The World's Worst Boyfriend
Page 4
She smelled of cough drops and bacon from the canapés. “It’s been too long. How’s my favorite girl?”
Her uncle pried her loose and hugged her so hard her feet lifted off the grass. Her heel slipped out of her shoe, so when he set her back down she had to reach for Julian’s arm to steady herself.
“I didn’t recognize you.” The elderly man clamped his big paws on her shoulders. “Your aunt said, Oh, there’s our Callie, and I said, Where?” He gave a hearty laugh and then turned his attention to Julian. “Isn’t she a stunner? She used to—”
Oh, God, no. No more stories. “Uncle John, Aunt Muriel, I’d like you to meet my boyfriend, Julian Reyes. Julian, this is my Aunt Muriel and Uncle John.”
Her handsome, polished boyfriend gave her uncle a firm handshake. “Wonderful to meet you. I’m so pleased to finally meet Calliope’s family.”
“We’re so proud of her,” Aunt Muriel said. “Two college degrees. And just look at her. Sweetheart, you take my breath away. I can see that New York City’s everything you wanted it to be.” She pressed hand over her heart. “We’ve missed you so much. I’m sorry we didn’t make it for your graduation.”
“Oh, no, don’t worry. It’s not the same thing for graduate school.”
“How’s the job hunt, angel?” Her aunt looked concerned.
She’d mentioned the competitive job market when she’d come home over Christmas, but she’d failed to fill her family in when she’d settled on a plan, and that made her feel pretty lousy. “I’m starting with a fellowship, actually. In the art world, it’s the best way to get the job I’m looking for. Julian and I have both applied to the Museum of Contemporary Art.” With his parents on the board, the fellowship was a sure-thing. She gave Julian a conspiratorial look, but he kept his smile fixed on her relatives. Whoa. She’d really hurt him.
“Did you apply to any fellowships out West?” her aunt asked.
Before she could answer her uncle jumped in. “Can’t remember a time our Callie didn’t talk about moving to New York City and being an artist.”
Her aunt let out a Ha! “I can’t remember a time she didn’t race in twenty minutes late, her jeans filthy, her hair wind-blown, and out of breath from whatever mischief she’d just gotten into.”
“Mischief, huh?” Resentment edged into Julian’s tone.
“Oh, this girl.” Her uncle smiled with pure delight. “She’s always been a handful.”
“She and those Bowies.” Laughing, Aunt Muriel shook her head. “My goodness, they were rabble-rousers. But look at her now. I hardly recognize her.” She smoothed a hand down Callie’s stick-straight hair. “You look gorgeous, honey.”
A tingle at the back of her neck had her glancing over to the head table. With his gaze on her, Fin lifted his champagne flute.
“We should take our seats.” Aunt Muriel gave her a big smile. “We’ll catch up later.”
Fin didn’t have to say a word for the guests to quiet down. All eyes on him, he pointed to a table on the far left. “Lloyd, I speak for the entire wedding party when I say thank you for grooming.”
Laughter rippled across the lawn, and a man shouted, “Naomi gave him a cut and a shave this morning. I sent a picture into the Calamity Press.”
After the laughter died down, Fin’s finger shifted to somewhere in the middle of the lawn. “Miss Sandy, I owe you one. If you hadn’t sent me home from school that day in third grade, I might’ve wound up looking just like Lloyd. Or a Yeti. So, thank you.”
Callie found it hard to join the laughter at that one. Fin’s dad only had five rules for his boys, and the first was that they couldn’t leave anyone behind. But his older brothers didn’t want to be held back by their youngest sibling, so they’d sneak out in the morning or while he napped or did homework.
And it drove Fin wild. So he’d set his alarm to wake up early and wait for the sound of their footsteps in the hallway. That meant most mornings in grade school he’d shown up in whatever filthy clothes he’d worn the day before. Until Miss Sandy had sent him home to get cleaned up, forcing their dad to do something about it.
“All right.” Fin’s tone quelled the chatter. “Let’s get these toasts done so we can dig into the wonderful meal provided by the Bell family.”
The guests clapped, and someone called, “Woo hoo.” Her brother had his arm stretched along the back of his bride’s chair. Everyone watched Fin, but when he didn’t immediately speak, a strange tension gripped the crowd. Either he hadn’t prepared anything or he’d forgotten what he wanted to say because he looked down at his place setting and tugged on his scruff.
Until he looked abruptly at her, and awareness flashed across her skin.
Something in his expression told her he was about to blow her world wide open.
CHAPTER THREE
“In kindergarten, when I was five,” Fin began. “I got put in time-out for not sitting still during the morning meeting. Ryder Bell left that hell called circle time, scuttled off to his cubby, and pulled his Game Boy and a little bag of Goldfish out of his backpack and brought them to me.”
Oh, thank God. For a moment there, Callie had thought he’d address her.
Self-involved much?
“Of course, he ran right back to the circle and crossed his legs like the good little kiss-ass he is, but still.”
“Hey.” Ryder grinned.
“A friendship was born. When I was eight, I tried to flip my dirt bike and wound up breaking my wrist. Ryder came to my house every day after school and brought me food from the diner.” He glanced at her parents, seated on the other side of her brother. “I suppose you could’ve slipped him some coin to do it, but I think maybe you just raised him right. And, by the way, Mr. Bell, your beef stew’s still the bomb.” He turned back to the audience. “When I was fifteen, I challenged Marc Krasnow to a duel.”
A bark of laughter rang out. Marc shouted, “I remember that.”
“Ryder said, Dude, this isn’t the fifteen-hundreds. You don’t have to defend her honor. She can do that on her own.” His gaze slid over to Callie. “Of course he was talking about his sister, Callie. And, of course, if you know her, you know she definitely didn’t need me to kick someone’s ass for her, let alone Marc Krasnow’s.”
“Hey, now,” Marc said.
“In fact, she kicked it so hard he missed a week of school.”
“In my defense,” Marc said. “It wasn’t exactly my ass she kicked.”
Julian leaned close to her ear, his cologne wafting around her. “You beat someone up?”
Pressing her hands together so hard her rings dug into her skin, she ignored him, keeping her focus on Fin. Now was not the time to explain.
It’s a wedding. Aren’t people supposed to be telling stories about Ryder and Lynn?
“What did you do that kept him out of school for a week?” Even at a whisper, Julian’s tone was harsh.
Callie closed her eyes against the image of kneeing Marc in the balls after finding out he’d told everybody she slept with all the Bowie brothers “on the regular.”
She looked so forward to sharing these lovely memories with Julian, who ate his pizza with a fork and knife and sent his silk underwear out to be dry cleaned. God help me.
“From the time we met, Ryder’s been a fifth brother.” Fin’s lips pressed together, and he stared unseeingly across the yard. “Until I was seventeen. When I screwed up.” He looked miserable. “And he stopped talking to me.”
A sickening wave of heat washed through her. He wouldn’t go there. Not at a rehearsal dinner. No, no, no.
“I did a stupid thing.” He scrubbed his jaw.
Dammit, Fin. Shut up.
“It took him a while to forgive me, but I’m glad he did, because Ryder’s the best man I know. And it makes me damn happy to know he’s found the best woman for him.”
“And that’s coming from the World’s Worst Boyfriend,” someone shouted.
A few people snickered, but Fin ignored it.
“Given my track record,” Fin said. “You’d think I’d be the last guy to give relationship advice, but actually I’m your man. Because the vows you make tomorrow are supposed to last a lifetime.” He shifted, confidence burning through his discomfort. “And that’s something I know a lot about, since I blew it with my girl.” He swallowed, staring at Callie with his heart right there on display for anyone to see.
“What the hell’s going on here?” Julian’s breath gusted at her ear.
“I promise we’ll talk later.” She couldn’t miss a word of this speech.
“And that’s the worst thing I’ve ever done,” Fin said tightly.
She couldn’t take a full breath, and she went dizzy because, standing there before the people who knew him best, Fin exposed his pain. His heartache.
Fin didn’t do that. He’d only ever lifted the veil for her. And to let his brothers, those intimidating champions he idolized, see his vulnerability…Fin did not do that.
He didn’t give them ammunition to make fun of him.
“In the thirty-three hours it took to get back from Austria, I had a lot of time to think about my speech. I wrote a good one, lots of jokes, something heartfelt at the end. But then I got here and it hit me how easy it is to take it all for granted. To assume it’ll last just because you got a ring on her finger.” He shot a look to Ryder. “Don’t do that. Don’t take one minute with her for granted.”
Ryder held his gaze with a solemn expression.
“So, instead of the speech I prepared, I’m gonna give you a list so you don’t mess up like I did.” He shoved a hand deep into his pocket. “Number one, be honest. About everything. You know how something happens and you think, Eh, I’ll hold off on telling her that? Maybe you haven’t made a decision yet or you don’t want to upset her?” He held Ryder’s gaze until his friend nodded in acknowledgement. “Tell her. Tell her what you’re thinking. Don’t shut her out, don’t think she doesn’t need to hear about it, and definitely don’t think you can handle whatever it is on your own. That’s not how relationships work. You get tighter when you work through things together. That’s the glue, man. That’s the damn glue.”
Not a person in the yard shifted in his seat or whispered to the person next to him. And it struck her just then that he got it. He got what he’d done wrong all those years ago. It turned her blood fizzy and made her skin tingle.
It didn’t change anything, but it mattered.
She swallowed past the tight knot in her throat. She would’ve given anything if the end of their relationship hadn’t taught him that lesson.
“Number two, put each other first. Yeah, you got a job. You got bills. You got a kid. All that matters, not discounting it, but you’ve got to put her first. Trust me on that. Because once she’s gone, I guarantee you’re going to regret all the stupid crap you put before her. Don’t do that.”
“He’s still in love with you.” Julian sounded part incredulous, part strained.
She swung around. “No. He’s not…” When his eyes flared, she realized how aggressive she’d sounded. She didn’t care. He misunderstood. “He did a terrible thing, and he regrets how he ended it. But that’s it. There’s no love left.”
“I don’t know whether you’re lying to me or to yourself.” His features didn’t reveal an ounce of his anger, as he shifted back in his chair.
She didn’t want to make a scene, but she couldn’t have him thinking there was anything left between her and Fin other than unresolved anger and resentment. “I don’t care about him anymore. I haven’t talked to him in six years.”
But his attention had returned to Fin.
“Find something good and real to tell her every day. Tell her you love her. Tell her she’s beautiful when she first wakes up. Tell her she’s awesome when she graduates with a four-point-oh.”
Fin had just reached in and cupped her heart with all the warmth and strength of his big hand. She’d had no idea he’d watched her all these years. That he’d lived with these regrets. She’d thought he’d been partying and having the time of his life.
“Don’t hold back. Because, believe me, when you lose that privilege? Of talking to her anytime you want? It’s going to gut you.” Drawing in a breath that straightened his shoulders, he smiled to the crowd. “So, that’s it. That’s my speech. Learn from my lessons, and your marriage will go the distance.” He lifted his champagne flute. “Let’s raise a glass to Ryder, the best guy I know, and Lynne, the only woman good enough for him.”
The guests clapped, while Ryder got up and embraced Fin. They slapped each other’s backs, and Callie saw the emotion on her brother’s face. Ryder was a good guy. He’d take Fin’s lessons to heart.
After Fin and Ryder took their seats, the father of the bride pushed his chair back. All attention fixed on the head table in anticipation of the older man’s toast. Thank God, because she needed a moment to let her emotions subside. She didn’t need Julian to see her expression right then.
But right before Lynn’s father lifted his flute, Julian stood up.
“Excuse me.” He had the carriage of a prince, but her normally confident boyfriend looked wild-eyed. “I’m sorry to interrupt.” He let out an awkward laugh. “I’d planned on doing this another time, but after that wonderfully inspirational speech, I’m going to seize the moment.” His gaze swept the crowd. “Tonight I’m a stranger to this group of friends and family, but I hope soon that won’t be the case.” He turned to Callie.
Blood barreled through her veins so fast she went light-headed.
Don’t do this don’t do this don’t do this.
“Calliope Bell, I fell in love with you the moment I laid eyes on you.”
Heat billowed through her. Through her panic she had an awareness of restlessness around her. People shifting in their seats, craning to get a better look. In her peripheral vision she saw her mom clapping both hands over her mouth.
But the world was narrowing, darkening, and she thought she might pass out.
“My admiration for you has grown stronger with each day we spend together. You are the calm in the craziness of my life, my north when my compass goes haywire, and the one person I know I can count on no matter what life throws my way.”
Oddly, her only thought was, Your life isn’t crazy, and your compass has never once gone haywire.
But all thoughts flew out of her head when he reached for her hand and pulled her out of the seat. Instinctively, she resisted, but the crease between his eyes deepened and he tugged more firmly. She got up on shaky legs. He drew closer and whispered, “Breathe.” Holding her hand like they were at a coronation, he smiled. “Calliope, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
Someone gasped. A few others said, “Aw.” And her mom shouted, “Oh, my God.”
An oppressive heat clung to her, like entering a hot house in the dead of summer. Her mind scrambled for purchase. Finding none, it just let go. And the world spun around her.
Needing to get her bearings, she leaned into him. She turned her face away from the audience and pressed her hot cheek against his cool white dress shirt that smelled of dry cleaning chemicals.
His arms enveloped her. “I love you, Calliope. I really do.”
The applause seemed deafening, and all she wanted to do was get away from the prying eyes. But she couldn’t leave. It was her brother’s rehearsal dinner, and the speeches had just begun.
The moment she started to pull away, Julian clasped her hand and raised it high in the air. Everyone clapped at what they thought was her engagement. Holy shit.
And then a whistle pierced the air. Fin made the time-out sign with his hands. “Hang on.” When the crowd quieted, he said, “I didn’t hear her answer.”
Julian’s prideful smile flattened. Everyone stared at her.
“Was that a yes, wild thing?” Fin said.
“Because I didn’t hear it.”
Stunned, she had no idea what to do. Time felt suspended, reality torqued.
“Calliope? Sweetheart?” Julian squeezed her elbow a little too hard, his fingernails pinching her skin.
The sting woke her up, and she shot Fin a quelling look. Stop it.
But he didn’t back down. “Could be my bad, but I didn’t hear an answer. Is it a yes, then?”
A cold bead of perspiration trickled down her back. She couldn’t take a full breath.
She looked up at Julian. “Can we talk in private?” She said it quietly but, of course, everyone heard her body language.
Julian drew in a short breath before turning to the crowd. “Please continue. Excuse me for interrupting the festivities.” He gave a dignified nod to the crowd and then turned away from her. With his chair boxing him in against the table, he bent over to lift it and set it aside. Then, he stalked across the lawn, chin high, shoulders back.
Callie took off, but the stupid ice pick heels kept catching in the grass. She peeled the strap off each ankle and slid out of the delicate sandals. In bare feet, grass tickling her soles, she raced around the side of the house to catch up with her boyfriend.
He strode down the driveway, phone in his hand.
“Julian!” Grass gave way to gravel, and she had no choice but to shove her aching toes back into the sandals, allowing him to gain further ground away from her. “Would you please wait for me?”
He lifted the phone to his ear.
“Julian, dammit.” Awesome. Not only was she sweating, but she’d just shrieked at her Upper East Side boyfriend.
At the end of the driveway, he pocketed his phone, glancing first toward the Tetons and then toward the town of Jackson. Damp with perspiration and out of breath, she reached his side, her stomach cramped in a knot.
He cut her a sideways glance. “I’m not ready to talk to you.”
“Let me explain. I made a mess of this.”
“Yes, you did. But right now I need to process what just happened.”
In New York, she didn’t think twice when he used expressions like that. But in Calamity, it stood out like an elk with a glittery antler. That’s not where your mind should be.