Colin gazed up her. “Thinking about Pauly?”
“How did you know?” Tiffany laughed.
“Because he has that effect on people.”
“I’ve missed him a lot,” Tiffany admitted.
“But, love, it’s only been about three days,” Colin said soothingly, pulling her closer to him. “I’d think you’d miss me more.”
“Nah, Pauly has you beat.”
They both laughed.
After some cocktails, Tiffany’s bladder was about to explode.
“Mackenzie, wanna hit up the bathroom? I’m seriously about to piss myself,” Tiffany leaned over and whispered in Mackenzie’s ear. She nodded and they excused themselves. They followed a neon sign that led them to a ladies’ restroom not too far away.
Tiffany and Mackenzie giggled once inside in the bright room. Mackenzie had dropped her purse and the contents rolled across the tiled floor. They laughed some more. Why? What’s so funny? Not a damn thing. They were drunk—like they were one more cocktail away from the room-spinning kind of intoxication. But it was freeing and wonderful. All Tiffany’s compressed troubles were gone. Tonight was all about fun and throwing caution to the wind. It was about kisses, sneaky butt grabs and basking in the joy of a new romance. Because they were officially a couple now, right? Tiffany wasn’t completely clear on that, but she was pretty sure they were green light on the dating front.
“So…you and Colin. God, he’s amazing, Tiff,” Mackenzie slurred.
Tiffany was bent down and collecting the stray items from Mackenzie’s purse.
“Isn’t he? So hot, too.” Tiffany grinned.
She handed Mackenzie her treasures. Tiffany dug into her own bag. Tonight it was her prized possession, a real Louis Vuitton. The classic brown and tan with the famed initials was one of her favorites in her collection. Tiffany pulled out a tube of lipstick. Colin had kissed off her earlier-applied color.
Puckering up, she spread on the red tone. It created a wet sheen and she rubbed her lips together to mash it around.
“So, are you guys like a couple now?” Mackenzie held out her hand for the lipstick then started adding some to her lips.
“I think so. I’m still a little unclear, but it kinda seems like we are. Wouldn’t you say so?”
“Yeah. He’s seems totally into you,” Mackenzie commented.
Mackenzie started to fix her hair and Tiffany stared at their reflections in the mirror. Not too bad for some old broads. We’re both still sort of hot. Maybe it was the rum talking, but Tiffany didn’t care. Blame it on being more than a little tipsy, but she felt confident and beautiful. Maybe it was all the affection being lavished on her by Colin or the glittery magic of Vegas, but tonight had a special air about it.
“Thanks, Mac.”
“For what?” Mackenzie looked confused but still wore a drunk, goofy smile.
“For making me come here. And for being my best friend.”
Mackenzie slapped playfully at her.
“No, I’m serious, Mac. You and I haven’t always seen eye to eye, but you have always been there for me. I love you for that.”
Why is that alcohol has a tendency to make people in mushy, sentimental, whiny bitches?
“Hey, Tiff, I love you, too, but you’re killing my buzz.” Mackenzie wrapped her arms around her.
She and Mackenzie hugged it out in that brightly lit Vegas restroom so far from home, all the past grievances and irritations forgotten. Friendship wasn’t always pretty. Sometimes it was ugly, but if you were lucky, like Tiffany, you had friends that genuinely cared, no matter how drunk or stupid you were.
“There’s only one way to get that buzz back,” Tiffany announced happily and winked at Mackenzie. “Let’s go see the Captain.”
Mackenzie looped her arm around Tiffany’s. “Time flies when you’re having rum.”
* * * *
“Ugh, my head,” Tiffany complained. “Mackenzie, please tell me you have some aspirin.”
“Morning, love.”
Huh? Why is Colin in here? Where in the hell am I? Déjà vu hit her hard. Her brain slowly fed her the details of the previous night. She recalled seeing Pauly, Colin and the Beatles. She remembered dancing, but her aching feet helped jog that memory. Dancing, gambling and drinking, then more dancing, more gambling and more drinking.
“Where’s Mackenzie?”
“In her room. Tiffany, we need to talk.”
Great, another one of Colin’s amazing conversations. They either led to her being fired, kissed or something that never ended well.
“Yes?”
“Now, don’t get upset,” Colin spoke slowly.
“That’s how you get someone upset, Colin. If you have to warn someone, it must be bad.” Tiffany’s mouth was extremely dry and her throat was parched.
Colin sensed her thirst and quickly handed her a bottle of water. She chugged it down and waited as he prepared to speak.
“Please remain calm. It’s not all that bad, really. Just don’t freak out, okay?”
“Colin, I’m hungover and not in the mood for riddles,” Tiffany pleaded. Her head was beginning to pound unmercifully.
“Well, it’s not the easiest thing to just come out with. We were having a lovely time. Bloody hell, Mackenzie practically made us do it.”
“To do what? Spit it out, Colin,” Tiffany demanded.
“To get married.”
“I’m sorry. I thought I heard you say…” Tiffany replied.
“You did.” Colin held up his left hand. A gold band was on his ring finger.
Tiffany immediately peered down at her own. A shimmering diamond stared back at her. Oh shit.
“You can’t be serious? Is this some kind of joke?” Tiffany asked.
Colin moved his hand slowly over his hair and he shook his head.
“Why aren’t you freaking out?”
“I don’t know. I suppose it’s not the most terrible thing.”
What’s wrong with him? Yes, this is terrible, downright awful and completely not okay in and shape or form. Tiffany was in full blown freak-out mode. Her adrenaline surged through her entire body. The headache from her hangover squeezed her brain, and her stomach was a flood of nerves and too much liquor.
Tiffany wanted to bolt out of the room. She wasn’t sure what to do. She had really done it this time. Married? How did Mackenzie allow this to happen?
“Tiffany, it’s okay. We can figure this out.” Colin tried to sit next to her, but Tiffany moved away.
What is there to figure out? This was not an easy fix. She had screwed up big time, something she’d kept doing a lot lately, especially with him.
“This is so bad, Colin.” Tiffany verged on tears.
“Not all bad. I mean, granted, we’ve barely begun dating,” Colin tried to explain.
“Dating? Is that what you call this? You fired me,” Tiffany nearly shouted.
“Yes, but as I explained last night, that was not my intent. I was letting you go as my assistant,” he calmly countered. “I never meant to upset you. It was a complete misunderstanding.”
“So then, in my drunken state, I married and slept with you. I mean…you’re right. I don’t see how this is bad at all,” Tiffany replied with sarcasm.
“Tiffany, I know it seems a bit dismal, but this can be fixed”—Colin paused—“if you want. Or we could just stay married,” he added.
“Colin, I’m sorry, but have you lost your mind? Stay married? That’s insane.”
“For the record, we didn’t consummate the marriage.” Colin got up from the bed and turned away.
Great, again I failed at making love with him.
He started to remove his shirt. His slow and methodical way of undressing was like a strip tease. Oh Lord, what is about to happen? Tiffany’s nerves stood on end and she began to panic. He unbuttoned his jeans and slid them off. He was down to his underwear, a boxer brief that hugged his thighs and gave hints about the package he had barely hidden behind the
fabric. If Tiffany were to be honest, it was a sight indeed and her body stirred. What was he going to do, make them consummate their marriage now to make it somehow legit? He wouldn’t dare. Then Colin walked farther away after draping his pants and shirt over a chair. He slipped into the bathroom and closed the door. Oh, he’s just showering.
Tiffany let her head collapse in her hands as she sat there in the oversized bed, thoroughly confused and angry at herself. She felt like Alice in Wonderland and she’d fallen inside a rabbit’s hole…again. This was not reality. There was no way that it could be. She needed to wake up from this dream. Tiffany closed her eyes and pinched herself hard. Ouch! Nope, she was very much awake and this was very real. She needed to find Mackenzie and see what happened, then figure out how could they fix this.
Pauly hopped onto the bed. He placed a paw on her thigh, as if to say it’ll be okay.
“Oh, but it won’t, li’l man.” Tiffany stroked his brown leg down to the speckled white paw. “What am I going to do, Pauly?”
She heard Colin turn on the shower and decided it was indeed time to bolt.
“Sorry, buddy.” Tiffany frowned and could swear she felt her heart break as the chocolate droopy eyes looked back at her.
Tiffany hopped off the bed and realized she was still dressed in the previous night’s outfit. Only her shoes were missing. She passed by a large mirror on her way out and almost gagged. Her makeup was smeared and her hair was a complete disaster. Yeah, if she were Colin, she’d totally stay married to the troll looking back at her…not. Tiffany rolled her raccoon eyes.
Oh, Tiffany, you need to get your shit together, girlfriend.
Chapter Thirteen
“Okay, you need to calm way down,” Mackenzie ordered.
Tiffany was back inside their room. She’d had a hotel key card in her purse and had been able to get in. It was the only thing that was going right so far that day. Mackenzie was still buried under her comforter when Tiffany had barged in only moments before.
“How do you expect me to be calm? Mac, look? I’m friggin’ married,” Tiffany cried as she held her hand up. The large diamond nearly blinded both of them.
“Well… I mean, yes, that most certainly is a problem. But we can figure this out, Tiff. Don’t panic.” Mackenzie released a heavy sigh. “That’s one helluva rock.” She examined the ring on Tiffany’s hand.
Easy for her to say. She wasn’t married to a guy that had fired her only days earlier.
Snatching her hand away, Tiffany complained, “I mean, where were you? How did you allow this happen to me?”
“Me? You guys were all peachy and told me and Jason to go away. You don’t remember?”
“All I remember is dancing, gambling and lots of drinking. Then I woke up in a hotel suite with him, again.”
“That’s kind of becoming a running theme with you lately.”
Mackenzie’s comment hurt. Had she been making a slew of awful choices lately? Yes. But she needed her friend’s support right now, not a lecture, because she was already disgusted enough with herself.
Tiffany’s eyes became blurry as they filled with tears. “Mackenzie, what am I going to do?”
“Maybe we should call Molly and have her weigh in,” she suggested as she hugged Tiffany.
“I’m not sure I want to tell her right now. I mean, she’s the one that is supposed to be getting married.”
“True, but she’s our best friend.”
“You know she’s going to be super pissed off at you, right?” Tiffany stared at Mackenzie.
“Me? I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Well, you used to be the mother hen, the one that made sure we didn’t do stupid shit, and you kind of failed.”
Mackenzie shook her head. “Unbelievable. You’re going to blame me for what you went and did? I thought you were going back to the hotel to bone him, not have Elvis marry you.”
Tiffany groaned. “God, what in the hell have I done?”
“So, was it fat Elvis or hot Elvis?”
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t even know if Elvis married us. You are missing the point here. I’m married!”
“Colin seems nice.”
“Do you hear yourself right now?” Tiffany was growing agitated.
“I mean, in the scheme of things, what does it all mean? Why not, you know?” Mackenzie began to rattle off some philosophical mumbo jumbo that Tiffany had no interest in listening to. “Life is short and shit happens. Maybe getting married to Colin isn’t the worst thing?”
“You can’t possibly be serious. Mac. He fired me.”
“Because he had feelings for you and didn’t want to deal with work interfering with that.”
“I can’t believe you are defending him and that you think this is all okay,” Tiffany said. She ran her fingers through her hair. It was tangled and she caught another glimpse of herself in the mirror. She was a hot mess of a wreck, a pitiful disaster. How could Colin even be attracted to her?
“Tiffany, it will be okay. Things have a way of working themselves out. If they don’t… Well, there’s not a whole lot you can do. Trust me. I know this first hand.”
She looked at Mackenzie—like really looked at her. This wasn’t her—Mackenzie, the bossy friend that gave unwanted advice but the best. This was someone who had been dealt some bullshit cards and was now flying by the seat of her pants because she knew it didn’t matter how tightly you held on or how well you thought you had all your shit together, you never really did. Life made sure of that.
Tiffany stormed out of the hotel room. She needed air. Everything was so utterly messed up. Her guts felt twisted and cinched together by zip ties. Tiffany walked to the pool area and found a lounger that was partially shaded. She plopped down and stared out at the perfect turquoise water. It was inviting, especially as the sun began to roast everything in sight. She still couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that she was married or that Mackenzie and Colin were completely okay with all of it. Was she crazy or not seeing something they all saw? Did she somehow venture into some alternate universe? God, nothing makes sense anymore.
As Tiffany contemplated all her crummy choices in life, she couldn’t help laugh. Of course, this is something that would happen to her. Last night the Captain had complicated her life and led her astray. She might not ever forgive him for this. Damn Captain Morgan. She had to blame someone, right?
* * * *
A few hours later, after reality had set in, Tiffany stared at the sandwich in front of her. She had no appetite and was trying to will herself to eat. Mackenzie was trying to sway her to put something in her stomach.
“You need to eat,” said Mackenzie.
“So, what happened with you and Jason?”
“You mean while you were off getting yourself hitched?”
Tiffany glared at her. “Really? Come on.”
“Not ready to joke about your nuptials yet?” Mackenzie cocked her head to the side and laughed.
“It’s not funny. That’s why.”
“Oh, Tiffany, it kind of is.” Mackenzie giggled then looked thoughtfully at the open blue sky over the outside deli. “I don’t know what’s going to happen with Jason. I like him and he seems to like me, but something just isn’t there. I can’t quite put my finger on it.”
“Yeah, it’s called sex, I know it’s been a while for you.”
“It’s more than that.” Mackenzie frowned.
“He’s not Gideon.”
Mackenzie shrugged. “Maybe. I’m not sure. But we have bigger fish to fry.”
“Ugh, I know. What in the hell am I going to do?”
“Well, let’s call Molly.”
Tiffany shook her head. “Nope. I don’t think I want to tell her over the phone. Hell, I don’t even want to tell her.”
“If any one out of us will understand, it’s her.”
“I’m not so sure about that. Molly is different now that she’s with Owen.”
“Yes, but in a good way,�
� Mackenzie countered.
“And she’s pregnant. I don’t want to add to her stress.”
“She’ll be upset if you don’t say anything. She’d already going to kill me for allowing this to happen.”
“Yeah, you’re basically dead meat.”
“What do you think Colin is doing right now? You think he flew back to Seattle yet?”
“I have no clue. Can you believe he actually wanted me to consider staying married to him?”
“Well, maybe he sees it a little differently. Like, you both aren’t getting any younger and the deed is already done, so why fight it? Or maybe he’s relieved. He won’t have to deal with you being a bridezilla.”
“I totally would be, wouldn’t I?” Tiffany laughed for the first time that day.
“Hey, you and I both want the big wedding. Molly doesn’t. She’ll probably be envious you got the wedding she wanted, a drive-thru with Elvis. That’s more her style, for sure.”
“You should have seen him this morning. He was so miserable.”
“Because you guys were married?” Mackenzie took a drink as Tiffany picked at her food.
“No, because I didn’t want to stay married. Oh, Mac, here’s the real deal. I would love to be with him, just not like this.”
“So, live by Molly’s new motto, ‘Just go with it’.”
“Not this way. Like you say, I want the big wedding and the glamorous engagement party. I want it all. I feel cheated.”
“You should talk to Colin.”
“Gosh, but how? Where do I start?” Tiffany looked down at the mutilated remains of her sandwich.
“Well, you better think of something fast because he’s headed this way with Sir McCartney.”
“Are you serious?” Tiffany panicked.
“Um, yeah.” Then all of a sudden Mackenzie put a fake smile on her face. “Hi, Colin.”
Colin smiled politely at Mackenzie, but his eyes searched Tiffany. “Hello, Mackenzie.”
“I guess congratulations are in order.”
Tiffany kicked her hard under the table. Mackenzie winced as she got up from her seat and hugged Colin. “You mind if I take this little darlin’ for a walk?” She looked over to Tiffany and stuck out her tongue.
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