“Come lets go to bed”
“Um Ian I can’t do that?” he looks at me very strangely like I grew a second head and a hump
“And why pray tell not?”
“Because I did my confession today, no more sex till we are married” the look on his face is shock he was not expecting this to come out of my mouth not after last night.
“So, no sex till Saturday?”
“Technically until after the wedding ceremony” I look at him and he is simply adorable with the brown puppy dog eyes and the big heart that is open to mine, he kisses my forehead.
“Ok so we wait till Saturday our wedding day”
“I can still kiss you can’t I?”
“Yes but you know what that turns into don’t you?”
“No what?” he is playing coy with me
“It turns into a night filled with tequila” he laughs as he hugs me in his arms
“Ok how about I take my fiancé out on last date before our wedding?”
“Now you’re talking”
Our chat really helped clear the air, Ian looks happy again, just adorable, devastatingly handsome college professor marries shop girl on Saturday that is the headline I see in my future. Ian has this overwhelming quality to console me he always has been my cheering section and my harsh look at reality when he scolds me and I have to say that is our silver lining. He kisses my forehead and I think we are going to be just fine.
“Aria are you ok?”
“Yes, just all the worrying and anxiety today I am sorry to have put you through all this”
When you love someone Aria it’s all or nothing” his words stop me in my track because that was Tristan he was all about all or nothing and since I chose nothing with him he went all the way with someone else yeah that stings a bit.
“Just let me grab my bag” Ian kisses me one last time as he whips a lonely tear from my cheek, I head to my office and check my face in the mirror I look dreadfully tear stained, cheeks flushed, sad eyes for what reason I can’t get a hold on it.
I fix my face and chuckle how Ian changed his whole terrible mood by my telling him Tristan is marrying. Mind-bogglingly I know, men can’t beat em cause we all want to marry em.
I am left reeling as to what set Ian off in the first place, he was mad and upset all day and he didn’t exactly come out with what triggered all of this, but then again I don’t want to ruin his recovery he is so like a wide-eyed child I think, how stupid of me, and how foolish, I have behaved over Tristan, over how he fucked me and then goes and buys a ring for that slut-bag-ugly-whore. I touch up my lipstick and brush my hair and head back out to Ian, my fiancé. He holds his hand out to me and I go into his arms willingly as we head out the door.
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We find ourselves at to the new chop house on St. Clair, I need a drink and Ian wants chops, for dinner so we head out for a nice relaxing dinner just us two and he gives me my wedding present.
“For you my lovely wife to be” Ian pulls out a long box from his breast pocket and places it on my plate in front of me, we are bathed in candle light and I am caught off guard.
“Go ahead sweetheart we will be so busy tomorrow I wanted to have one night alone with you and give you this”
I open the red paper carefully and discard it, a red Cartier box, wow I am like wowed beyond my comprehension, a tiny white card is on the box that reads
Aria
They say diamonds are a girl’s best friend
I’m marrying my best friend and she’s a gem
Love Ian
I smile at his card as I hug it to my heart. I do make note that he wrote it out himself how cute, I slowly open the box and there in all its splendor a diamond bracelet to match my three carat engagement ring in a platinum setting just beautiful, well Oliver’s words rush to mind ‘if it doesn’t fit it’s a disaster!’ well this matches my ring, it is a perfect fit, Ian puts it on my wrist I have never had jewels like this, they sparkle and dance, they glitter and shine so beautiful and it’s mine, just like the guy who gave it to me.
“Ian it is simply beautiful, thank you” I grab his face and kiss him, he does presents well.
“And this my dear husband to be is for you” I pull a silver wrapped box out of my Chanel bag
“For me?” he takes off the ribbon and passes it to me I roll it up around my fingers, he removes the silver paper and discards it, I move it out of his way as he holds the black leather square box with a lock on it, he is intrigued by its size and looks at me as he holds it in one hand and unlocks it with the other.
Ian smiles as he opens the box slowly “Wow oh my” he pulls out the platinum Rolex watch and looks at me with all his love and adoration.
“Look, Ian it’s even engraved” he looks at the back and smiles at me, I think he likes it.
Ian
It’s about time
You are mine
Love Aria
“Aria you are too much” he kisses me and we have no idea that the waiter has reappeared and now embarrassed as he clears his throat before it gets even more intense.
“We’re gonna need a minute” the waiter leaves us, Ian grabs my face as we are sitting in a booth I am practically on his lap as we kisses with all our heartfelt love and devotion, I moan in his mouth as he now cradles my head in his arms so no one see’s me and I love him for all he is right now. He kisses me like Rodin sculpture and I love him for that.
“I love you so much Aria” his forehead pressed to mine as we both catch our breath. I lick my lips and whip my lipstick from his mouth he smiles at me and kisses my nose.
“Ian sometimes you really take my breath away” I am resting in the crook of his arm looking up at him.
“Aria you have always blown me away, heart, mind and soul, you own me” one last kiss and our drinks come, as we pull ourselves together and realize we are in public and the restaurant is now filling up.
We feast on French onion soup, made with sherry and sweet onions and crusty French bread, the most perfect chops, stuffed with cranberries and fontina cheese, seared to a golden hue and finished in the oven to perfection. The Pinot Grigio was just perfect with the meal. I have to admit I get a bit tipsy as I spend one last night with the man I am going to marry. We are every bit the happy couple again, ready for our big day. I’ll be the first to admit it, has been a very trying week, I have faced my past, I have survived my present and I am looking forward to my future.
Ian pours the last two glasses and empties the bottle.
“To our last night out as an engaged couple, I love you, I will always cherish you Aria and I will try every day to make you happy” I smile at his words he looks so young and happy I just love him right now.
“Ian to our new life together” we clink our glasses and drink up, we spend out last date out as us, having a nice meal and enjoying one another with a few trinkets I look at my bracelet as it sparkles and wow I am that kind of girls with diamonds. Pretty nice.
On the ride home I call to mind all that is great about us, and I feel there is enough to build on, he loves me that is half the battle right there, I adore him, I always have, and I always will, we respect one another and we are comfortable with one another, our sex life is going in the right direction thank God.
We get home and I sit on the bed as Ian packed his bag, I have his tuxedo in a garment bag all ready for him, he grabs what he needs for the wedding, he is staying at his parent’s house until the wedding. I sit and help him as he puts everything neatly in his coach suitcase.
“Is your dress here Aria?”
“No, Erika is helping me bring it home tomorrow”
“Well we will see one another tomorrow for the rehearsal dinner and then it’s Mr. & Mrs. Bollinger from there on.” He leans down and kisses me sweetly.
“Ian don’t go stay with me” he kisses me again as he grabs his suitcase off the bed and puts it on the floor. He lowers me onto the bed and he kisses me, we are both all hands and mouth and
I am pulling his hair from its follicle as I hold him to my face, his tongue is in my mouth and he is like this sex God that I can’t resist. I am wearing his black t shirt and he is reaching under as he discovers I have no panties on, he tantalized me as his knowing fingers ascertain that I am wet for him, he comes up for air,
“Dark eyes you are so deliciously wet” he presses his forehead to mine.
“Aria do you want me to make you come” I am lying on the bed breathing rapidly as he hovers over me, I want him, his fingers are moving over my clitoris and I am falling victim to his knowing determination
“Ian don’t make me come” no I can’t do this I am all enthralled as I struggle and fight the internal battle then suddenly he stops and the temperature between us grows a few degree colder he looks at me and says nothing as he pushes back his hair
“No Ian I can’t we have to wait ok”
“Saturday I’m fucking you till you beg me to stop” he is exasperated I do this to him, I know I am a glutton for my own punishment, by rights he should pillage me desecrate me in ways unbeknownst to myself.
“I’m holding you to that Ian” I go to kiss him and he pulls away
“You kiss me again and I am fucking you and staying the night” he is stern and I can tell sexually frustrated, but we both laugh as we let the air clear between us.
He finishes packing and I help him with his bags, he hugs me good bye and I kiss his chest
“I will miss you”
“I already miss you Ian”
“Good that is the nicest thing I have ever heard” He hugs me at the door.
Lock this up” I nod as he walks out to his car, I watch him puts his bags in the back seat.
Ian” I run up to him in bare feet just wearing his t shirt he picks me up in his arms as I wrap my legs around him as we kiss and kiss and KISS.
“Now that is how I expect you to say good bye to me when I leave everyday Aria”
“You got it” he puts me down and we look at each other.
“Now go inside you have no clothes are and you know what that does to me, I will call you later”
“Ok I will see you tomorrow” he gets in his car and drives off slowly just looking at me I wave to him and blow him one last kiss.
Chapter 37
IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU
June 29, 2012
It’s the Friday before the wedding; Ian is staying at his parent’s. I wake up to an empty bed but a linger of him is still here as I grab his pillow and hug it to me, it smells of him, I’m wearing his t shirt that smells of him and it warms me a bit.
The house seems so quiet, I get up and walk downstairs and make some coffee, I have not had a moment to myself for over a month. I am alone as I walk around my home and look at the family pictures that adorn the living room, my mom and dad’s wedding picture, gosh they both look so clueless. My brothers and sisters, the grand kids, the photos of my grandparents it’s all here, it’s been here for years, this is our family home the huge mirror that flanks the fireplace is over one hundred years old, my father’s bass in still in the corner where he left it, the kids pick it up every once in a while and play it. I know Ian would much rather move and start fresh.
I really don’t want to leave here but if he is not happy here I can’t make him stay. I walk around and I sigh it’s been just me and Mona Lisa for the past two years and after tomorrow it will be the three of us. I often wonder what my life would have been like if I had stayed in France after college like I wanted to. It was my dream to be a seamstress in the fashion houses and work with the designers, models and the shows it was all I ever wanted when I was a teenager. My real dream was to also own a vineyard and the thought of how Tristan went after my dream makes my heart ache, that life will never be, as he is marrying someone else, wonder if he married by now? I have not seen him in over a week.
I glance at my mom and dad’s wedding photo on the mantel. Things changed when my father died, my mom got sick and it was too much for her on her own so I stayed and took care of her, she is living with my sister now and doing great with their growing family, my mom loves it there.
I sip my coffee and walk over to my piano this was my first big splurge from a bonus at my old job in sales where Tristan and I met. I remember the day they delivered it, Tristan was arrested for speeding but they called it drag racing he was clocked at 180 mph, he buried the needle, they towed his new Porsche and I was the lucky one that had to go and bail him out. It seems like a lifetime ago.
He was such a bad boy when I first met him, tough, arrogant, audacious and I was shy and reserved, we just hit it off, we had a great time while it lasted, we made a lot of money together, we drove one another crazy, we were inseparable. Tristan was exciting, we worked well together, we were successful, thriving in the corporate world and full of pleasure, he made me feel alive and when it got too serious he bailed and I fell apart.
Funny how the same thing happened yet again, except now I have Ian to soften the blow of his actions. Ian has always been my comfort, a shoulder to cry on and a true friend who always looks out for me, he would never hurt me the way Tristan has.
I look around my house and the one reason I moved from my old place was I couldn’t face the walls, the memories I had of Tristan they haunted me, and look at me, here I am again with memories of him in my house, this is what I didn’t want. If we never meet again will I be ok? I wonder how he is doing? Oh well I guess this too shall pass, the sadness, the anxiety too much time to contemplate the what if’s.
It’s funny how I look back at what has happened this month, I am about to be married to Ian Bollinger, six weeks ago my life was charting a different course, I was single with nothing but work on my mind and now I am to start a new chapter with new people, new routines and a husband to look after. I should be happier than I am.
Tristan was not even a thought and now he is somewhere between back burner and heart’s desire. Wait did I just admit that to myself? Yes I did and its true Tristan was my first love, I have missed him and I have put all that aside to focus on my career, and now all that I have chased after, all I have accomplished it just doesn’t seem enough anymore. I know my friends who married out of high school and raised a family have regrets that they didn’t chase after a career, well I am the one who chased after the career and did not have children and now being the age that I am if children are an option it has to be sooner rather than later.
Tristan was right when he said that, as a matter a fact he was right about a lot of things, but I refused to admit it and Ian yesterday what was it that hurt him so, he never fessed up to anything he was just so happy to hear that Tristan was indeed gone out of the picture and engaged.
I am going to have to put Tristan aside and focus on my new life, easier said than done, but I will do it, I have to. Ian loves me; he is the one who was hurt most of all, he is the innocent bystander in all of this.
I do love him and I have always worried about him, he has always been a loner out there in the world, traveling, teaching, giving of himself to better someone else, his kindness knows no bounds, he is honorable, sweet and he loves me, I know we have issues and hurdles to overcome but I think in time we will be great for one another. The only part that saddens me is that I have to remind myself about this.
I must find a way to bury Tristan’s memories he has dazzled me beyond belief no doubt, and Tristan’s words do haunt me ‘I need to honor this ring on my finger’ I will have the honor of being Mrs. Ian Bollinger, I will take care of him, watch over him and show him how much I do love him, and that is why I said yes to Ian.
I look at the clock on the kitchen wall its seven fifty five, I better get in the shower and get to work it’s my last day as single girl, it’s my last day at work and it’s the last time I’m bringing up Tristan. On that note I went upstairs and jumped in the shower.
I’m wearing my red Ralph Lauren linen dress with matching heels, I put my hair in a French twist and head out to take on the day.
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Work today is Business as Usual, busy, clients in and out all day, it’s almost like a cocktail party from lunch till four, then we get to catch up on shipments and internet sales as well as just catching up with each other meaning Oliver and I.
“You’ll be there won’t you?”
“Aria you are the sister I never knew I always wanted”
“You’re sweet”
It’s about four or so in the afternoon, Oliver and I are going over receipts and what needs to be done over the next two weeks while I am gone on my honeymoon.
“Oliver I need you to please go through the holds and call for them to pick up”
“The Tower Centre meeting is next week the binder is on my desk in my office.”
“I also tried to tie down a date for the Christmas cocktail party for all of our preferred customers I don’t want the dates to conflict with the party here at Tower Centre.”
“Aria, don’t worry I will handle everything, just forget about this place and be happy.”
“Oliver I wish it was as easy as that, I’ve never been away from the business for this long”
“Aria life is what you make of it.”
“I'm afraid I'm not sure what to make of it anymore”
RING A DING, DING
signals us that someone has walked through our doors of our most humble establishment.
A tall gentleman in a bowler and dark suit walks in and immediately a smile appears on my face.
“Hello there Miss Aria, lovely to see you again”
“Hello Cheswick lovely to see you too”
Oliver looks at me and then at the English gentlemen in a bowler and then
A Wedding Affair (The Wedding Affair) Page 48