by Eva Luxe
“Grant,” she said, her voice airy and youthful.
“Stacy,” Grant whispered.
He held out his hand and grabbed hers as she positioned herself in front of him.
Willow’s youngest daughter Dahlia was the ring bearer and hopped down the aisle a bit earlier than planned. The guests laughed as little Dahlia trotted down the aisle with a multi-million-dollar ring in tow.
I glanced down at my huge rock too. Holy shit, that must have meant this thing was about the same amount since it was the same size. Did Gordon…
No, not me. Love didn’t like me. Only temporary satisfaction flirted my way. Right?
“Stacy, I vow to love you here and beyond. Nothing can nor will change the way I feel about you. You turned me into a good person, from the rich asshole I was,” Grant said, taking the ring and sliding it down Stacy’s finger.
“Grant, I vow to do the same to you. To be loyal, and be there for here and beyond. I was afraid of love, and you changed that.” Stacy jumped, and smoothed her hand over her belly.
“Are you okay?” Grant asked.
“The baby was just kicking. I think he likes the wedding too!” Tears leaked out of her eyes.
The pastor looked at them both and nodded. “You may now kiss the bride.”
They did an epic lip lock and I blushed. Wow, love was a beautiful sight up close. Such a rare and wonderful thing.
Grant and Stacy swept down the aisle, Stacy’s pearly train of lace billowing behind her. Grant had his new wife snuggled up against him, protective of his family.
“Wow, that was so beautiful,” Willow mumbled, wiping tears off her eyes. Her hand accidentally bumped into mine, and I could feel the ring scrape her soft cool skin.
“Hmm? What kind of ring are you—” Willow held my hand up and looked at the massive rock on my finger. The left hand too no less.
The men across from us all looked at Gordon who had the biggest damn smile on his face.
People began to make their way to the other room to enjoy the after party, and I made like a bandit, disappearing into the crowd.
“Hey! Lindsey, I know you’re not big into rings, get back here!” Willow called, following me.
I went into the hallway and into the cutaway for the restrooms before I stopped so Willow could speak with me and find out about my ring.
“What was all that for?” Willow asked, staring at my ring.
“Sorry, there was so much going on in my head and so much going on period that I just…” I sighed and leaned my head back against the wall. I closed my eyes and listened to the happy crowd of people making their way to the after party where Grant and Stacy would cut the cake and dance.
I wasn’t going to miss that either.
“You’re getting married aren’t you?” Willow picked up my hand and examined the heavy ass diamond rock sitting on my finger.
“Sheesh this thing is big,” she exclaimed. “Is it the Gordon guy you came with?”
I nodded my head and straightened myself up so I could head down into the other room to continue the celebration.
We both kicked off our heels and followed the crowd up to the next area.
“Do you love him?”
Damn, that question. Why was I even getting myself intertwined with this guy?
“That’s the bad part Willow…”
“You’re not?” she said, frowning.
“I am…”
***
The celebration was wonderful, and even Gordon caught up with me for a dance or two. It was… romantic. But the rational side of myself wouldn’t stop screaming in fear, in caution. I retired to the room early while Gordon went with the guys to a bar to celebrate further.
Sans the strippers.
The thought of being worried some other woman would even flirt with him made me dizzy. Love.
I cared about the rich guy.
I accepted his invitation to marry him.
Look at me. I was the very thing I vowed to never become. A married woman. Soon to be doomed to the lifestyle of some rich housewife.
I laid down on the bed after stripping out of my clothing for the wedding and imagined the life of a wealthy housewife. No more stripping. I’d get the finest things… and I’d have one of the finest men.
*Knock knock.*
I sat up. Gordon had the key. Unless he was being over courteous.
I dragged my body along with my heavy feet and looked through the peephole and saw Samantha with tears streaking mascara down her cheeks. I flung the door open and grabbed her spoiled ass inside. She was always a drama queen. But making her cry, and even seeing her cry was a rare event. Something was up.
“Sam, what the hell? Are you okay?” I examined her body and looked for any bruises or such.
“Y-yeah. But you won’t be,” she sobbed. I sat her down on the sofa in the living room part of our suite.
“Let me get you some tissues—”
“No, please! Let me just warn you!” she cried, “you have to leave him!”
“Leave who?” I asked, leaning in.
“Gordon. Gordon Glen! He’s the man I told you about. The one that was mean and abusive to me!”
She doubled over into her knees and began to wail.
“Gordon? He was the one who hurt you?! Wait—”
“It’s true! He has a birth mark right on the tip of his dick,” she sniffled.
Shit.
Fucking shit. Not that many men had that defining trait either. My gut felt like it had fallen off the five hundredth floor.
Fuck this. I wasn’t going to do this.
“Come on, Sam. Let’s go!”
Chapter Eight
Gordon
I was on my third shot of whiskey when I couldn’t stop thinking about Lindsey. I knew it was my cue to leave, and the other men looked like they were ready to join their ladies too.
“So,” Grant began, “Stacy heard about some huge ring you gave Lindsey. Are you serious about marriage?” he asked, sipping his cognac.
“Yes, I am. She’s the only fit for me.”
Darien added to the conversation. “That ring must’ve been in the millions. Did you get it from Fois Lure’s?”
“No, I got it from Decroix Jewelers. And yes, it’s about twenty million total.”
“Shit, that’s a bigger rock than what I got for Willow. I didn’t know Decroix had them that big,” Darien sighed, sipping his drink. It didn’t take a mind reader to know that he wanted a new ring for his wife as well.
“During your renewal of vows, you can,” Grant pointed out.
I agreed and we all returned to our drinks for a few more silent moments.
“Ahh, well, about time to see what my wife is up to,” Grant said, hopping off the barstool.
We all made our way to the door when Grant slapped my back with his hand and gave me a warning… of some sorts.
“I have to warn ya, Gordon. Lindsey is a tough one. Be good to her. She can kick ass. I know, she kicked mine once for being late to a doctor’s appointment for Stacy. Traffic was bad, but she took no excuses. Be ready to move heaven and earth, okay?” he teased.
“Thank you for the warning. I’ll take heed.”
We were in a bar that was still inside the hotels, so we separated and went our separate ways.
As soon as I saw our room door my cock twitched. Would Lindsey be laid out on the bed for an early honey moon? Was she busy getting strawberries and whip cream. My cock kept knocking at my boxers, needy to touch her gentle flesh with my hot dick.
The elevator stopped at my floor and I made a wild sprint down the hall to my door. I stopped and dug into my pocket. Both pockets. No key.
Didn’t matter.
I knocked waited for Lindsey to open the door, butt ass naked and ready for me. A few moments went by and there was silence. I placed my ear against the door to hear for any sounds and knocked again.
I was sure Lindsey had returned to the room. Was she hurt?
“
Lindsey? Are you in there? Are you okay?” I asked through the door.
Silence.
I ran down the steps in the stair way and up to the front desk. They gave me another room key and I sped back upstairs to open the door. Something wasn’t right. My gut was tight and my breathing was off.
I opened the door and looked around the room. Lindsey was here. But not anymore. I looked around and saw it…
The ring, and under it a note.
I bolted over to it and read the note while I held the ring in my hand.
‘I really wanted to believe love existed.
But no man who hits my sister, or any woman at all could ever be my husband. Never contact me again. We’re through!’
The letter slipped out my hand as I reeled in the shock.
“Samantha,” I growled.
She didn’t want to see her sister Lindsey getting what she couldn’t.
If only I had told her sooner…
I rushed and packed up my shit and had my limo take me back to my jet. If I knew Lindsey just a little, I knew her fiery temper would mean a plane ticket back to the USA tonight.
Without me. And with Samantha.
Samantha wouldn’t have it any other way.
***
I settled down in my jet and took out my phone. I had Lindsey’s number on speed dial and called her. I waited while the phone rang. It rang a few times, and I ignored my gut feeling when it said she wouldn’t pick up.
So I tried again.
And again.
“Damn it!” I shouted, throwing my phone across the way into another seat. I raked my fingers through my hair and bent over, feeling my life crumble from under me.
The phone began to ring and I looked up. It was Lindsey’s number.
I snatched the phone out of the seat and answered it.
“Lindsey, please, let me expl—”
“Explain what?” Samantha said with a devilish laughter. “You think I was going to sit there and watch Lindsey get what I should’ve had? Hell, no. She’s not supposed to have better men than me. And you’re cream of the crop.”
I gripped my phone tighter, my lungs quivering. If only I could shout loud enough through the phone for Lindsey to hear me…
“Put Lindsey on the phone right now, Samantha. I’m done with you. Lindsey deserves more than you any day.”
Samantha growled. “Well, she’s still not getting you. Not after what I told her.”
“Where is she? Did you hurt her?!” At this rate my phone was going to break if I didn’t calm down.
I was full speed ahead on my jet back to the states, and as soon as my feet touched American ground, I was on my way to Lindsey’s place to tell her the truth.
“And pray tell, what did you tell her?” I asked, tapping my foot.
“Nothing you need to know about.”
“Samantha, I love Lindsey. There’s nothing you can do that will keep us apart.”
“…”
“Samantha?”
I looked at the phone and saw that it was disconnected. Fuck. I swallowed the rage I felt from being lied on and focused my energy on finding Lindsey so I could set this straight.
Still, it was dirty of Samantha to do this to her own blood. I didn’t particularly care for starting shit between anyone’s family members, but when it involved my own future wife, then all bets were off.
The truth was going to come out.
Hours later my plane lands back on American soil, and I hopped off the plane like my life depended on it. And in all honesty, it did. My wife, my future, my reputation, everything.
I rushed through to the entrance of the airport to meet my driver so I could race over to Lindsey’s place. But Richard was there at my car, waiting for me.
“Gordon. You better tell me you have good news,” he said with his arms crossed.
I frowned and got into the car.
“Wait, not even a hello? That’s not a good sign.”
Richard hopped into the driver’s seat.
“What happened to my regular driver?” I asked him. Richard laughed and sighed. “Dude, I want to be the first to know what happened with that red head of yours. Lindsey was it?”
“Damn it, Richard. I need to get to her address. So just punch it in the GPS, I need to get my future wife back.”
Richard’s facial expression dropped and he grew more serious. “Well, that’s both bad and good news. Let’s get her back then. What’s the address?”
I gave him the street address and we were off.
Since the occupancy of my vehicle was more than one, we were able to take advantage of the HOV lane. My head throbbed the whole time trying to think about what Samantha could’ve possibly—wait!
The letter.
It said something about hitting her…No. I never did and never would hit a woman. Fuck. And there was no telling what else she could’ve lied about.
“So is it love?” Richard questioned, keeping his eyes on the road.
The GPS said we had a ten minute ride, and it already began to feel like eternity.
“Yes, I love her. I need her. Not in the way that I need her for my money, but I need her because she’s the fire that’s missing in my life. She’s a spark of energy, and it’s refreshing.”
I burrowed my head in my hands.
“Why did she leave you then? What the hell happened?”
“Her sister was there—”
“Don’t tell me you tapped her sister!”
“I used to date her last year. She was a gold digger to the highest degree. She even forgot my name on a date once. I found out she was drinking down my money through a straw by hundreds of thousands and I cut her loose. She didn’t like that.
Now at the wedding of Lindsey’s friend, I saw her again. She didn’t know I was dating her sister. Now she lied to Lindsey and Lindsey left me.”
“Damn, Gordon…”
“Yes, it’s fucked up. But I’m going to get what’s mine.”
***
We stopped in front of her apartment building and I jumped out. I looked around to make sure I didn’t see any signs of Samantha. Richard got out too.
“You need me to come with you?” he asked, his eyebrows furrowed. He knew me all too well. I was anything but an abusive man.
“I’m good.”
I ran up the stairs and slid a card to pick the front door’s weak lock. I had no time to play mister nice guy. The hallways still smelled like Indian food with a dash of cigarette smoke. I made my way up the stairs and ran down to Lindsey’s door.
I straightened my jacket and knocked on her door.
I listened carefully to see if she was there. I heard no noise. There was no answer either.
I could’ve came back later. But my feet were unwilling to move until I saw her again. I called down to Richard on my phone.
“Richard, leave without me. There’s another contract that needs to be signed today and you’re the only one that can do it right now.”
Richard huffed on the phone. “Dude, the clock is ticking. You have only one more day. When women are mad, you’re gonna have to make a miracle to make them not mad at you.”
“I’m guessing you speak from experience?” I teased.
Chapter Nine
Lindsey
I couldn’t even face my own damn apartment.
As soon as we came back from Canada I went to a hotel. Samantha was welcomed to say even though she bugged the shit out of me sometimes.
But for some reason, she insisted that she was okay and left me by myself.
Did she forget that I told her the man asked me to marry him?
I was fucking heart broken.
Oh well, that was Samantha. I was at least grateful she told me.
I laid on my bed, staring at the ceiling. There was nothing about Grant that would’ve signaled anything about him being an abusive man. I looked for the signs, and I didn’t find them.
But I remember when Samantha came to my condo with a bl
ack eye. She never said his name…until now.
This was for the better. Look at me. I went and fucked up. I did the very thing I vowed never to do; get a broken heart.
I played with the fire and hell, I got burnt. The aching in my chest wouldn’t go away. So I propped myself off of the bed and slipped on my regular wear around dress. I had to go to work anyways.
Bar Seven. I thought I was going to leave this place behind. Oh well. Being an independent woman with a nice body still had its perks. I wasn’t broke, and things were still salvagable.
Ed let me in early and I made my way to the bar.
“Hey, back so soon?” Lemmy, one of the newest bartenders asked me.
“Yeah. You know us girls. We make mistakes and come crawling back home,” I sighed. “Shot of whiskey while you’re at it.”
He frowned. “Uh oh, that doesn’t sound good at all. Are you sure you want to drink before—”
“Lemmy, spare me the speech. Whisky. Now. Please, before I go crazy.”
He sighed and whipped up my drink in a flash. For once I was thankful to be back in darker settings. The lights were dim and the smell of alcohol soothed my mind.
I downed my drink, savoring that sting that burned the back of my throat.
“God that was good.”
“Drinking your problems away, huh? What happened to good ole girl gossip?” said a familiar voice from behind me.
I turned around and saw Willow and Stacy.
My mouth dropped. “Stacy, you’re supposed to be on a honeymoon, what gives?”
“You, silly!” she pouted. She rubbed her slight baby bump and sat down on one side while Willow sat on the other side of me at the bar.
“We heard you and Gordon up and disappeared. We’ve been trying to contact you. We were worried,” Willow said.
“Sorry you two. I just…found out something about Gordon…”
“What was it?” Stacy asked, rubbing my back.
“He was the man Samantha dated last year. She got a black eye because of him.”
Willow and Stacy gasped. “Him? That sounds…wow. Shit.”