“She doesn’t dislike you. She just doesn’t know you yet, but we can start to put that right on Tuesday.”
“Tuesday?”
“Tuesday, Independence Day, 4th of July barbecue at Bria’s,” he reminded her.
“I haven’t decided if I’m going yet.”
He frowned and shook his head. Clearly the final clearing of the air was more necessary than he’d anticipated if she thought non-attendance was an option. It wasn’t. “Of course you’re going.”
“You think?” Tasha’s irritation was on the rise at his assumption that she’d just tag along despite how things had turned out at their last meeting.
“No, I know. I’m not going without you and I’m going. The whole of my family will be there and so will you.” He sound angry with her now, but the truth was he was frustrated at the way things had gone with Bria and annoyed with himself because he’d caused it.
“And if I refuse?” When she had been mad with him earlier, when he had been in the wrong she’d probably had the power to refuse to go, but she’d lost that advantage now. He had regained his momentum and Jim, or James the control freak was back in the house, not that she truly believed he’d ever actually left.
“You won’t.” He stared at her knowing he was right.
She crossed her arms, slumped back into the sofa and began to sulk. There was a part of her that wanted to dig her heels in and refuse to go to his sister’s. Possibly to force him to choose between them. However, there was a bigger part of her that wanted to bend to his will. To attend the family function with Jim and his children, to truly be part of their family and to unite it, not divide it.
“Please don’t tell me that you believe that my earlier mistake with you will make that sulking any more acceptable to me than it normally is, Natasha.” He stared at her.
He’d lost ground earlier, but now he was taking it back before he allowed Tasha to believe that this situation or possible future ones were truly negotiable because they weren’t. Bria had been a bitch but they needed to put that behind them so they needed to meet again to achieve that and on top of that he would not become the piggy in the middle between his wife and family. This was one argument she was never going to win. He did acknowledge, at least to himself that if Bria didn’t make amends and it came down to taking a side his choice would always be with Tasha.
She shrugged even more petulantly now making him laugh in spite of his genuine annoyance.
“Oh baby, I have an overwhelming urge to spank you hard right now, but I believe we were going to talk weddings, so it will have to wait.” He laughed again at her look of disappointment. “You might want to rethink your feelings on sex whilst menstruating.”
She frowned at him again, partly because he was probably right and also because she still found even the idea of it distasteful.
“Another frown? So where and when would you like to get married, Natasha?” he asked seriously.
“The whole Vegas thing made me laugh and I never imagined getting married there, by Elvis or a JP, but I do kind of like the idea of disappearing and coming back married; no fuss, no planning, just you and me,” she admitted.
“But?” he asked. “Sounds like there’s a but Tasha.”
“But, Bria had a point, not about my parents, but my grandparents. And Pippa was so excited, like Lizzie. So do we have an obligation to them?”
He considered her question. Were they obligated to do this to everyone’s satisfaction? “Maybe not an obligation, but I know that weddings are rarely just about the bride and groom. What do you want, Tasha? Do you want the big white wedding, the guests, the dress, the cake, or do you want me, you and a couple of strangers off the street to act as witnesses? If we decide that first then we can think about the rest of it.” He draped an arm around her shoulders and gently stroked small circles across her skin.
“I want the dress and I’m not thrilled about strangers being witness to it, but I don’t want it to be complicated and to spend months planning just for me to turn into Bridezilla.” She laughed a little nervously, as though that might actually be a real possibility.
“Okay. We could still do Vegas, but take our own witnesses. If you end up shipping the whole family out, we may as well get married in L.A.”
“If we went to Vegas I’d invite my grandparents, Dan and Pippa, then there’s Lucy and Angie. I assume you would want Philip and Lizzie there, but who else?” They were indeed going to end up shipping the whole family out with them, she could feel it.
“My parents, Bobby, but then that means my sisters, which then adds their partners and their kids, so…”
“So we end up shipping the whole family out,” she finished for him, her earlier thought being confirmed.
“Exactly.”
“So what are the options in L.A.?” she asked curiously.
“Anywhere you want really. Although a church for a six times married man could be a no go, but anywhere else, even here.” He smiled at her, glad to be having a real conversation and hopefully a real plan very soon.
“I’m not sure about that, it seems a bit weird.”
“Why weird?”
