Vote Then Read: Volume III

by Aleatha Romig

  I dial the phone and keep the small talk with Jessica to a minimum, and she finally gets him on the phone.

  “Hi, it’s Elle. Listen, I’ll try to keep this long story short, but I made a huge mistake. I walked away from the most important person in the world because I was an idiot. I’m hoping that you’ll be willing to help me make it right.”

  He agrees to listen, and I tell him my plan.

  Chapter 35

  I’m packing up the last of my office when Natasha comes across the hall and leans, arms crossed, against the door frame. An exaggerated frown drags down the corners of her lips.

  “I’m going to be so sad without you across the hall, Noah.” She steps forward into my office, even though I didn’t invite her in. “Can I help you with anything?” She drags her fingertip across the edge of my desk as she steps closer.

  “I’m good, thanks.”

  She leans against the edge of my desk, edging the hem of her already short skirt a little higher. She leans back, putting her palm flat against the desk and looking at me over her shoulder. “You know, Noah, there’s a great little tapas bar in this neighborhood. We could…go there after work and celebrate your promotion.” Her honey-colored eyes meet mine. “Or, I could whip you up something tasty at my place.”

  I stop boxing up the contents of the credenza and turn to her. “Look, Natasha, you seem nice. You know you’re gorgeous. There was a time when I would’ve taken you up on that offer in a heartbeat. Right now, though, my head’s in a different place.” Not to mention my heart. “I’m afraid you’re barking up the wrong tree, here.”

  She crosses her arms and shrugs as she stands up from the edge of the desk. “Pity. We could’ve had some fun.” Her walk over to the door is slow and sultry. Before she leaves my office, she throws a glance back over her shoulder. “If you change your mind, let me know. I might be around.”

  It’s clear what she was asking. Part of me wishes I could just shut my brain off and spend a night with Natasha or a girl like her, forgetting all about Elle, but I know that wouldn’t happen. Spending a night with someone else would probably just make me feel worse.

  When I get upstairs, the last box in my hand, Jessica tells me that Donovan is looking for me.

  I walk down the hall to his door and tap on the doorframe. “You wanted to see me, sir?”

  “Yeah, come on in, Noah. Have a seat.” I sit in the wide leather chair across from his desk.

  “Everything okay?” I’ve barely gotten started in my new role, so I doubt I could’ve fucked things up too badly yet.

  “We’ve got an unexpected opportunity, and I want to make the most of it. A buddy of mine got in touch. He heard that there are representatives from a huge Japanese outdoor store in Las Vegas this week, all touring the big retail call center that’s out there, trying to win best practices. He got us a meeting with them. We have to get out there immediately, though. Is that a problem for you?” Donovan’s gaze is measured, sizing up my response as he sits back in his chair.

  “No, sir. I can leave anytime.” I mean, it’s not like I’ve got a wife or fiancee to go home to or anything, so why the hell not?

  “I’m glad to hear it. Prepare to be out there all week. Jessica has the arrangements ready.” He stands and reaches his hand out. “I’m glad we’ve got you in the new role, Noah. I have every confidence in you.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  I turn to walk out of his office, and he says one more thing, which strikes me as a little strange. “Good seeing Elle the other day, wasn’t it? Not sure she’s meant for life down there, though. Maybe we’ll get her back one day.”

  I scoff. “I guess you never know.”

  By six in the evening, I’m walking into the lobby of the Venetian, trying not to be creeped out by the level of deja vu I feel being here again. I walk up to the front desk to check in, where the room key is already waiting for me.

  “Your colleague checked in earlier. Here’s your key, Mr. Adler,” the polite clerk behind the counter tells me. I head toward the elevator, and when I look at the keycard to check the floor, my jaw tenses.

  You have got to be fucking kidding me. It’s the same damn room number. I’m going to be staying in the same suite where I proposed to Elle—the one where she rejected me. Perfect. This is just what I need.

  I text Donovan that I’ve arrived as I walk down the hallway. His reply comes quick.

  SEAN: Drop your bags and head out to the balcony. I left a little something for you.

  I hope it’s liquor, and lots of it.

  SEAN: and in case you’re wondering, I’m not there and there is no reason. Sorry for the lies but I hope when you see why, you’ll understand. Good luck, Noah.

  Well, if that’s not some cryptic shit, I don’t know what is.

  Inside the suite, I drop my bag and walk toward the French doors. When I open them and look out, the whole balcony is strewn with lights, and candles cover every surface.

  What the fuck is going on?

  I turn, and there, standing against the wall beside the door is the most beautiful site I’ve ever seen. She has on a lilac sundress, the one she was wearing that day we stopped at the Disney store, and it’s definitely perfect because to me, she looks like a damned princess. I don’t know how she got even more beautiful since the last time I saw here, but standing in front of me, a wild cascade of red curls spilling across her shoulders, she literally takes my breath away.

  Elle steps forward, closing the space between us.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask her, cautiously.

  “I left something here that I needed.”

  “Oh yeah? What might that be?” My heart is thumping out of control, my mouth is dry, my skin is hot and my pulse throbs in my neck.

  I hope to God all this is real, and she’s here because she loves me. If she’s not, if it’s something else, I don’t think my heart will take it.

  “Someone told me that bravery is facing fear, not the absence of fear. I was so focused on what it might be like to lose you, that it became the very thing I caused to happen.” She steps closer, her big, blue eyes are moist, and her nose and cheeks are a little pink. I reach out and stroke her cheek with my fingertips, something I couldn’t stop myself from doing if I tried.

  When she gets a little closer, she tentatively raises her hand, her fingertips brushing my chest, and that’s it. I have to hold her. I reach out and pull her to me. Looking down, I tell her how amazingly beautiful she looks. “These past couple of months have been the worst, sweetheart. I never knew I could miss someone so much.”

  “Me, too.” Her voice cracks, and a tear falls, but she’s smiling. “You asked me, that night we were here on the balcony, if I loved you. Noah, I’ve loved you since way before I even understood what real love is. I know I did all the wrong things, I get that, but I just can’t be whole without you in my life.”

  I close my eyes for just a moment, letting it all sink in. I love her. I want her more than anything, but I can’t have her running off every time something gets hard. “So, what is it that you want, Elle. What are we?”

  “I want you, Noah. I love you and I want to be with you.” She blinks as she smiles up at me and damn if she doesn’t look spectacularly beautiful standing here in the waning light of the desert sun.

  “I love you too, sweetheart, but…I can’t live every day thinking you’re going to take off on me again…and I don’t know if I can go back to being friends, if I’m honest. I’m not sure where that leaves us.”

  “Well, I thought about that.” She presses her palms to my chest and pushes herself back, a mischievous grin painted across her lips. “And I thought about what might show you that I’m serious, and it just so happens to be the very thing I want the most, even though I didn’t realize it at first.”

  Elle takes a couple of steps backward and looks up at me, her gaze steely and determined. “Noah, you’ve been my best friend for years. We’ve laughed together, and cried together.
We’ve had fun, and we’ve fought like cats and dogs. There’s one thing we’ve never done, though, and it’s something we should’ve done a long time ago. After all, a smart guy told me once that we were a couple already.” She gives me an impish grin as she quotes my own words back to me, and kneels down on the floor, retrieving something from the pocket of her dress. “Noah, I’m in love with you and no matter what, I always will be. I should’ve said yes to you the night you proposed, but I was a complete fool. Will you say yes to me now?” She holds up what I can see is a wedding band and it’s about the right size for me. “Do you still want to marry me, Noah?”

  I drop to my knees and hold her jaw with my finger tips, pulling her face close to mine and then crashing my lips down on hers. She lets out a little whimper as she melts into me, and it’s the best fucking thing. After we kiss for not nearly long enough, I pull my lips from hers long enough to press the words against her mouth. “Fuck yeah, I do.”

  Then, I kiss her harder, deeper, and pull her down to the ground, pulling her close as I deepen our kiss.

  Suddenly, the sweet taste of my girl’s lips, the feel of her warm body beneath mine are the only things that exist. A few moments later, I hear a disembodied voice whisper yell form behind us in the doorway, breaking the spell of this perfection.

  “Well, what did he say? Did he say yes?” I look up to see Doctor Bailey and I chuckle.

  “Dad! You’re supposed to wait in the other room with everyone else! Privacy. Seriously, maybe you’ve heard of it?” She blows out a breath and rolls her eyes, then looks at me. “On second thought, are you sure you want to be related to the people?”

  I laugh and kiss the tip of her nose. “More sure than anything, but…why are they here, exactly?”

  “For the wedding, of course!” Elle’s mom comes sashaying out onto the patio, two glasses of champagne in her hands, which she hands to us as we get up from our position of rolling around on the floor. “Elle, he’s got a beard! A very, very sexy beard.”

  She wriggles her brows at me as she runs her perfectly manicured fingers across my jaw and Elle responds through gritted teeth. “Mom! Seriously!”

  “Wait, what wedding are they talking about?”

  “Well, before, when we were here, you said you’d walk down to the strip and marry me in a heartbeat. I was hoping…you still might. That’s why I had everyone fly in. Dad helped me arrange it all. Peter and your parents are in the next suite over.” She crooks her thumb over her shoulder just in time for me to see my parents and brother waving from the adjacent balcony.

  “Really? You want to get married tonight?” Her head tips up and down and a broad smile crosses my face. “Hell, yeah! Then, let’s do this.” I pull her into a deep kiss, and both our assembled families clap and cheer.

  “Can we hurry this up? I’m starving and I hear there’s a great buffet next to the chapel.” I hear Andy’s voice as he joins us on the balcony. “Besides, I’m sick of hearing you two whine about how not married you are.” He rolls his eyes playfully.

  “Can’t happen soon enough for me.” I reply.

  I cradle Elle’s face in my palms and look down at her. “God, I love you so much. I didn’t even know it was possible to love someone like this.” Her eyes are rimmed with water as she smiles one of those blindingly bright smiles of hers. “And I’m glad I never took this thing out of my wallet.”

  I drop my hands and retrieve my wallet as Elle looks nervously from me to her parents behind her, wondering what I’m up to. From the inside fold, I retrieve a small circle of platinum—the same one she pressed into my palm at the airport. When I hold it up, her brows dip and her chin begins to quiver.

  “Don’t take it off again, okay?” I ask, and she doesn’t seem to be able to answer without breaking into tears so she just nods and mouths the word, okay.

  She holds up a trembling hand and I slip the engagement ring on her left hand.

  As painful as it is to leave my fiancee for even a minute, at both our mothers’ insistence, I head over to the suite next door so I can get ready to marry the girl of my dreams.

  Chapter 36

  I’m sitting in a bathroom that’s bigger than my apartment—the apartment I’m about to give up. I’ve been in this room before. The last time, I was, to be honest, terrified. Now, though, I’m certain. I’m more certain than I’ve ever been about anything. I thought, before, that I was taking a gamble if I chose to be with Noah. There’s no risk here, though. Not really. I love him and he loves me and that’s all I need to know.

  “Honey, you look absolutely…just…,” my Mom can’t finish her thought without first wiping away a tear. “You are the most beautiful thing in the world, Ariel, and I wish I had told you that more before today. You’re like one perfect little ruby in a world full of glass. You’re my perfect little treasure.”

  She squeezes my shoulders and I turn to look up at her. “You—you really mean that? You think I’m beautiful?”

  Her head tips to the side a little, and her pillowy lips purse as her brows furrow. “Oh, darling, I’ve always thought so. You’re beautiful inside and out.”

  There’s a tapping sound on the frame of the bathroom door. “I’m so sorry to interrupt.” Mrs. Adler walks into the bathroom. “But, for the record, I couldn’t agree more. You’re two of the loveliest women I’ve ever met, and I’m so proud you chose my son, Elle.”

  I stand and hug them both carefully, not wanting to ruin my makeup, or theirs.

  “I wanted to give you something, if that’s okay with you, Joann?” Noah’s mom looks at mine and she nods, smiling softly.

  “Noah didn’t know his great-grandmother. She had a tough life. She escaped poverty and an abusive husband and worked for her passage to come to America. When she got here, she worked three jobs, and still found time to take classes and get an education.” She looks down at the small box in her hand. “In a time when it wasn’t a popular choice, she finished college and made her own money. She started one of the first hair salons in Maryland. She met a good man, but before she got married, she bought herself this ring. She used to tell my mother than the ring on her left hand, the one my grandfather had given her, that one was the one she was fated to wear. The one on her right, that one was to remind her of how she made her own way in the world.”

  She hands me the box she’s holding, and when I open it, I suck in a deep breath. “It’s stunning, Mrs. Adler.”

  “It’s Eleanor, please. And I’m glad you appreciate it as much as I do.”

  “Is this going to be Ariel’s something borrowed?” Mom touches her fingertips to Eleanor’s arm, and puts her other palm up to her heart.

  “No, Joann, just her something blue.” She turns to me. “I always wanted to pass this down to a daughter, but it seems right that it goes to my daughter-in-law instead. Would you like to have it?”

  “It’s too much! I couldn’t…,” I shake my head, but she puts her hand on my shoulder. “It would make Noah happy to see you in his great-grandmother’s sapphire, and it would make me happy, too, dear. Please accept it.”

  I slip the ring on the ring finger of my right hand, and it’s like it was made just for me. “I don’t know how to thank you.”

  “Just be good to my boy.” She strokes my cheek with her fingertips, and Mom nudges her. “Oh, right. And if you could give us some grand babies, too. I mean, when you have time. No rush. Just next year, maybe.” She winks at Mom and the two burst out laughing.

  “Okay, so something borrowed.” Mom unhooks the teardrop diamond in the platinum setting she’s wearing around her neck. It’s one that Dad gave her for their twentieth anniversary, and it’s her favorite piece of jewelry. “Would you like to wear this? It should hang just perfectly on you.”

  I lift my hair and she puts it on for me. “Thanks, Mom.”

  “Now, that one’s not a keeper. You can have it in fifty or sixty years when I’m dead.” She winks and I laugh. “One final touch. This one is from your father. H
e made me promise to tell you, over and over, that this is because you’ll always be his princess.

  She hands me a big, flat box, and when I open it, I’m instantly five years old.

  It’s a fucking tiara.

  I literally squeal. “Put it on me! Put it on me!”

  Both moms laugh as they stand on either side of me, pinning it into my hair.

  They help me step into my gown and zip me up, and I put on something I rarely wear: a pair of heels. My skirt has so many layers of crinoline that it stands almost straight out and my heart sings with girly satisfaction. Standing in front of the mirror, I know I should look demure and ladylike, but I can’t. For once, I look at myself and think I look too damn good. I’m proud of myself, so I own it. I put my hands on my hips and power pose.

  I moved across the world and took a big job. I showed my boobs in public. I proposed to the man I love. Well re-proposed, but I’m still counting it.

  I’m wearing a tiara and I feel fierce.

  “So, are you ready?” Mom asks.

  I turn to them and hug them each in turn. “Thank you for everything, Mom, Eleanor. I couldn’t have done this without both of you. I’m ready, but I think I want to take a separate car to the chapel, if that’s okay.” They exchange a look. “No, no, nothing like that. I just want to clear my head and think about what I want to tell Noah at the altar, if that’s alright with you.”

  They nod, and we head downstairs together. The guys, including our dads, already went to the chapel with Noah. The doorman hails a taxi for our moms, and a few minutes later, I climb into the limo that Dad reserved for me.

  “Could you wait just a moment before you take off, please?” I ask the driver, wanting a sip of champagne but not wanting to risk spilling it on my dress. After I gulp down half a flute full, I tell him I’m ready.

  In the back of the car, I think about how lucky I am. I’m going to get all those TV-show marathons and shared dinners. I’m going to get weekend getaways and late night board games. I’m going to get to have sex—real sex—with the hottest guy on the planet any time I want. Best of all, he loves me, just as much as I love him. That’s what I want to tell him, but then again, maybe I don’t have to. He already knows.