“No,” I tell her. “You’re the first.”
I keep my eyes trained on the time, having the whole day planned right down to the second. It’s getting close to the time I have to scram, so I get up and start discreetly making my way around the room, double checking everything is right where it needs to be.
“Hey,” I tell her, stealing her attention away from the view as she stands out on the balcony. She looks to me with a patient stare, wondering what I need. I hold up my phone. “I’ve got a few missed calls from Ryan. I’m just going to call him back and make sure everything’s ok at the shop.”
“Ok,” she smiles, turning back to the view. “Hurry back.”
“Love you,” I call before opening the door and slipping out.
The second the door closes behind me, it’s game time.
I press the button on the elevator and impatiently wait for it to get to this level. Within the space of a few seconds, it arrives and drops me straight down to the ground floor. As I step out of the elevator, I find Brooke waiting at the bottom with a huge cheesy grin. “Tell me she said yes?” she questions.
“Of course, she said yes,” I tell her, handing her the access key for the elevator and hurrying past her.
I turn around to walk backward so I can continue gloating as Brooke steps into the elevator. “You know, she’s going to kill you for doing this,” she calls after me.
I can’t help but grin. “I know. I can’t fucking wait.”
Chapter 6
Tora
A knock sounds on the door and I turn around to search out Nate and remember he just stepped out to call Ryan at the shop.
I place my coffee down on the balcony railing and trudge back into the huge room, double checking I look decent enough to answer the door. After all, this silk robe doesn’t leave much to the imagination, especially with the way it’s been falling off my shoulder all morning.
It’s been such a perfect day. Just being lazy with Nate and remembering the perfect proposal last night. It was incredible. I never expected him to do it like that. I assumed it would be during the middle of one of his races. He was going to be overwhelmed with emotion over winning or kicking someone’s ass and the words were just going to slip out. I never dreamed he’d go to these lengths to pop the question.
I’m so damn lucky.
I can’t stop looking at the ginormous words taking up a good portion of the living space. They lit up like Christmas when we first walked in and it was a moment I’ll never forget. Turning around to see Nate down on one knee with balloons coloring the ceiling silver, pink, and white, and then seeing the roses covering every table. I mean, there must be at least a thousand roses in the room. It smells incredible in here.
Nate was perfect. The words he said spoke to my soul and drew me in like never before. He’s always been my other half, my partner, and best friend, but as he poured his heart out to me, he became so much more. He’s my fiancée and one day will be my husband.
I can’t wait to take this next step with him. It’s going to be a journey that I’ll never forget. Never take for granted.
It’s amazing to see just how far we’ve come. His words reminded me of that. How this all started when we were twelve years old. That was nearly fourteen years ago. We’ve climbed a freaking mountain together and come down the other side the strongest and best possible versions of ourselves.
I reach the door and pull it open before standing in shock, watching a grin take over my best friend’s face. “What the hell are you doing here?” I gasp as Brooke throws herself forward and wraps her arms around me.
“Surprise,” she calls.
“What do you mean surprise?” I laugh as the force of her hug throws us both back into the room.
“Nate called and I’m here to have a girls’ day with you.”
“What?” I grunt pulling out of her arms. I step out of the room and look up and down the hall. Where the hell is he? “What do you mean we’re having a girls’ day? Where’s Nate? He was just out here making a call.”
“He’s long gone, sweet cheeks. It’s all part of his plan. We’re supposed to go down to the spa, get ourselves pampered, have a few glasses of champagne, get our nails done, and have a massage. All that kind of shit and it’s on him. He’s already paid for it.”
“What?” I shriek. “Are you serious?”
“Uh huh,” she grins. “Like I said, surprise!”
“Geez,” I laugh, falling in love with him all over again. “That douche. He knows I hate surprises.”
“Kind of like the surprise he gave you last night?” she questions, looking around me at the room filled with flowers, lights, and balloons.
“Yes,” I squeal, excitedly. “How could you not tell me?”
“I’m sorry,” she laughs. “He made me swear an oath to lick Maxen’s butthole if I told.”
“Ewwww,” I groan, scrunching my face up in disgust. “I swear, sometimes the shit that comes out of his mouth is so foul, it makes me sick.”
“Yeah, well you should have heard what Jesse threatened me with if I was to tell.”
I scrunch my face up more. “Do I even want to know?”
“No,” she says, shaking her, looking like the thought could make her hurl. “You really don’t.”
I can’t help but laugh. It’s been seven years since high school and while the boys have both matured and grown into upstanding men of the community, they’re both still the most immature morons I’ve ever met, and I freaking love them so much.
“So…” Brooke says slowly. “I’m assuming that because you’re not curled up in a ball, freaking out, you said yes?”
I press my lips together as I try my hardest not to smile so damn hard. I nod my head and the rising apples of my cheeks squish my eyes into slits. “I did.”
Brooke squeals and absolutely loses her shit. She grabs me and before we know it, we start jumping up and down, celebrating one of the happiest occurrences of my life. I mean, right now, I have it all. Life has never been so damn good, and now to find my fiancé has organized a girls’ day for me just makes it so much better.
As we’re busy jumping up and down, another knock sounds at the door. I hurry over and pull it open, hoping it’s Nate so I can kick his butt for keeping another secret, but it’s all the girls with bottle upon bottle of champagne.
They come on in and before I know it, bottles are popped and music is blasting. Elle starts dancing around the room as Courtney and Brylee ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ over the flowers and ‘Marry Me’ letters.
Kaylah flops down on the couch, already exhausted as she struggles to keep up with her bulging stomach and suggests we hurry up and get our asses down to the spa for a full body massage.
Not one of us can see a fault with that and within the space of ten minutes, we’re all standing in the spa in silk robes waiting for one hell of a good rub down as we continue sipping on our champagne.
Our tables get set up in a circle so we can all look and talk to each other during our massage and I have to compliment the spa, they’re doing great to accommodate to our large group. Places like this usually would only do two or three people in the one room when requested. I can’t say I’ve ever heard of a spa allowing a group of six to get massaged all at once.
As we all lay face down on our individual tables in nothing but our birthday suits, I tell them all about the proposal. I tell them how he took me to dinner, acting as though it was so casual and a spur of the moment decision, just like he made me believe for the penthouse of the hotel, when in fact, every tiny detail had been planned out. Hell, even my friends being here with me the day after has been thought through.
I showed the girls the ring as soon as they came through the door where Kaylah let slip that Jesse told her Nate’s had the ring for years, once again, shocking me right down to the bone and reminding me just how deep his love for me runs.
“What are all the guys doing today?” I ask when it’s time to roll over. We all do ou
r best to not flash each other, though, it’s not like we haven’t seen it all before.
“They’re having a boys’ day,” Elle explains. “Jackson’s been looking forward to it all week. It’s been training, training, training for him, ever since he got into the NFL. He’s been needing a break.”
“Same goes for Tyson. All he does is work,” Brylee says with a yawn as her masseur nearly sends her off to sleep. “I can assure you, the guys are probably already wasted.”
“I bet,” I laugh, loving how they have all managed to stay together over the last seven years. Max and Brooke were married two years ago while Jackson popped the question as soon as he got out of college.
Courtney and Puck had their first baby boy last year and now have a second on the way. Though, I don’t know how Puck is going to go with a second. It’ll be interesting for sure. They’re engaged now, doing everything ass up and just can’t seem to find the time to actually head down the aisle.
Tyson and Brylee though, they got married as soon as they could, almost as though it was some sort of race down the aisle. They’ve been struggling to get pregnant ever since and I have a feeling they’ll start looking into other options soon. I know it will happen for them though. If anyone deserves it, it’s them.
Nate and I have been the ones patiently waiting, watching in the background as everyone else got hitched and started having babies, but he knew how important it was for me to focus on my studies. I really shouldn’t have been surprised that he asked me the second I got my diploma in my hand.
“What are we doing after this?” Brooke asks. “I was thinking nails.”
“Mmmm, that sounds good,” I say, getting into the zone of this massage. I mean, this lady has magical hands.
“What about later though?” Courtney asks. “How long do we have the room for? Can we go out for dinner in the city and crash here for the night?”
“I’m not sure,” I tell her, closing my eyes and sighing as the masseur’s hand runs up my thigh, pressing into the muscles that are sore from my night of… well, screwing. “I can call Nate and check,” I tell the girls. “But either way we can still go out. I’m sure one of the boys would be sober enough to come out and pick us up.”
“Sounds good to me,” Bry says. “I say we get our hair and makeup done too. Really make a day of it. I brought a nice dress to wear just in case.”
“Me too,” Elle says.
“I’m in,” I laugh. “I’m not going to say no to that.”
“Well, just as well I talked that into our deal with Nate,” Brooke says like a sly little minx, always two steps ahead.
“Have I ever told you that you’re the best?” I ask her.
“Yes, but feel free to do it again.”
Over the next few hours, the girls and I get pampered within an inch of our lives. We walk out of the spa after having massages, manicures, pedicures, and facials. We head back up to the penthouse and order a late lunch with music playing throughout the room and the champagne still flowing.
It’s been an incredible day to wrap up the last few, mind-blowingly spectacular ones. Though, to be honest, all I want to do is crawl back into Nate’s arms and stay there until my dying days.
Lunch is served and it doesn’t take long for the girls to start fussing over what they want to wear tonight. The hair stylist and makeup artist appear and the girls fall in love with the endless supply of makeup and hair products.
As I’m about to sit down to get my hair done, my phone buzzes on the table. I grab it and look down at the screen to find a text from Nate. A smile instantly flutters across my lips.
Nate – Babe, don’t forget to call Davies and Knight. Hope you’re having a good day.
Tora – OH SHIT!!!!! I’ll call them now. I’m having the best day. Thank you. I love you so much.
Nate – Love you too. Don’t be late!
I look down at the message and read it over before reading it again. Don’t be late? What is he talking about? I try to think over our night together and remember if I agreed to go somewhere tonight, but nothing comes to mind.
Tora – Late for what?
I wait patiently, but nothing comes which only serves to frustrate me. I need answers and it’s clear I’m not going to get any right now.
I let out a huff and put it to the back of my mind. I can quiz him on it tomorrow. For now, I need to call Davies and Knight.
I take my seat with the hair stylist and get my hair done into a nice updo with curls and more pins than I’ve ever seen in my life as I make one of the most nerve-racking calls of my life. As soon as that’s done, I get ready for makeup.
By the time we’re all done, each of the girls look absolutely stunning. They’re all dressed up with their hair done nice and makeup looking flawless. We thank the makeup artist and hair stylist before sending them on their way.
There’s only another hour or so before the sun begins to set and I realize it’s about time we figure out where the hell we’re going to go tonight. I start googling idea’s as Brooke throws suggestions at me from across the room.
Brooke’s phone buzzes on the coffee table and she darts across the room as though her life depends on it. She scoops it up and reads over her text with a beaming smile. “Geez,” I laugh. “Maxen better not be sexting you right now.”
She looks up from her phone and slides it into her back pocket. “He’s not,” she grins. “But it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if he was.”
Brooke hurries off and I get back to searching for a restaurant. I finally find something that all six of us would agree on when Brooke’s voice cuts through my concentration.
“Hey, Tora?” she questions nervously.
I look up at the tone of her voice to find her placing a massive box down on the counter, one that I have never seen before and one that I know for a fact she didn’t walk in with this morning. “What’s that?” I ask, getting up off the couch and curiously making my way across the room.
My eyes rake over the fanciest looking box as Brooke begins to explain. “This is Nate’s final surprise of the day.”
“What is it?” I ask, straightening up as a desperate need to see what’s inside shoots through me.
“Don’t shoot the messenger,” She says as she begins to peel open the box to reveal the most stunning wedding dress I’ve ever seen. In fact, it’s the one that always catches my eye in the window of the Broken Hill bridal store.
“Is that…?”
“Congratulations,” Brooke says with a nervous smile as the girls begin to beam. “It’s your wedding day.”
I blink back, making sure I heard her correctly.
My wedding day?
Suddenly the pampering, the hair, makeup, and nails all makes sense.
Holy shit.
I’m going to kill him.
There's another knock on the door and I open it a second later to see none other than my parents beaming smiles looking back at me. "I knew it," mom laughs. "You're freaking out."
Chapter 7
Oh, fuck. What was I thinking?
She's going to kill me. She’s going to castrate me and feed my balls to all the guests who dared to show up today without letting her in on the secret.
I can just see it now. She'll appear at the end of the aisle, looking like an angel in the dress I know without a doubt she would have chosen herself. She'll walk towards me with the sweetest innocence for the people sitting on either side of the aisle, she'll smile and take in all the pure perfection of the day, but the second those beautiful eyes lock on mine, they'll promise nothing but a slow, agonizingly painful death.
Shit.
I should have run this by her before springing a fucking surprise wedding on her. What the hell was I thinking?
It's all wrong.
She would have wanted to go dress shopping with her mom and her friends. She would have wanted to pick out the flowers, pick the table settings, and the music she'd walk down the aisle to. I fucking stole those experiences fro
m her because I was too damn selfish and couldn’t wait a few more fucking months.
She's going to hate me. What a fucked up way to start a marriage. Hell, she's probably too fucking pissed off to even show up.
I should have listened when everybody told me not to do this, but my gut told me to go for it and never look back. My gut told me she'd fucking love it and here we are too damn late to back out now.
All the guests are here at Broken Hill lake, waiting to see the blushing bride walking down the aisle and I can't guarantee them that she'll come. Hell, if she does come, I certainly can’t guarantee that she’ll be blushing. Furious, scorned, and pissed off? Now, that I can guarantee.
"Would you calm the fuck down?" Jesse grumbles beside me, nudging me with his elbow as we stand at the top of the aisle, waiting for the limousine to pull up and get the show on the road. "She's going to show up."
I shake my head. "She's not. I should have listened to you fuckers. She's going to be freaking out. It's her fucking wedding day for Christ sake and she didn't get to pick out her own fucking flowers. What if I chose the wrong ones? What if the dress doesn't fit her right? She's going to kill me for this."
"Dude," Jesse grunts, cutting me off.
"Fuck. I should go call her, make sure she's alright."
"The hell you are," Jesse demands, growling low beside me for only me to hear while still managing to look like the carefree bad boy he always makes himself out to be. "You're going to straighten your fucking tie, you're going to stop shitting your pants, and you're going to show all these people that you deserve to call yourself Tora's husband. Man the fuck up and own it. She's going to show up, she's going to marry you, and then she's going to murder you in your sleep, but it will be in private at the end of the night."
I press my lips together, not wanting to take in his words, but as he smiles sweetly to the guests while ramming his elbow hard into my kidney, I snap out of it.
I'm getting married today.
This is what I've been waiting for. What we've both been waiting for, for so damn long. There's no way she'll leave me here. She'll definitely show up late just to make me sweat and she'll have my balls for throwing this on her, but no way would she not show up and marry me.
Broken Hill Honor: The Broken Hill High Series (Novella 5.5) Page 4