Delicious Complication

by Sabrina Sol

  “What do you mean?” she asked and went back to spying on Mira.

  “You talk a big game, Daisy, but when it comes down to it, that’s all it is. Just talk. Their wedding is out of your league and you know it.”

  She whipped her head around and glared at him. Anger seethed from every pore in her body as she thought of a few different painful ways she could wipe the smirk off that smug face of his. She hated that she was acting exactly how he thought she’d act—like an amateur who didn’t know what the hell she was doing. But she wasn’t a goddamn amateur. Daisy grabbed the glass from him, pinched her nose and downed the drink.

  When she started coughing, Brandon took the glass away and laughed. “There you go. Now are you pissed off enough to go over and start talking to the lady?”

  “So you were being an ass on purpose?” she asked once she could talk again.

  Brandon shrugged. “I figured it couldn’t hurt.”

  Rather than thanking him, Daisy punched him in the shoulder and he nodded that he knew what she’d meant by it. Then she squared her shoulders and walked over to Mira, who was now standing by herself at the bar. She was holding a wineglass but didn’t seem too interested in drinking from it.

  “Let me guess,” Daisy said pointing to the glass. “Right now you’re wishing that was a bottle of Corona instead?”

  “Heineken,” Mira answered with a big smile.

  “This is your party. Why don’t you just ask for one?”

  “Our friends planned this party. This is their home, actually. Guess they didn’t think anyone would want beer. Only wine and champagne.”

  “Did you check their fridge?”

  Mira’s eyes and smile grew bigger. She set the glass on the bar, grabbed Daisy by the hand, and led her out of the room, down a large a hallway and into an enormous kitchen bustling with servers and trays of food. Within a few seconds, she’d spotted the double door, stainless steel refrigerator and a six-pack of imported beer inside.

  Mira grabbed two bottles and asked one of the servers to find her something to open them with.

  “It’s Daisy, right?” she asked, and Daisy nodded. “Okay Daisy, please remind me to tell Christian that he owes Alberto and Valeria a case of beer.”

  “A case? Wow, you’re being generous. It’s not even the beer you wanted.”

  “You’re right. I’ll tell him to only buy them a six-pack. Depending on how the rest of the night goes, I may be coming back to finish that one off.”

  The server returned with a bottle opener and Mira did the honors. Then they knocked their beers together and took a drink.

  “This was the best idea,” she said after a second gulp. “Thank you, Daisy.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  They leaned against the counter and watched as the caterers scurried in and out of the kitchen holding different trays of appetizers. Mira stopped the one with the cold shrimp and helped herself to two. Daisy passed but kept an eye out for the guy with the tray carrying ricotta cheese-topped crostini.

  “So since we’re drinking buddies now, can I confess something to you?”

  Daisy turned to face Mira. “Of course,” she answered and took another drink

  “When I heard Brandon was bringing his fiancée, I imagined she’d be a total bimbo. I’m so glad you’re not.”

  Daisy laughed so hard that beer came out of her nose. Mira found her a napkin and started laughing with her. “Well, I’m glad I’m not either,” she said after cleaning off her face.

  “I’m sorry. I probably shouldn’t have said that out loud. It’s just that I’ve known Brandon now for a while and…”

  “And you can’t believe he’d ever get married.”

  “Well, yeah. I’m sorry again. Please ignore me. It’s been kind of crazy these past few days—actually, these past few months—and I guess it feels nice to just hang out with someone and drink a beer.”

  “I get it. One of my favorite things to do is go to my dad’s house and kick back and drink a beer or two while we watch a game on T.V.”

  “Baseball?”

  “Soccer.”

  “Oh, so you’re a futból fan? Que bueno. The L.A. Stars?”

  Daisy took a drink and nodded. “I like them, too. But my dad has a satellite so we usually watch the international teams play.”

  Mira laughed. “What is it about soccer fans and their satellites? My parents have two!”

  They spent the next several minutes talking about their favorite teams and sharing stories about playing soccer as kids. While Daisy had only played in elementary school, she was impressed to learn that Mira had also played in college. The more they talked, the more at ease she felt.

  Mira was as genuine as they came. She deserved for Daisy to be the same.

  After they finished their beers and reapplied their lipsticks, she began. “So now it’s my turn to confess something”

  “Okay?”

  Daisy took a deep breath. “I walked over to you at the bar because I wanted to get to know you so you’d consider hiring me as your wedding planner.”

  “So asking me about my drink was a sort of a pick-up line?”

  “In a way.”

  “Well, I guess it worked because here we are.”

  “Look, you seem really cool and nice and actually someone I’d like to be friends with. So I’m not going to do the big selling spiel I had planned, because this is your engagement party and you should be out there enjoying it with people you care about. So thanks for the beer and I hope that we really can be friends one day even if you don’t hire me to be your wedding planner.” She turned to leave but stopped. “Oh, and one more thing. Please don’t tell Brandon about how bad I messed this up, okay? Thanks.”

  She could’ve kicked herself.

  Why on earth did she think she could pretend to be this confident, big shot wedding planner when she couldn’t even share a beer with someone like Mira?

  Daisy slinked back to the main party room and looked around for Brandon. She eventually found him talking to three men near the bar. He fit into this crowd with his perfect suit and perfect hair and perfect smile. No wonder he had balked at first at introducing her to Christian. She didn’t belong in his world. And she’d just ruined the only reason why she’d agreed to be a part of it in the first place.

  “So what do you think of instead of a champagne fountain, we have a beer fountain at the reception?”

  Daisy turned around and found Mira standing behind her holding two more bottles of beer. “Well, I’d say, first of all, nobody does champagne fountains anymore anyway, so why not? And second of all, I’d say it’s your damn wedding so you should be able to do whatever the hell you want.”

  Mira handed her a bottle. “I think you’re pretty cool, too. And I think I need someone like you on my side to help me get through all this wedding stuff.”

  “Confession time again. I’ve never planned a celebrity wedding before.”

  “Well, I’ve never been in a celebrity wedding before.”

  “You’re sure you don’t want someone more…Hollywood?”

  “Why? So they can listen to all my ideas and then go ahead and do the exact opposite?”

  “As long as you’re sure?”

  “I’m sure,” Mira said and tapped Daisy’s bottle with hers before taking a drink.

  A good-looking man came up behind Mira and stole her bottle. “Where’d you find the beer?”

  Mira took it back from him. “Daisy and I stole it from the Alonsos’ refrigerator.”

  The man looked at Daisy with raised eyebrows. “Well, could Daisy steal one for me, too?”

  She tried to look serious but was probably failing. “It depends.”

  “On what exactly?” the man asked with an amused grin.

  “On whether Mira here wants another one. The bride always comes first.”

  Mira laughed and patted the man on the shoulder. “Too bad, Esteban. Guess you’ll just have to drive to the nearest liquor store and g
et your own.”

  “Wow, little sister. I never imagined you’d turn into one of those bridezillas.”

  “Surprise. Anyway, as much as I would love to continue our conversation, Daisy, I guess I better make some more rounds. Let’s exchange numbers before you leave, okay?”

  Mira handed Esteban her bottle and walked away. “It sounds like you and my sister are going to be friends?” he asked before taking a drink.

  She shrugged. “I hope so.”

  Perhaps it was the second beer, but Daisy felt downright giddy. The night had gone so much better than she had expected. And at that moment, all she could think about was going to Brandon and telling him all about it.

  Huh. That’s new.

  Since when did she go running to tell Brandon anything? It was true that he had played a part in getting her to this moment. But a few weeks ago, she probably would’ve thanked him via email rather than in person. Now, she actually liked talking with him. Hell, she had even started to tolerate his teasing. She was getting used to Brandon. And every day they were together, the bumblebees calmed a little more.

  The goose bumps, however, were still as strong as ever.

  Fuck, he wanted to walk over and touch her. It didn’t matter if it was her arm or waist or that luscious ass of hers. He wanted to show that jerk-off that she belonged to him.

  He’d been watching Daisy for a while now. He’d heard her laugh across the room and noticed her talking with Mira and some man. Then Mira left and Daisy and the man stayed in the corner, still talking and drinking from beer bottles. He’d been wondering how it had gone with Mira ever since she’d downed that glass of champagne he gave her. They’d both disappeared for a while and he assumed they were hitting it off. He’d wanted her to spend time and be friendly with Mira. What he didn’t want was to watch her be friendly with a man who wasn’t him.

  Brandon set his drink on the bar and interrupted his friends’ conversation about their recent vacation. “Excuse me, but I think I’ve neglected my beautiful fiancée long enough. I’m going to go find her.”

  Determined to remind Daisy why they were there in the first place, he weaved in and out of the small crowd, narrowing in on the small looking man, and the fact that she was laughing again and touching his arm. How dare she flirt with some stranger after making such a big deal about him being the one who might get caught with someone else? She wouldn’t even be at this party if it weren’t for him, and it needled him that she was using it to pick up her next boyfriend rather than her next client.

  Something came over him at that moment, and he had to fight the urge to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder and carry her out of this house. Luckily, some sense of rationality nudged its way into his caveman brain, and he caught himself before he reached them.

  “There you are, mi amor. I’ve been looking all over for you.”

  Daisy turned to look at him. “You have?”

  “Of course. You know I can’t go that long without having you by my side.” He looked at the small man, who now didn’t look so small up close, and offered his hand. “I’m Brandon Montoya, Daisy’s fiancé.”

  The man’s surprised expression told Brandon that his instincts were right. This man believed Daisy was available. That unfamiliar feeling twisted at him again and this time he couldn’t help but put his other arm around her waist and pull her toward him.

  “Good to meet you, Brandon. I’m Esteban Alvarez, Mira’s brother.”

  His irritation grew deeper. He felt Daisy unhook herself from his grasp but before she could totally extricate herself, he grabbed her hand. “Ah, Mira’s brother. I think I’ve heard her mention you before. You’re the music teacher with a wife and twins on the way. Is she here, too?”

  She squeezed his hand then. Hard. But he didn’t care if she was angry—she needed to know what kind of guy she’d been flirting with.

  “Actually, that’s our other brother. I’m an oncologist at USC and as single as they come.”

  “Esteban works in the same office as Dr. Katz, and I was just telling him how grateful we all are that he’s your mother’s doctor,” Daisy explained.

  A twinge of guilt poked at him and Brandon let her go. “Yes, of course we are very grateful.”

  “Well, I hope everything works out and Dr. Katz can give her the help she needs. Now, if you’ll excuse me, it looks like they’re getting ready to do some toasts so I better find the rest of my family.”

  After the doctor walked away, Daisy grabbed Brandon’s hand again and pulled him into the corner of the room. “What the hell was that all about? You were kind of a jerk to him.”

  Irritation flashed again. “No, I wasn’t. It’s not my fault I thought he was the other brother.”

  “Not that. I’m talking about the way you interrupted our very nice conversation just so you could make it very clear that we were engaged.”

  “Well, I thought that was the point of us being here tonight—to let people know we’re a couple. And maybe I wouldn’t have had to say anything if you had already told him you had a fiancé.”

  “We just met, for Pete’s sake. What was I supposed to do? Introduce myself and add the word ‘engaged’ after my name like some damn credential?”

  The wild look in her eyes told him she was angry. It should’ve made him retreat—save the battle for another time and place. But he didn’t. Couldn’t. They’d made an agreement to act like a couple in front of others, and yet she’d barely spoken to him since they’d arrived. Was he supposed to stand around like an ass while she flirted with a total stranger? Okay, maybe she wasn’t exactly flirting but it still wasn’t right. He was done being ignored.

  “Yes. That’s exactly what you’re supposed to do. I don’t care if he’s a doctor or the guy who makes your sandwich at Subway. Pretend or not, for the next couple of months, tu eres mia, and I’m not planning on sharing you with anybody.”

  If she wanted to argue about him saying she belonged to him, she couldn’t, because at that moment people started clinking their glasses. He turned away from her and saw Christian and Mira walking to the center of the room. His friend was handed a wireless microphone and he waved his hand in the air so everyone would turn their attention to him.

  “Before it gets any later and some of you get any drunker, we wanted to take a moment to say thank you for being here tonight to celebrate our engagement,” Christian announced. “Servers are going around the room offering glasses of champagne, so if you don’t have one already in your hand, please take one.”

  Brandon grabbed two glasses from the server as he passed and offered one to Daisy. He thought she’d refuse since she supposedly hated champagne, and was obviously still mad, but she placed her bottle on the tray and took the glass. Once it seemed as if all of the champagne flutes had been distributed, Mira’s brother joined the couple in the middle of the room.

  “Now, everyone, please raise your glass and toast to Christian and Mira,” Esteban said. “Congratulations you two!”

  The room filled with the sound of glasses clinking, shouts and whistles and a growing chant of “Beso. Beso. Beso.” Christian nodded and took Mira in his arms and gave her the kiss that everyone wanted to see, complete with a dramatic dip at the end. Their audience hooted and hollered in approval and then clapped when they finally came up for air. When the noise settled down, Christian spoke again.

  “I was telling someone the other day that love changes things. It changes how you see the world and even how you see yourself. If you had told me six months ago that I’d be getting engaged to the love of my life, I would’ve laughed in your face. I know now that I only thought that way because I didn’t believe there was someone out there who could love me for me, with all my faults and issues. But it turns out there was and once I found her, I knew I could never let her go. And now I want everyone to be as happy as we are. That’s what love does to you, I guess. That’s why I want to take this opportunity to congratulate one of my friends who has also recently found
love. Brandon, please come up here and bring that beautiful fiancée of yours with you.”

  Brandon froze. Did Christian really just call him out? He turned to Daisy and could see she was just as shocked as he was. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her with him to the center of the room and they were greeted with warm hugs from both Christian and Mira.

  The crowd started chanting again. “Beso. Beso. Beso.”

  It was rude to ignore them, wasn’t it? Brandon turned to Daisy, whose eyes grew wider as he approached. He expected to see fear in them. Instead, he saw desire. It was the way she had looked at him that night of the wedding. And that’s when he knew what he’d been craving all this time. He put his hands on her face and gently lifted her head as he lowered his. He kept his eyes open until the moment their lips touched, fitting perfectly against each other. They started slow and soft as if they were unsure of what they were doing. But desire like theirs never forgets. Never forgives. And so the kiss turned hard, almost punishing. Her mouth eventually opened, perhaps to steal some oxygen, and he took the opportunity to thrust his tongue inside. He could still taste the sweetness of the champagne mixed with the bitterness of the beer, and it made him drunk with need. If he could, he’d kiss her like this all night.

  Instead, he felt a tap on his shoulder and heard the sounds of people hooting and whistling loudly. “Good thing this wasn’t a kissing contest, right, Mira?” he heard Christian mumble behind him.

  It took everything he had to tear his lips from Daisy’s and drop his hands from her face. She must’ve been leaning on him because once he let go, she stumbled forward, and he reached out to steady her with one arm around her waist.

  After Christian made another joke to the crowd, Brandon lowered his head and whispered into her ear, “Now every man in the room knows that you belong to me. And for the record, I’m tired of pretending that I don’t want you in my bed. So just say the word and we’ll go home so I can fuck you the way I’ve been wanting to fuck you since you walked down my stairs in this dress.”

  Not ready to see her reaction to his proposition, Brandon walked away from Daisy to join the crowd of well-wishers who were now surrounding Christian and Mira. As he waited his turn, the enormity of what he’d just said and done began to weigh on him.