by Alexa Riley
Then he’d drop everything if Del sent him a text because she might only be able to give him a few brief moments of her time before dinner tomorrow night, but he’d take every minute he could get.
Chapter Six
“You look like you’re going to cry.”
Del looked at Kate, who was frowning. “I’m not going to cry. I promise.”
“If you need to, it’s okay. When we’re done with our cookies, we can go to my room and get every dessert on the room service menu and watch movies.”
And that’s why they were her best friends. “We’re not doing that. We’re here to celebrate and have a good time because you’re getting married soon and that’s what we’re going to do.”
“Oh, good.” Kate laughed. “I’m glad because, not to make it all about me or anything, but this weekend is all about me.”
“And slots,” Brittany said. “I’ve been here since last night and haven’t lost any money yet. I might have another cookie first, though.”
“No more cookies for me right now,” Kate said. “I have my final dress fitting on Monday, so I need to burn some serious calories in the casino unless I’m going to eat salads the rest of the weekend.”
Del laughed. “You just offered to eat every dessert on the room service menu.”
“Yeah, and then wear my most stretchy yoga pants to my wedding. I’m that good a friend, Adeline.”
They talked about the wedding while they drank coffee and ate the cookies her friends agreed were worth drinking coffee black for. Del tried not to be constantly aware of her cell phone sitting on the edge of the table, facedown. Brendan wouldn’t text, she thought. He knew she was there to be with her friends and he wouldn’t interrupt, but the sight of the phone kept her keenly aware that he was out there in the hotel somewhere, waiting to kiss her again.
“We need to get rid of these bags,” Brittany said when they were done. “We’ll burn some calories going back to our rooms and then figure out which casino wing to start in. I’m ready to play some slots.”
“I’m going to make a call while I’m upstairs,” Del said. “I’ll meet you guys in the lobby in about thirty minutes?”
“Seriously?” Kate arched an eyebrow at her. “He’s probably driving right now since it’s only been like half an hour.”
“And he probably has hands-free like everybody else, but I’m not calling Brendan so it doesn’t matter.”
“I don’t know if we should believe you,” Brittany said. “We had our faces pressed to the store window the entire time and that was not a casual goodbye kiss between old friends.”
Of course they’d been watching, she thought. “I’m not calling Brendan because he’s not leaving. He extended his stay.”
They both stared at her, the silence speaking volumes. She probably should have told them that right away, but she’d actually considered not telling them at all. But she didn’t want to lie and sneak around behind their backs. As she’d told Brittany the night before, she was a grown woman.
“It doesn’t change anything,” she said when the silence drew on to the point of being awkward. “This weekend is all about Kate.”
“We’re having a slumber party tonight,” Brittany said. “He’s not invited and you’re not sneaking out to meet him.”
Del hadn’t heard anything about a slumber party, but she wasn’t surprised. Even though they hadn’t been able to get a suite together, they’d all talked about how fun it would be to relive their dorm room days. “I’m not bailing on you guys. He stayed so we can have dinner tomorrow night, after you both head home.”
That was a slight stretching of the truth, since she couldn’t remember if she’d told him when they were leaving before he made the decision, but it was still the truth.
“So who are you calling?” Kate asked, apparently mollified.
“My dad. It won’t take long.”
Brittany looked concerned. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine.” She just wanted to have a conversation with her father before she spent too much more time with Brendan. She needed to find out how strongly her father had felt about her ex-boyfriend so she could judge how he might feel about him now. Not that she was going to let either man dictate her life again, but she wanted to know what she was up against. “It won’t take me long.”
When they stepped out into the lobby, she looked around for Brendan, but didn’t see him anywhere.
“Don’t you dare,” Kate said as they walked to the elevator bank.
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t text him. We’re dumping our shopping bags and you want to call your dad really quick. But if you invite him to stop by your room, we’ll be waiting for you forever.”
“I won’t,” she promised. “We’ve got drinks to drink and money to lose.”
Brittany laughed as she hit the up button. “Hell yeah. But not too much because, you know, mortgage and stuff.”
Del was two floors above them and once she was in her room, she sent her dad a text. Can you video-chat for a few minutes?
It only took a minute for him to respond. Let me go to the computer and I’ll call you.
She grabbed a water while she waited, knowing it would take him a few minutes to get to his den. He didn’t like video-chatting on his phone because he had trouble with the camera angles and felt self-conscious.
Once they’d connected, she sat at the desk and propped her elbow on the wood so the phone was supported. “Hi, Dad.”
“Hi, honey. Aren’t you supposed to be having fun with Kate and Brittany right now?”
“I’m meeting them in a half hour and then we’ll probably be having fun in the casino until after our bedtime.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. I want to ask you something, though. And it’s really important to me that you just tell me what happened.”
His brow furrowed and he leaned closer to the monitor. “That sounds ominous.”
“Brendan Quinn was here. At the casino, I mean. He’s an MMA fighter and he had a match, which he won by knockout, but that doesn’t matter. You remember him, right?”
“Brendan Quinn? You dated him in college.”
“It was more than that, Dad, and you know it. Did you tell him he wasn’t good enough for me?”
He sighed. “Not in so many words, but I did have a talk with him. Man to man. I wanted him to understand what would happen if the relationship between you turned serious.”
“More serious than being in love?”
“Yes, Adeline.” She watched as he walked to the bar almost out of the camera’s range and poured himself some bourbon. “I explained to him that you came from very different worlds. He would never fit in here. And you would struggle in his world. Over time, you’d be pulled between him and your family and you’d resent it. And no matter who you chose—him or us—you’d be unhappy in the future. Maybe not right away, but eventually.”
“You ran him off.”
“I didn’t threaten him. Or bribe him. I simply explained the reality of the situation to him in such a way that he could see the bigger picture.”
“What are you even talking about? Different worlds? We’re not royalty, Dad. We’re not Kennedys. We don’t have state dinners or put three forks next to every plate. What do you mean he wouldn’t fit in?”
“It’s not about knowing which fork to use at a formal dinner. We’re not the Kennedy family, but you’ve still been brought up in a very financially comfortable household. You’re not used to worrying about money.”
“I know that. Trust me, I do. And I appreciate it, but I don’t see what that has to do with Brendan. Or you thinking I’d have to choose between you and him.”
“Maybe you didn’t see it then, but if you’d married him, you’d pr
obably have a couple of kids by now. He wasn’t a financially secure young man and you’d be stuck struggling to figure out how to make your house payments and emergency car repairs. There wouldn’t be any shopping trips or designer handbags or buying yourself a new car for your birthday.”
Stunned, Del shook her head, not even sure she could articulate how very much she hated the words coming out of his mouth at that moment. “First of all, marrying Brendan wouldn’t have magically erased my potential. I probably would not have kids by now because I would have wanted to finish my degree and work on building my career first. If we’d stayed together, we’d probably just be starting to talk about babies now.”
When he opened his mouth, she held up her hand to the camera so he wouldn’t say anything. Not only did she not want to hear whatever it was he wanted to say, but she needed a moment to absorb how much her own words had hurt. She could almost picture her and Brendan curled up on the couch together, talking about it being time to start a family.
“And secondly,” she said after she’d regained her composure enough to speak, “if you think designer handbags and driving a new vehicle matter more to me than he did, then you don’t know me at all. I would have carried my wallet and lip gloss in a paper bag.”
He pressed his lips together, which she recognized as something he did when he was upset with himself and wasn’t sure how to fix something. “I didn’t... I thought it was more casual than that. Handbag was a bad choice of words. I thought—and still think—your life would be harder on so many levels with him and no father wants that for his daughter. I didn’t realize you really cared for him that deeply.”
“I loved him.”
He closed his eyes briefly before giving her a sad look. “I’m sorry, honey.”
She believed him. While he definitely wore the pants in their family, he wasn’t manipulative and everything he’d ever done for his three children, he’d done out of love and concern.
“Are you...” He hesitated, as if unsure of what he wanted to say. “If you should bring Brendan for dinner again in the future, he’ll be welcome here. I’m sorry I interfered, and I only want you to be happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you.”
“Thank you.”
“I feel compelled to say one thing, though, because I am your father and I have to look out for my little girl. If he really loved you back then, one conversation with me shouldn’t have been enough to run him off.”
“Dad.”
He held up his hands. “That’s it. No more interference.”
“I love you,” she said. “Even when you’re interfering.”
“You should go have some fun with Kate and Brittany and worry about everything else later.”
That was just what she planned to do. “I will. Tell Mom I said hi and I’ll see you guys soon.”
Kate and Brittany were already in the lobby when she arrived. They looked at her expectantly, but she just gave them a bright smile. “It’s time to get this party started.”
As they walked toward the escalator that would take them to the casino level, Del spotted Brendan at the far corner of the lobby. He still had his bag in his hand, and he was talking to a man Del thought had been with him after the fight.
Brendan smiled at the man, and Del had to fight back the rush of emotion and heat that swept over her. Then she forced her attention back to where she was going. Not only would she be embarrassed if she walked into somebody, but her best friend was getting married and they were here to celebrate. It was Kate’s last hurrah and they were going to live it up.
* * *
After running into Jonathan in the lobby and saying goodbye, Brendan went to his new room to leave his bag and place a call to his dad. He always called him the morning after a fight, but he’d been distracted this morning and hadn’t talked to him yet.
“Did you watch it?” he asked when his dad answered.
“Of course. Congratulations, son. That was one hell of a kick you gave him.”
“Trust me, he gave me a couple of good ones, too.” He rubbed his thigh, wishing he’d worn something besides jeans, which seemed to press on the massive bruise a little more with each passing hour. But he didn’t want to walk around the hotel or casinos in sweatpants.
“Your mother watched it with me. And she convinced herself the dark-haired lady sitting in the front row with one of your T-shirts was Del. She even went to your room to get the picture of the two of you off your dresser.”
Brendan groaned and then hoped his father hadn’t heard it. He’d forced himself not to bring the picture of him and Del to his new place when he rented it, but he couldn’t shove it in a drawer, so it was still in his old bedroom. “Is there anybody that escapes Mom’s notice?”
“Not that I’ve found. Just know that she’s going to ask you about it when you get home, and since we rewound it a couple of times and I’m sure it was Del, you might want to have an idea of what you’ll tell her.”
He didn’t want to tell his mom anything since there was really nothing to say at the moment. Telling a woman who’d lost a son and who tried and failed to hide how badly she wanted a grandchild that he’d run into the only woman he’d ever loved, had sex with her and then left wasn’t high on his list of things to do.
“Thanks for the heads-up,” he said, not going into further detail. Fatherly advice was best dispensed in the shed over lawn mower parts and cold beer.
“It didn’t look like you took too bad a beating. You sure you don’t want to come straight home for the holidays?”
Though Brendan had an apartment within fairly easy driving distance of his parents’ home, he’d always gone and stayed a few days at Christmas. Maybe it was weird sleeping in his childhood bedroom when his own king-sized bed was in the same city, but it had become a habit. His mom loved having him home and it helped immerse him a little more in the holiday spirit. He also had extra sports-watching time with his dad and home-cooked meals, so everybody was happy.
“I’ll be home in plenty of time for Christmas. But some of these bruises on my face are probably going to turn a nasty purple and yellow before they start fading. I don’t know why it is that Mom can watch the fight happen on the television, but then she gets so upset when she sees me in person.”
“It’s the bruises that get to her. A little blood she can handle, but the bruises don’t look as bad on TV, especially since it’s usually over before they’re even done rising to the surface. It’s the next day you really look bad.”
“I guess. I’m staying here an extra night, by the way. I’ll head to the cabin tomorrow night.”
“Text your mom when you stop for supplies,” his dad said. There was no cell signal or internet at the cabin, though they maintained a landline for emergencies. The phone was almost as old as Brendan, with a long, coiled cord. “So she knows you at least got to town.”
“I will. Love you, Dad, and see you soon.”
“Love you, too, son.”
It didn’t take long enough for Brendan to realize he didn’t have the attention span for television. After channel-surfing through the rotation enough times to grow bored with it, he popped some more ibuprofen and pulled the cash he couldn’t afford to blow out of his wallet to stash in the room safe. Then, after looking at himself in the mirror and grimacing at the bruises on his face he couldn’t do anything about, he went down to the casinos.
Rather than see if any of the guys involved with the event were still around, he wandered around. Occasionally he’d stop at a table or a slot machine long enough to lose some money, but mostly he watched people.
And waited for a text message from Del. Not wanting to risk missing one, even though he usually noticed when his phone vibrated in his pocket, he had it in his hand and glanced at it more often than he probably should.
He wasn’t actively looking for her,
since he didn’t want to interrupt her time with her friends, but he stopped moving when he saw her at a blackjack table, standing with Kate behind Brittany’s chair. The three of them were looking at her cards with intense concentration and then he wasn’t sure what happened, but Brittany dropped her face into her hands and Del and Kate laughed.
It made him grin, but then he forced himself to turn away and walk in a different direction. With no destination in mind, he wandered through the slots again, letting the bells and loud voices distract him.
He was rewarded twenty minutes later with a text from Del. Where are you?
Since telling her he was next to a slot machine wasn’t going to do any good, he looked around for something that could qualify as a landmark. In the casino with the weird sculpture near the pretzel shop with the big sign.
I’m not far from that. Wait for me?
I’ll be here.
It only took her a few minutes to spot him, and he loved the way her face lit up when she did. “Hey, you.”
Taking her hand, he pulled her close for a quick kiss. “Having fun?”
“Yes. How about you? I didn’t know you were even in the casino.”
“Just wandering around. I saw you once, at the blackjack table, actually.”
She laughed. “You’d think after four years of being college roommates, Kate and I would have known Brittany can’t count to twenty-one.”
“What are they up to now?” Which loosely translated to how long do I get to be with you right now?
“Brittany had a call from her husband about the kids and Kate realized she’d mixed a text about wedding flowers, so they went to find a quiet spot to make phone calls. I told them I’d catch up, but I only have a few minutes.”
Not long, then. “A few minutes will do for now.”
She put her arms around his neck and kissed him as though they weren’t standing in the middle of a busy casino, in front of a pretzel shop. Brendan held her close, smiling against her mouth when she made a low, hungry sound deep in her throat. He guessed—or was hoping—it wasn’t due to the smell of freshly baked pretzels.
