UNBROKEN (Friends, Lovers, or Nothing Book 5)

by Jackie Chanel

  “You’re going to wake up Tyler with that shit. Sara just fed him.”

  “I’m pissed at you, Aiden,” Sunny announced like I didn’t already have an inkling.

  I threw my shirt on the floor by the hamper. I was aiming for the open hamper but I missed. Then I climbed into bed.

  “I know, Sunny. I can’t do anything about that.”

  “You could start with an apology.”

  Lying flat on my back, I put my arm over my eyes to black out the light. “I’m sorry you’re mad.”

  “That’s not what I mean!” Sunny hollered.

  “First, stop yelling. It’s three in the morning and we’re inside now. Second, that’s about as good as you’re going to get from me. I don’t even see what I did wrong so why would I apologize when I didn’t do anything?”

  “What if you came to my house and I had a bunch of men drinking and hanging out by my pool?”

  Since it didn’t look like Sunny was making any moves to turn off the light, I got out of the bed and turned it off. Then I climbed right back on my side of the king-sized bed and answered her question.

  “That would never happen.”

  “Why do you think that?”

  “Because you don’t have any friends. Are you coming to bed or are you going to sit there and pout all night? I’m going to sleep. I promised Kat I’d take her to breakfast in the morning.”

  “We’re not supposed to go to sleep on an argument,” Sunny whined.

  “This is not an argument. This is you being mad over something that had nothing to do with you and me not caring that you’re mad over something that had nothing to do with you. I’m sorry that you’re mad and want to argue and I don’t. Just go to sleep. If you’re still pissed when you wake up, we’ll argue about it then. I promise.”

  Sunny was still pissed off but she got in the bed anyway. I knew better than to stray over to her side. She probably wouldn’t even let me touch her. We lay in silence for a long time. From somewhere, I conjured up enough courage to slide over to her side.

  “I’m sorry that I made you feel like I forgot that you’re my fiancée,” I whispered in her ear. “I’m sorry that I made you feel like I was acting like I was single. I know I’m not single. I don’t ever want to be single again.”

  I kissed her cheek. She didn’t move or flinch. I rolled back over to my side.

  “Next time, I’ll make sure to invite you to the party,” I added.

  “Next time, just answer your damn phone. I don’t care that you had a party. I’m pissed because all you had to do was tell me that’s what you were doing and I wouldn’t have been worrying that something had happened to you. Instead, you turned your phone off.”

  “Next time,” I replied, “Just tell me the real reason you’re pissed and don’t have me playing guessing games.”

  “Deal.”

  “Deal,” I repeated. “Love you.”

  “Love you too.”

  Chapter 12: Best Friend Blues

  “GIRL, WHAT YOU GON’ do with all this stuff after you get married?” Mama asked me.

  A couple of weeks after Aiden’s unapproved shindig, we were sitting in the sunroom waiting on the Tyler girls to arrive so we can really dig into these wedding plans. The Tyler boy was not invited. There were too many people wanting to be involved in this process and somehow the concept of hiring wedding planners—plural—came up. I had to shut that down ASAP.

  I couldn’t even begin to think about what I’m taking into Aiden’s house after the wedding. I’m actually kind of sad that Summer and I have to leave our house. Not only was this house everything I’ve ever wanted, it was a gift from Aiden.

  When he bought it, I was so upset that he took that moment away from me that it didn’t cross my mind that I had my dream house and wouldn’t have to be paying on it for the next thirty years. After my sanity returned, I apologized and I’ve been completely happy here. I know there’s no way I can talk him into leaving his mansion to come live here.

  Living in the mansion again isn’t going to be that bad. Who wouldn’t love to live in a mansion in the Hollywood Hills? As long as it’s just me, Aiden, and our kids, I’m cool with it. I wouldn’t mind Dina staying but his entire family and us is a little too much to handle. I love his sisters to death but I don’t want to live with them.

  “Mama, I can’t even think about any of that now. With everything going on with Uninhibited, the baby, and going back and forth with Roxy, I can’t think about anything else.”

  “Why are you even entertaining that crazy woman’s foolishness?” Mama asked.

  She continued to sit out bowls of tropical fruit salad and cheese platters that she’d expertly prepared. Peaches Russell has the heart of a caterer and any reason that people come over is an excuse to feed them. I busied myself by setting out a stack of bridal magazines that Kirk delivered to me.

  “She’s Aiden’s manager,” I complained. “If she wasn’t, we probably wouldn’t even be speaking. I can’t believe she’s trying to book a tour now!”

  “And what’s Aiden saying? Does he want to go out on the road and leave you here by yourself while you’re pregnant?”

  “Mama,” I sighed. “You know he doesn’t. But he’ll do anything Roxy tells him to do.”

  Last night, at dinner, I wanted to reach across the table and strangle Aiden when he announced that he’s supposed to hit the road in November and be on tour all the way up until my due date. Instead of choking him, I simply reminded him that our child is due in February and if he misses the birth, he can forget about a wedding.

  I wasn’t trying to be difficult but his touring schedule is ridiculous. The idea that he would leave me in LA for the last trimester of my pregnancy is so disrespectful! He can tour next summer. It’s not like he won’t have stadiums full of superfans salivating over every word he sings.

  “Peaches!” I yelled into the kitchen. “Press the button on the wall to open the gate. Delilah and ‘em are here!”

  “I just love how your accent comes out when you’re stressed. Call me Peaches again if you think you bad.”

  A few minutes later, the Tyler clan, minus one, entered the house. The first thing Dina did was touch my stomach and ask how I was feeling. That was becoming a bad habit of hers. I guess this was a little my fault. When I found out that I was pregnant with Summer, I stayed as far away from Aiden and his family as I possibly could. I felt so weird and it bothered me tremendously that I was having a child by a man that I knew I wasn’t going to be with. I was around twenty-seven weeks when Aiden found out through Joey. Since he didn’t know the baby was his, his sisters didn’t fall all over me and didn’t feel attached to the baby like they do with this one. They mean well, but my God, my mother isn’t as worrisome as Dina and her children.

  “Alright,” I said once everyone was settled around my huge dining room table with plates of food and drinks. “We gotta get started on this wedding again since we scrapped all the previous plans. We don’t have much time since I want a spring wedding and I plan on having this kid on time. It’s not going to take me two months to get into wedding dress size after I have the baby. I may not be an eight but I’ll wear a couple pairs of Spanx if I have to.”

  Dina raised her eyes from her mimosa. “Spring? Are you sure? What about Aiden’s tour? Isn’t he supposed to be touring Europe in the spring?”

  I shook my head. “I’m not working around his tour schedule since I’m already working around this pregnancy. We talked last night and he knows where I stand on this.”

  I opened my calendar on my iPad and pulled up the month of April. “We can get married on the twenty-third, have a honeymoon, and he can tour in the summer. If we have to, we can even go as late as mid-May. May is still spring but I refuse to have a summer wedding in Georgia when it’s hot as hell.”

  Sara and Delilah started laughing while my mother and Dina looked skeptical. I didn’t care. My decision.

  “If that’s the day you want, April t
wenty-third is perfect.” Delilah shrugged. “Let’s do it.”

  “Text your brother,” I told her.

  “Hell no! That’s your man. You text him!”

  Laughing, I sent a quick text to Aiden.

  The wedding planning committee has decided on April 23rd.Tell your manager I said fuck her tour

  Aiden: You can’t have a wedding planning meeting without the groom. And I’m not telling Roxy that

  I can and you will.

  Aiden: I’m on my way over

  “Your son is on his way.” I started smiling. “So, we have date. We need venues, guest lists, all that. I think, between the seven of us, we can do this. We don’t need to pay any wedding planners.”

  “I don’t know, baby. You and Aiden are so busy and you have such an attitude when you’re pregnant. This is not going to be easy.”

  “If I’m gonna have an attitude anyway, why does it matter if we have a wedding planner? I’d rather one of you piss me off than a stranger that I can’t legally punch.”

  My mom started cracking up. “You can’t legally punch us either with yo’ mean ass.”

  “Are we doing the Gone with the Wind theme?” Delilah asked anxiously.

  “No,” my mom and I said together.

  “Girl, when I said southern, I didn’t mean plantation southern. I’m black, remember? I ain’t settin’ foot on nobody’s plantation. I’m talking more black southern.”

  “Oh,” Delilah laughed sheepishly. “Like lots of music, lots of soul food, like a party?”

  “Yes,” I said. “I want my wedding reception to be a big party with lots of real friends, family, a Soul Train line …all of that.”

  “Like my wedding,” Sara spoke up. “Delilah, you don’t know anything about that. You had a princess wedding. It was beautiful and elegant. Your bridesmaids had no interest in dancing in those expensive dresses you chose for them.”

  Delilah, who was always easily offended when it comes to her big sister, folded her arms across her chest and glared at Sara. “My wedding was perfect.”

  “And stiff,” Sara retorted. “Your wedding was so white that it’s hard to believe you married a black man.”

  “Mom!” Delilah cried. “Tell her to stop it! My wedding was everything that I had ever dreamed about. Paulie was happy with it.”

  “That’s because Paulie lets you get away with anything,” Aiden said from behind me. I jumped in my seat.

  “Oh my God, you got here quick!” I said.

  “I wasn’t far. I brought reinforcements too. Y’all aren’t planning this by yourselves.”

  I glanced around the dining room. He’d brought Erica, Paulie, and Clay with him. I turned to Clay.

  “You are such a traitor. I was your friend first. You cannot be BFFs with him. I will not stand for it.”

  Clay leaned over and kissed the top of my head then ruffled my ponytail. “You love me,” he said.

  “Doesn’t matter,” I laughed. “Did you tell your manager what I said?” I asked Aiden.

  “I’ll talk to her tomorrow.” He pulled Delilah out of the chair next to me and sat down after ordering her to get him a beer. He slid my iPad in front of me.

  “So, where were we?”

  “Uh-un!” I snatched my iPad back. “I’m runnin’ this show. I’ll let you know when we get to your part.”

  Clay, Erica, and Paulie found seats at the table and started digging into the food while Aiden and I haggled over the number of people we want to have.

  “Aiden,” my mom intervened after a couple of minutes. “Three hundred is a lot for a wedding. Do you have that many close friends?”

  “Three hundred is one-fifty and a plus one. Yeah, I know that many people.”

  “That’s not what she asked,” I replied. “And no, Mama, he does not have a hundred and fifty close friends. He has Liam, Cody, Paulie, Mike, Eddie, Aaron, and Joey. Those are his close friends. That’s seven people.”

  “And you only have Daniela and Erica,” he replied. “If we let you pick the guest list, the bride’s side will be empty because everyone one you know is part of the wedding party. Leave it up to you and we’ll have twenty people at our wedding and that’s not gonna happen. I have celebrity friends and so do you. Three hundred is my minimum. Non-negotiable.”

  I was heated that he threw out the ‘non-negotiable’ card. Early in our relationship, we came up with this plan. Since we’re both so bad at compromising, when it comes to important decisions, we each get two non-negotiables. I’m saving mine for later because I know I’m going to need them when we start talking about the reception.

  Having no other choice, I gave in. “Fine. Three hundred people is completely excessive but whatever. You’re paying for the reception so you feed them.”

  “Let’s talk bridal party,” Erica said. “And the colors. Is there going to be a theme?”

  “I’m very interested in talking about the bridal party.” Aiden looked at me and winked. He knew that I haven’t told Erica that she was not going to be my Maid of Honor and this wasn’t going to sit well with her. I hope she doesn’t flip out in front of all these people.

  “Well,” I dragged out the word. “Daniela, Sara, and the twins already said they wanted to be bridesmaids. Daddy’s gonna walk me down the aisle. I guess Summer will be a flowergirl. You should ask Aaron or Mike if one of their little boys will be the ring bearer.”

  “I’m gonna be the Matron of Honor!” Delilah blurted out excitedly, oblivious to the fact that not everyone at the table was going to be pleased by her announcement. “Sunny asked me while we were in Paris. I’m so happy! I didn’t even get to be my own sister’s Maid of Honor.”

  Aiden tried so hard to contain his smile but he failed miserably. I felt Erica’s piercing eyes on me as she tried to keep her cool.

  “I’m…I’m not your Maid of Honor?”

  You could hear a pin drop on my super plush carpet. That’s how quiet my dining room got. All eyes were on me but I only felt Erica’s.

  “Umm, ummm,” I stammered.

  “Don’t say shit to me,” Erica hissed. She got up and stormed out of the house.

  If she had gone out of the front door and into her car, I would have waited a few hours then called her, maybe took her an ‘I’m sorry’ cheesecake, and explained why I chose Delilah over her. Instead, she stomped out of the back door so I knew she was standing on the patio and probably crying. I slid my chair back.

  “I’ll be back.”

  When I stepped outside, Erica was sitting in one of the patio chairs. She wasn’t crying. She was fuming. I’m pretty sure that I saw steam rising from the top of her head. I felt bad that she was upset but I am not apologizing for the decision I made. It was about time that Erica realizes that our relationship has changed and accepts responsibility for it. If anything, I’m the one who should be pissed, especially how she acted at our baby reveal.

  “E, come back inside,” I told her. “It’s not like you’re not in the wedding at all. Don’t trip.”

  Erica spun around in her chair like I’d just slapped her or something.

  “Don’t trip? You keep shittin’ on our friendship like I haven’t been there from day one! You’re on some bullshit, Sunny. I don’t even know if I want to be in your wedding.”

  “Well, that’s fine too,” I shrugged. “But if we’re going to talk about being there from day one, you must have bumped your head. I distinctly remember when almost a whole year passed and you did not have my back. I remember several instances during that year where you actually weren’t there when I needed my friend the most. Delilah was though, so don’t go there with me. I have way more ammunition than you, Erica.”

  “How many times do you expect an apology for that?” Erica asked. “I’m done apologizing.”

  “I don’t need you to apologize for anything. But I’m not going to pretend that we can go back to being as close as we were because that’s not about to happen. We’re friends and you’re my daughter’s God
mother. Do I think you still want Aiden? No, I don’t. No shade, but I don’t think you wanted him when you had him. Like I’ve told you before, what you did has less to do with him and everything to do with us. It’s about time that you understand that you did something to me that went against everything our friendship was about. Yes, I’ve forgiven you and I’m trying to move forward. Asking Bubbles to be my Maid of Honor wasn’t to punish you. Given that you and I are still in repair and that you will probably be on tour with my baby daddy while we’re planning the damn wedding, Delilah was a logical choice. How can you do anything a Maid of Honor is supposed to do if you’re not even going to be here?”

  When I finished speaking, I kept my eyes on Erica and tried to gauge her reaction. At this point, I truly do not care how she feels. I’m done placating her and pacifying the feelings of a grown woman who just recently told me that she doesn’t even know if she believes in marriage.

  Since Aiden and I have been together, I’ve been very considerate of Erica’s feelings. I’ve been the better friend. I could have ended our friendship and her business and personal relationships with Aiden but I’m not a bitch. I’m not a spiteful person.

  I understand why Erica does the things that she does. The problem I continue to have with her is that she often mistakes my understanding as acceptance and has been doing that for a very long time. We’ve been friends since birth. I wasn’t willing to throw away all those years but I am definitely smart enough to know it’s going to take much more than an apology and some tears to get us back to where we were. Miss Instant Gratification needs to grow up and accept that life doesn’t always work the way she wants it to.

  “Are you cool?” I asked when Erica didn’t respond to a word that I’d just said.

  Erica stood up and brushed past me. “You’ve changed, Sunny,” she said before reaching for the patio door.

  I pushed her hand off the handle and stepped in front of her. Changed? Me? Really?

  “I haven’t changed,” I told her. “Our friendship has changed. I need you really hear me, Erica Steele, and understand me. You made a decision that rocked my world and hurt me to the core. You came to your senses, reversed that bad decision, and now we’re trying to repair the damage because there is damage.”