Four Weddings and a Fling

by Barbara Deleo

  “Just a left turn here, and then we’ll be at the restaurant,” Ari said.

  “That’s a pretty sad view of the world,” she said as she pulled into the parking lot, an overwhelming sense of pride washing over her.

  Ari shrugged. “It’s just reality. We only want people to see the good side of ourselves. Just pull in here,” he said. “I have his license plate details. All we have to do is find a red Audi, and we’ll be right.”

  “There’s an Audi over there,” Grace said as she switched the engine off.

  Ari was flicking through his phone. “Yep, that’s the one. All we need to do now is wait.”

  Chapter Nine

  Silence filled the confines of the car as Ari’s words played over in Grace’s head. His neighbor must be a smoker, as the air was stale, and she rolled down a window to breathe. “Do you think we’re like that?” she asked. “Only showing a carefully designed face to the other?” She dragged in a breath of fresh air and held it deep.

  “Of course we are,” Ari said as he lifted a case from the floor and undid the buckles. “But we’re still new, so it doesn’t have the power it would if we’d been together longer.” He pulled a camera from the bag and took off the lens cover.

  What did he mean by that? Before she could ask, there was movement at the restaurant door. A young woman in a red coat walked out. Her hair was a wild blond cloud around her head, and there was something oddly familiar about her.

  She walked quickly toward their car. Wasn’t she the wife of one of Yasmin’s friends?

  “That’s her,” Ari said as she moved toward a green convertible. He lifted the camera to his eye and began clicking. “Watch the door, he’ll come out soon.”

  “But that’s Carmel,” Grace said, her fingers over her lips.

  “You know her?”

  The woman now had her head down, but it was still obvious who she was.

  “Indirectly. She married Paul, a friend of Yasmin’s. Paul really wanted to get married at the Palace. They came and had a look, but Carmel’s mother was friends with Mrs. O’Malley, so they had it there.” She turned to Ari, her voice a whisper as she realized what was unfolding in front of her. “They seemed so happy. And their wedding would’ve been less than a year ago. Yasmin and Lane went and had a great time.”

  “Here he comes,” Ari said. He lifted the camera to his eye again and started clicking very quickly.

  The man was dressed in a dark suit. His slightly graying hair was impeccably groomed, and he oozed wealth. He was a distance behind the woman, but he was watching her, following. He joined Carmel at the car and touched her on the rear before opening the door for her. “This is definitely Tony Partella,” Ari said, still busy with the camera.

  “I just can’t believe it.” She turned back to Ari. “They seemed so in love, so relaxed and into each other before the wedding. And now…Paul’s going to be devastated.”

  “I’ve got enough,” Ari said.

  Grace turned to him. “So, what happens from here?”

  He started to put the camera back into its bag, seemingly unfazed by Carmel’s story. “Now I make up a report for Tony’s wife, give her all the evidence, including these photos, and she’ll do what she wants with it. As far as cases go, this one’s pretty open and shut. By the way Tony’s conducting this out in the open, not really going to too much effort to hide his behavior, I’d guess that he won’t be that upset when his wife finds out.”

  “And what is his wife likely to do with your photos?” Grace wondered if this was all a mistake. Maybe Carmel was one of the man’s work colleagues. The pat on her bottom indicated at least some level of culpability on his part, though.

  “Well, usually when a partner’s prepared to pay for my services, it means they’re willing to follow through, but not always.”

  “What do you mean?” She reeled back as if she were in some alternate universe where what she thought was reality was just smoke and mirrors.

  Ari did up the last clip on the camera case and placed it at his feet. He turned to her with the same businesslike look he’d worn when they’d started on this mission. “I’ve had one guy hire me three times already, and each time, I’ve found his wife with a different guy. Once I followed her to Florida, another time to Alaska. Unlike Tony here, it seemed like she didn’t want to be found out, but she left enough clues along the way that she was pretty easy to bust.”

  “What sort of clues?” It didn’t feel completely right to be asking about the personal lives of these people, but she had to know more, had to hope that somewhere there would be a happy ending. “What happened when you gave her husband evidence?” she asked.

  “Happens,” Ari corrected her. “It’s still going on. Each time I hand him new information he’ll confront her, they’ll have an emotional reunion where she promises not to do it again, and then six months later I’ll get another call from him.”

  “I wonder why he stays,” Grace said, as much to herself as to Ari.

  He didn’t reply, but she could tell he had his own theories.

  “What do you think his reasons are?” she asked.

  Ari shrugged. “He’s forgotten how to live his life. He’s become so dependent on her he’s lost belief in himself, or at least in the vision of himself as a happy person.”

  Carmel pulled out of the restaurant parking lot, and Grace watched while the guy made his way over to his Audi.

  “Any kids?” she asked quietly.

  “Tony, you mean? Just one. A baby boy. I’m pretty sure his wife will leave him after she sees this, but you never know.”

  Grace’s heart beat low and deep in her chest. No wonder Ari didn’t believe in marriage. Day after day he dealt with lies and deception and the destruction of a happily-ever-after. What chance did she have to convince him that there could be an alternative outcome?

  “Have there been any happy endings?” she asked, not really sure she wanted the answer.

  “Happy as in the original couple got back together?” Ari shrugged. “I really don’t know. I’ve heard from a few afterward who say they’ve never been happier now they’re single again.”

  Grace looked out the window and wished she’d never witnessed Carmel in this situation. Somehow, she almost felt complicit in deceiving Paul, and she didn’t want to feel this way ever again.

  “We can go now.” Ari threw her a smile as he fastened his seat belt. He was so calm and untouched—as if he hadn’t just witnessed the dissolution of a marriage—and it bothered her.

  She rolled her lips together, still watching the man get into the Audi. “Sure,” she said and started the engine.

  Before she could put the car in gear, he touched her hand. “Grace, what is it?”

  She paused, wondering whether now was the right time to say this. Taking her hands off the wheel, she turned to him. “I believe in what I do.”

  His forehead crumpled, but he gave her a full smile. “Sorry?”

  She pulled in a breath then let it all out in a rush. “I wouldn’t be in the wedding business if I thought it wasn’t important. If I didn’t believe that there are thousands of people out there who do take their vows seriously, I wouldn’t get up to go to work every day.”

  He nodded and leaned closer so their mouths were only inches apart. “I get that.”

  “No, I don’t think you do,” she said. “I think you imagine that I have some fantasy in my head that can never be realized, but it’s not like that at all.”

  Instead of answering her, he leaned in and placed his lips on hers, and for a moment, the drug of his closeness seemed to calm her swirling head. As she kissed him back, she felt herself fall into him, but stopped and pulled back. “The thing that makes me get up in the morning is thinking—no—knowing the lives of these two people are going to be stronger, deeper, and more magnificent because they’ve made a public declaration to the people who are the most dear to them.”

  He leaned back against his seat but still held her gaze. “And
I would argue that it’s precisely the marriage event that causes all the problems. It’s like people get into some kind of ownership situation, and they start telling their husband or wife what to do, who to be.” He touched her hand and spoke more softly. “I could be wrong, but isn’t that exactly what happened in your marriage?”

  The air in the car chilled. “That wasn’t because we got married. That was a direct result of Mark being a controlling narcissist.” She didn’t want the failure of her own marriage to be more evidence for Ari’s theory. “If I hadn’t been blinded by the chemistry that was going on between us, then I might’ve been able to see him for who he truly was before we got married.”

  Ari put a hand on hers and smiled. “We don’t have to agree on this. We can still live our lives, be together even, without agreeing on this.”

  His deep caramel gaze stayed on her as she replied in her head. No, they couldn’t go on if this major disagreement lay between them. It was everything she was about, everything she believed in, and if he didn’t agree with her on it, then they simply couldn’t be together.

  …

  Ari lay awake staring at the ceiling of his apartment, his thoughts swirling like a fog on the Hudson. It’d been three weeks since his accident, and he’d like to think it was the lack of exercise from his injured leg that was keeping him awake, but his heart told him something different.

  Grace’s head was on his shoulder, and her hand­ rested palm down on his chest, the pads of her fingers imprinted on his skin. Her soft, sleeping breaths came at regular intervals against his cheek, and as each one hit him, a new sense of indecision burned.

  They’d had fun the last few weeks, no one could argue that. There’d been family dinners and movies, days lying around talking, and it’d been nice to have some time off work while his leg had been healing. And he and Grace had become closer. But as his leg improved and he began to think about getting back to his life in the city, something ate away at him. It was clear what she wanted from him­—she hadn’t hidden it and made no excuses for it—a life of certainty and solidity. She wanted the white dress and the flower girls and a mortgage to chain them together for the next few decades. She wanted to be Mr. and Mrs., a two-headed being that would walk the earth from their wedding day onward, retreating from their real selves and the individual dreams they’d once had.

  He loved her. He was certain of it. Only because he’d never had this overwhelming, heart-hurting ache whenever he thought of being away from her. Every time he closed his eyes, it was the deep blue of her own that filled his vision. Her confidence and charisma, her sense of fun, and her ability to bring happiness to other people—those were the things he wanted to experience every day, but not within the confines of marriage. It was her laugh that kept ringing in his ears, long after she’d gone to sleep, that was his downfall.

  But in all of this there was one truth that he couldn’t ignore. Marriages damaged people. Every minute of every day he was on the job proved that fact, and it brought nobody happiness. And it wasn’t only his work that made him believe this. It was his own parents. He saw what was happening to them and to his brother-in-law–to-be, Lane, who had sacrificed so many of his own dreams for Yasmin.

  Maybe if Grace wasn’t in the business of weddings it wouldn’t be such an insurmountable issue, but she saw the act of bringing two people together as far more than a job. For Grace, as it had been to his parents when they were younger, it was a vocation, something that brought her own life personal joy and meaning. Her whole reason for being on Earth was to help a couple realize that final act of commitment, and he completely understood that she didn’t want to be a walking advertisement for divorce.

  Tension built in his body as each new thought formed in his head. Grace must have sensed it, too, because she stirred and muttered something in her sleep.

  Riding my bike will help this feeling go away.

  Accelerating along a highway, the wind sliding across his body so every cell came alive, was the only thing that would always give him peace. The guy at the shop had called last night and said his bike was finally ready, so he may as well go get it now.

  Gently, he lifted Grace’s hand and lay it on the coverlet. Brushing back a strand of her hair, he kissed her gently on the cheek and then eased himself out of bed. He’d only be gone an hour, two at most—get an Uber to the shop and ride back—but he knew in his soul that when he returned, he’d have the answer.

  He moved quietly, pulled the covers over Grace, and stepped softly away. Dragging on his jeans, he winced a little as he twisted his injured leg. Quickly, he threw on the T-shirt he’d worn last night and began to leave the room.

  He was almost at the door when Grace stirred.

  “Hey, mister.” He turned back to see that the light from sun through the window lit her up like an angel in soft focus, and he stood still, captured as he always was by her beauty. She brushed back her hair and squinted at him. “What time is it?” Her voice was a sexy whisper. “Where are you going all dressed up like that?”

  He moved back to the bed and sat down.

  “Are you okay?” she asked. “Is your leg bothering you?”

  He took her hand in his and squeezed it. “Go back to sleep, beautiful. I’m going to pick my bike up. I’ll only be an hour or so, and when I get back I’ll wake you up with a coffee.”

  Now she was fully awake. She hoisted herself up the bed until she was sitting. She attempted to pull the sheet up, but her honeyed skin was exposed.

  “Really? You can’t walk down the stairs comfortably, let alone ride a bike. And have you forgotten that it was the bike that caused the problem in the first place?”

  The muscles in his jaw tensed as he tried to smile without letting her know what he really felt. “You know it wasn’t the bike—it was the other guy who ran a red light.”

  “But it’s so unsafe,” she said. “Why don’t you just go for a drive to clear your head.” She wriggled closer to him. “I’ll drive you if you don’t think you can manage.” Her tone had become more definite.

  He blinked. This was it. This was what had been gnawing away at him in the last few weeks. He hadn’t expected it to come quite so soon—only if they were married, but here it was, staring him right in the face.

  Her hand was wooden in his grasp. “I’m sorry it’s not what you want, but I need my bike. It’s a huge part of my life, and while I understand that it scares you, it’s important to me.”

  Her face dropped. “So, you’ll leave me here, waiting and worrying that I’m going to be called out to another accident? Doesn’t that strike you as selfish?”

  He stood, knowing he should say nothing but determined that she should know how he really felt. “And don’t you think what you are asking is selfish? Expecting me to change something I love because it makes you uncomfortable?”

  She leaned back as if he’d struck her. “Have you never worried about someone?”

  “Of course, I have,” he said, aware of his cooling tone but unable to stop it. “But if I really understood someone, I would know where to draw the line—when what I asked would be too much for them, and our relationship, to bear.”

  He turned to leave.

  “This is not how relationships work, Ari.”

  He froze, his back still facing her.

  “When you’re with someone, you consider their feelings as well as your own. And when you care deeply about someone, you hope with all your heart that they care enough to respect your wishes.”

  “But it doesn’t feel like you’re doing that,” he said.

  The sound of her sucking in a breath almost made him turn around, but there would be no one winning this.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” she said. “You’re telling yourself that I’m trying to change you, ruin your life, just as you see in all of those dysfunctional relationships you deal with every day. But it’s not like that. Are you so selfish that you would do something that you know would make me upset?”


  He swung around. “And would you deny me the one thing that’s made me feel grounded since I was a teenager? Would you ask me to change that part of myself, deny that part of myself, just because it makes you feel better?”

  Silence filled his ears as he watched her face. When she spoke, her voice was hardly above a whisper. “If you love someone, yes. You’d at least consider it.”

  That was all she said, and no more explanation was needed. In her eyes he could see nothing but disappointment and sadness, and it cut him to his core.

  “Just go,” she said, sliding back down so that the covers reached her chin.

  He stayed still, knowing that whatever he did now would define their relationship forever.

  Chapter Ten

  Grace held her breath, willing Ari to take a step toward her. She’d been wanting to tell him what lay in the deepest part of her heart for a long time, and maybe if she spoke now, it would make sense to him.

  His face gave away the battle that was so clearly raging within him. He wanted to go, but it was clear that her words had affected him deeply.

  “Will you just sit for a moment?” she said.

  For a long time, he didn’t move, but finally he sat on the bed, his hands in his lap.

  She rolled the corner of the coverlet between her fingers as she pushed strength into her voice. “Ari, the reason I don’t want you to risk your life is because I’m in love with you.”

  He didn’t flinch. Didn’t move closer.

  “No,” she said, not caring if this was the right time. “Not just in love with you, but at a point where I can’t imagine my life without you.”

  His gaze searched her face, and she leaned forward to grab his hand. “I’m not asking you to stop riding your bike because I want to change you. I’m asking you to do it so that my dream of a future together doesn’t end on the freeway one morning. And who would be my driving mentor then?” she joked.

  A corner of his mouth lifted in the smallest of smiles, and her heart squeezed. She’d reached him. Even though he might not have said the L word, she could see that her concern had really touched him.