Face-Off at the Altar

by Toni Aleo

  He gave her a look that said he didn’t agree. She knew what she was about to say was the reason her cat was so overweight, yet she sang, “I’ll give ya a treat, treat.”

  Mr. Right’s ears perked up, a little meow leaving his lips before he started to turn and waddle to her. Picking up her baby, she cuddled him to her chest. “We need to discuss this issue we have, mister.”

  His tail whipped against her waist, surely getting cat hair all over her black dress pants, but then he nuzzled her chin, and she didn’t care. Reaching into the bag, she grabbed a treat and ripped it in half before offering it to him. But he turned his head.

  “Mr. Right. Really? Take it.”

  She offered again, but as before, he turned his head, his little muzzle going up in the air as his tail stopped whipping.

  “You can’t have the whole thing. Take it or leave it, buddy.”

  He looked up at her, his eyes getting wider and silently begging her for the rest of the treat. It was pathetic. She knew this, and she knew she shouldn’t give it to him. He was fat! But then he meowed ever so softly, so pitifully, and just like that, she caved. Like a house of cards. When she reached for a full piece of treat, he purred happily before taking the whole thing in his mouth. Placing him on the bed, she felt like a bad cat mom. But he looked so happy lying there, his tail swishing, his eyes bright. He was her baby. She couldn’t deprive him.

  He was going to give her an ulcer.

  Deciding that she was a pushover, she went to work unpacking as Mr. Right snored contentedly. When she was done, she looked at herself in the full-length mirror and wondered if she should change. The tight black dress pants that flared at the bottom went great with her sheer white shirt that draped to her elbows. Her hair wasn’t her idea. It was Libby’s. She had convinced her to get a dark balayage done, and now Mekena’s dark hair faded into a beautiful caramel color. At first, she’d hated it, but now she loved it. It looked amazing all curled around her face with her dark-rimmed glasses. She looked so adult, and more than that, she felt pretty. That didn’t happen a lot. But today, today she felt it.

  Which was really weird.

  Glancing at the clock, she noticed it was close to the time Avery said to meet them at the bar. Everyone was getting together to chat and enjoy some drinks. Not that she’d be drinking, but it would be nice to hang with everyone. She loved Jace’s mom, Autumn, and also enjoyed talking with Claire, Jace’s brother’s wife. Reaching for her jacket, she tucked her phone into her pocket before picking up her clutch off the bed and looking to Mr. Right.

  “I’ll be back later. Your litter box is in the bathroom. Don’t go wild, we aren’t paying for this place.”

  Opening one eye, he let out a long breath and then reclosed it, his tail lying flat against the bed. Mekena rolled her eyes; she swore it was like living with an old man with this guy. Opening the door, she shut it behind her so Mr. Right couldn’t leave—not that she thought he would, but just in case. She glanced at the stuff by the door, and it made her nervous all over again that it was there.

  Was the killer going to break in and kill Mr. Right?

  Maybe she should stay home?

  Maybe she should put it outside?

  She was crazy, that was the only answer. It was probably the person who stayed here before her, and they forgot their stuff. She was being silly, yet she gave the items a wide berth, acting as if they would pop out and bite her, before opening the door, locking it, and heading to the main house where the bar was. The grounds were quiet, the sounds of crickets and other woodland animals the only thing she heard. The lights in the main cabin were bright, glowing out over most of the other cabins except hers since it was so far back in the woods. When she finally reached the door, it opened and Benji was standing in the doorway.

  “Hey, Mekena,” he said and she smiled.

  “Hey. Where ya going?”

  “I’m on kid duty, gotta go check on the babysitter. The girls are in the bar, the guys had to go do something…I forgot what, so I’ll see ya back in there.”

  “Okay, thanks,” she said as he walked past her, heading out into the darkness. Walking down the hall, she entered the bar that was only feet from the back entrance. Inside, it was an all-natural design with the same homey feel as her cabin. Everything was made of wood, and the room had lots of John Wayne memorabilia hanging from the walls. When she saw Avery at a table with Baylor, Claire, and Lucy, she grinned as she headed toward them.

  “Mekena!” Avery gushed, coming to her and hugging her tightly. “I was worried you wouldn’t come.”

  “I told you I would,” she reminded, rolling her eyes.

  “Yeah, and that doesn’t mean anything,” she teased, and Mekena scoffed as she went around the table, hugging everyone.

  “So glad you could stay on the grounds with us! Do you love your cabin?” Lucy asked as she leaned on the table.

  Mekena did the same, nodding. “Love it. It’s beautiful here.”

  “I agree, I don’t want to leave,” Claire said, resting her cheek on her hand. “Great location.”

  “Thank you. All Benji,” Lucy gushed and everyone smiled.

  “You excited?” Baylor asked.

  When Lucy wiggled a bit, Mekena’s grin grew. “Really excited, which is silly since we are already married and so damn happy, but before it was so quick and really just so Benji could adopt Angie. Now, it’s for us, and I can’t wait.” She took a breath and then rolled her eyes. “Which is silly! I didn’t even want a wedding before I met him.”

  “He’s perfect for you,” Claire said, leaning into her as she beamed. “I love him dearly.”

  “He is great, super great,” she said, her face bright and happy. Lucy deserved a good guy. She hadn’t had it easy from what Avery had told Mekena, but that all changed when Benji came along. He made Lucy beyond happy, and he was the greatest father imaginable to Angie. Lucy turned to her sister-in-law. “So when are you moving to LA?”

  Claire let out a long-suffering breath, and everyone seemed concerned. “They are fighting me about getting out of my contract, so I might be stuck for another year.”

  “Oh, no,” Baylor said, shaking her head. “Can’t you just pay back the remainder of your contract?”

  “They don’t want it. They want me to carry it out and train my replacement, which sucks ’cause we were thinking about maybe getting pregnant soon,” she said, visibly upset, and Lucy wrapped her arm around her.

  “Look at it this way, you guys will be super ready when it’s time to have a baby,” she said, and everyone nodded, even Mekena, who had no clue about any of this stuff. She wanted to travel first. She wanted to see the world before she hunkered down and had a baby. Well, she had to find a guy too.

  That would probably be best.

  “Yeah, you’re right. And you know what that means?” she asked, and Lucy eyed her.

  “What?”

  With a playful grin, she said, “That you and Benji have to have a baby next!”

  Everyone giggled at that while Lucy shrugged. “What if I’m already pregnant?”

  The laughter died. “What?” Avery asked.

  “You’re kidding!” Baylor accused.

  “No way!” Claire said, jumping on the balls of her feet.

  Mekena wasn’t sure what she should say, so she didn’t say anything as Lucy laughed. “No, I’m not pregnant, you big dorks!” she said, and soon napkins started flying at her head. It was sweet, the dynamic and love between the four women. Lucy was the oldest of the Sinclair children. She loved her brothers fiercely, and she accepted each of their spouses with open arms, loved them like sisters. It was nice, and Mekena hoped one day she would have the same thing. They were all very lucky to have each other.

  “The party is here!”

  All of them turned to see Jace coming through the door with Jayden and Jude flanking him. The three brothers favored each other so much, and all were devilishly handsome. Dark hair, green eyes, and bodies that could make
women fall over each other to get to them. They almost looked like a boy band, they were so handsome. And man, did they love their women. As Jace came around the table, heading for Avery, Mekena grinned happily, but her grin dropped as soon as she saw who was behind him. Within seconds, Mekena found herself frozen in place as a pair of seductive caramel eyes met hers.

  Like she remembered, he was tall, big, wide shoulders and a jawline that could make a girl weak in the knees. His hair was shaved close, a line along the side with his hair brushed to the right. His face was clear of any hair, such a baby face, a face she loved to touch. With small freckles she just adored, they made his look. Gave him more character than one person could ever need. He was wearing a nice dress shirt and slacks, and Lord, he was as gorgeous as she remembered.

  She had never been attracted to an African American guy before him, but then, she had never been attracted to anyone before him. He was stunning, the hue of his skin a sexy chocolate color that made his caramel eyes shine. She thought seeing him again would do nothing to her. It had been over a year. He wasn’t even a blip on her radar, but boy, was she wrong. So damn wrong because it meant everything once his eyes met hers.

  As much as she didn’t want him to, Markus Reeves still held her heart.

  Markus felt like he wasn’t even in the right dimension. Like he wasn’t standing in the bar of the mansion Lucy and Benji were getting married in. Like his best friends weren’t there. Like he wasn’t in his own body. As his eyes locked with hers, everything was gone; the only thing he could see was her sweet face.

  She was stunning.

  She had done something to her hair, the ends a sexy butterscotch color that brought out the gold flecks in her eyes. He could still recall the softness of her hair, the way his fingers tangled in it as she would grin down at him or when she was reading and he would mess with her, pulling at her hair and wrapping it around his finger. As she looked away so quickly, he was surprised her glasses stayed on her face. He noticed that she had lost weight too. Something he wasn’t too happy about, but then, she wasn’t his. He had no say in the matter. Her shoulders were thinner, as were her jaw and neck too, and she didn’t have that extra little fluff he had loved.

  Had he done that?

  Had the stress of his cheating ass made her lose weight?

  Was she losing weight for another guy?

  Clenching his fists, he blatantly drank her in, which Avery noticed. He knew they were best friends and Avery was by far Team Mekena—hell, he was Team Mekena—but couldn’t she see that he’d never meant for this to happen? Apparently not, because within seconds, Avery was glaring as she whispered something to Mekena. He didn’t care what she said back; he was too busy memorizing everything about her. He wasn’t sure how long it would be until he saw her again, and he couldn’t get enough of her fair skin, how the white of her shirt complemented her dark hair in the most satisfying way. Her pants were high on her waist and so damn fitted that he could see the perfect curve of her ass. For a moment, he wondered if his sweet girl didn’t have panties on.

  But as soon as the thought came, he scoffed it away.

  Mekena, not wearing panties? That was crazy talk. She was too good. Too sweet. She was exactly the girl Tom Petty sang about in “Free Fallin’.” She was a good girl, and he was sure she loved her mama. Now that song was stuck in his head, awesome, but he was okay with it because it was Mekena’s song. He assumed he was the bad boy in the song who broke her heart. But unlike that guy, he had missed her. He missed her so much he couldn’t stand it. He missed talking to her, listening to her laugh, and touching his lips to hers.

  He wasn’t supposed to be with someone like her. Someone so smart and witty, she was way out of his league. He was the dumb jock who was skating headlong into his dreams. She had her whole life calculated out, and all he wanted was to be factored into those numbers. He had been for a little while…until he fucked it all up.

  “The whole gang is here. Let’s get a round, Benji should be back in a moment,” Lucy said, pulling Markus’s attention away from Mekena and back to her, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t watching his girl. As she sat on the stool, her back was very stiff, her hands working on the clasp of her clutch. She wanted out of there. She wanted away from him, and he couldn’t be an ounce of mad at that. He didn’t even deserve to breathe the same air as her.

  “Stop looking like a shelter dog with no possibility of adoption,” Jace whispered in his direction.

  “Jeez, that’s depressing as hell.”

  “Which is how you look,” he said under his breath. “Yeah, you fucked up, she hates you. Move on, nothing you can do about it.”

  Markus didn’t like that either. He wanted to do something about it. He wanted to fix it, but he didn’t know how. He didn’t even know if there was a way how. How do you apologize for sleeping with your girlfriend’s sister? He didn’t think there was a solution, only a special place in hell for him. Maybe there would be pizza there. Probably not, he’d slept with the girl’s sister.

  God, he sucked. “Markus, what’s wrong with you?” Lucy called out, and he looked up, planting a grin on his face.

  “Nothing, I’m dead on my feet. Practice kicked my ass.”

  “No one’s fault but your own for being the new guy,” Benji said then, joining the group around the small table.

  But even with the small table, it felt like Mekena was so far away. Hell, like she was at the bottom of Florida and Markus was at the top. He wanted to talk to her, ask her how she’d been. But she wouldn’t even look at him. She just stared at the table or Avery or whoever was talking to her.

  “New guy?” Claire asked, and Markus nodded.

  “I got called up,” he said, and Jude let out a whoop before smacking his back.

  “Well, hell! Let’s toast to that, screw the people getting married,” he joked, holding his glass up. Everyone followed suit except Mekena.

  But maybe it was because she wasn’t drinking.

  Or because he was a big pile of poo and she’d rather toast to the dog that was unadoptable. Even Benji was holding his cup of Coke in a toast. Yeah, it was the latter.

  “To our adopted brother, a man we are proud to say we wanted and not one we got stuck with, like all these other people. May he kick some ass and take some names. Congratulations, brother. Don’t fuck it up,” Jude said, and everyone laughed as they clinked their glasses together.

  “Thanks, guys,” he said after swallowing back the bitter liquid. “I really appreciate that. I’m excited. Nervous, but excited.” Swallowing hard, his gaze chased back to the gorgeous girl with thick, black-rimmed glasses. Looking over at Lucy when he realized everyone was staring, he said, “But, hey, it’s not about me. Let’s toast to the bride and groom.”

  Lucy and Benji grinned at each other before holding their glasses up. “I’ve watched a lot of these Sinclairs fall in love, but you guys are by far my favorite.”

  “What the hell?” Baylor asked.

  He laughed. “Other than Baylor and Jayden,” he teased, and they all laughed. “I strive to be in your shoes, Benji, to find a great girl who keeps me on my toes and whom I can love unconditionally—”

  “You’ll just cheat,” he heard. He paused, but he wasn’t sure anyone heard Mekena except Avery and Jace, who looked away awkwardly.

  “Yeah, so, congratulations, I’m glad I can be here.”

  Clinking their glasses, Benji toasted to Markus. “So are we, brother. Thanks for supporting us.”

  Markus slowly drank his beer, his eyes cutting to Mekena, but she didn’t move. Her eyes were narrowed, her breathing a little elevated as she ran her finger along the rim of her glass of soda.

  “Markus, have you met Mekena?” Lucy asked, and his eyes jolted to hers. In the periphery, he saw Mekena look up too. Everyone around him except Jude, Claire, and Benji went stiff. As he held his breath, Lucy continued, “She’s our photographer. I think she’s also done Ashlyn’s and Dawson’s pictures too, right?”


  “Yup, she’s awesome,” Baylor choked out. “And by the way, Mekena, I think I want to sign up for you to fly out for his three-month photos. It’s next month, would that work for you?”

  Thank God for Baylor Sinclair.

  Mekena nodded, her eyes meeting Baylor’s. “Of course, I would love to.”

  “We’ll pay for everything like last time,” she said, and Mekena nodded.

  “That’s great, I will make it work. Just give me a date.”

  “Thanks!”

  Markus looked nervously to Lucy, just as she nodded in agreement. “We’ll have to set up new family pictures too. Maybe another beach theme since I’m going down to do some work on the Adlers’ pool house.”

  “Yeah, you should,” Baylor said, looking back at Markus, relief in her eyes.

  “Sounds good to me, just let me know,” Mekena said, taking a long pull of her soda, draining it before setting the cup down. “I hate to be a party pooper, but I’m so tired and it’s gonna be an early morning. So I’ll see everyone in the morning, right? For breakfast?”

  “Aw, you should stay!” Lucy complained, but Avery placed a hand on her sister-in-law’s.

  “She had a tough day, Luce. Let her go,” she said in almost a whisper, but Markus heard every word.

  Reluctantly, Lucy nodded. “Of course, thanks for coming out,” she said, and Mekena hugged her tightly.

  “It’s gonna be a beautiful weekend,” she said and then hugged Avery before turning on her heel to head out the side door. When the door shut, Markus let out the breath he had been holding as his heart started to pound at the right rhythm once more. He hadn’t realized how much it would hurt to see her again, which was completely uncalled for since he was the one to hurt her, but he found himself in pain. Pure, red-hot pain. He didn’t want this kind of relationship with her. He didn’t want things to be awkward. He wanted to be able to be around her and not have daggers of hate flying his way.

  He wanted her forgiveness.

  “Avery, why don’t you go help Benji with the next round?” Lucy said then, stealing his attention from his inner monologue.