Hitched

by Dawn Rae Miller

  Paige nods. "There was a spread out on the dining room table. I think it's still there."

  "Thanks."

  The dining room overlooks the pavilions. I grab a plate of food and head outside. A crew of at least fifty is unloading trucks and setting up a makeshift dance floor. Tables are being pushed around. I'm not really doing anything, except watching them.

  I stare out over the Sound and touch my lips gently. Fletch's kiss is burned into my mind, and my body remembers every sweet moment of it.

  "Hey," a guy says, "You need to move." He and another man carry what looks to be large beams. Everything disappears around the side of the house, where I assume it's being set up in the grassy backyard.

  "Ellie!" Calista screeches. "If you insist on standing there, at least be useful." She has her clipboard in hand and looks like she means business. "If you haven't heard, we're missing our bride."

  "I heard," I say and go back to nibbling on a piece of bacon. "Can't really have a wedding without her. Can you?"

  Calista narrows her eyes. "You're such a hanger-on. I don't know what Fletch or Brady see in you."

  "Probably that I'm not a giant bitch with a huge stick up my ass."

  "What does that mean?" Calista sputters.

  "I think you know." I push past her. "Now if you'll excuse me, you're ruining my good morning."

  Calista stomps up next to me. Her eyes flash with anger. "I know about last night. Don't think I don't."

  "Are you spying on us?" I wouldn't put it past her.

  "No. I'm not as pathetic as you. I overheard Brady and Fletch talking about it." She steps in front of me. "If you think this means you and Fletch are back together, you're wrong."

  I press my lips together. "Sorry we forgot to ask your permission, Calista."

  For a moment, I half-expect her to hit me with the clipboard, but instead, she spins on her heels and starts yelling out in French. People jump and do whatever it is she's ordering them to do.

  Bitch.

  I’m not going to let Calista ruin my high from last night.

  But what a weird morning. I awake to Fletch snuggled up next to me, breakup with Michael, and now Sophie has gone missing.

  I blink into the bright sunlight. Was it really just a few hours ago that I wanted to run as far away as possible?

  "Hey," Brady says as he walks up. "Sorry for the wake up call this morning."

  He's standing just inside the doorway, watching me.

  "No problem. I know you have some stuff going on," I say.

  “That’s putting it lightly,” Brady says. He’s somber, and it’s like a little piece of him has died.

  “Come with me?” Brady says, taking my hand. He leads me down the stairs and out on to the beach where the waves lap gently at the shore. We settle into the warm sand.

  "What’s going on?" I ask, leaning back on my elbows.

  Brady shakes his head. "I don't know where to start."

  "How about at the beginning?"

  He lets out a long sigh. "It's a mess, Ellie. I hope Sophie stays gone…I mean I hope we find her at some point, but I really don't want to get married. I mean, what am I doing? This isn’t what I want."

  "Don't you give up some of that when there's a baby involved?"

  Brady rests his head on my shoulder. "I overheard her and Calista talking. There is no baby."

  "What?" I say, shocked. “Why weren’t they speaking French?”

  "Maybe they didn’t want her family to overhear? I don’t know, but I know what I heard. So I confronted Sophie, and she confessed."

  "Didn't you ever think to see her test results or something?"

  "Why should I? I mean, my promiscuous ways were bound to catch up to me soon enough, you know?"

  “But Brady, didn’t you want to go to her doctor appointments?”

  “She always had Cal go with her. Said there was no reason for me to be there yet.”

  “I wonder how she planned to keep up the farce once you were married?”

  Brady shrugs.

  I sit up and lean my head on top of his bowed one. We say nothing as we stare out at the Sound.

  After a few minutes, I say, "There's no reason to go through with the wedding is there?"

  Brady takes my hand. "Not really. Except we have all these people here, and I do like her."

  "But you don't love her."

  "Not at all. Not how Fletch loves you."

  I wring my hands together. "It's been a weird morning."

  "Oh?" Brady says.

  "I broke up with Michael."

  "Good. I never thought he was all that interesting anyway. Kind of pompous if you ask me."

  I stifle my laugh. "Yeah, he wasn't your biggest fan either."

  "Well then that's reason enough to dump him," Brady says.

  I lift my head and interlace my fingers with Brady's. "Tell me what you want. Do you want to have this wedding? Or should we call off the search for the missing bride?"

  Brady raises his head and scrunches my fingers. "Let's call the whole thing off. I don't want to do this."

  I stand and offer my hand to Brady. "Then let's get this over with."

  He nods his head, his eyes vacant.

  "Hey," I say. "You're dodging a bullet. Be thankful."

  "I am. I just hate how this is going down."

  "Brady, have you been listening to yourself? She lied to you. Lied. And now she's having second thoughts. Grab onto that. It's your get-out-of-jail-free card.”

  "You're right."

  We walk side-by-side up to the house. "Ready?" I ask.

  "Yeah."

  Brady strolls into the great room that still buzzes with activity. "Excuse me," he yells over the din. "I have something to say.”

  The room falls silent. Brady catches my eye, and I nod. "Sophie and I aren't getting married."

  "What? What do you mean?" Sophie's mother steps forward. "You must marry her."

  Brady shakes his head. "No, neither of us wants to get married. I think that's clear from the way she's run away."

  Sophie's mother says something in French, and half of the room gasps. I spy Calista who is biting down on her bottom lip.

  "Non, Non, Non," Calista says, "Ce n'est pas vrai."

  Across the room, Fletch smiles at me. A great big grin that touches his eyes. Just looking at him makes my heart run staccato across my ribcage.

  "No, what?" I ask the woman next to me.

  She shrugs. "Heck if I know. It's all gibberish to me."

  There's a lot of shouting now, mostly between Brady's parents and Sophie's. No one seems to know what to do.

  Except Fletch.

  He crosses the room until he's standing just centimeters from me. "Ellie," he says. "Come outside?"

  My body can't refuse him even if it wanted to. My heart sure as hell doesn't want to deny him, and my brain is screaming 'yes.'

  "Okay," I answer while keeping myself in check.

  We wander away from the house, down past the pavilions, and to the water's edge. Suddenly, he catches my arms and pulls me toward him. "This whole thing, it's been like a Harker reunion, hasn't it?"

  "Only with crazy French people thrown in and none of my girlfriends."

  Fletch tilts his head. "Are you still in touch with Sarah and Libby?"

  "We've drifted apart."

  "That's too bad," Fletch says.

  He reaches out and tucks a stray piece of hair behind my ear. His eyes lock on mine, and this incredible sense of calm washes over me. "I want to ask you something, but I want you to think long and hard about it before you give me an answer, okay?"

  Every part of my body tingles, and I rub my lips together. "Okay."

  He drops to one knee, in the sand, and looks up at me. "Elizabeth Rose Jacobs, will you marry me?"

  My mouth drops open. There is no ring, just Fletch staring up at me with expectant eyes. "Can I answer now?"

  "No. I want you to think about it. Think what it will mean for you."

&
nbsp; I nod. "Okay."

  He stands up and kisses my forehead. "Think about it. Think about the lifestyle you’d be marrying into and the intrusion of privacy you’ll have. Think about whether or not you love me." He wrings his hands. "But don't make me wait too long. I may die."

  He walks off toward the house, leaving me alone on the beach.

  Marry Fletch? I couldn't have heard him right…and yet, I'm positive I did.

  My stomach somersaults, and heat burns the back of my neck and face. Did he really just propose to me as Brady's wedding is falling apart? Is that an okay thing to do?

  I fall into the sand and stare up at the clear blue sky. Marry Fletch. My gut instinct is to say yes. Immediately, with little thought. But I promised Fletch I’d think about it.

  And there’s so much to consider.

  Like how we’ve only been a couple again for less than a day. Or how we’re both different people than we were two years ago.

  But…oh, I love him. I do.

  I stand up and dust myself off. The person I'd talk to about this — Brady — is busy sorting out the Sophie mess. So I do what any other young woman would do: I go back to my room and call my dad.

  "Sweetheart," he says. No hello for me. I get the special treatment.

  "Hey, Dad." My hands are shaking because I'm not sure how he's going to take this news.

  "Did Fletch talk to you?" he asks.

  "Did Fletch talk to me? How do you know about Fletch and me?"

  "He called me this morning and asked me if it was okay with me." Happiness fills Dad's words.

  "So he called you first? He was planning this?"

  "He's planned several things, I believe," Dad says.

  "So you think I should say yes?"

  "I think you know your heart very well, Ellie. I think you know what you want to do."

  My head swims with images of Fletch: Fletch standing next to a coin-operated washing machine just outside New Orleans; Fletch running through the rain to bring me an umbrella; and Fletch down on one knee, asking me to marry him.

  "You still there, Elle?" Dad says.

  "Yeah. Just thinking."

  "Well don't think too long, he may just get away again."

  "Thanks, Dad," I say before hanging up. "I love you."

  "Love you, too."

  Click.

  I stare out the window. Waves break against the coast. Fletch said he didn't want me to end up like his mom or Calista. If I say yes, would that be my fate? Would I be just another woman married to a wealthy man?

  It's like I'm being torn in two. Continue on the path I'm on now, but hopefully with Fletch at my side; or derail everything and marry Fletch.

  Would I be giving up a piece of myself?

  And if I do, is Fletch worth it?

  Chapter Sixteen

  "Sophie is still missing," Brady says to me as I walk down the stairs. "I’m beginning to get a little worried."

  “I’m going to got out on a limb and say she doesn’t want to get married either.”

  Brady nods slowly. “I wish she would have just told me instead of running away.”

  "I’m surprised Calista didn’t have her on lockdown.”

  Brady wrings his hands together. “Even though we’re not getting married, I still need to help find her.”

  “I’ll help you. Where should we start?”

  “Her parents have headed to the airport, but I think she’s hiding locally.” He lowers his voice. “One of the guys here is her former boyfriend. I think she’s with him.”

  If I were Brady, I’d be a little pissed thinking my former fiancé ran off with her ex-boyfriend, but he’s nonplussed. “Doesn’t that upset you?”

  Brady shakes his head. “I don’t really want Sophie as a girlfriend either. It was like dating Calista. All she ever did was talk about galas, money, and presenting the right public image.” He moves closer to me. “She’s very materialistic.”

  “Well,” I say. “Where should we start looking?”

  “Calista wants me to search the marina.”

  “Okay, let’s get started.”

  We head out to Brady’s car, a sleek Mercedes and climb in. “You know, now that the wedding is off, we can still have the party. And," he says with a devious smile. "I can smoke as much weed as I want."

  I laugh. "Is that all you care about? How much weed you can have?"

  "Well that and if there are any crazy hot French ladies here. I've been so busy, I haven't had the chance to look."

  "Oh. My. God. Will you ever change? You almost married a woman who lied about being pregnant.” I point at his crotch. “You should be keeping that thing in your pants."

  Brady pats my hand. "Always the voice of reason." He starts the car. "Speaking of which, are you and Fletch back together?"

  I lower my head so that I'm staring up at Brady through my bangs. "He asked me to marry him."

  "He did what?" Brady exclaims, slamming on the breaks.

  "Marry him. Fletch asked me."

  "And you said yes, right?" Brady's practically salivating all over himself.

  "I haven't said anything. He wanted me to think it through."

  Brady starts driving. "Hmmm."

  "What?"

  "You have to say yes. You have to. I've watched you for two years try to pretend he meant nothing to you. I can't go through it anymore."

  "Thanks for not pressuring me, Brady," I say sarcastically.

  "Some day you'll thank me."

  ***

  Sailboats and deckhands crowd the marina.

  “Do you really think she’s here?” I ask Brady.

  He shakes his head. “No, but I don’t want to suffer the wrath of Calista. Have you seen her clipboard?”

  “Yeah.” I laugh. “That thing is terrifying.”

  Brady swivels his head around, and his eyes roam over the scene before us. “She’s not here. Maybe she took a boat out, but she’s not here now.”

  “Should we ask someone?”

  Brady points across the marina. “The rental place is over there.”

  We trudge across the cement until we come to a kiosk.

  “Can I help you?” the woman behind the counter says.

  “Has a young woman rented a boat today?”

  The woman shakes her head. “Nothing’s gone out since we opened.”

  Brady looks at me and shrugs. “Oh well. Guess she isn’t here.”

  We walk back to his car. “Don’t seem so sad,” I say sarcastically. “Have you checked your phone? Maybe someone else has found her.”

  He pats his pocket. “No one has called. At least not me. But what do I matter? I’m just the poor dumb ass who almost married a woman who was lying to him.” Anger starts to pepper his words. “I mean, c’mon. Did Calista and Sophie sit around discussing how to trap me? Didn’t Cal care at all that I was being lied to?”

  “Apparently not.”

  “Well fuck her. And Sophie, too,” he says

  He guns the engine of the car, and for a second I worry he’s going to take off at full speed and launch us into the Sound. But Brady backs off the gas, and turns to me. His eyes glisten.

  “When will people start taking me seriously, Ellie? Am I just some pawn to be moved around and messed with?”

  I touch his arm softly. “Brady, your problem is that you’re too trusting. Too good of a guy.”

  He throws his head back and laughs. “I’m a man-whore, Ellie. How does that make me a good guy? I use women for sex.”

  “You can change. Fletch has.”

  “But Fletch found you.”

  “Broken, bitter, self-absorbed me.”

  We fly down the street, and I grip onto my seat. Brady drives his car like he did the golf cart – wildly and haphazardly.

  “You may have been all those things, but you had a reason.”

  I slide my hands underneath my legs and pray we don’t get into an accident. “Don’t make excuses for me.”

  “I’m not. I’m merely
stating facts.”

  We pull into the long circular driveway, passing several cars parked just outside the gates. “What’s with that?” I say. “Did someone call out a search party?”

  Brady gapes at me. “Ellie, those are the paparazzi. They’ve been here since yesterday trying to catch a glimpse of Fletch and Calista together.”

  “What?”

  “I thought you knew?” When I shake my head, he continues. “There are rumors this wedding is for them.”

  My stomach rolls at the thought of Fletch and Calista together. It’s bad enough they have history together, but the thought of them getting married strikes me hard. Knowing Calista, she probably planted the story.

  “Is that why there have been boats galore by your house?”

  “Yes. At least we think so,” Brady says.

  “So the rehearsal last night was just to throw them off?”

  Brady parks the car. “Apparently.”

  Is this the intrusion Fletch warned me about? Will dealing with the paparazzi be part of my life now?

  I exit the car, and Brady jogs over to me. “C’mon, I’ve got to find Fletch.”

  “What about Sophie?”

  Brady shrugs. “She’ll come back when she’s ready.”

  “But what if she doesn’t?”

  He runs up the stairs, taking them two at a time. “Not my problem anymore.”

  I let out an exasperated sigh. “Brady!”

  He turns around and gives me a confused look. “What?”

  I throw my hands up. Sometimes, I swear he does things just to drive me crazy. “Never mind.”

  He disappears around the corner, and I venture into the great room. It’s still a hub of activity, but there are less people than earlier. I suppose the rest of them are out searching for Sophie.

  I sink down onto the couch – the one where Fletch and I sat last night.

  Paige bounces over to me. "What’s the protocol for something like this?”

  I shrug. “I guess we just party tonight and go home tomorrow?"

  Paige’s eyes light up, and a sly smile spreads across her lips. "You slept with Fletch, didn't you?"

  "What? How? Why?"

  "You're glowing. And you're way more relaxed than when you first got here. More like yourself."

  "I'm glowing?"