Laurel held out her left hand and wiggled her fingers. “Put it on my finger.” She smiled brightly as he slid it on her finger. “You know I would have put up a fight if I saw a blue Tiffany bag.”
“Yeah, I kinda got that with you having a mother who is Creole and Dutch—”
“South African…my grandfather was an Afrikaner, or a Boer, as they’re known. Another secret I hid from you. He’s like the third cousin to the Van Cleef family…the same one that owns Van Cleef and Arpels.”
“The diamond company?”
Laurel smiled. “Yep. Buddy, this better be a conflict-free diamond or I will raise the biggest stink. And you know I will.”
“I asked the saleswoman about this particular piece of jewelry since it is a Cartier Destinée Solitaire piece and she assured me it was a conflict-free diamond. I didn’t believe her so I also spoke with the manager and he was able to give me a complete history of where these particular diamonds come from, how they are mined and then he urged me to make a donation to a Sierra Leone charity that they support. All rings also come with a certificate of authenticity known as the System of Warranties.” Will kissed her hand and held it within his own.
“Thank you. After the day we’ve had, and it’s not even half way over, this is the best gift you could have given me, ever. I love you and I love the ring. It is perfect.” She leaned over and kissed his lips quickly before they both picked up their glasses of beer.
“Cheers, sweetheart.”
“Cheers, babe.”
Will clinked his glass against hers and they both finished their beers before calling the waiter over to order food and more alcohol.
He couldn’t help think about what a wonderful day they’d had after he proposed and all he wanted to do was freeze this moment in his life. The next few days might get rough but as long as that ring remained on Laurel’s finger, it reminded him there was still hope in the world and nothing was ever as bad as it seemed.
Will knew it would take more than just a talk or two for him and Grant to repair the damage between them but they were guys. He’d probably fight with Grant and maybe a few punches would be thrown but then everything would be okay and they would be buddies again. They probably wouldn’t ever be as close as they’d been before this whole fiasco but he could forgive even if he’d never forget. That was fine with him. He hated conflict but he could handle a truce.
Laurel sat across from him and he realized he’d never let her hand ago. She didn’t object and actually had so much fun, they didn’t even notice the paparazzo guy as he clicked away at the two of them sitting there and speaking animatedly with one another.
He was determined that nothing would ruin this day for him and the rest of the evening passed without incident.
Chapter Seventeen
Laurel
“YOU’VE GOT TO be fucking kidding me!”
Sydney walked around to face me in her unconventional black lace and ivory silk wedding gown. “How the fuck is this gown loose? You were supposed to be my Maid of Honor but the fuckin’ seamstress messed up. She took Talia’s measurements for this gown and took your measurements for the bridesmaids dresses. This is so fucked. Kaz chose Jaden to be the best man and Talia won’t want to see him.”
The gorgeous, one shoulder black lace gown by Emilio Pucci was beautiful and cost more than Syd’s wedding gown, but it was in fact too big. I was a size four but this gown was much more sized for someone a size six.
Talia was the perfect size six.
She wore a bridesmaid dress—a black lace floor-length, silk bodice gown that she couldn’t zip up—which, would actually fit me perfectly.
“Listen, I wouldn’t ordinarily want to be standing across from Jaden but this is your wedding, Syd, and I’ll make the exception...this time. As long as that skank bitch doesn’t turn up, everything is cool and the gang—got it?”
“Well, that’s not an issue because I didn’t invite Faith and Kaz has already informed Jaden she would not be a welcome addition at our wedding.”
Sasha laughed out loud. “You don’t need Faith to attend, we already have a skank onboard.”
Jerrica looked at Talia who looked from her best friend to Syd and then to Sasha while my cheeks burned from embarrassment.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Syd questioned as she turned around to face my sister. “My wedding will be a skank-free zone.”
“Not necessarily.”
That was it; I’d come to the limit with that bitch.
I strolled over to Sasha and grabbed her by the arm before I whipped her around to face me. “Listen to me, bitch, call me a ‘skank’ one more time and I will kick your ass all over this bridal shop!”
Syd walked over to us. “What the hell is going on between you two?”
“Nothing I can’t handle with my sister. Can you give us a second, sweetie?” I frog-marched her several feet away from the other women.
My sister snatched her arm from my grip and stepped back a few feet. “I was humiliated yesterday at that meeting and so was Grant. Not only did they wipe my phone but now my fiancé feels disgraced due to what happened to him yesterday.”
“No one knows about what happened yesterday besides Kaz and he’s been sworn to secrecy so I don’t know why Grant is licking his wounds. What did you expect me to do? Allow you to humiliate me to Mom and Dad? What? You didn’t think I would fight back when I knew that Karl would have killed you and Grant himself if you ever exposed what I did with him.”
“Don’t be so melodramatic!” Sasha crossed her arms against her chest. “I wouldn’t have put your life at risk but that doesn’t mean you get to buck the rules and do whatever you want while you still get your Trust. How is that fair to me when I did everything right and you still came out on top? It pisses me off how everyone has always worshipped you yet I’ve been treated like some discarded dishrag!”
“What are you talking about?” I shook my head sadly. “Is that what this is about? Old rivalries from our childhood? News flash: you won! Mom and Dad think you’re the perfect child and I’m always gonna be the outcast, no matter what I do.”
“Did you have to fuck Grant?” she whispered in an angry voice. “My God, can I have nothing to myself?”
I glared at her as if she’d gone bat shit crazy. “Um, news flash…Grant and I had a one night stand years ago, Sasha. You act like this happened while you two were going out and I would never…” I trailed off before I broke down in tears. “What do you want from me? To grovel and say I’m sorry yesterday happened? I won’t. I can’t. I had to do it or you wouldn’t have been living to see a new year. You can believe me or not. I give up, I’m through. Believe what you want about me—think my life has been so much easier than yours. Hell, tell yourself anything you want about me if it helps you sleep better at night.”
I wiped the tears away from my eyes and walked back over to Syd as I sat down on the bench in my oversized dress and tried not to cry.
“What’s going on between you two? I don’t remember it being this bad since Sasha graduated and ‘forgot’ to send you an invite.”
“Jesus Christ, Syd, when has it not been bad between her and I? She puts up with me because she has to and I put up with her for the very same reason. We’re never gonna win any ‘siblings of the year’ award for being super close.” I wrapped my arm around my best friend. “This isn’t about her or I—this is about your special day and I won’t let anything ruin it, not even the back and forth bickering going on between us, all right?”
“Just as long as you’re okay because I really don’t appreciate her calling you a skank. You’ve been by my side through thick and thin. I would have never been able to survive my separation from Kaz without you and Talia. You are still my best friend and no one has taken your place. I couldn’t imagine you being evil to anyone.”
“I’m not and I haven’t been…not intentionally. Sasha will get over whatever is bothering her. She’s gotten her feelings hurt and woe
betide anyone and anything when my sister feels like the world has wronged her. She’s got too much of a temper she usually keeps on ice but when she explodes, look out.”
Syd laughed out loud. “Well tell Sasha to keep it in check. The only reason why I made her a bridesmaid at all is because she’s your sister and I didn’t want her to feel left out but if she continues to belittle you or call you a skank then she’s gone.”
I looked into her blue-gray eyes and smiled wryly. “I’ll let her know.”
SASHA WAS THE first to leave so I didn’t get a chance to warn her about her behavior before she left the bridal shop.
I stayed behind and helped Syd, Talia, and Jerrica polish off a couple bottles of Cristal while Talia and I traded dresses to make sure each other’s fit.
Syd was a bit bummed out I wouldn’t be her Maid of Honor but I was more than happy just being a bridesmaid.
It was during this dress changing Syd noticed my ring, screamed out loud and ordered two bottles of Cristal while we celebrated my engagement.
“Where are you going after we finish up here?” Syd smiled through her buzz and appeared to glow with happiness as she wrapped her arm around my shoulders.
“Home…to see my fiancé. It’s Christmas Eve after all.”
“Nonsense! Come to our house and have dinner! I’ll call Kaz to let him know. We’re staying in Summerlin tonight. It’s a full house tomorrow and Damira is flying in from L.A. with Xander and Kris. A regular Ozzie and Harriet we are, wouldn’t you say?”
“I was going to say a normal Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne…and then I thought about it and have decided there is no such thing. How about a white version of Beyoncé and Jay-Z? Or a hard rockin’ version of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin?” I suggested.
Syd’s face fell. “How did you know so much about Kaz’s background? The comparison to a white version of Jay-Z is fitting…he’s done some bad shit, girl.”
My high suddenly left me as I stood, and slid back into my pair of boyfriend jeans and a black cashmere top. “What do you mean?”
“You know who his dad is, right? And how he and Jaden are half-brothers? Well, he told me initially he never had anything to do with the MC but that’s bullshit. He was and is a full-fledged member of the Lucifer’s Saints. I—” she placed her hand over her heart, “Sydney Landvik, heir to a multi-billion dollar fortune, am about to marry Kasper Gillian Cox, common biker trash.”
“Christ on a cracker.” I sat down next to her and slid an arm over her shoulders. “Sometimes we shouldn’t judge people by their pasts but what they can provide us in the future. I’ve done…some deplorable things, Syd. That’s what my sister was kickin’ off about earlier today and part of me wants to hate her but another part of me knows she’s right.”
Syd leaned against me, her eyes more gray than blue. “How’s that? You’ve been nothing but a decent sister and a kick ass best friend. I know about you and Faith and the whole…whatever…you did with Karl but you two were also an item and it wasn’t like you’re a whore. You’re not anything like that nasty bitch who thinks she’s better than everyone just because she’s married to Kanye West—talk about a skank…she and Faith could compete in the Skank Olympics!”
We both laughed out loud. “Yeah, I was going out with Karl at the time but he was a married man and I still did those DVDs and they’re out there. Maybe not for the whole world to see but it kind of skeeves me out thinkin’ about some old dude jackin’ off to me in a DP scene with Karl and Seven…ya know?”
My best friend looked at me with a seriously drunken look on her face before she burst out laughing.
“What? It’s not funny, Syd!”
She laughed even harder as her face turned scarlet and she slid to the floor.
“Fine, so it is kinda fuckin’ funny but you’re supposed to be my back-up bitch and tell me that what I did wasn’t so bad and I’m not a skank or some nasty ass cuntbag and I’m so not feelin’ the love right now.” I helped her off the floor before she proceeded to slip on her fitted magenta sweater made from the softest vicuña.
“Listen to me because I may be drunk but…none of that matters. Will loves you to death and you have such a sweet man. For God’s sake, he gave up cock for you—and I’m not sure you understand the magnitude of that because I love you, babe, but no way in hell would I give up cock to eat your pussy for the rest of my life. Sorry, not gonna happen.”
This time it was I who laughed out loud before she became serious again. “Listen, you are an absolute knockout and any man lucky enough to get you is in for a treat but you snagged a gay white male. What are the odds of that? And he’s happy with you. You’re happy with him. And who gives a fuck what kind of freaky ass sex you practice because if all he wants is to fuck you up the ass then do it. Hell, Kaz isn’t gay and it was a rite of passage for me.”
“Thanks…I kinda figured that. I don’t know too many men who don’t like it up the crack hole but that is neither here nor there—”
“Okay, he probably asks you to put on a strap-on and fuck him. Do you enjoy it?”
“In a weird ass way I do.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I want the big wedding and I want my parents, his parents and my sister to be there but if we’re still bickering about money then I don’t see that happening and it makes me sad. I don’t want to fight with Sasha. I have worshipped her since we were kids and she’s so into this mindset that I am prettier and I think I’m better than her when I don’t. I love her to death and I’m proud my parents can brag off her. I always thought she was prettier than me because she has such a fragile soul and I’m just so damned jaded. I wish she could see my point of view.” I sighed out loud and knew I’d said too much but nothing that didn’t need to be said.
Sasha had to understand I loved her and it was the only reason why I put myself on the line for her the day before was because I couldn’t imagine her not being in my life. The whole thought of losing her scared me to death.
“That’s an easy problem to fix.” Syd hugged me and I tried not to turn into an emotional ball of mush. “I’ll talk to her and we’ll get this all straightened out. You’ll get your dream wedding and everything else you want. Now, let’s get out of here. I’m starving and could really use some food.”
“Me too.” My stomach rumbled uncomfortably and I realized I was famished. “Come on, let’s go back to your place and have a nice meal with our gorgeous, sexy men.”
We both laughed at this line.
After a quick good bye to Talia and Jerrica, we left with me in the driver’s seat headed to my best friend’s McMansion in Summerlin.
Chapter Eighteen
Will
LIFE PASSED BY much too quickly during the holiday season and before Will knew it, he and Laurel had spent Christmas Day with Grant and Sasha; the band spent the rest of what was left of the year getting warmed up for their New Year’s Eve concert at Vogue Hotel and Casino; and they attended Kaz and Syd’s wedding on the thirtieth.
It passed the time and now that he was on speaking terms with Grant, he felt much more secure in his life.
Will came home on the thirtieth of December exhausted after the wedding a couple hours later than Laurel due to yet another “serious” conversation with Grant. Both wanted to maintain their friendship even if they’d ended their sexual relationship. He was extremely pleased by the turn of events yet also had a giddy feeling of excitement rushing through his veins. The very next night, they would be doing their first official concert appearance at the hotel. It was a rush like no other to perform live. There was something about the electric energy from the crowd that made his skin buzz with energy.
It was like a vodka and Red Bull followed by two lines of cocaine—not that he would ever do hard drugs now—but the high was just as good and he loved being on stage in front of their fans. Nothing else mattered.
Except Laurel.
She was his rock and the one person who proved she could be
depended on time and time again. The woman was out of this world fantastic.
Will walked through the door to the sound of Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds” as Laurel sashayed out of the kitchen with nothing on except a pair of women’s black boxer shorts and a matching skimpy tank top. Her olive skin glowed and the house smelled wonderful like a home cooked meal.
“I missed you,” she murmured before she wrapped her arms around his waist and began to sway with the music.
“I’ve missed you too though we’ve only been a part for a couple of hours. Whatcha been up to?”
“What, besides attending my best friend’s lavish wedding and over the top reception. I came home cooked dirty rice because I’m a dirty girl and I’ve had a joint and two shots of Grey Goose vodka. After-sex dinner is done but I was really thinking we could eat it much later…after you fuck me several times.”
He smiled at her before he tasted her lips and the feeling was too much. Her warm mouth and soft breath, the way her firm body pressed against his. He needed her now and how could he not oblige when she wanted it just as badly as he did?
The Will to Love Page 15