Stronger

by Janet Nissenson

  Kai roared with laughter. “To be honest, I’m not sure what you’d call it,” he admitted. “But as beautiful as you look, I’m pretty committed to Marcel right now so you don’t have to worry about breaking us up.”

  Mirai did one final touch up to Cara’s hair and lipstick, instructed her to take tons of pictures, and all but ordered her to have a good time.

  “And Kai knows about the whole fiasco with Dante,” Mirai whispered in her ear. “I told him to really lay it on thick whenever he’s nearby. You know, holding your hand, body contact, whispering sweet nothings in your ear, that sort of thing. Make sure you flaunt yourself and your new man in front of the SOB whenever you get the chance.”

  Cara rolled her eyes. “Seriously, Mir? And I doubt that your brother would appreciate being referred to as my “new man”.”

  “Trust me,” insisted Mirai. “Just follow Kai’s lead, okay? And try to enjoy yourself, would you? Needless to say, I’ll expect a full report when you return.”

  Since Rene was out of town for the weekend, Mirai had persuaded Cara to spend the night. Kai, who was far too fastidious to stay with his untidy half-sisters, was staying at the Ritz Carlton instead.

  “I hope you don’t mind that we’re taking a taxi to the wedding,” he apologized as he held the door open for her. “I’ve lived in New York so long, since my freshman year of college, that I use taxis and the subway exclusively to get around. I don’t even have my drivers license.”

  “Of course I don’t mind,” assured Cara. “And I can’t thank you enough for going with me to this wedding, Kai. I’m sure you have plenty of other things you’d rather be doing while you’re in town.”

  “Nah.” He waved a hand in dismissal. “I’ve already finished my business here, so the next day or so is just for enjoyment. And Marcel is kind of the jealous type, so he’s relieved that I’m not going out clubbing or partying without him. A wedding is pretty tame in comparison.”

  They chatted companionably during the relatively brief taxi ride to the church where Nick and Angela were to be married. Kai was both witty and amusing, and their conversation helped keep Cara’s mind off the fact that very soon now she was going to be seeing not only Dante – the man who’d broken her heart – but the woman he’d left her for as well.

  Since they’d exchanged texts on Christmas Day, Dante had made it a point to contact her every other day or so, usually with just a quick text to wish her good morning or ask how her day was going. Cara had hesitated at first to respond, thinking guiltily that she really shouldn’t be communicating with someone who was in a relationship, and especially since she still had such strong feelings for him. But the texts they exchanged were so harmless, so casual, and no different than something she’d send to a girlfriend, that she had continued to reply to him.

  The quaint little church where the ceremony was being held was well over a hundred years old, and one of the most charming sites Cara had ever seen. The brick chapel was located in the exclusive Pacific Heights neighborhood of the city, and parking looked to be at a premium, so it was likely a good thing that Kai had chosen to take a taxi here.

  “You ready?” asked Kai as he placed a hand at the small of her back.

  Cara took a deep breath, trying not to think of who might already be inside the beautiful little church at this moment, and keeping her fingers crossed yet again that she wouldn’t do something silly like trip over her own feet. “Ready as I’ll ever be,” she told him bravely. “Now, like my dance teacher used to say before one of our performances – it’s showtime!”

  “Not getting cold feet are you, Nick? Because even though I wouldn’t have a shot at taking you out myself, I think the matron of honor just might be able to kick your ass if you backed out of this now.”

  Nick shuddered at the mention of Angela’s best friend and matron of honor. “I ever tell you about the time that bloodthirsty she-cat threw a switchblade at me? Barely missed, too. And as pissed off as Lauren was at me then, if I were to even think about not going through with this wedding – well, let’s just say I don’t think she’d miss this time.”

  Dante chuckled at the image of his imposingly large best friend at the mercy of a female who didn’t look strong enough to fling a butter knife, much less a deadly weapon. “Yeah, she’s a tough lady, that’s for sure. And while Lauren is definitely a looker, she’d be way too much for me to handle.”

  Nick snorted. “You and ninety nine point nine percent of the male population of this world. Somehow Ben wound up being the one person in the world who could handle her. And you’d never guess it to meet him, since he’s one of the quietest, nicest guys you’d ever meet. Go figure, huh?”

  Dante patted the groom-to-be on the back. “Well, good to know that you aren’t having second thoughts, regardless of the consequences. You and Angela belong together, you know. Always have. So I’m glad that you’re doing the right thing by her, and for the baby. Though I won’t believe you can actually change a diaper until I see it with my own two eyes.”

  “You and me both,” grunted Nick. “But, hey, one thing at a time, man, okay? Let me get through this wedding first before I have to deal with fatherhood. Jesus, you do know I used to flat out refuse to attend anyone’s wedding, don’t you? And now here I am at my own. What the hell happened to me, Dan?”

  “You grew the hell up, that’s what. Oh, sorry. Guess I shouldn’t be saying that inside a church, huh?” he asked sheepishly. “But it’s true, Nick. You and Angela were both pretty messed up people the first time you dated, and if you had asked me then if there was any chance at all you’d wind up marrying each other someday I would have laughed for a week. I think it took being apart for all that time to make you both wake up and realize the truth. And for both of you to get over your issues and learn how to actually have a relationship.”

  Nick peered in the mirror of the small waiting room he and Dante were utilizing until it was time for the ceremony to begin. “Speaking of relationships, how are things going with you and Katie?”

  Dante paused before responding, choosing his next words a bit carefully since he knew that Nick wasn’t Katie’s biggest fan. “Okay,” he replied casually. “She’s still throwing hints right and left about moving in with me, but I’m not in any hurry to get that serious with her again. Especially since if I let her live with me, she’ll lose whatever motivation she still has to find a real job or start school.”

  Despite all of their discussions on both matters, Katie had continued to procrastinate about enrolling in college or some sort of trade or vocational school, and had missed all of the spring semester sign-ups as a result. She was working at least, at a high-end designer clothing consignment store owned by a friend of her mother’s, but kept insisting that it was only temporary until she found something more suitable. And just recently she’d moved in with a girlfriend here in San Francisco, though that situation also sounded short-term, only lasting until the friend’s roommate returned from an extended work assignment in Europe.

  And of course now that she was back living in the city full time, Katie expected to see him a lot more often than just weekends as they’d been doing since getting back together. Dante wasn’t in any rush to change that state of affairs either, however, and they had had several near-arguments on the matter. Overall, Katie had become far clingier and more possessive than she had ever been previously, but instead of making him feel flattered by all of her attention, he just felt hemmed in.

  She was also far needier than before, both in terms of financial and emotional support, and it seemed that her self-confidence – as well as her ego - had taken a severe blow when she’d been all but forced to give up the acting career she had loved so much. Nearly every time they went somewhere, she would fret over her appearance, and ask him repeatedly if she looked okay. She worried about gaining half a pound, and could spend as much as three hours getting ready.

  And more recently, Katie had begun to flirt rather openly wi
th other men whenever they were at a party or other event with a group. That type of behavior wasn’t anything Dante hadn’t dealt with before in their relationship, but oddly enough it didn’t seem to bother him overmuch this time around. Before, it had driven him crazy to see her flirting with other men, and he’d been wild with jealousy if she so much as smiled at someone else. But perhaps because he had the upper hand in things now he found it didn’t affect him nearly as much. If anything, Katie’s often overt flirting was something of an embarrassment, particularly if she tried to use her wiles on one of his friends.

  “Stick to your guns, man,” Nick advised now. “It’s my wedding day, so I’m not going to get into any sort of heavy discussions with you, but I’m damned glad to see that you’re keeping a level head about things this time around. Make sure it’s going to take this time before you move things to the next level.”

  Dante was saved from having to think up a suitable reply by the arrival of the minister announcing that it was time for them to go. He took his place by Nick’s side at the front of the church, then turned to face the guests assembled in the wooden pews as everyone waited for the bride to walk up the aisle.

  His gaze skimmed over the hundred or so people seated in the small, warmly lit chapel, recognizing Nick’s flamboyantly dressed movie star mother, as well as several of his former NFL teammates. Angela’s mother and sisters were easy enough to pick out, given Nick’s less than flattering descriptions of them, as was the beautiful, shapely female seated several rows back who was the twin sister to Lauren, the matron of honor. Julia, too, was happily married, and was holding hands with her handsome husband Nathan.

  Katie, who hadn’t been especially pleased that she would have to sit alone during the ceremony, was nonetheless chatting animatedly now with Nick and Angela’s boss Paul McReynolds - even though Mrs. McReynolds was seated on his other side and visibly displeased that he was basically ignoring her at this moment.

  For once, Leah and Tyler weren’t bickering with each other, though neither looked particularly happy, either. Deepak was here, too, with a pretty Indian girl that Dante was willing to bet he’d been set up with by one of his family members.

  And then his gaze froze as it fell on the two other occupants of the row where Nick’s support staff was seated. It was Cara and the debonair young man who was apparently her date, and she looked so unexpectedly gorgeous that she all but stole his breath away.

  The green dress was the perfect color for her hair and skin, and from what he could see of it as she remained seated, the fabric clung to her newly svelte figure without being too tight or revealing. She’d cut her hair, though it was still luxuriously long, and the dark brown curls shone with health. She was wearing a tad too much makeup for his liking, but there was no denying that it made her big eyes look enormous, and her plush lips looked positively sinful glossed over in scarlet. She looked older, more mature, and far more sophisticated than he’d ever seen her. She looked, he realized with a little pang of regret, like a woman, instead of the sweet, guileless, and slightly ditzy girl she had always been until now.

  Dante’s fists clenched tightly as he watched Cara’s male companion slide his arm around her shoulders, then murmured something that made her laugh softly. He guessed her date to be in his late twenties or very early thirties, and the young man looked as though he might have some Hawaiian or Filipino in his genetic makeup. Dante recognized the cut of the other man’s suit as Dolce and Gabbana, his silk tie as Prada, and wondered where Cara had met someone as obviously wealthy as he appeared to be.

  He was obliged to look away at that moment as the string quartet hired for the occasion began to play the processional music. All of the guests stood and looked towards the back of the chapel as first the matron of honor and then the bride walked up the aisle.

  The matron of honor - the aforementioned Lauren - looked effortlessly beautiful in a simple gown of burgundy silk. It was difficult to believe that this was the same woman who’d hurled a switchblade at Nick, or who Dante had once seen dismount from the seat of a Ducati motorcycle.

  But it was Angela who elicited a collective sigh of delight from the assembled guests as she glided along the aisle on her adoring father’s arm. Her ivory bridal gown had long, sheer sleeves appliqued with lace, the same lace that adorned the V-necked bodice. The long tulle skirts of the dress skimmed over her still-narrow hips down to the tips of her white lace shoes. If one wasn’t already aware of her condition, there would have been no possible way of knowing that she was almost four months pregnant, given how slim she still was, and the way the fabric of her gown hid any trace of a baby bump.

  Dante had always considered Angela a beautiful woman, though he hadn’t always liked the way Nick had compelled her to dress when they had first dated. Some of the outfits he’d chosen had made her look too old, and occasionally too flashy. Since the two of them had reunited about eighteen months ago, Dante had been pleased to see Angela asserting herself with Nick, no longer permitting him to boss her around or call all the shots in their relationship. Unlike, he realized guiltily, the way he’d always controlled things with Cara, how he had dictated when and where they would see each other. The words she’d flung at him last September about not being good enough to meet his family and friends still stung, but he had no idea how to ever convince her otherwise.

  Today, in her bridal finery, Angela looked younger, softer, and exquisitely feminine, a look that wasn’t always easy for a woman who was nearly six feet tall to pull off. And the expression on Nick’s face as he beheld his bride was one of mingled joy and wonder, and he looked happier than Dante could ever recall seeing him.

  Angela’s father Gino was practically giddy with happiness as he gave his youngest daughter a lingering kiss on the cheek before placing her hand in Nick’s. Dante knew that Angela’s relationship with her family, particularly her mother, hadn’t been an easy one. But at least it seemed far better than the distant, almost nonexistent one that Cara had with her father.

  ‘Cara’s probably closer to her half-senile old landlady than she is to that asshole of a father,’ thought Dante grimly.

  The ceremony began then, forcing his thoughts away from Cara, and focusing his attention instead on the bride and groom. Nick had insisted on keeping the ceremony as brief as possible, half-joking that the longer he remained inside a church the higher the chance that he’d burst into flames. But though the marriage rites were relatively short, the minister seemed unhurried, his voice clear and calm.

  Dante did his part as the best man by handing Nick the wedding ring for Angela at the appropriate time, then joined in clapping with all the other guests when the minister pronounced them a married couple.

  He and Lauren were obliged to remain behind after the ceremony for the dozens of pictures the photographer snapped. The photography session seemed to go on for nearly an hour, what with all of Angela’s family members wanting to be included, and Dante had to stifle a grin as he observed how Nick’s patience began to rapidly dwindle away.

  Katie, it seemed, was even less patient as she remained seated in one of the wooden pews during the endless round of photos. Dante offered her up an apologetic smile every so often, but she was visibly displeased at having to wait, and probably even more so that she was being excluded. But since she wasn’t a member of the bridal party, there was no logical reason for her to be included in this round of photos.

  She was silent and moody during the drive to the Gregson Hotel on Nob Hill where the reception was being held, but for once Dante didn’t try to cajole her out of whatever was bothering her. Frankly, he was getting a little fed up with her moods and demands and her ever escalating level of neediness. And where once upon a time he would have bent over backwards to make her happy and spoil her rotten - well, as the saying went, that was then and this was now.

  The reception was in full swing by the time Dante and Katie walked inside the elegantly appointed banquet room at the posh hotel.
Nick was sparing no expense for this shindig, including an open bar with top shelf booze, so Dante wasted little time in ordering drinks for himself and Katie. She seemed happier now, but then she loved parties and being surrounded by lots of other people, so he wasn’t all that surprised. She clung to his arm possessively as he introduced her around to Nick’s former football teammates, said hello to several mutual friends, and inched ever closer to where Cara was standing, her date practically glued to her side as they chatted with the other members of Nick and Angela’s office staff.

  Dante didn’t bother to disguise the scowl on his face as he continued to sneak sideways glances in Cara’s direction. She looked happy, really happy, and beamed up at her date as he slipped an arm around her waist. Dante didn’t care if it sounded like the biggest bunch of sour grapes known to mankind, but there was something about the guy standing hip to hip with Cara that rankled him. The guy was almost too handsome, too perfectly groomed, and if he hadn’t seemed so enchanted by everything Cara was saying, Dante would have rather scathingly pegged him as gay.

  “What do you keep looking at?” hissed Katie urgently, tugging at his arm. “You’re being rude, Danny, hardly joining in the conversation.”

  “Sorry,” he replied carelessly. “It’s just that since I’m the best man I think we ought to make more of an effort to circulate. Let’s go say hello to Nick’s team from the office. They’re right over here.”

  Katie grumbled a little at this, since they’d been conversing with one of Nick’s biggest clients - a multi-billionaire magnate who apparently had numerous Hollywood connections. Dante was all too aware that Katie was still very, very interested in current goings-on in the entertainment world, was constantly reading updates online, poring through magazines, and keeping in touch with friends and associates in the business. And when he’d challenged her on this, reminding her about the numerous vows she had made that she was definitely, one hundred percent finished with that part of her life, she had made up one excuse or the other for her continued fascination with show business - none of which he truly believed. It gave him cause for concern that Katie didn’t really mean what she’d assured him of countless times - that she had no further interest in pursuing an acting career, and would never even consider returning to Los Angeles under any circumstances.