Dinner is fabulous, and the alcohol flows copiously around us. I try to stick to champagne until someone buys shots at the second bar, and I’m told it is bad luck to turn it down. Tahoe sips water in between his drinks, mindful of every aspect of the dynamic happening tonight. The last time I was with him and he drank too much, everything went to hell. Aidan and a few of the other SEALs left the first bar to head to the strip club instead of sticking to Malena’s schedule.
She wasn’t bothered. She’s boobs deep in Leif’s arms with hooded eyes and a thick agenda for the night.
Shirley is dancing on top of the bar with Britt, and I’m sitting in our booth wrapped in Tahoe’s arms. He’s staring at me—an intense look that lets me know exactly what he’s thinking. The music is loud, and it’s reverberating inside my chest as I let everything wash over me. The whirlwind happened so quickly. I thumb the back of my engagement ring to remind myself it’s real. I’m in this big city, for the first time in my life, taking in everything, with the man that I will love for the rest of time. The drinks go to my head, and I lean in to kiss him. My intent is just a peck, but because we’re starved for each other,it ends up being more. He pulls away from me when his breathing speeds and his hands wander where they shouldn’t be in public.
The music lulls into a quieter slow song, and the bodies on the dance floor begin to sway in time. “Are you having a good time?” he asks, using distraction to halt the truth. We both want to tear off our clothes and go at it in this leather booth. “I know it’s a lot,” he adds, raising his brows at the fanfare surrounding us. “But you have to please everyone. Weddings are never about the bride and groom anyway.” He grins.
“How did you get so smart?” I ask, scooting away from him. I need a breather, and I know he does too if the bulge in his pants is any indication. “Maybe for us, it can be about us,” I say. “It’s going to be small, and the reception will just be dinner. Then the rest of the night is ours alone.”
He sighs, fisting his hands by his sides. “I wish that was right now instead of next weekend.”
“Me too.”
Tahoe’s phone lights up on the table in front of us, and he leans over to look. I assume it’s just one of the guys trying to lure him to the strip club, but he grimaces and flips it so the screen is on the table. “I need to be honest with you about something, Caroline. Before you get worried, it’s nothing that I think is huge, but it’s something you should know.”
My mood shifts a bit, but the alcohol helps keep me from spinning into a fear tirade. “Oh, okay. Do you want to go outside to talk? Is it important?” I ask. “I’ve had alot to drink,” I admit. “But I’m sure I’ll remember it in the morning.”
His face goes solemn. “Stella wants to talk to you, Sunny. She’s here,” he says, and my heart sinks down to the floor. Through it, actually. It’s probably halfway to China right now. “Well, she lives here. But she’s coming here because Leif invited her, but I didn’t say no either. It might be a good thing if you talked to her.”
The closure. Stella. I should have known, yet it still hurts. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Tyler.”
“Don’t call me Tyler. Come on. It makes me uncomfortable even asking, but that’s because she knows the man I was before there was you. That’s why I’m not scared. I’m that confident in my convictions, and my decisions, and my love for you.”
“Why does she want to talk to me?” It comes out in a rushed panic.
Before he can answer, I see her. What I assume is her, even in my drunken state, because she’s looking for someone, her eyes scanning the crowd and the booths, until she finally spots ours…and then me. Stella is blonde and tall and as beautiful as you’d expect. “She’s here,” I tell Tahoe. His gaze traces mine, and I can see his chest heave a huge sigh next to me. Stella walks toward our table, a small smile on her face, and for some reason my fear vanishes. She’s married, Tahoe said. She has a baby, a family. He said she’s happy. This woman is not a threat. She was never a threat if what Tahoe says is true.
Tahoe stands to greet her and helps me stand. “Caroline, this is my old friend, Stella. Stella, meet myfiancée, Caroline.”
Stella shakes my hand and eyes my ring. “You lucky dog,” Stella says, winking at Tahoe. “It’s so nice to meet you, Caroline. Tyler has told me so much about you.” He has? “Only the best of things. It’s like I’m looking at a legend right now,” she adds, eyeing me up and down. It’s not malicious or catty in the way that Britt sometimes regards me, it’s her taking stock of me. It’s curious and confusing.
“I wish I could say the same,” I return. “It is great to meet you. Any friend of Tahoe’s is a friend of mine. Would you like to sit? Have a drink?” I ask, Southern manners dictating I host, even when I’m not really hosting.
“I just wanted to stop in and give you both my congratulations. I wouldn’t intrude on your special night,” Stella replies. Leif pulls himself away from Malena to greet Stella, and I can see the daggers in my friend’s eyes. Aimed directly at her current threat. Stella. If I could will her cattiness away for a minute, I would. Right now. Because she has no clue.
“Stella,” I interrupt. “Tahoe mentioned you’d like to chat with me for a bit. What do you say? They have a table in the other room we could sit at for a moment or two.”
Leif pulls away, some other sense telling him to back away from the woman and return to the drunken one jockeying for his affection. Stella wishes Leif a good night, waves at Malena to show no ill will, and agrees to talk to me.
“Are you sure?” Tahoe asks, seeing the exchangeand understanding I only offered to save my friend from embarrassing herself.
“Sure. It’s just a talk, right? What can she possibly say? I love you, Tahoe. Nothing will change that.”
His gaze turns worried as he walks me around the table and all the way into a private room. When it is just the three of us, he kisses my cheek, walks out, and closes the door. The silence is the first thing I notice. “Gosh, I wonder what these rooms are actually for,” I exclaim. “You could kill someone in here, and no one would know!” I steady myself on one of the plush chairs.
Stella laughs. “You don’t want to know,” she says. Her smile is friendly, and there’s no malice behind it. “Not for killing people, though.”
I blush. “I probably don’t want to know, do I?”
“You really are more beautiful than he let on. The innocence box was checked the second you said hello. You know what I think, Caroline, flyer of planes and slayer of beastly hearts?”
I grin. “Huh?” I ask.
“That if one person was created for everyone, you were made for him. A few years ago I’d be upset about that, but now that I’ve found my own happiness outside of him, I couldn’t be more thrilled. He deserves to be happy, you know?” Her eyes glass over. “He’s had a really hard life. Had to make some tough decisions.” She looks away, almost as if she’s talking directly to him instead of to me. “He’s the best friend everyone hopes to have. I think losing him as a best friend was the hardest part for me.”
My stomach sinks. I am Stella’s overdue closure. I am the walking, talking, happily ever after she didn’t get. “He is a great man. No one goes without flaws, but his are of the most forgivable variety. He makes mistakes, but his heart is big. He loves me more than I deserve,” I say. “I’m sorry you lost him as a friend, Stella. But didn’t you leave him?”
“Sit down. Please. Should we grab that drink?” she asks. Suddenly, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be. She has information about the man I’m about to marry. With her, she carries a perspective no one else on this entire earth will have. I’d be a fool to act like a jealous fiancée and turn this opportunity down. We both know I’ve already won. There’s no sense in being bitter about it. She’s not. I won’t be.
