No, I think to myself. And I’m not going to worry about why I wasn’t asked to plan it either.
“Um, not tonight but I did plan their grand opening event and because of that I was invited tonight.”
“What a small world,” she exclaims. “My boyfriend is one of the attorneys with this firm.”
Interesting. Maybe she can find out who planned this dinner. Okay, I admit I’m curious as to possible competition.
“I’m sorry, love,” Ace whispers in my ear. I smile from ear to ear. Kami raises her eyebrows when she sees Ace. I’m not surprised because this is usually the reaction when women meet him.
“Ace, meet Kami, one of Abby’s friends. They used to teach together, right?” I ask her.
She nods. “Wait. Ace? As in the Ace, the one who Abby named her son after?” Ace gives her is million-dollar smile and nods proudly.
“Not exactly,” I say. “Abby liked the name Ace, but he wasn’t exactly named after him.” I poke Ace in the ribs. “She barely knew you when she had the baby.”
Ace loves that someone is named after him. Granted, Abby did choose the baby’s name after she met him.
“Oh, that’s right,” Kami says. “You two started dating around that time. I remember Abby telling us the story.”
Just then, we’re interrupted. “Babe, we should head to our seats.” I look up to see it’s the same tall guy that was just talking to Lisa. Wait a second; I wonder if Kami’s boyfriend is the one who Lisa was involved with. No freaking way.
“Oh yes,” she says quickly. “Great seeing you, Sienna. Find me later and we can chat.” She walks off before I can say anything. Now I’m even more curious; of course, it’s none of my business but this does make me wonder about Lisa and exactly how trustworthy she really is. This doesn’t exactly make me feel good about the situation. Kami is such a nice person and it would be horrible if her boyfriend is or was cheating on her with Lisa. No one deserves that, I should know.
I’m completely distracted through dinner. Ace, of course, has met tons of friends and is busy talking with the people at our table. I try to look around the room to see if there is any drama. Why am I so worried about this? I should be using this time to network, instead I’m embroiled in a situation that I have no business being involved in. Unfortunately, because of my own experiences, I take this kind of thing seriously. I need to call Abby to get more information, so I excuse myself. Ace hardly notices since he is deep in a discussion about offshore accounts. I still don’t know what those are but I guess they’re a big deal.
*~*~*
“Wait, slow down,” Abby says. I’m talking so fast, trying to fill her in on what’s happening. I know I should not be getting involved in this.
“Sienna, there is no way. Kami and Mike have been together forever. He’s not the type to do that. Matt and I have hung out with them before. He’s a good guy.”
I remind her about Luke and how we didn’t think he was the type either.
“Uh . . . honestly, I doubt it,” she says. “I’m sure there was another reason they were talking. If Lisa was involved with someone, maybe Mike knows about it. I doubt he’s the guy. But, why do you care so much, you barely know Kami?”
She’s right and I need to stop. Just because they were talking doesn’t mean that Mike is the guy. After I get off the phone, I stop at the restroom and head back to my seat. When I get back to the table, Ace is not there. The room is all abuzz and everyone is excitedly chatting. Did I miss something? I ask everyone at our table where Ace went, and they said he got up a few minutes ago after the special announcement. I’m so confused.
“What was the special announcement?” I ask curiously.
“One of those annoying public proposals,” the woman across the table says. “Honestly, how tacky can you be to propose at a business function?” She’s obviously not impressed and continues drinking her martini.
I look around to scope out everything until I see Kami and her man walking around shaking hands and hugging people. No freaking way. They got engaged tonight. My head is spinning, and where did Ace go? I excuse myself again to search for Ace. I wander around until I hear loud sobbing. I follow the sound and peek around the corner. I see Lisa crying and Ace next to her, leaning on the wall. I don’t let them know I’m there and just listen. I’m totally justified in eavesdropping considering he’s my fiancé.
“I should have known,” she wails. “I had heard he had a girlfriend, but once again, I make another bad decision. What’s wrong with me?”
I peek again to see Ace hand her another tissue. “Does she know about you?” I hear him ask.
“No.” She pauses. “At least, I don’t think so.” She blows her nose. “We ended things about a month ago, but I’m still trying to get over it. He begged me not to tell anyone.”
I knew it. So, Mike is the jerk as I suspected. I could tell by how upset Lisa was when they were talking. I can’t believe this, what am I supposed to do now? Do I tell Abby about this? Should I pretend I don’t know anything? I’m so torn because, after all that I went through, I would want to know the truth, especially before getting married.
“This is all my fault,” she says through her sobs.
“This is not all your fault,” Ace insists. I peek around the corner again to see that Ace is still leaning against the wall.
“Yes, it is,” she wails. “If I had never broken up with you, I wouldn’t be at this point in my life right now. I would be with you and we would be happy. That was the worst decision I ever made and the beginning of many mistakes. I wish I could take it back.”
I freeze. I shouldn’t be listening to this right now. I see her wrap her arms around his neck and I can’t move. I feel like I’m in a time machine going back a few years to when I peeked around the corner and caught Luke with Carrie. My heart starts to race and I feel dizzy. I don’t know what to do, so I turn and run. I have to get out of here. I run out the door and wave for a cab.
*~*~*
There are reasons I don’t drink. For one, nothing good ever comes from it, at least not for me. I can remember a night at a frat party in college when too many wine coolers had me down for the count for several days. Or that time I had cheap Chardonnay at an event at the House of Blues. Maybe I should make a public service announcement—there should be a warning—do not swing dance while drinking cheap Chardonnay.
Of course, when you’re in college, it’s a rite of passage or something like that, but not now. I don’t know what’s prompted this trip down memory lane . . . perhaps it’s my meltdown after peeking around the corner and seeing Ace and Lisa together. All that I know is here I am in my late 20s, drinking alone in my apartment, and nothing sophisticated like a vintage bottle of wine from Napa. Nope, it’s beer—disgusting beer. I’m drinking this because that’s all I had in my fridge, and it may be expired, too. Does beer even expire? I have an issue with expiration dates; actually, it could be a phobia. I wonder if there really is a phobia of expiration dates. I gag after taking a long sip. I’m not someone who tries to drown her sorrows with alcohol, so what am I doing? I walk over to the sink and pour out the remainder of the bottle.
I ignore the horrible aftertaste and sit down at the table. I drop my head down and breathe. I probably should check my phone. It takes me a few minutes to dig my phone out of my bag. Am I already drunk, on half a beer?
When I find my phone, I see that I have twenty missed calls from Ace. Twenty? I didn’t stick around to see what happened with Ace and Lisa. I’m sure he’s wondering where I am. I’ve replayed it over and over in my mind, and the truth is he didn’t do anything wrong—at least not before I escaped. They were just talking, actually she was talking and he was listening. My heart sinks into my stomach; I completely overreacted. I should have run around the corner and told her to get her slutty hands off my man. But, no, I froze and then I panicked and ran away. Now I have to figure out how to explain my disappearance to Ace, and I still need to decide if I should say anythin
g to Abby about Kami’s dirtbag boyfriend/fiancé.
All of a sudden, I hear loud banging on the door followed by keys jingling. The door flies open and there is Ace looking absolutely frantic. I’ve never seen Ace look anything other than calm and collected, so this is a different side of him. Even when he’s dealing with a major work issue, he still keeps it together. I feel so bad.
“Sienna. What the hell? Where have you been?” he yells.
I’m completely still. I have no idea where to begin.
He runs over to me and throws his arms around me but then pulls away.
“What is that . . . have you been drinking?”
I nod sheepishly. “Sort of. I had half a beer and it was gross. It might have been expired, too. You know how I am about expiration dates. Do you think I could get food poisoning from expired beer?”
Ace sits down at the table and puts his face in his hands. “Please tell me what the hell is going on here? I almost called the police. And here you are at home, drinking, and I have no idea what’s going on.”
I twist my hands together trying to think of the right words to explain my disappearing act.
“How’s Lisa?” My voice is a little above a whisper.
He glares at me. “Are you serious? Did you leave the party without a word because of Lisa?”
Oh crap. He’s mad, really mad. I didn’t think he got mad, ever. At least not this mad.
I fold my arms and put on my bravest face but inside my heart is racing. “I heard everything. She makes me absolutely sick. Do you know that Kami is a wonderful person? That poor girl has no idea that her fiancé was hooking up with that tramp? She doesn’t deserve what they have done to her.”
Ace looks perplexed. “Hold on. Please start from the beginning. What does this have to do with us, and why did you leave? And why did you drink a beer?”
I start from the beginning. The very beginning when Craig told me about the scandal that involved Lisa and the mystery guy at work, who I now know is Mike, Kami’s new fiancé. I tell him about calling Abby and then returning to the table to find him gone.
“I went looking for you and that’s when I saw you with her. I listened from around the corner. I heard her tell you that she made a mistake when she broke up with you and I saw her wrap her arms around your neck . . . and then I left.”
Ace rubs his forehead. My heart is beating so fast. How have we gotten to this point? Have my insecurities finally gotten the best of me?
“I . . . I shouldn’t have left without telling you. I’m sorry about that and that I worried you.”
He grits his teeth. “Sienna, what more do I have to do to prove I’m one hundred percent committed to you and our future? Please tell me because this has to stop.”
I look down at the floor. That’s a really good question. The truth is there isn’t anything more he can do. Ace has proven how much he loves me time and time again. This is all on me.
“Would you like me to tell you everything that happened tonight?” he asks.
“Yes,” I say cautiously. I’m so emotionally drained, but I want to know. I need to know, even if I’m not going to like it.
He lets out a deep breath. I knew he was holding his breath, trying to keep calm. This is new to me, seeing this kind of emotion from him.
“When you left the table, there was a big surprise announcement. Mike . . . your friends’ boyfriend proposed to her.”
“Abby’s friend,” I interrupt.
He holds up his hand. “All right, Abby’s friend. Anyway, Lisa was standing off to the side and she dropped her wine glass—glass shattered everywhere. She looked completely panicked and ran out of the room. I followed her.” He stops. “And please don’t overreact to my following her, it wasn’t for any other reason than curiosity.”
I figured that’s what happened. I don’t love that he followed her, but I get it.
“Lisa was upset, she was hysterical, and I was talking to her. She told me about her relationship with Mike. Unfortunately, she did make a mistake and she realizes that now. I suppose you saw the next part. She did tell me that she regretted us breaking up.”
“She regretted breaking up with you,” I remind him.
“Yes,” he says. “And you saw her put her arms around me, but if you left at that point, then you didn’t see what happened after that?”
I shake my head.
He slides his chair closer to mine. He wraps his arm around my shoulder. My heart starts to beat faster like it always does when he’s close to me.
“She put her arms around my neck, but I removed them. I reminded her that our relationship was many years ago and I don’t have those same feelings anymore.” He pauses and lifts up my chin. “I’m engaged to you, I love you, and I want to marry you.”
I smile but my smile quickly fades. “I’m so sorry, Ace. I feel like such a bitch.”
“You shouldn’t feel that way,” he says. “Yes, you overreacted but it couldn’t have been easy to watch. I know this has been difficult for you; it’s definitely not an ideal situation.”
I squeeze his hand. “I’m not going to pretend that I like Lisa, because I don’t and I don’t trust her one bit. Still, I should have never reacted like that. I don’t know what happened exactly, when I peeked around the corner I froze. It was like being at Faith, Fashion, and Hope all over again when we caught Luke with Carrie.”
Ace was there at that moment when everything came crashing down around me. I had to put on a brave face and stay completely professional in order to make it through the most important event in my career up to that point. Ace was a wonderful, supportive friend and I know he understands why I reacted the way I did.
“I know how much that night hurt you, but as I’ve said before, I’m not like Luke and I would never do that to you,” he insists.
“I know,” I say, rubbing my very tired eyes. I think those four sips of potentially expired beer are starting to affect me.
“Do you?” he asks curiously. I open my mouth to say something, but he continues. “I don’t know what else to say or do. I realize I should have never followed Lisa tonight and I should have never put you back in a situation like that. But, you need to be sure about me, sure about us. You know I want to marry you, but are you ready to marry me? You have to let yourself trust in us.”
I admit I zoned out for a few seconds listening to him talk. I know Ace loves me, and he’s right, I need to let myself trust.
“I am ready,” I reply.
He smiles. “Is that why you’ve been putting off planning our wedding?”
I’m about to disagree, but I can’t disagree because he’s right. I have been putting off planning our wedding. Not because I don’t want to get married but because if I plan it then that opens the door for something to go wrong or fall apart. I see it now—everyone’s concerns are legitimate.
“No. Like I said before, I’ve been putting off the planning because I’m scared.” I pause. “I guess I’m scared of everything in my life falling into place.” I start to laugh nervously. Hmm . . . I’m not even thirty years old and I’m having a midlife crisis.
“I understand,” he says. “How about this—no wedding planning until you are ready? There’s no rush; we have our whole lives ahead of us.”
Chapter 15
“Sienna, you can relax, I have everything under control,” Nicole says as she hurries past me with a box of glow sticks. I cringe. I tried to advise the happy couple against having the glow sticks but our bride and groom insisted. The ˈ80s themed wedding is off to a totally awesome start. Nicole was right when she said she has everything under control. I really should have done this sooner. Nicole has unlimited potential and this is the first event in as long as I can remember that I’m not worried about someone on my staff making a random toast after a few drinks. Yes, Craig actually did that at one of our weddings. But in his defense, he said he felt so moved that he needed to express his gratitude in witnessing true and everlasting love or something mush
y to that effect. Needless to say, he made quite an impression and somehow managed to become friends with the bride and groom that night. I still told him that it was unacceptable behavior and made him promise that it would never happen again.
Speaking of Craig, I still haven’t returned his call. I’m not sure of the right way to handle the situation. The truth is I’m totally avoiding that phone call. I know what I need to do, but I want to do it as nice as I can so our friendship stays intact, if that’s at all possible.
I’m still reeling from the emotional night I had after the whole Lisa thing. Ace made me promise that I wouldn’t make any more plans for our wedding until we talked about it. I feel a little relieved but still worried at the same time. I don’t want Ace to think that I don’t want to get married because I do.
The wedding singer starts singing Wham’s “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” and the crowd goes wild. This feels more like ˈ80s night at a club than a wedding reception. I sit back and watch as Nicole hurries around fixing chair covers and even stops for selfies with the bridesmaids. Speaking of the bridesmaids, they really are wearing dresses that look exactly like tuxedos. At first I thought the idea sounded hideous, but they’re not as bad as I thought they’d be, and I guess they fit the theme of this wedding . . . completely outrageous.
I feel like a parent as I smile proudly at Nicole who has this event completely under control. Now I know I made the right decision by giving Nicole a promotion, and I have an interview with Tracy next week. Things finally seem to be looking up. Since everything is going so smoothly, Nicole and I have a minute to chat.
“I wanted to tell you that Craig called me yesterday,” she says cautiously. “He wasn’t exactly with it, if you know what I mean.” She laughs.
“I got a phone call from him, too,” I tell her. “I guess you can still drunk dial from Mexico.”
She laughs. “He kept asking me if you hate him.”
Not Quite Sheer Happiness (Event to Remember Series Book 3) Page 11