Face-Off at the Altar

by Toni Aleo

“But we are good now, and nothing will come between us. Don’t get worked up over that or the choices they have made. They love you both, they are parents. Parents don’t see wrong in their children because their eyes are clouded by their love for them.”

  “Well, in the meantime, their love for her hurt me.”

  He nodded before leaning in close, his lips at her ear. “So I’ll love you for everyone, okay? Just please, calm down. I don’t want you this upset over something we can’t change. You can’t change them. You can’t change Skylar. All we can do is worry about each other. Breathe, baby, I got you.”

  Pulling back, he smiled, kissing the side of her mouth. She hadn’t realized she was shaking or that she was on the brink of tears, but she was. Her whole body was red with anger, and her heart was pounding against her ribs so hard. Looking around, she saw that people were staring. Lucy was in the corner, her eyes wide, and Mekena felt stupid. Small. She felt out of control. Something she rarely felt.

  Except when she was with him.

  Looking deep into his eyes, she nodded as she sucked in a deep breath. “Okay.”

  “Okay,” he said, kissing her nose once more.

  “Mekena,” her mother said, but she shook her head.

  “I can’t. I can’t do this. I am so mad at you, at Dad, and the reason I don’t call is because of my anger—”

  “Then let us fix that,” her father stressed, coming in closer. “You’re right, we shouldn’t have handled it the way we did. But we really thought it wasn’t that big of a deal. We didn’t know it was this deep, that she had done what she did. We thought he was scum, and in a way, we were glad you were rid of him. But when we heard the whole story, when she admitted to what she did, we realized our mistake, and we are so incredibly sorry.”

  “We never meant to hurt you. We just didn’t have all the facts,” her mother added, but Mekena shook her head.

  “You don’t need the facts. If I’m hurt, feel for me.”

  “Oh, baby, we did. But like your dad said, we’d thought it was good he was gone. Who sleeps with someone’s sister, you know? But when the truth came to light, we realized that Skylar was the scum,” her mother said, struggling on the last word. “Kennie, she is so sick.”

  When her mother’s voice broke, Mekena looked up, her heart hurting for her mom. She didn’t like the way they’d handled the situation, that was a given, but these were her parents and she did love them. Markus was right; they loved their children. It was apparent all over their faces.

  Clearing his throat, her dad said, “She got busted. This time, with cocaine. We told her we’d pay for the lawyer if she’d get help. She doesn’t want it. She doesn’t want our help.”

  “And we don’t know what to do,” her mother cried, and Markus reached out, taking her hand.

  “There is nothing you can do, and I know that hurts. I can’t imagine. But addicts are a different kind of monsters, and unless they want help, you can’t help them,” he stressed, and Mekena was in awe of him.

  These people were the parents of the woman who’d tried to rape him, and he was consoling them. Her heart couldn’t take it, and she found herself falling in love with him all over again. Who knew a person could fall multiple times for another? But she was. Completely in love with him.

  “All you can do is pray, and maybe she’ll wake up,” he added, and Mekena wrapped her arms around his waist. He smiled, tucking her into his side before looking back at her parents. “It won’t be easy, but I think you need to let her know you love her and that you’re there for her.”

  Her father nodded his head. “That’s what the therapist said.”

  “Yeah, those therapists are actually smart,” he said with a laugh, and her father smiled.

  Her father reached out, cupping Mekena’s hand. “I’m sorry we hurt you, Kennie. We love you so much.”

  “We do,” her mother cried, nodding her head. “And you’re right, we haven’t done right by you with everything, but that will change. We’ll do better.”

  “We will,” her father promised.

  That was all Mekena wanted, but she wasn’t sure if she could believe them. Skylar would always be the star in their eyes. Mekena was the geeky, brainy kid they didn’t have to worry about because she was too smart to do the things Skylar did growing up. Jumping out of trees and breaking limbs? Nope, not Mekena. Getting caught sleeping with a guy in her room? Hell no, not Mekena. Failing her senior year? No way, Mekena could have graduated her junior year. As she stared into her parents’ faces, she understood more and more what Markus meant. They didn’t have to worry about Mekena; she was good. But Skylar, she needed their worry, their extra love.

  She didn’t have what Mekena did.

  A job she loved. A bright future. A guy who would love her enough for everyone.

  “Sounds good,” she said simply, her parents’ faces filling with relief.

  “Great. Let us take y’all to lunch, my treat,” her father insisted, but before Mekena could politely decline, Markus was grinning beside her, his hands holding her tightly.

  “Actually, we are here with our interior decorator, and she’s expensive. So maybe dinner? Tonight?”

  When Mekena heard Lucy laugh, she smiled since they all knew they were watching Angie for Lucy and Benji as payment. Her father nodded happily as her mom wiped her face and grinned. “Sounds great. Six okay?”

  “Great. I’ll be starving by then if I don’t die looking at lamps,” Markus joked, and she beamed up at him as her father cupped his shoulder.

  “I hear you,” he laughed before looking back at Mekena. “I think you got yourself a good one.”

  “I do,” she said, holding him close.

  “Wouldn’t expect anything less. We all know how Mekena is,” her dad joked, and Markus nodded.

  “She doesn’t settle for anything but the best,” he said with a cheesy grin that she rolled her eyes at.

  Mekena smiled as her mother spoke up. “We always have said that. Only the best for our Kennie.”

  Mekena’s heart soared as she nodded. “Yeah, okay, stop. Y’all are making me blush. We’ll see you tonight? I’ll text you the address to the restaurant?”

  “Sounds good. Make sure it’s a good steak place,” her dad said as he cuddled her mom up.

  “I agree. I’m feeling cow,” he said, grinning at Mekena as she rolled her eyes.

  “We aren’t getting the chair,” she muttered before nodding to her parents and saying brightly, “See y’all tonight.”

  They said bye and started for the rugs while Mekena stood with Markus, wrapped up in his arms. Her heart was singing for him as his lips dusted her temple. She could feel his heart beat against her chest, and when she looked up, he looked concerned.

  “Are you okay?”

  She nodded. “I’m fine.”

  “Good. You can cancel dinner if you don’t want to go. I didn’t want to hurt their feelings.”

  “Do you want to go?”

  “I do. I like them. They seem nice enough.”

  She smiled. “They are. I just came to the realization they really don’t have to worry about me. It isn’t that they favor Skylar, it’s just they don’t have to be concerned about me the way they have to with her.”

  “You’re right.”

  Swallowing hard, she nodded. “Maybe she is sick.”

  “Drugs are scary.”

  “I don’t know if I can help her, though. I’m still so mad.”

  “Which is understandable. Your forgiveness will come.”

  Mekena nodded. “Yeah, but right now, I’m good. Great, even.”

  “Yeah, you are. Hot too.”

  She giggled as she smacked him. “Thank you for being amazing to them. You didn’t have to.”

  He shrugged. “I didn’t have to, but I wanted to because I love you, and they are a part of you.”

  “Which means I’m going to church on Sunday?”

  He grinned. “Yup, and I’ll get you a Sunday hat.”
>
  “Will it distract them from asking about my ring size?”

  He thought that over. “You might need a really big hat. With a bird on it.”

  She nodded, loving everything about this eccentric man. “Cool, I like birds. Make sure it’s purple. That’s my new color.”

  Grinning, he kissed her lips hard. “Purple bird, done.”

  “And glitter.”

  “With glitter.”

  “And maybe some rhinestones. Hell, might as well come in there like a queen.”

  “Good plan since you’re my queen,” he said cheekily, his eyes sparkling.

  “Do you think I can order a Cinderella dress before Sunday?” she asked, her eyes lively while she felt so light inside. She loved this side of them. The playful, nutty side. “Oh, wait, would that match the purple bird hat?”

  “Eh, no, maybe I can get blue.”

  “Oh, yes, try! And glass slippers!”

  When his face broke into a grin, he snorted with laughter as she smiled back. “I love you, Mekena Preston.”

  Holding on to his biceps, she held his gaze, knowing life would be boring without him. She would never find a man who would love her as much as he did, or one who would also be so kind as to accept her parents even with the baggage they carried. He didn’t have to do that, but he did because he loved her. God, what a beautiful thing to know. What a beautiful man to love.

  Her man.

  “And I love you. More than you’ll ever know.”

  “Bullshit.”

  Mekena snorted a bit at Markus’s annoyance. “Markus, they don’t want any ‘hanky-panky’ on the plane,” she said, quoting Coach Baxter. Though, she couldn’t keep a straight face if she tried. The fact that they couldn’t sit together on the plane was plausible, and she understood the team’s reasoning, but thinking they would get it on while on the plane was just ludicrous. She wouldn’t do that with the whole team on the plane! And her boss! What kind of girl did they think she was? She was a professional, one who may be dating a doofus, but a professional.

  “But I want to do the hanky-panky. I wanted to join the Mile High Club, damn it. This was my chance!”

  Mekena stopped in the middle of the airfield, where everyone was saying good-bye to their players, while Markus kept walking toward the plane. She repeated what he’d just said, and then her eyes went wide as she realized what the “Mile High Club” was. When he looked back at her in confusion, she reached out and smacked him. “You wanted to do it on the plane. With your boss on there. You freak!”

  Laughing loudly, he pulled her into his arms. “Hey, you’re the naughty one. You influenced me.”

  “I did not!” she gasped, shaking her head. “Markus—” She paused. “How do I not know your middle name?”

  “I don’t have one.”

  “You don’t have one?”

  “Nope.”

  “Why?”

  “My parents couldn’t afford one back then. We were poor.”

  Her eyes squinted as her lips pressed together. “What?”

  He laughed. “What? I was poor, they couldn’t afford one!”

  “That is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard, and I seriously can’t even with you.”

  “What?” he asked innocently. “The fact that I don’t have a middle name or getting it on in the plane? I need to know what you ‘can’t even’ with me about. And will you be over that before we land so we can get it on in the hotel room? Your room—since they are making me share with Vaughn.”

  Stomping by him, she shook her head. “Everything. And you can forget about tonight, buddy.”

  He puckered his lips. “Prude.”

  “Freak,” she called as she climbed the stairs to the plane, but she was only answered by his laughter and then a hard slap of his hand on her ass.

  Looking back at him, she glared. “I’m pretty sure I can get you for sexual harassment.”

  He scoffed. “Ha, and I’ll hit your claim with the claim of what you did to me this morning. With your mouth.”

  “Markus! Hush,” she yelled, turning bright red as she stomped onto the plane, hiding her grin. He was infuriatingly cute and annoying too. Sitting down in the second row by the window, she put her things at her feet, and when she sat back up, he was sitting beside her, a grin on his face. “Um, you’re supposed to be back there. Don’t get me in trouble.”

  He rolled his eyes and then leaned over, kissing her hard on the lips. Getting lost in the kiss, she couldn’t help but smile. He made her so fucking happy. Leaning into the kiss, she kissed the side of his mouth before pulling away. “Go away.”

  With a wink, he said, “Yes, ma’am.”

  Getting up, he started for the back as Brie Soledad entered the plane and looked around, hopefulness in her eyes. They hadn’t met but in passing, so Mekena didn’t know much about her except that she was gorgeous and she hated Vaughn Johansson. With everything in her soul. The interviews they did together were watched by everyone just for the sheer hilarity of them. He was such an ass, and she was so cool and calm. But everyone swore she was two seconds away from knocking him upside the head with her mic.

  There was actually a bet going on that she would do it before the season was over.

  Mekena had twenty dollars in the pot.

  When Brie looked at her, Mekena smiled and figured since they were the only girls on the team’s non-athletic staff, they should be friendly.

  “Hey, wanna sit with me?”

  “God, yes, thank you. I hate sitting with JD,” she said, speaking of the camera guy. She sat down and put her stuff below her feet. “He eats these peanuts and, ugh, they stink.”

  Mekena smiled. “This is my first trip, so I haven’t had the pleasure.”

  “Oh, that’s right! You’re Mekena, right? The team photographer.”

  “Yup, and Brie, did I say that right?”

  “Perfect,” she said with a bright smile. She had blond hair with an edgy cut, her eyes were big and blue and set in a very angular face. She was extremely pretty, almost supermodel-pretty, but she was very short and thick. Almost like she worked out but liked food a lot. “So we should be friends. Like, just decide now to get along and not ever talk shit about each other or sleep with the guy the other girl likes.”

  Mekena grinned. She was going to like Brie Soledad a lot. “Exactly, though, as long as you don’t sleep with Markus, we are good.”

  “Reeves? Rookie Reeves? Got your eye on him? He is a tall drink of chocolate milk. Yum.”

  Mekena laughed. “Yeah, he’s my boyfriend.”

  Brie’s face deepened with color. “And I meant that with total respect, of course.”

  “Of course.” Mekena grinned as she leaned back in her seat.

  When everyone was on the plane, they took off, though neither Brie nor Mekena talked much. Which was mostly because Brie looked like she was going to have a panic attack and puke everywhere.

  Once in the air, she looked over at Mekena. “You would think I would be good at flying. News flash, I’m not.”

  Mekena smiled as she shut the book she had begun reading. “I can tell.”

  “Oh well, I’ll get used to it. One day.” She let out a long breath and then pointed to Mekena’s book. “What are you reading?”

  “Atonement,” she said with a shy smile. “Markus and I are reading it together this road trip.”

  Brie made a face, not one of being impressed either. “Wow. That’s amazing.”

  Mekena laughed. “I’ll probably be the only one reading, since it looks like—” She sat up in her seat, looking back to where Markus was sitting with Vaughn, with headphones on as they both laughed. “He is watching something with Vaughn.”

  Just his name made Brie roll her eyes. “Yeah, if you want him to do anything, get him away from JoHo— Er…I mean JoJo.”

  Mekena snorted with laughter as Brie let out a sigh, opening her notebook that was full of little doodles and writings. “So you don’t like Vaughn, I take it?”
r />   Brie feigned innocence. “Me? I love everyone.”

  Still laughing, Mekena nodded. “Sure.”

  “Sure,” Brie agreed as she turned the page in her notebook. Mekena waited and then realized Brie wasn’t going to give anything up.

  “If we’re friends, aren’t you supposed to be honest?”

  Brie looked over at her, a grin pulling at her lips as she leaned in, lowering her voice. “He’s an egotistical asshole. I don’t know what I did to him, but he has treated me like shit since the moment I met him. He ruins my interviews, and he’s a douche. He acts like he is the star of this team, when let’s be honest, there’s better. Sinclair, King, Thomas, hell, Anderson, to name a few. We are stacked with talent, and he acts as if he owns the team. He makes me itch.”

  “Wow. That was a lot of word vomit,” Mekena commented and Brie nodded. “And all that translated into is you are attracted to him, and you hate it.”

  Brie nodded. “That too.”

  When they both started laughing, Brie exclaimed, “It’s just so frustrating! Like, why is he so hot?”

  Mekena shook her head. “You know, I was taking pictures of him the other day, shaking his hair out before he put on his helmet, and I thought ‘Why is it sexy when he does that?’”

  Brie threw her hands up. “Exactly! Have you seen him without pants? I mean, come on, I know what a cup looks like, and he wasn’t wearing a cup. He was all na-tu-ral, which translates into a huge dick. And I’m supposed to be professional through that?”

  Both women snorted with laughter as Coach looked over and glared. “Now listen here, you clucky chickens, I won’t listen to your giggling this whole trip. We have planning to do, hockey games to win.”

  Mekena froze, her stomach dropping. But Brie laughed before eyeing him. “I think I can sue you for sexual harassment for calling me a clucky chicken. I’m writing it down to ask HR later.”

  Coach’s eyes widened as he quickly looked away while everyone around them laughed and razzed him. Meanwhile, Mekena was sure she had a heart attack, came back to life, and died again.

  That is, until Brie looked over at her, giggling. “He’s got a whole lotta bite, but he’s such a sweetie.”

  “Oh. Good to know.”