Feeling nothing but overwhelming affection for this man who would stop at nothing to put a smile on my face, or a baby in my arms, I reached out and lightly tapped his naked chest. “Nothing. Put your clothes back on, dork. We’re not having sex. You have a concert in forty-five minutes. Our baby can wait three morehours.”
2
Casey:ThatFace
Eight MonthsEarlier
Ileaned against Jake,struggling to keep my droopy lids open. By the way he tilted his head against mine, weighing me down like a heavy blanket, it was clear his exhaustion mirrored my own. Although the evening was still young, the early hour belied the work we’d put into the day. An endless parade of activities and chores had kept us moving non-stop in preparation of the event we’d both been waiting for since Jake had dropped to one knee and proposed a little over a year ago. And now, snuggled in a worn loveseat in my parents’ hotel room, we were ticking off the last hours of our single lives. By tomorrow at this time, we’dbewed.
Giddy didn’t even come close to describing how I was feeling about my pending nuptials. The animated racing of my heart kept me in a perpetual state of euphoria. I’d even been caught, on multiple occasions today, humming a happy tune. And you know what? I didn’t care who heard me. The fact of the matter was, in the arena of love, I’d scored. As a young girl dreaming up my fantasy guy, I couldn’t have conjured a more perfect mate for myself. Jake was my heart and soul. Ours was the type of love that could, and would, last the trials of a lifetimetogether.
The dreamy smile returned to my face, pushing aside the fatigue. I only had a few more minutes with Jake before his brothers figured out where he was hiding and dragged him off kicking and screaming to the bachelor party he adamantly professed he didn’t want. And once that happened, our next meeting would be at the church, as I walked down the aisle into hiswaitingarms.
My heart began thumping faster as a happy song spontaneously sprang to my lips. But before the melody could take flight, I caught sight of a disturbing reflection in the mirror. Not my reflection, mind you. As previously stated, mine was Disney princess perfect. But Jake’s? What the hell? Let’s just say his expression conveyed less ‘You complete me’ and more ‘I just swallowed a bottle ofDrano.’
I blinked back my surprise. When had that face started? The downward turn of his lips was in stark contrast to the day we’d spent together. Jake had been dialed in from the beginning, gamely keeping pace with me as he posed for pictures with all of my relatives, most of whom he hadn’t met until today. He’d been nothing but charming and gracious. So where was that grimace coming from? Had Jake just been acting the doting fiancé for my family? God knows, he was an expert at playing to the crowd. Being congenial was part of his job; yet even outside of it, in his everyday life, Jake had an uncanny ability to turn it on and off at a moment’s notice; and now, it appeared, he’d been twisting the faucet when he thought I wasn’t looking. Suddenly, I had a bad feeling about tomorrow. Was he second-guessing us? Would he back out at the last minute? No. I knew Jake. He’d never do such a heartless thing to me. So then why the hell did he appear to be fighting back the gagreflex?
Thinking back on the past few months, it occurred to me that I’d seen this same ‘clogged drain’ look on his face before, but it hadn’t seemed as significant back then as it did now… mere hours before exchanging our vows. He should be feeling ecstatic, like me, not mentally preparing himself for a stomach pumping. What were the chances that his anxiety-ridden face was just a result of everyday, run-of-the-mill, pre-weddingjitters?
I mean, please, there couldn’t have been a less stressed groom. Jake had hired a top wedding planner, Boris, and handed the reins over to him. Because of the secret nature of the nuptials, Boris, who had quickly become my very best friend in the entire universe, named the weddingOperation Pretzel. Get it? Tying the knot? I know it might sound totally cheesy, but Boris and I found it wildly funny at the time. We’d laughed and laughed and had even come up with a pretzel-shaped handsignal.
As for Jake, he seemed thrilled to have pawned me off on Boris. With my new bestie in the picture, it gave Jake the excuse to take a totally hands-off approach to all things wedding-related. He’d even gone so far as comparing himself to a backup singer, saying he was happy to just harmonize in the background as Boris and I took the lead. We all knew it was a cop-out, but who was I to argue? I’d been handed a blank check and full rights to the wedding of my dreams. I mean, as long as the groom showed up with a smile on his face on the day, what did I care if he partook in the planning stagesornot?
Besides, just between us, Jake’s ideas were basically crap. Don’t get me wrong – he was a brilliant musician and an amazing man – but he was sorely lacking in the area of personal taste… except, of course, when it came to his choice in brides. If it were up to him, the wedding guests would be dining on hotdogs from 7-Eleven while sucking down their own personal 44 ounce Slurpees. Just to give you an example of what we were dealing with, when Boris sought out Jake’s opinion on his preferred cake flavor, my fiancé replied, ‘Funfetti.’
Sure, I hadn’t needed his opinion during the planning stages, but perhaps I should have at least paid better attention to his moods. Maybe then this change in his demeanor wouldn’t have come as such a shocktome.
Perhaps sensing me analyzing him, Jake instantly turned the frown around and his eyes softened as they connected with mine in the mirror. In response to my questioning look, he dipped his head and gently brushed his lips against myforehead.
“You okay?” I asked, loud enough only for himtohear.
“Yeah, sorry. I was justzoningout.”
I didn’t believe him. Not for a second. This was Jake we were talking about, and if he were feeling anxious, there was a whole array of issues itcouldbe.
“Are you sure? Do you want to go somewhereandtalk?”
His hand felt for mine and upon first contact, our fingers entwined like a braided knot. He squeezed. “I’mfine,Case.”
I looked away from the mirror, but now I was the one frowning. Something didn’t feel quite right; but what was I going to do, accuse him of having second thoughts about marrying me? If he truly was just zoning out, then I’d be putting thoughts into his head. But what if he wasn’t? What if he had changed his mind? Oh, god. He was going to leave me at the altar,wasn’the?
“Casey?”
I’d surely turned several shades of gray in the time it took to totallyoverreact.
“You all right?” Jakequestioned.
No doubt my expression now matched his from momentsearlier.
“Uh-huh.Yeah.Sure.”
Breathe, psycho. Jake would never leave you high and dry like that. Would he?I checked the digital clock on the phone in my parents’ hotel room. 8:53pm. Fourteen hours. Jake just needed to hang in there for fourteen more freakin’ hours. Then he could wig out all he wanted because we’d be married and there’d be nothing he could do about it.That’s the spirit,Casey!
“Not that Idon’t love your stimulating company, but when can I expect to get my sofa back?” My mother’s question thankfully silenced the irrational voice in my head. “I want to watch a little TVbeforebed.”
“I’m still hiding from Keith,” Jakeanswered.
“Well, could you do it in the hallway?” Her flippant question was followed by a sly smile, and Jake ranwithit.
