“Whatever you say.”
I’m heading towards the door but it opens before I get there. Char walks in with her head down. She’s not looking at either of us as she grabs her suitcase and starts packing up her stuff.
“What is going on, Charlotte?”
She sniffs and looks at me. Her eyes are red-rimmed and she looks like her dog just died or something.
“I think it was a mistake for me to come. I’m heading back to the airport. There is a plane leaving tonight and I can catch it if I leave now.”
“What happened, Char? I ask again because I’m still confused.
“Mace, I’m not welcome here. I shouldn’t have come. Lauren doesn’t want me to be here.”
“Oh come on, you know that’s ridiculous. Dan definitely wants you here or he wouldn’t have invited you in the first place.”
“No. I’m not about to argue with you about it. The fact is, she asked me to leave and Dan just stood there. This is their wedding, if they don’t want me here then that is totally up to them and I will respect their decision.”
She hugs me and I feel her tears on my shoulder. “I’ll see you in a few days. Have fun and don’t forget to send me more pics of you having fun. They make me smile.”
“Char, please don’t go. You just got here.” I whine.
“I have to, Mace. It’s not up to me or you.”
She leaves the room with her luggage. I don’t think she even noticed Eric. My perfect night now has a gloomy cloud over it.
“You see, this is why we should have talked to Dan before the trip. He doesn’t need to marry someone like Lauren. It will kill Dan to cut Charlotte out of his life and it looks like that is exactly what’s going to happen.”
“Oh shoot, I forgot we planned to do that. You know, I think you’re right.”
“Of course I’m right.”
He wraps his arms around me and I’m suddenly so content. I lean back against him and close my eyes.
“What do we do now? Since you apparently have all the answers.”
“I never said that. I think there has been enough drama for tonight but maybe we can catch him in the morning and have a chat. We can at least get some clarity on what happened with Charlotte.
“That’s a good idea. I guess we should go back out there.”
We leave the room and head into the common area. Everyone is still there but the overall feel of the room has shifted since Charlotte left. Parker notices us first and winks at me. He definitely knows where we’ve been. Parker and I grew pretty close over the past week. He cleared up a few things for me too. Apparently, when he first met me, he was interested in me. I can thank Eric for getting friend-zoned. When Parker asked Eric about me, apparently he couldn’t shut up about me and that’s when Parker realized that Eric had a thing for me. Parker didn’t want to get in the way of that. Because of this, he invited Eric to our date making it a non-date. He said his suspicions were confirmed during dinner and then afterward when we were fighting because there was a lot of passion behind it. Since then, he’s been trying to subtly hint to his brother that he needs to step up to the plate.
Eric must have seen his brother wink at me too because his jaw is clenched and he looks mad as hell. I turn towards him and put my hand on his chest. I lean up to his ear and whisper to him.
“Chill out, Eric. Parker knows about us. That’s why he winked at me. There was no other reason. So if you don’t want everyone here to know that you’re a crazy person then you should definitely unclench your jaw and smooth out that line on your forehead. You look like you want to murder somebody.”
He relaxes a bit and gives me a quick nod. We’re not going to start prancing around holding hands; it’s not like he’s suddenly my boyfriend, but I stick near him as we join the group.
It’s time to head to the restaurant for the rehearsal dinner so we pile into the cars. The cars we have today are smaller so we’re a bit squished. I’m ok with that though because I happen to be pressed up against Eric.
He’s got his arm behind me on the seat and he’s playing with my hair. It’s kind of adorable and makes me want to kiss his face. He’s being so sweet. If he becomes a douchebag again, I’m going to kill him. I’m half convinced he’s got some elaborate long-con going on.
After Griff and Chelsea give their toasts, we eat. Which always makes me happy. But apparently the same can’t be said for Dan. He just looks a little bit lost. He excuses himself from the table because he says he has to make a call. That doesn’t make much sense because everyone is here so I hop up and follow him out of the private room. I decide that this is a good opportunity for me to talk to him before it’s too late rather than waiting for tomorrow. I don’t like to involve myself but with Eric’s encouragement, I find that I need to speak with Dan just so I know he’s not making a mistake. I understand that it’s his mistake to make but if I can help him avoid something that will make him unhappy, I should try to help.
“Dan, slow down.” I’m not very balanced in these heels and he’s walking like a man on a mission.
“Shit, Macy. I didn’t know you were behind me. What are you doing?”
“That’s a good question, what are you doing?”
He looks so sad, I want to give him a hug. “Mace, she gave me an ultimatum and I’m trying to figure out if I made the right choice.”
I’m pretty sure I know what the ultimatum was… Char.
“So you already made your choice? Is it too late to change your mind?” I ask while hoping he says no.
We’re standing outside the restaurant now. He looks away from me. I can barely hear him speak.
“No,” he whispers. “It’s not too late.”
Here is where I overstep but that’s okay because it’s for the greater good.
“Then fix it,” I say firmly and with that, I turn around and march back inside.
I feel like I’ve been helpful. I’m proud of myself for butting in. Then I bump into Lauren as she’s heading out of the reserved room. She does not look happy and her anger is directed at me.
“What did you say to him? He just texted me saying we need to talk and that he’s heading back to my condo. I swear to God, if you ruin this for me, you’ll regret it.”
“Lauren, if you’re having problems, maybe you shouldn’t blame it on other people. I think you need to point that finger right back to yourself.” I direct my gaze at the finger she has in my face.
She shrieks out of frustration and turns around and goes back into the room.
She puts on a very fake “everything is under control” smile and addresses the room.
“Hi, everyone. Poor Dan wasn’t feeling well so he went ahead and left. I’m going to go take care of him but please finish your meals and take your time. We’ll send the cars back for you all shortly.” With that, she grabs her purse and heads out of the restaurant.
Everyone knows something is wrong but the only people with the audacity to gossip about it is Lauren’s minions.
I head towards Parker and Chelsea where I was sitting before.
“Is he okay?” Chelsea asks. Which is kind of ironic because Lauren is her twin but she’s worried about Dan.
“He will be,” I reply and we leave it at that.
Dessert is served and for once I’m not in the mood for it. I would write down the date because this is a historical event but I have a feeling I’m not going to have any problem remembering today.
I said Dan will be okay but I’m not entirely sure that I believe that. He’s such a happy guy with a good soul that something like this could break him. I don’t know that I or anyone else would be able to fix him.
We hang out at the restaurant for another hour. Once we return to the condo, we see Dan sitting in the living room. He’s waiting for us.
He takes a deep breath and then exhales. He’s struggling with what to say, that much is clear.
“Sit down guys, we need to talk.”
We all exchange worried looks and start
moving towards the couches.
“So, I’ll just come right out and say it. The wedding is off and we’re leaving in the morning. I’m sorry that your trip has to be cut short but Lauren made it clear that since her parents paid for this place that we need to leave.”
I cut in as he’s talking. “Dan we’re not worried about the trip being cut short. We’re worried about you. Are you okay?”
“I’ll be fine, I’d rather not talk about the specifics right now. Griff, can you give your sister a call and see if she’ll be able to list the new house as soon as we get back to town?”
“Of course,” he agrees as he grabs his phone and starts texting who I’m assuming is his real estate agent sister, Casey.
I feel pretty useless so I ask, “What can I do, Dan?”
“Nothing. There’s nothing really to do. Lauren is taking care of all the cancellations since she scheduled everything and I have no clue what any of it was. I guess we can just go to bed. I already changed our tickets for tomorrow. We’ll leave here around 11 and head to the airport. I’m just so sorry guys.”
“Don’t be,” Eric says and gives Dan a side hug.
Dan heads to bed, Parker goes to his room too, and Griff walks outside to call his sister. Eric and I are left standing in the living room a little unsure of what to do next.
It’s such a sad situation and my mood has definitely dovetailed since this afternoon. Eric comes up to me and gives me a hug. Like a real, full frontal hug. One hand is holding my head against him and the other is running up and down on my back. I might cry.
He whispers in my ear before he pulls away. “Don’t lock your door tonight.”
I don’t normally lock my door anyway but I’m sure this is just his way of letting me know he’ll be visiting me in the night.
I nod in agreement. Then I turn and head towards my room. First things first, I take my heels off. I cannot wait to be back home to wear my boring ballet flats. I change out of my pretty yellow dress into my pajamas. They have cute little kittens on them. I’m definitely getting a cat when I get back. Maybe Eric will come with me to the shelter. I wonder if he likes cats. What if he’s allergic? Then he won’t be able to visit me at my apartment. My clothes will probably have cat dander on them and I’ll make him sneeze all the time. That would be terrible but I can’t just give up my cat, that I don’t yet own. He’ll just have to take a Benadryl and deal with it.
I cut the lights out and crawl into bed while all the thoughts about my future cat run through my head.
I must have drifted to sleep because I jerk away when I feel the bed dip and a hand curls around my waist. Eric, at least I think it’s Eric, pulls me back towards him. He whispers his hello. Don’t worry guys, it’s Eric.
I roll over so I face him and go straight for a kiss. It’s sweet and gentle and that’s as far as it goes. I rest my head against his chest and cuddle against him. I’m so peaceful in this moment and I never want it to end.
Chapter 8
All good things come to an end. I wake up the next morning all alone in my bed. The sheets beside me are cold letting me know he’s been gone for some time. I wonder if I dreamed it.
I get up and walk into the kitchen to make myself some coffee. We still have some time before we have to leave but I still have to pack and get ready.
I’m leaning against the counter when I hear the back door shut and then Parker heads into the kitchen.
“Hey, Mace. Did you just get up?”
“Yep, where have you been?” I ask while raising one eyebrow.
“I met Chelsea at the beach to say goodbye. She’ll be heading back to Chicago tomorrow so who knows when we’ll see each other again. We decided to just say our goodbyes now. I’ll take a week with that girl over nothing, though. She’s something else.” He’s smiling but he looks a little sad.
I round the island to give him a hug. Of course, Eric comes in right at this very moment. He really does have crappy timing. But much to my surprise, this time he doesn’t get upset. He comes right up to us and hugs us both. What is up with him? Maybe it really is a tumor.
“What are we hugging for?” Eric asks.
Parker responds honestly, “I said goodbye to Chelsea. I don’t when or if I’ll ever see her again. It just kind of bummed me out. But Mace here has magic hugs and I’m feeling a bit better.”
“What about my hug, asshole?” Eric grunts out.
Parker put a hand on his shoulder and says, “Thanks, bro.” Then he heads into the living room and towards the hallway.
Eric starts heading towards me now. I start backing up and the next thing I know he has me trapped against the counter. He puts his hands on either side of me and leans in for a kiss like we do this every day or something. Once I’m thoroughly kissed, he yanks on my ponytail, smiles, and leaves the room.
What the hell?!
I have so many questions and I really think we should talk about them before we leave. Is this a thing now or was it just a vacation thing? When we get back home what will that be like? Are we going to hang out more? Are we going to kiss more? I really hope the answer is yes to that one. Is he going to come with me to pick up my cat from the shelter? These are all important questions.
I follow him into the living room and catch up with him. I pull him into my room and his gaze turns predatory. I hold up my hands and back away.
“Wait, before you get any closer. I think we need to have a talk.”
“Uh-oh, what did I do now? I left your room this morning because I didn’t think you’d want to be too obvious about it. I really didn’t want to leave, trust me. I went for a jog and then came back and took a cold shower. I was going to come in and wake you up but you were already in here hugging my brother when I got out of the shower. That was fun to walk in on.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong. I just want to know what’s going on. What is the plan for when we get back? I don’t want to rush things but I also don’t want to go back to what we were before. I don’t know what we are now.”
“Well, you’re my woman. It’s as simple as that.”
This makes me smile. “Okay, but what does that entail?”
“Well, that means I get to take you out to eat and have you for dessert. Hopefully, I’ll get to sleep the whole night with you rather than sneaking out in the early morning. We’ll hang out with our friends but we’ll also hang out with each other…. Alone.”
“I can get on board with that.” My grin is taking up my whole face now.
Then my grin fades as he says the next part.
“We should probably just keep this to ourselves right now. At least while we’re in the early stages. And I know Dan won’t mind. He’s not the type of guy to get upset about one of his friends dating his sister but he just went through a hell of a breakup and I don’t want to throw this in his face. Is that okay with you? I mean, Parker already knows but that’s it.”
He grabs my chin between his thumb and index finger and lifts my chin up so I’m looking at him. He gives me a quick kiss.
The kiss leaves my head a little fuzzy so I agree to keep our relationship a secret.
“Thanks, babe” The term of endearment is not lost on me. I’m normally not one for pet names but hearing him say it gives me butterflies. I kind of want him to keep saying it and anything else he wants to call me.
Dan cashed in his first class ticket for one in coach so he can be with us. I’m still seated by Parker while Griff and Eric are in the middle row with Dan. I’m glad they’re with him.
Parker is pretty quiet during the trip home. He just listens to music the whole time. I decide to take a nap because napping is my favorite pastime.
Once we’re back, I realize that Charlotte doesn’t know we’re coming back early so she won’t be at the airport to pick me up as we originally planning.
I get my luggage and head towards Eric.
“Hey, Eric. Can I get a ride home from you? Char was my ride but she doesn’t know we’re back early.
I can call her though if it’s too much trouble.” I’m speaking fast because suddenly I’m getting self-conscious about asking him for a favor.
He puts a hand on my shoulder. “Slow down, I’ll take you home. No big deal. You’re my woman, remember.” With that, he winks and picks up my bag.
I say my goodbyes and hug each of the guys. Then, I follow Eric out to his truck. Once we’re in his truck on the way to my apartment I remember that I forgot to ask him a very important question.
“Are you allergic to cats?”
“No, do you have a cat or something?” He asks.
“Not yet, but I’m going to get one from the shelter soon.”
He looks over at me and smiles. “I’ll come with you.” It was in this moment that I fell a little bit in love with him.
I enjoyed the trip to Mexico but there is always something nice about going home. If I’m ever away from Lakeview too long I start to miss it.
Eric drops me off at my apartment but doesn’t come inside. He does walk me to my door though and our goodbye is nothing short of steamy. I’m glad my neighbors didn’t walk by. Or maybe they did, I wouldn’t have noticed.
I unpack and take a shower because traveling always makes me feel icky. Once I’m done with that, I decide to go see Char.
I knock on her door and she answers it shortly after. She’s surprised to see me, I can see it on her face.
“What are you doing here, Macy? Please tell me you didn’t come home because you were worried about me?”
“I am worried about you but no, that’s not why I’m home.”
I follow her into the living room and take a seat on the couch. I guess it’s up to me to break the news to her. I really don’t want to do this because I know she inadvertently played a part in Dan and Lauren’s break-up so she’s totally going to blame herself for everything.
“So the thing is. They called off the wedding last night. We got home about an hour ago.”
She’s already crying and I can’t do a thing about it. So I just give her a hug as she lets it all out.
“I shouldn’t have come. It’s all my fault. Dan probably hates me now. I didn’t mean for this to happen. I just wanted to be there to see my best friend get married.”
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