by Jillian Dodd
Tyler rushes back in, looking confused. Then he covers his nose too.
“Riley threw up. Can you please get this trash can and that coffee out of here? And maybe bring him some crackers and a Sprite instead?”
“I’d recommend a nice reviving green tea smoothie. Shall I go fetch one?”
“No,” both Keatyn and I say.
“You do realize you both have to speak at the board meeting in exactly forty-two minutes, right?” Tyler chastises.
“We know,” Keatyn says, dry heaving again.
Tyler turns up his nose at us and quickly removes the offending items.
“We’ll be in my office,” Keatyn tells him, as she grabs my jacket sleeve and pulls me across the hall.
She plops down on the couch and pulls me down with her.
“Whew,” she says. “What were we talking about again?”
“Ariela. You hired her?”
“No, I didn’t hire her to work here. Although, I invited her to lunch with the girls today. And if she passes Vanessa’s bullshit meter, I will probably ask her to help with my wedding.”
“Bullshit meter?”
“Aiden isn’t convinced we should trust her.”
“And what do you think?”
“Honestly, I think she made a big mistake ten years ago and has been paying for it ever since.”
“She destroyed me.”
“I know. But this could be a good thing, Riley. You never got closure. Maybe, now, you will.”
Tyler brings in a tray of assorted crackers then backs out of the room saying, “Excuse me, while I go bathe in hand sanitizer.”
“He’s funny,” Keatyn says with a laugh as she shoves two crackers into her mouth.
“So, are you ready for the board meeting?” I ask, changing the subject. I don’t want to talk about Ariela anymore. I can’t.
“Of course, I love board days. I get to see my grandpa.”
“We've come a long way from the Eastbrooke kids full of dreams. Captive Films has done well. Very well.”
“That's because we always choose projects we’re passionate about.”
“I was looking at the reports before you got here. The board will be quite pleased. The Keatyn Chronicles, part three, is doing insanely well.” Her ring catches my eye. “It’s really cool he got you a sunset for your finger. I always thought I'd get Ariela . . .”
I stop.
Shit.
Why does she keep invading my thoughts?
Why can’t I get the fucking kiss or the elevator out of my mind?
Or the way she shoved her hands down my pants like it was her right.
Or the look on her face when she saw Shelby.
“A big pink diamond,” Keatyn says, finishing my sentence and four more crackers.
“Yeah.”
“Did you notice she was wearing the Hello Kitty ring you gave her?”
“Yeah, bitch move.”
“She told me last night she wore it to give her strength. She came to California for you, Riley.”
“I don’t want to talk about it. So if not Ariela, who the hell did you hire without asking me?”
“Don’t get mad, but . . .” There’s a knock on the door. “Grandpa!” she says, jumping off the couch and ending our conversation.
After the board meeting, Grandpa says to Keatyn, “I better see you this weekend.”
“I’ll be there,” she replies.
“You’re going up to the vineyard this weekend?” Dallas asks Keatyn.
“Yeah, hopefully I’ll get there Saturday. But I’ll be there, for sure, on Sunday. Aiden’s flying up today with my grandparents.”
“RiAnne’s mother is in town to help her shop for the nursery. How would you feel about having me and a mess of kids join you?” Dallas asks Grandpa.
“Sounds like heaven,” Grandpa says.
“Sounds like hell,” I mutter, even though I love his kids.
Grandpa hears me and slaps me on the back. “Hollywood, you need to start thinking about settling down yourself. Money can’t buy you love.”
“No, but it can buy you a whole lotta sex. Right, Riley?” Dallas quips.
Grandpa laughs at Dallas’ joke, but is serious when he speaks to me. “I hear your old flame is back in town.”
“Where’d you hear that?”
Dallas raises his hand. “Guilty.”
“Not that it matters but I’ve moved on.”
“You need to kiss her, son.”
“Why?”
“Because a kiss will tell you just how moved on you really are.”
Keatyn starts to open her mouth, but I glare at her, stopping her from announcing to the world that I already kissed Ariela.
And that we both know I haven’t really moved on.
I’ve never moved on.
Rodeo Drive - Beverly Hills
VANESSA
“What’s your schedule like today? Can you meet at Harry Winston’s before lunch?” I ask Keatyn, when she answers her cell. “I just got the final check in my divorce settlement. I need to buy myself a reminder of why no one should ever get married.”
“Aiden and I got engaged in Paris last week,” she says, laughing.
“If you tell me it was at the top of the Eiffel Tower at sunset, I’m going to puke.”
“Ha! It was! It was beautiful and perfect. And wait until you see my ring!”
“I can’t believe you’re just now telling me? And how the hell did the press not get wind of it?”
“We’ve really only told our families.”
“Hmm. Not to talk shop, but we’ll make a big announcement of it. Come of think of it, it’s a great movie tie in. It will be good for you and Captive Films.”
“Oh, I never thought of it that way, but I guess it does sort of show fans our big happy ending, right?”
“Exactly. And I should rephrase my original statement. I’m buying myself something fabulous to remind myself why I should never get married again. You should absolutely marry Aiden. How was the board meeting?”
“Short and sweet. Riley and Dallas did their presentations and told them how well we’re doing. I gave them an update on new projects. Everyone left happy. I just finished an appointment and was going to kill some time shopping before lunch. So, as usual, you have impeccable timing. I’d love to meet you there.”
“See you—Bitch, get out of my way!—oh, sorry, old woman in the road. See you in a few.”
Heads turn when Keatyn walks into the store.
Which makes me smile.
As the owner of the boutique public relations firm that handles her publicity, I know that it’s mostly my doing. Sure, she has talent for days, but I help keep her on the front pages of magazines and in the spotlight. And since I’ve taken over a teeny chunk of Captive Film’s PR, Riley and Keatyn are being touted on the latest Majority magazine, where Riley is looking completely delicious. If it weren’t for the fact that I’ve been trying to get him to outsource their movie publicity for years, I’d have already slept with him.
But in the last two years, I’ve sworn off men.
A very good looking man, who I know on a very personal level, says, “Vanessa, darling. It’s been too long.”
I let him air kiss my cheeks but quickly leave to go greet Keatyn.
“I’m not buying anything from him,” I tell her. “He was awkward and annoying in bed. He also didn’t understand the concept of no strings.”
Okay, so I haven’t sworn off men completely. I just use them for sex and never allow my heart to get involved.
Keatyn giggles when she looks behind me. “Ohmigawd, is that the guy who fucked like a rabbit?”
“Shush. Yes. When did he start working here?”
“He doesn’t work here, silly. He’s shopping, see?”
I turn around and see him looking at engagement rings. Poor girl.
Keatyn continues. “So, I called Tristan on the way here. We’ll be having a private showing. He’s been loaning me j
ewels since my first walk on the red carpet.”
Tristan introduces himself, kisses Keatyn, and whisks us off the showroom floor.
“What do you have in mind, Ms. Flanning?”
“Call me Vanessa, please,” I coo, not sure why Keatyn never introduced us before. Probably because I pictured him as a little old French man, not the handsome, sophisticated one kissing my hand.
“Absolutely, Vanessa,” he says, his French accent making me crave both a glass of Bordeaux and him in my bed.
“We’re celebrating her divorce being final,” Keatyn tells him. “She needs something obnoxiously large—nothing red, her ex was into red. Red cars, red rubies . . .”
“Don’t forget redheads,” I add sarcastically.
“I see,” Tristan says. “I will be back with some baubles for you to peruse.”
The minute he walks out the door, I say, “Why didn’t you tell me Tristan is hot?”
“You were married, maybe? Then you swore off men. He’s cute, right?”
“Yeah, he’s cute. And just his accent has my panties wet.”
Keatyn laughs out loud. “You crack me up. Are you sure you’re doing okay today?”
“I’m fine. Glad it’s finally over. I mean, Bam and I haven’t been together for almost two years. Who knew a divorce could take so long? All I know is I’m damn glad we were married and lived in California. God bless California’s community property laws.”
“I have a quick favor to ask you. I invited Ariela to lunch with us. She’s in California. Do you remember her from the summer when we filmed A Day at the Lake 2?”
“She was Riley’s girlfriend, right? They were adorable together. What ever happened to her?”
“Her dad forbade her to follow Riley here for college. Threatened to cut her off. Riley told her that they’d figure something out, even asked her to marry him, but she chose not to go. I don’t think he’s ever gotten over it.”
“Is that why he always dates blonde bimbos?”
“I think so. She’s getting a divorce.”
“As in she hasn’t gotten one yet?”
“She hasn’t even filed.”
“Sounds like trouble.”
“Something else I need to tell you,” she says, lowering her voice. “Aiden and I are getting married in three weeks. I was hoping you would stand up with me.”
“You want me, your friend who hates the institution of marriage, to stand up for you at your wedding?”
She gives me her blazing smile. The one that sells all those magazines. “Yes.”
I hug her, trying not to cry. “I’d be honored.”
“I’m also pregnant,” she whispers in my ear. “You’re the only person who knows, besides Aiden. And, well, Doctor K. That was my appointment today. I don’t want the press to know. And I don’t want the press to know about the wedding.”
Tristan comes back in with velvet trays full of jewelry, before I can reply. I reach down and give her hand a little squeeze.
“I brought numerous jewels for you to look at, but I have one, which I think will cause you to look no further. It’s a statement piece that has a philosophical meaning.” He holds out a stunning ring. “The Diamond Lotus Ring. Platinum setting featuring twelve pair-shaped diamonds, two hundred and forty-eight round brilliant diamonds, and weighing 4.62 carats.”
“Lotus means rebirth,” Keatyn offers.
“Yes, exactly,” Tristan confirms.
I hold up my left ring finger, so he can slide it on, but he says, “Oh, no, no. This goes here.”
Then he slides it on my middle finger.
“I love it on the middle finger,” Keatyn says, laughing. “It’s like a big fuck you to marriage.”
“Says the girl who is finally engaged, I see,” Tristan says. “Aiden and I worked for months on your perfect ring.”
“It is perfect,” she gushes. “He told you about our sunsets?”
“And the green flash.”
“Enough about engagements,” I interrupt. “We are here celebrating my rebirth. What do you think, Keatyn? Should I keep looking?” I hold my hand out in front of her.
“You tell us,” she sasses back. “You were always the girl who knew exactly what she wanted.”
Tears start to fill my eyes as I look sincerely into hers. “I lost that girl for a while, didn’t I?”
“Yeah. You’ve had a rough couple of years, but now you are back. Your business is prospering. You look fantastic.” She squeezes my hand back and says sincerely, “And you have good friends who love you.”
“You were the only client who didn’t leave me when I was going through everything. I never thanked you.”
“That’s because you didn’t need to thank me. We’re friends. It’s what friends do. So what do you think?”
I turn to Tristan, feeling stronger than I have in, well, a while. “I’ll take it.”
As we’re leaving, Keatyn wraps her arm in the crook of my elbow. “That felt good, didn’t it?”
“Yeah,” I say, holding up the ring so we can admire it some more. “I can’t believe it didn’t even need to be sized.”
“It was made for you.”
“You started to tell me about Ariela.”
“Oh, yeah. She’s an event planner and has a blog of her weddings. They’re beautiful.”
“And you’re thinking of having her do yours? Seriously, Keatyn, how are you going to pull off a wedding in three weeks? Is it going to be small?”
She bends her head down and looks over her sunglasses at me.
I laugh. “Sorry. Of course, you are not going to do anything small. Let me rephrase my question. How are you going to pull off a big wedding in three weeks?”
“We’re going to have it at our house at the vineyard. Probably do the reception in the new barn. That solves the location aspect. I’ve got to talk to Kym about a dress.”
“Did you get engaged because you’re pregnant?”
“No, he didn’t know. I did the pregnancy test the morning he proposed. Crazy timing. But I want to be married before the baby is born and I don’t want to look pregnant in the pictures.”
“Understandable.”
“Oh, and don’t yell at me, but I’m changing my name to Keatyn Arrington.”
“Well, of course, legally.”
“No, for movies too.”
“Keatyn, I know you love Aiden, but don’t give up your name. Not professionally. What if it doesn’t work out? I know right now it’s all rainbows and roses, but it might not always be that way. Trust me, I know.”
“Vanessa, did you think Bam was your true love?”
“I loved him. He was charming and . . .”
“That’s not what I asked. We can fall in love with different people throughout our lives but, sometimes, you find the one. That special one. The big deal. The dream.”
“The moon wish?” I say teasingly.
“Exactly.”
“It’s easy to say now that he wasn’t but my dad had reservations about him. His family wasn’t exactly loving toward me. Maybe I was just too young to see past the way he impressed me with his lifestyle. Maybe it was my fault too. Maybe I loved the lifestyle more than I did him.”
“Or maybe you had to go through it all to find the person you’re really supposed to be with. Maybe he’s not rich and famous and you needed the lesson?”
“I know you’re talking from experience on all that. I know that’s how you feel about the whole stalker thing. That he pushed you to learn important lessons about life, love, and family.”
“It certainly made me realize what’s important. It made me grow up. And that includes listening to Aiden even when I don’t agree with him.”
“You don’t agree on something?”
“Yes, he’s worried about Ariela being back in our life. Says we don’t know her and I shouldn’t be so quick to trust her. What if I ask her to plan my wedding and she tells everyone when it is? We figured we’d tell everyone, like the vendors, that i
t’s a fundraiser for Moon Wish . . .”
“If the press finds out, it will be a nightmare with helicopters flying overhead and all that.”
“Exactly what I don’t want.”
“Let’s put out a statement about your engagement. Then I’ll spread word that you’re thinking of a spring wedding in Paris.”
“That sounds good. And you’ll give me your opinion on Ariela after lunch?”
“Absolutely.”
Keatyn and I are the first to arrive at the restaurant. We’re in the process of being seated when RiAnne waddles her way through the tables, looking like if she coughed too hard she would burst. Ariela and Peyton follow closely behind her.
Ariela looks exactly the way I remember her. Tall, pretty, great eyes, and a sincere smile. She walks right up to me and gives me a hug like I’m her long lost best friend. “Vanessa! It’s so good to see you. You look amazing!”
“Thank you. I understand you’re getting a divorce?” I say, cutting to the chase as we sit down. I think we need to find out what this girl is up to.
The waiter takes our drink orders and as soon as he’s stepped away from the table, she replies, “Have you ever had one of those moments where you knew you had to change your life?”
I nod, because I know exactly what she means, but the rest of the girls are squinting their eyes.
“I’m sure you all want to know why I’m here. I’d want to know too. I thought it was dumb luck I ran into Keatyn at the store the other day, but it feels more like it’s exactly what was supposed to happen. I came here to see Riley. I made a mistake. I shouldn’t have listened to my dad. I shouldn’t have gotten married. I knew it even before I found out he was cheating.”
“I’m sorry you got cheated on,” I say to her. “I know how that feels. What triggered your decision? When you found out about his cheating?”
“No, I had known that for a while. Two things made me snap, I guess you could say.”
“What?” Peyton asks, as Keatyn pats her growing baby bump.
“I told my mom he was having an affair and she told me that successful men often have liaisons, but they can still be wonderful, loving husbands and good fathers.”
“Bullshit,” RiAnne coughs.