“Well it’s not like your hands are clean in this either Nicky,” Mico said shaking his head and laughing. “You broke her heart too. I repeat myself, Nicky. You really broke her heart,” he said.
“She’s making me pay in other ways,” I scoffed.
“You know the deal. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, motherfucker,” Mico laughed. “A rich one, I might add.”
“No, that woman wants my head on a platter I tell you,” I could feel myself getting rather animated. “She’s got plans to stick a knife in me, throw an apple in my mouth, and serve my ass up on a platter for all the world to see.”
Mico laughed even more heartily.
“Shit is not funny, Mico.”
“Yes it is. And yes it’s pretty much true she’s making you pay,” he said. “And, just so you know Nicky, that woman has been invited to the wedding tonight, so be on your best behavior man. Please. Do not start dueling at the wedding, because I can tell you right now Nicky, you would lose.”
“I’ll be on my best behavior tonight because it’s your night. But losing against her is not an option,” I kidded with Mico, but I was serious as a heart attack. Losing against Harper was not an option. I had a reputation to protect.
“Furthermore Nicky, I don’t want to have to come save your ass because Riley would make me pay on my own fucking honeymoon, so try to put your weapons down for the night, my brother.”
Ahhh man. I am really going to need another drink if Harper and I are going to be in the same space together tonight. This was going to test my constitution knowing I’d have to try to keep my hands off that beautiful woman. Hands that she would probably cut off with an ax blade if she had half the chance. I so missed what she and I use to have . . . who we use to be. I missed the days when we made love, not war. It was a lie that time healed old wounds. My wounds had never healed. My heart had a goddamn sinkhole in it.
“Man, I don’t mind standing up for you and all. I’m honored to do so, but goddamn, I’ve got to deal with Harper tonight on top of everything else? Why man? Haven’t I done enough penance?”
I could feel my old emotions starting to bubble up like a witches brew in a black caldron.
“Yes. You do have to deal with her tonight and her sidekick Mackenzie Rhodes. Mackenzie is doing the wedding photography.”
“Shit man, that cock-blocker bitch Mackenzie is going to be there, too?” I grunted miserably.
“She’s the devil incarnate herself. Whenever she’s around, anytime I get near Harper, Mackenzie turns up like a bad penny. It’s likes she’s running interference for her or something. Do you think there is something going on between those two?”
“Are you asking me if Harper Montgomery is gay? Hell no man, put the vodka down. You know damn well Harper isn’t gay,” Mico insisted.
“Well how the hell would I know? Harper is never with the same man twice. She’s gotten downright skittish about relationships, if she has them at all.”
Oops, I shouldn’t have let Mico in on the fact that I was keeping tabs on Harper. That might come back to haunt me. Loose lips sink ships.
“Rumor is she loves them and leaves them,” I continued. “She’s a no-strings-attached kind of woman now. It’s like she’s got a bunch of fuck buddies or something.”
“How would you know? Are you keeping tabs on her or something? You haven’t resulted to stalking her now have you, man?”
I walked right into that one. I could have predicted that was coming next. The truth was I pretty much knew her every move. Yeah, I kept a string on her business dealings. It was an added benefit to me that sometimes that meant I had access to her personal life as well.
“She has a whole slew of men after her. She leaves all of them on the side of the road for dead,” I said calmly.
“Listen to yourself man. Do you hear yourself talking?” Mico laughed. “You’re the biggest playboy in all of Manhattan. You’re a regular Don Fucking Juan. And you’ve got the nerve to be judging her? You’re the one plastered all over Page Six’s gossip headlines several times a year with different women,” Mico said.
“Are you calling me a manwhore?”
“Yes. Last I checked, you were in the arms of those supermodel glamazons and Playboy’s new playmate of the month. Are you really going to try to be judge and jury over Harper Montgomery?”
“Yes I am. Because she’s a woman. It’s different when you are a woman,” I said. “And don’t believe everything you read Mico.”
“You should check yourself sometime Nicky,” Mico said. “You’re starting to sound like some of those old school chauvinistic commanders at the Naval Academy.”
“So is she coming alone?” I asked. I was secretly curious. It was going to be hard looking at her in the arms of another man.
“I doubt it,” Mico said. “All those invitations go out with a plus one. It’s not my job to keep up with the women and their guests. Riley has already ripped my playa card up and set it aflame.” Mico chuckled.
“Man, you haven’t even walked down the aisle yet and you’re whupped already,” I laughed.
“The only thing I know about women these days is Riley,” Mico said with a strong emphasis.
“Shit Mico, you have eyes and ears don’t you? Don’t you know how to keep them to the ground—at least when you’re around your own woman?” I was starting to bitch at him.
“Or, you could have just asked my bride-to-be yourself,” Mico responded. “After all, you are her angel investor. It’s not like you don’t have access to Riley.”
“You know I try not to mix business with pleasure.”
“Since the fuck when?” Mico laughed again. This is me you’re talking to, Nicky.”
Mico wasn’t taking me seriously nor was he buying anything I was saying.
“Well one thing for sure, I did overhear Riley talking with my new brother in-law the other day. I heard Brooks’s name mentioned. Harper might be bringing him,” Mico said hesitantly.
“Brooks? Brooks Fitzgerald McKenna? Why in the hell would she be tooling around with that back-stabbing, steal-your-woman, arrogant, self-serving douche bag social climber?” I complained.
“Well, tell me how you really feel?”
“Seriously Mico. Why him?
“Uh, maybe because he’s successful? Maybe because she likes him? Maybe because he treats her kindly?”
“Oh God no,” I said, in total disbelief.
“Maybe because he’s not always fighting with her all the time like some people we know who shall remain nameless right now.”
“But Brooks Fitzgerald McKenna?”
“I don’t know. Fuck it man. How the hell would I know why Harper would date Brooks?”
“I bet you my Ferrari he’s only interested in her for her political connections and what he thinks she can do for him. He’s spent all his life social climbing trying to keep up with the Joneses.”
“Well, obviously he’s done a good job of keeping up and climbing up,” Mico said. “Brooks is pretty well off himself.”
“That’s only because he’s a ruthless, deceitful, not-to-be-trusted-used-car-salesman, shithead for a businessman. I’ve heard the stories about him at the country club. I’ve crossed paths with him personally in my business circles.”
“What formed your opinion of him?” Mico asked, genuinely interested.
“He tried to sucker me once a few years back on a deal. He insisted that I needed to be a part of the funding for some textile group. He positioned a very bright drop-dead gorgeous redhead at the center of this deal to try to help influence me. In the end, what he really tried to do was set me up for a fall and fuck me. So, I fucked him and I fucked her, but not in the same way or same order if you know what I mean.” I laughed between vodka sips, glad I was feeling a much-needed buzz.
“Umm, a Nicholas Becker-style financial fuckfest,” Mico laughed.
We gave each other a high five.
“Brooks was flirting very close to the edge of wha
t could legally have been considered an insider trading scheme. He was coming in my back door with this woman threatening to involve my company. I wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him. Well, at little less than that,” I said, thinking I could throw that motherfucker pretty far given half the chance. Hell I’d throw him right out of Harper’s life. The idea of her tooling around with him did not sit well with me.
“Word is he’s looking to settle down and make a move,” Mico said. “I think he’s got her in his sights, Nicky. If you and Harper are truly done, you need to adjust to the idea, get over it and move on,” Mico said with a raised eyebrow.
“No fucking way,” I fumed, shaking my head and throwing back my vodka shot. “Not if I can help it. Not in this lifetime.”
“I’m only telling you what I heard Nicky.”
“I will bury the hatchet with her myself before I see her end up with that dirtball Brooks Fitzgerald Fuckhead McKenna. He doesn’t have anyone’s best interests at heart but his own. She’s far too good for him and deserves better. I will personally see to it that she never ends up with that loser user,” I grumbled.
“Listen to you Mr. Put Your Boxing Gloves On every time you see her,” Mico howled. “I swear you two have a love/hate relationship.”
“Hell we don’t have a relationship at all.”
“Yeah you do. You just haven’t admitted it yet.”
“No we don’t,” I said, checking my watch for the tenth time.
I could feel my blood boiling now. All I could think about was the fact that I needed to gird my loins if I was going to be dealing with Harper Carmichael Montgomery at this wedding tonight. Since that bittersweet summer ten years ago, our interactions have never been the same. Things were going to get doubly worse if she was going to be on the arm of Brooks Fitzgerald McKenna. This was worse than I could have ever imagined.
I missed the good old days, when Harper and I were in love, that long ago summer at Martha’s Vineyard. We first met at the Global Food Safety Conference for food manufacturers. My father and her mother were co-chairs at the conference. Big Daddy and Elizabeth assigned Harper and me to be Business Evangelists for their respective brands. Our parents decided it would be good business marketing experience for Harper and me to work together on lead generation. Our job was to be responsible for mingling with the newbie food producers to identify potential leads among the food manufacturers. We mingled with each other instead.
Twenty-six-year-old Harper Montgomery was headed to graduate school at Columbia in the fall. I was thirty-one with degrees from the Naval Academy and Columbia Business School. I was headed for Wall Street.
We became friends and lovers. Our relationship was intense. We quickly fell for each other—deep and hard. We got into each other’s soul. I suspected our parents had high hopes for a future merger between us. They almost got their wish. Maybe it was time now for me to get mine.
“Tonight’s all about pleasure Nicky. It’s my wedding night. It’s New Year’s Eve. Try to enjoy yourself. Do it for Riley . . . and me,” Mico said.
“I promise you I will be on my best behavior, Mico. I will do everything in my power to keep the peace with Harper tonight. Now as far as that wretched excuse for a woman, Mackenzie Rhodes, goes, if she runs her bullshit interference again tonight, all gloves are off,” I said.
“She’ll be too busy taking wedding photos of the bridal party and family. Mackenzie will be working, remember,” Mico said reassuring me. “And if Harper shows up with Brooks on her arm, what could possibly send Mackenzie on the warpath?”
I could already tell this was going to turn out to be a long night. I had a lot to think about. Harper might be at the wedding with Brooks McKenna. Mackenzie the antichrist was going to be there taking pictures. This was supposed to be a good night. Instead, this was a lot to digest.
Our limousine came to a stop in front of the cathedral.
“Mr. Becker, Mr. Dunham, we’ve arrived, sirs. Mr. Parks has pulled up right behind us,” Silas said, moving around the limousine now to open the door.
Stephen Parks was both my friend and much needed bodyguard. His protective skills were useful to have around when the paparazzi got out of control. He came in handy when I needed to keep the occasional woman-turned-stalker at bay. A few of the women I dated simply couldn’t handle it when they realized they were being replaced. Especially the ones that needed “closure.” When things got ugly, and they sometimes did, Stephen was very helpful to have around. Maybe I was going to need him tonight to keep me from killing that Fuckwad Brooks Fitzgerald McKenna. Game on.
“Okay Mico. Are you ready?”
“Man, I’m beyond ready. I’ve waited years for this moment,” Mico said. “And don’t forget Nicky, when the priest says “Noah, the ring,” don’t fall asleep at the switch. He’ll be talking about me remember. We’re not in school anymore,” Mico laughed.
“You will always be Mico to me,” I said. “Happy New Year, man. Congratulations.”
We stepped out of the limousine, bear hugging each other again one more time, topping our hug off with a fist bump.
Chapter Two
Harper
“Harper, this cathedral is beautiful, baby. I can see you and me walking down this aisle together one day,” Brooks said, grabbing my hand and tucking it inside his own.
“I’ve told you a hundred times Brooks, I’m not the marrying kind. I’m already married. The Montgomery Consulting Group is my husband.”
God, I hope I don’t have to listen to his drivel all night. Marrying Brooks Fitzgerald McKenna is the last thing I want to do. Why can’t he take no for an answer?
“Oh baby, being married to a job is not the same as being married to me,” he said.
“My business keeps me busy enough. I can’t imagine having the time or emotional space for such a huge commitment like marriage. It’s not in the cards. You should set your sights on someone else more suitable to your interests. I like my life just the way it is,” I whispered as we entered the sanctuary.
“Oh, I can be very persuasive when I want to be, baby,” Brooks said wickedly.
Ugh, the mere thought of ever being married to Brooks made me want to shoot myself for ever having wasted my time with him tonight. Why on God’s green earth did I pick him to be my plus one this evening? I don’t know why I keep doing this to myself. I would have much preferred to have come with the bride’s brother Reese. It was a given that Reese would be in the bridal party, so I asked Brooks instead.
I opened my little black book and did the finger walk, and Brooks was it for tonight’s plus one. All the rest of the eye-popping, jaw-dropping possibilities had gone to Europe for the holidays.
No doubt, Brooks was the poster boy for good breeding, fitting into most of the influential circles of the rich and famous. Handsome as hell, Brooks always made nice arm candy. If I had to suffer through an evening of dry conversation I wanted to at least be with someone visually appealing. Brooks was tall, gorgeous, and had perfectly straight teeth from years of orthodontic care. He flashed a lady-killer grin that typically got him most anything he wanted. Who could resist those penetrating baby blue eyes, that strong jaw, and chiseled features that came with a muscular physique to match? His sharkskin grey Armani suit made him look as if he stepped off the pages of Gentleman’s Quarterly.
Brooks was CEO of McKenna Textiles, which meant he wore nothing but the finest of fabrics. He was six feet three inches of come-and-get-me, until you actually got there and reality set in, distorting the apparent fantasy. That beautiful specimen of a man was all talk and no walk. I suppose most women that wanted him were in it for his money. Why else be willing to put up with that limp libido?
Hmphf. But Harper Montgomery doesn’t need a man for his money. Matter of fact, I didn’t need him at all. He was what he was and nothing more. Blond-haired, blue-eyed arm candy. But what the hell. I doubt any of the other women in here knew about him but me. Thus, he served my purposes for the evening.
The reality was Brooks’s personality bored me to death. Okay, so he wasn’t great in bed. And he wasn’t the worse either. But he sure as hell didn’t knock my socks off. I might as well be in a coma. To me, he sucked balls. There would be no real fireworks between Brooks and me in that department. For some reason however, his oversized ego couldn’t accommodate that little fact. Brooks carried on as if he turned every woman out sexually. Me, he bored completely to tears. I hated that he was constantly picking my brain in bed, asking me about the senator. The last thing I wanted to do in bed with any man was to talk about my father. I preferred you didn’t talk at all and just do. No talk. Do. Thank you. Goodbye. Go home.
Maybe it was time for me to check myself. Perhaps I was getting jaded. This business of my spending time with men that bored me was starting to get old. I was working too hard to fill a void that was left in my heart a long time ago.
“Well it’s not like you’re some spring chicken anymore Harper,” Brooks whispered back. “What about kids? You’re thirty-six. Don’t you gals always have that whole biological ticking clock-thingy going on?” he said leaning into my ear as the usher directed us to the bride’s side of the cathedral for seating.
“Well if I did, I certainly don’t need a man to fulfill that objective,” I hissed under my breath. “There are sperm donors and adoptions,” I huffed. “Those options come without all the aggravation of having to deal with the antics and childish whims of a man. Why are we having this discussion here anyway?”
It was crass remarks like this from Brooks that turned me off.
“Listen baby, those other jokers you’ve been toying around with aren’t me,” Brooks said. “You need a real man to take care of you.”
“Take care of me? Has somebody dropped you on your head?”
“Okay, so you can throw a hundred million out the cockpit of your Lear and never feel it. But look, baby, I am everything you could ever want in a man. I know how to tick tock that clock of yours,” Brooks said tugging me under his armpit, placing his hand in the small of my back, helping me to the seat in the pew.
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