Sadly, the last conversation I had with my mom was about Devon. He had just left after a long weekend, and I was raving about him. Of course, that’s the one thing she wanted to talk about.
It broke my heart to lie to her, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell her the truth. She was excited about the chance to meet him, to plan a wedding someday, and spoil her future grandkids. I let her keep her dreams for now. In a few weeks, I’ll break the news to her and soften the blow by coming home for Christmas.
Another holiday spent flying. More money spent on an over-priced plane ticket. My saving account is shrinking by the second, the vacation I’ve been dreaming of farther away from happening.
Ally texts me moments after I walk through my front door. The apartment is quiet, Audra is more than likely still gone for the holiday. She should be back later tonight hopefully. I hate being here alone these days. The quiet allows my mind to wander places I’d rather it not venture right now.
ALLY: Dinner at five o’clock. You’re still coming, right?
ME: Yep. Just got home.
ALLY: Good. See you at later then.
ME: Does Emerson need any help? I can come over early.
ALLY: No. We’ve got it under control.
That’s three hours to waste. With nothing to do. No one to talk to. I’d rather go and help, keep my mind occupied, spend time with my friends.
Unpacking, I start a load of laundry before hopping in the shower to get ready. Keeping a close eye on the time, I’m about to head out the door a few minutes early when I get another text from Ally. Sitting idle, waiting to leave, is driving me nuts. I need human interaction.
ALLY: Can you stop and pick up a few bottles of wine on your way over?
ME: Sure. I was just about to head out.
ALLY: Take your time. Dinner’s running behind.
ME: Don’t you dare eat without me. My mom’s turkey was dry this year, so I’m looking forward to this.
ALLY: We won’t.
ME: Red or white?
ALLY: Whatever you’re in the mood for.
White it is, then. The last time I had a glass of wine was with Devon. He prefers red, as do I normally. I’ll be drinking white from now on so I don’t have to wonder whether or not he would have liked the bottle I picked out.
My mom offered me a glass of red wine with dinner the other night. I declined, and the look of shock on her face almost broke me. I played it off as not being in the mood and feeling jetlagged. She nodded, accepting my answer, but I’m certain she didn’t buy it for a second. She knows me better than that.
Stopping at the market on my way over, I pick up three bottles of white wine and a bottle of tequila. The tequila is for later, once I’m home alone. I can sulk in private and have a few shots to help me sleep.
“Knock, knock,” I holler as I walk through Ryder’s front door.
The house is silent, my voice echoing off the walls of the foyer.
“Anyone home?” I call out, setting the bag of wine bottles on the floor so I can remove my coat and close the door.
Stepping into the living room I find Devon standing in front of the fireplace. Hands clasped behind his back, he stands silently watching me. Observing. Evaluating my every move.
My stomach lurches, but I stand my ground.
The ache that’s taken residence in my heart is attempting to beat its way out of my chest.
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I open my mouth to speak, but no words come out.
Why?
That’s all I want to know.
Why is he here?
Staring into his eyes, my answer is clear.
The anger I saw in them last week has vanished. He’s looking at me the way he looked at me the first night we met, and every other night since.
He’s here for me.
He still loves me.
We have a lot to work on, a lot to work out, but there’s no denying that his love for me is holding strong. It hasn’t wavered and neither has mine.
Taking one tiny step forward, Devon matches me. When we meet in the middle of the room, he pulls me to his chest and holds me tight. Wrapping my arms around him, I welcome his embrace, and my eyes close as tears begin to fall.
“I’m so sorry,” he finally says, pulling me away and holding me at arm’s length. “I never should have believed what I heard. I shouldn’t have accused you like that. It wasn’t fair. You deserve better, and I know you better than that. I love you, Justine. From the second I laid eyes on you, I knew you were the one for me. I still believe that, if you’ll give me a second chance to prove it to you.”
Not sure what to say, I push myself onto my tiptoes and press my lips to his. My intention is to show him I still care. What starts off as a gentle and innocent kiss morphs into so much more the moment Devon takes control, placing his hand at the nape of my neck and pulling me closer.
Passion envelops us. Nothing else matters in this moment.
Applause startles me, causing me to jump and bump heads with Devon. Holding my hand to my forehead, I swing around to find our friends clapping.
This was a setup. And all of them were in on it.
Embracing each of them one at a time, I make my way down the line until I reach my boss. When I hesitate, he pulls me in and wraps his arms around me.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“For what?”
“I have a feeling you’re the reason he’s here.” My statement seems to surprise him.
Smiling, he nods. “I couldn’t have you walking around like a zombie for the rest of your life. Plus, the information he had was misleading. I set the records straight, but I had nothing to do with all this. You need to thank Allison for that. She’s the mastermind.”
Of course she is.
Most of the time, her plans get us in trouble. Someone gets hurt, or something bad happens. Not this time. This time, her plan actually worked out for the best.
Pulling her aside as Emerson leads everyone into the dining room for dinner, I squeeze her tight and kiss her on the cheek.
“You’re welcome,” she chimes, visibly proud of herself.
“I’ll never be able to thank you enough for this.”
“Seeing you happy is thanks enough. Don’t let him get away again. He’s a keeper for sure.”
Linking arms, Ally and I head down the hall to join our friends. “You’re going to have to tell me how you pulled this off someday,” I remark as we enter the dining room.
“Yeah, Ally,” Emerson says, eyeing her suspiciously. “How did you get this knucklehead to listen to you?”
“Hey!” Devon feigns offense as I take the seat next to him.
All eyes are on Ally as she sits to my right.
“You all act like it was hard or something.” Leaning forward, Devon clears his throat and stares Ally down. “What? You barely put up a fight.”
“Are you saying I had a choice?” he challenges.
“No, but you could have pretended to put up a fight. It would have been more fun if you had.”
Winking at Devon, Ally places a scoop of mashed potatoes on her plate and reaches for the gravy. Emerson pulls it out of her reach and raises an eyebrow at her.
“What?”
“Keep talking,” Emerson demands, handing her the gravy.
“I called. He answered. I told him my plan and he went along with it. End of story.” Pouring a heavy-handed amount of gravy on her potatoes, Ally ignores the six sets of eyes watching her.
“I remember it a little differently,” Devon begins, placing a roll on my plate for me. “So, I get this call. It’s a number I don’t recognize, but I know the area code, so I answer it. As soon as I do, I regret it. There’s a shrill voice on the other end of the line yelling obscenities at me.”
Laughter bursts from my chest. I can imagine Ally’s face as she’s yelling at Devon through the phone.
“Anyway, I hang up and she calls right back. I ignore all her calls and texts and decide to call
Tyler instead.” Smiling at Tyler across the table, he nods as he takes a bit of stuffing. “So Tyler gives me the information I need and after I calm down, I text her to let her know that I was going to call her but I’d only talk to her if she’d stop yelling. In all caps, she basically told me to fuck off.”
Laughter erupts from everyone at the table except Ally and Devon. He’s smiling while she shrugs her shoulders.
“What? I was still pissed at him,” she replies defensively.
“Anyway, I gave her a day to cool down and tried again, this time explaining I had made a mistake. Remembering everything Justine had told me about her, I asked her for her help.”
“Wait, what? What does that mean?” Ally asks, her fork clinking against her plate when she drops it.
“Don’t worry about it right now. I want to finish my version of the story since yours was less than accurate.”
“It was accurate; it was lacking in a few details, that’s all.”
“Important details,” he shoots back.
Meanwhile, I’m sitting in the middle of them attempting not to point out how they sound like brother and sister. I’m glad they were able to work together to make tonight possible, but I have a feeling it won’t happen again.
“Po-ta-toe, po-ta-to,” Ally says with the wave of her hand, dismissing Devon’s statement.
“Back to the story. So Ally agreed to help me, but I didn’t have a plan. All I knew was that I had to find a way to get Justine to talk to me, and calling her was out of the picture. It wasn’t something I wanted to do over the phone. I had to do it in person. The original plan was to surprise her Wednesday night, but we didn’t know she was headed home for Thanksgiving. Thanks to Emerson and Ryder, we were able to surprise her tonight.”
“Happy to help,” Emerson says, looking from Devon to Ryder who’s watching her, nothing but love in his eyes.
“That brings us to tonight. I went back home for the holiday and almost didn’t make it back in time. Ally’s quick thinking is the only reason I was able to get here before you tonight,” he says, turning to face me. “I was stuck in traffic for over an hour. If you hadn’t stopped for wine, you would have beat me here and the whole plan would have been blown for the second time.”
“And tequila,” I say, taking a bit of my roll. “I bought tequila too.”
“Bitch,” Ally says from behind me. “There wasn’t any tequila in that bag. Where are you hiding it?”
“Why’d you buy tequila?” Devon asks, both of us ignoring Ally’s question.
“It was to help me sleep tonight.”
“Or we could pull it out and celebrate with our friends,” he suggests.
“I vote for that. I’ll go get it,” Ally offers, standing and holding her hand out.
“My keys are in my coat pocket. The tequila is—”
“Under the passenger seat,” she says, finishing my sentence.
Nodding, Ally goes in search of the tequila. When she returns, she’s holding the open bottle over her head, and shouts “Shots for everyone!”
Ryder sets seven shot glasses on the table, and Ally fills each of them to the brim before handing them out. As we all raise our glasses, Ally looks around and makes eye contact with each of us as we wait for her toast.
There’s a smile on her face, but I can see the realization in her eyes. The sadness.
She’s surrounded by happy couples. We all have the one thing she wants most right now. A companion. Someone to love them unconditionally. The promise of a future to share with another person.
She’ll find someone. It might not be tomorrow or next week, but she’ll find him, and knowing Ally, when she does, he’s in for the fight of his life. She won’t give in easily. She’ll make him work for it. How else will she know he’s the real deal?
Her smile falters slightly, but that doesn’t stop her from giving an amazing toast.
“To amazing friends, new and old. I’m thankful each of you are a part of my life. Here’s to one day having an eighth person at the table to celebrate with so I’m not the odd woman out all the time. Cheers!”
Chapter Twenty-One
Dinner is filled with laughter. Devon is the center of attention, Tyler and Ryder poking fun at him for things he did when they were growing up. Payback for all the stories Devon shared about the two of them in the last few weeks.
Devon was a naughty kid. Pranking his friends. Causing trouble at school.
I’d love to say he’s outgrown those tendencies, but I have a feeling he’s become better at not getting caught. He’s matured, sure, but that same kid still lives inside him and I see the gleam in his eyes as Ryder tells everyone about the time he wrapped the high school principal’s car in layers of plastic wrap and chocolate syrup as a senior prank. Of course, Ryder helped. He’s not as innocent as he makes himself sound.
Tyler stands as Ryder finishes his story, calming the laughter at Devon and Ryder’s expense. All eyes fall on Tyler when he clears his throat.
“What are you doing, man?” Ryder asks, a look of curiosity on his face when Tyler doesn’t say anything.
“There’s something I’ve been meaning to do for a while now, and I haven’t been able to find the right time.” He stops, looking down at Angela who’s seated next to him. Her full attention on Tyler, confusion evident. “We’ve been together for two years now. The best two years of my life. I’m a better man because I have you in my life.”
“Aw, babe. I love you too,” Angela says, reaching up and placing her hand on Tyler’s arm.
“Good,” he starts, dropping to the floor.
I pop out of my chair, realizing what is about to happen and wanting to watch for myself. Angela appears clueless, her brows pinching together. Emerson is seconds behind me, her chair crashing to the floor when she jumps up.
“Angela Anne Walker, I’ve loved you since the first time I saw you. You were on fire that day, telling me off before I even had a chance to ask you your name. I’ve fallen more and more in love with you since that moment, and I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life without you.”
Reaching into his pocket, Tyler produces a gorgeous diamond ring and reaches for Angela’s hand while Angela’s face slowly morphs into surprise. One hand is covering her mouth, the other, held by Tyler, is shaking as he positions the ring at the tip of her finger.
“Will you do me the honor of being my wife?” he finally asks as the first tear escapes, slowly trickling down Angela’s cheek.
“Yes,” she exclaims, her voice muffled behind her hand.
Cheers ring out around the room as Tyler slides the ring on her finger. Placing her hand on either side of Tyler’s face, Angela pulls him to her and kisses him fiercely.
“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,” Emerson repeats, arm flailing excitedly as she bounces up and down, rushing around the table to where Angela is now crying into the crook of Tyler’s neck.
Emerson isn’t having it. She grabs Angela’s hand and begins inspecting her ring, gushing over its beauty, before pulling her up and hugging her as she continues to bounce up and down.
What a night. A reunion and an engagement. What else could possibly make this night any better, I think, looking to where the guys have gathered. Ryder’s watching Emerson, a loving smile on his face. I bet it won’t be long before the two of them are announcing their engagement as well.
“If we’re making life-changing announcements tonight,” Ryder says, raising his voice above the buzz in the room to get everyone’s attention.
Is it happening right now? Are they already engaged? No, that would be too quick. Wouldn’t it?
He’s garnered the attention of everyone in the room, and as Emerson slides up next to him, wrapping her arm around his waist, we all wait for him continue. Looking down at Emerson, she nods, and he looks up with an enormous smile on his face before continuing.
“I’ve asked Emerson to move in with me, and she’s agreed.”
More cheers erupt and Ally pours
shots of tequila for everyone. Watching as she moves around the room, handing out full shot glasses, I wait for her face to fall. This has to be hard on her. In a way, the rest of us are celebrating a new chapter in our life. Chapters she’s not close to opening yet. In a book that’s still waiting to be written for her.
Raising his shot glass, Devon prepares to make a speech.
“I’ve known both of these guys for most of my life, and I couldn’t be happier for either of you right now,” he says, making eye contact with me from across the table. “I’m excited to see what the future holds and to be a part of it. Here’s to new beginnings for all of us.”
Lifting my glass and downing my shot, assuming Devon’s finished with his speech, I almost spit it out when his final words register. Swallowing around the large lump that’s now formed in my throat, I clear my throat and look up at him.
“Can you repeat that please?” I ask as my friends watch our exchange.
“Which part?” he teases.
“I think you know which part,” I say, stepping around Emerson’s fallen chair.
“You mean, the part about me moving to Sunnyside?”
“Yeah, that part.” Another few steps and the only thing standing between me and Devon is my chair.
“Surprise, I’m moving to Sunnyside,” he says, thrusting his arms in the air dramatically.
“When?” I ask, pushing my chair under the table and coming to a stop in front of him.
“Next month.”
“Why?”
“Isn’t that part obvious? You, Justine. I’m here for you. No more weekend adventures. No more crashing in Ryder’s garage. We can see each other every day. Date like normal people. Get to know each other better and learn to trust each other again.”
“I already trust you,” I say as he takes my hands in his.
“Then we can skip the rest of that and just have lots and lots of mind-blowing sex.”
Ally groans, Emerson and Angela laugh, and the guys cheer at Devon’s comment. Me? I’m still standing in front of him in shock.
Rumors: Justine & Devon Page 15
