridesmaids, a pretty redhead who couldn't resist the opportunity to do a little flirting with the good-looking young CIA agent. As he was being led away, he shot Sydney a look vaguely akin to a lamb being led away for slaughter, but she just smiled and waved at him.
"Rather forward of her, don't you think, considering that you and Will arrived together." Francie observed with a curled lip. "Do you think it even crossed her mind that you could be his girlfriend?"
"Will and I have been friends for too long to ever give off that kind of vibe." Sydney said amusedly. "It's funny how total strangers can see it, but people who know us are blind to it."
"Are we talking about a certain person in particular?" Francie raised an eyebrow.
Sydney looked at her and felt her face flush. "Vaughn. For some reason, he always had it in his head that Will and I might be more than what we appear to be."
"Did he ever actually tell you that he was jealous of Will?"
"No, that would have been a break in protocol." She shook her head. "It was just more of a feeling I would get whenever I would mention that Will and I went to the movies or out to dinner or just stayed at home to play Monopoly. Vaughn would get this regretful look on his face as if he wished he could be in Will's place."
Francie looked sympathetic. "It must have been really tough on him, wanting so much to be a part of your normal, everyday life and knowing that it was impossible."
"Yeah." Sydney said softly. All of a sudden, her senses started tingling. Her pulse began to race, her mouth went dry and every nerve ending in her body felt as if it were on fire. Vaughn was here. She could feel him.
At the same time, Francie's eyes had spotted what Sydney already knew. "Uh, Syd?"
Sydney met her gaze. "I know, Francie." She whispered. She said one silent prayer and then slowly turned around.
It was Vaughn, as she had known it would be. He had returned with Alice's pale blue cashmere pashmina in hand and Sydney watched with her heart in her throat as he tenderly placed the shawl about Alice's shoulders. A spasm of jealousy caused her eyes to narrow and then she felt a dull ache begin to spread in the pit of her stomach.
He hadn't changed much, except for maybe a tiredness around his eyes. His smile was still powerful enough to make her go weak in the knees and his beautiful eyes had never looked so green. His sandy brown hair appeared a tad longer than she remembered and it caused her to wonder if he still hadn't found anyone to replace his longtime barber.
Vaughn had told her the story some time last year, shortly before the SD-6 takedown happened. The barber he had been going to for years had recently retired and he had been having a devil of a time trying to find someone new to cut his hair. She had recommended the hair salon that she frequented and Vaughn had actually blushed, saying that he wasn't a trendy hair salon kind of guy.
"Not manly enough for you?" Sydney teased him.
His face turned redder. "I would just feel uncomfortable. I already have a thing about cutting my hair and it would just make it worse having to get used to a new…environment."
"You have a thing about cutting your hair?" She was barely able to hide her smile.
"It happened when I was a kid." He finally confessed after he realized she wouldn't drop it. "Whenever I needed to get a haircut, my dad would take me to the barber shop he went to and we'd both get our hair cut together and then he'd take me out for ice cream afterwards." Sydney smiled at Vaughn's childhood memory. "It was one of the 'guy' things we did together."
"Well, this one time, he was away on assignment and class pictures were coming up soon, so my mom said I needed to get my hair cut." The expression on Vaughn's face turned slightly embarrassed. "She offered to take me to the barber herself since my dad couldn't do it, but I refused. I don't quite remember how I acted, but she says I was really adamant about it."
"What is it about guys and their macho pride?" Sydney mused.
"Hey, I was just a kid and I thought I'd lose face in front of the other guys at the barber shop if my mommy hovered over me while the barber cut my hair." Vaughn said defensively. "Of course, as it turned out, the alternative was no less humiliating." His face turned red again. "Since I wouldn't go to the barber, my mom made me go to her hairdresser." He mumbled.
"Oh, no!" Sydney's eyes danced merrily.
"To make a long story short, my mom ended up with two 8x10's, one 5x7 and several wallet-sized photographs of me with my hair sticking straight up in the air like porcupine quills." The grimace on Vaughn's face made Sydney laugh out loud. "I still cringe every time I see those pictures."
"Oh, Vaughn!" She giggled uncontrollably. "Is there any way I could see those photos?"
"Maybe when hell freezes over." He deadpanned.
"Oh, come on!" She said cajolingly. "I bet you looked adorable."
Their gazes had locked just then and a crackling electricity filled the room as it so often did when they were alone. They'd had many of those "Kiss me, damn it!" moments over the years, but the only time they'd had the guts to act upon it had been that one night in Cairo. In every other instance, they would either get interrupted by someone with incredibly bad timing or one of them would invariably look away. It was Vaughn's turn to break the spell this time, which he did a few seconds later. Sydney never did get a look at the photographs.
Tonight, Vaughn was wearing a dark suit with a royal blue shirt and a dark tie, a color combination in which he always looked exceedingly handsome. The expertly cut suit hung off his lean frame quite nicely and she could tell he was still working out even though he was no longer a field op.
Vaughn was bending his head down to hear what Alice was saying to him, his sensual lips curving into a smile as she whispered her thanks in his ear. Sydney couldn't bear to watch them any longer and exited through one of the French doors that led outside onto the deck. In doing so, she missed seeing Will (who had since shed his coquettish companion) pull Vaughn away from Alice's grasp.
"Hey, Will, what's the big idea?" Vaughn asked as Will dragged him over to the bar. They took a moment to order their drinks.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Will feigned a blank look while doing a surreptitious glance of his immediate surroundings. Where in the hell was Syd?
"Alice was just about to tell me something when you grabbed my arm and pulled me over here." Vaughn said to him.
"Oh, she probably just wanted to tell you to try the crab cakes." Will said with a dismissive gesture. "Francie's really outdone herself tonight."
"Yeah, well, I knew she would." Vaughn looked pleased. For a brief moment, he allowed himself to wonder what Sydney would think about the fact that her friends had somehow become his friends as well. Here he was, having a drink with Will while Francie was lingering nearby at the buffet. Even though they'd only been his friends for a relatively short amount of time, sometimes he felt as if he'd known them for years and years. Of course, that was because of Sydney. He had seen them through her eyes before he'd ever even met Will or Francie.
God, what am I doing? He silently chastised himself. Still obsessing about Sydney even though I'm getting married in two days? Vaughn brought his glass to his lips, knocking back a gulp of single malt scotch, feeling the burn as it went down. It was a lucky thing that Alice could not read his thoughts.
It'll stop after I'm married, he tried to convince himself. Once he and Alice became man and wife, he would stop hearing Sydney's voice in a crowded restaurant or smelling her perfume in an elevator packed with people or seeing her face in his frequently restless dreams. He had to believe it or else it would drive him crazy.
A sudden movement outside beyond the French doors caught his eye. His heart skipped a beat as he tried to tell himself it wasn't possible. The same height, the same long silky hair, the same lithe figure…He blinked and the vision was gone. Vaughn closed his eyes again. Hell, maybe it was the scotch, he grimaced as he ordered another drink.
Sydney was alone on the deck as she tried to collect her thoughts. She kept trying to tell herself that it wasn't a despicable thing she was doing. If Vaughn truly loved Alice, her presence here tonight wouldn't change that. But if he had doubts…well, that made her feel slightly guilty that she was trying to manipulate his feelings for her own selfish gains.
But damn it, don't I have the right to be selfish for once? How many years of her life had she sacrificed, how many people had been lost to her because she had always done the right thing? Why was it wrong for her to want something that belonged to someone else? Because then you'd be like Arvin Sloane, Sydney thought wryly. You'd turn into someone cold and ruthless and without a conscience.
Her spiked heels tapped along the wooden deck as she paced. With every second that passed, a little more of her courage began to melt away. Sydney couldn't bear the thought that Vaughn might reject her and in public no less. Maybe she should rethink the whole confrontation thing before she completely humiliated herself.
The room was becoming stuffy and he felt as if the walls were closing in on him. Vaughn scanned the room for his fiancée and saw her circulating amongst all of their guests. She wouldn't miss him if he just stepped outside for a breath of fresh air to clear his head.
Sydney had settled into a darkened corner and leaned her head against the wall as she stared out at the silvery pathway of the moon as it glistened on the water. It was so quiet the only sound that could be heard was the lapping of the waves against the hulls of the nearby boats. The air was clean and salty and reminded her of being back home at her house in Santa Barbara. Maybe that was where she belonged. Not here. Not to disrupt a wedding.
The wooden floorboards suddenly creaked as a figure stepped out onto the deck with her. Sydney could tell that it was a man, heard the heaviness of his step, saw his shadowy profile in the moonlight. She held back an irritated sigh. She wanted to be alone and was in no mood for idle small talk.
I can wait longer than you can, buddy. Over the course of her many years as a spy, Sydney had become quite proficient in the art of remaining perfectly still, a skill set that had served her well during those occasions when one gasped breath could be the difference between life and death. Okay, so maybe she was being a tad melodramatic in regard to her current situation, but it didn't stop her from putting that talent to work as she heard the man exhale a tired, weary sigh before taking a healthy swig of his drink.
The clean, distinctive scent of aftershave hit her senses and Sydney nearly dropped her martini glass. There was only one man she knew who wore that particular brand of aftershave. She remembered it so well, reveled in it whenever he was close to her. She used to wonder what it was, but never had the guts to ask him.
Sydney was so lost in her memories, she accidentally shifted her weight and the creaky floorboards gave away her existence. The man looked over at her darkened corner, surprised to find out that he was not alone.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize anyone else was out here."
Sydney's first reaction was to gasp, but when she opened her mouth, no sound came out. For a moment, she forgot how to breathe, which caused her to go off on a crazy tangent about how long the brain could exist without oxygen. Maybe she could pass out and not have to go through this.
"Are you one of Alice's friends?" A terse laugh came out of his mouth. "Actually, you probably have to be, considering that my guest list for the party came up to around fourteen as opposed to my fiancée's eighty-seven."
Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God! Sydney's heart was pounding so loudly she wondered why he couldn't hear it. She knew she had to say something, but there were no words that could express her shame, remorse, regret…whatever. Saying a simple "hello" would be the equivalent of dropping a nuclear bomb on him.
"Don' want to talk to me?" The liquor in his system caused him to slur a few of his words. "Well, that's fine. There's enough mindless chatter goin' on inside, anyway."
A red flag was raised in Sydney's head. If he thought she was one of Alice's friends, why would he make a disparaging comment to her about the company his fiancée kept?
Was he drunk? Sydney wondered with some dismay. But the party had just started! She thought back to what Will had told her about Vaughn's excessive drinking after she'd left town a year ago and how he'd scaled back drastically after reuniting with Alice. Was Vaughn experiencing another personal problem in his life that could only be forgotten with the help of a bottle of Jack Daniels?
Sydney squeezed her eyes tight, willing her brain to form a complete sentence. This was her big opportunity. He was here. They were alone. When would she get another chance like this?
"A-actually, I-I'm not a friend of the bride's." Her words came out unbelievably stiff and stilted. "Then again, I don't think I'm still a friend of the groom's, either."
Vaughn had just raised his glass to his lips when he heard her voice. His hand shook and the ice cubes tinkled against the crystal as he slowly turned around to face the person obscured in the shadows.
"Sydney?" He sounded hesitant, disbelieving.
She moved out from the shadows. "Hello, Vaughn."
To be continued…
Author's Note: I know the cliffhanger drives you all crazy, but if I didn't pause it there, this chapter would go on forever. As it is, the next one looks like another doozy.
Please let me know what you think by leaving a review. Thanks for taking the time to read.