That makes sense.
“Okay, let’s start at the spa, maybe?”
“That’s where I’d go. I love a deep tissue massage when I’m pissed.”
“I’ll make a mental note of that,” I add comically.
“Yeah, but when I’m pissed with you, I rather you drop to your knees and give me a Kaya special. In fact, I think I’m going to need one of those tonight. You were a bad girl and went against everything I told you today.”
“See, that’s the first problem, Mr. Jennings. You can’ttell meto do anything.”
“Is that so?” He flashes that wicked smile of his and I practically melt.
“Absolutely.” I grin back as my stomach flutters. “Come on, let’s find Dena.”
Brick and I spend about fifteen minutes looking all over the resort for Dena and cannot find her. I give my brother a call just to make sure she hasn’t checked in with him, but he woefully tells me she hasn’t. I assure him I’ll find her and we keep looking. It isn’t until about thirty minutes later that we find her sitting quietly on a hotel towel by the water, near the rocky part of the beach.
We approach her carefully. It’s obvious she’s been crying, and now it looks as if she’s taking some time to reflect on the exchange she had with Kyle. This isn’t good. She’s definitely not happy.
“Hey, Dena.”
Brick and I take a seat on the sand, not worrying about all the tiny grains that might end up inside our clothes.
“Oh, hey.”
“I talked to Kyle,” I tell her. “He told me the two of you had a bit of a misunderstanding.”
“It wasn’t a misunderstanding.”
“Tell me what happened, Dee Dee. Maybe I can help,” Brick offers.
She wipes the back of her eyes with her hands and begins.
“I love Kyle, but sometimes he can be very selfish.”
“That’s true,” I agree. “But you know that better than anyone and you still agree to marry him.”
“That’s the thing, Kaya, I didn’t really know. When I saw that email from Mateo about the job offer and then read Kyle’s response, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I don’t know him like I think I do and because of that, I’m not sure if I should marry him. Hell, I’m not sure if I can trust him.”
“Of course you can trust him. Kyle loves you,” Brick says.
“If he loved me, he wouldn’t be considering a job offer in Arizona without talking to me about it. He was going to do what Kyle always does, and that’s make a decision and then explain to me after the fact why I should agree to it.”
“I don’t think that’s fair, Dena. You don’t know all the details yet. He might have just been telling his friend whatever he wanted to hear. A move like that is a huge deal. He wouldn’t just unilaterally decide something like that without your input.”
“Listen, I realize we dragged twenty people to this damn island to watch us say our vows, but if it’s not right, it’s not right. I don’t want to ruin anyone’s vacation, but I also am not going to stand up there and lie either.”
My first reaction is to say something else in defense of Kyle because I honestly think Dena canceling the wedding is a bit of an overreaction on her part, but Brick gently taps my arm to stop me and speaks instead.
“There’s no lie, Dee Dee. You and Kyle are the best example of what true love looks like. Sometimes that shit is hard. Sometimes it’s messy. But most of the time, it’s beautiful between you two, right?”
Tears swell in her eyes again. “Yeah, most of the time it’s great.”
“Take it from me, most of the time is a hell of a lot better than most people will ever see. I never saw my parents together, or my grandparents, and I’ve never been in a relationship for over six months myself. Most of us are out here flailing because we were born into dysfunction, but I truly believe that you and Kyle have a fighting chance to make it all the way until death do you part. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe in it.”
I can tell that Brick’s persuasive words are turning the tide and there just may be a wedding tomorrow. It’s in Dena’s eyes. But his remarks also give me food for thought as the two of them hug it out.
Over these last forty-eight hours, Brick has been pushing for more from me but is clearly emotionally unavailable to see it through. If I listen to him, I could mess around and actually fall for this guy, but then he’d disappear on me just like every other man in my life does.
