Her parents were okay. Her dad, Jim, was a little intense, but once you got passed the outer exterior, it was easy to see how much he loved Annie. His struggle was in pleasing her mom. I don’t think Jim cared who Annie hung out with or dated, as long as she wasn’t in jail and was living a happy life. Her mom wasn’t quite as forgiving, but I hoped for Annie’s sake we could at least get together on holidays at some point. Suzy meant well, I thought—she was just old school and set in her ways. Annie got her stubbornness from her mother. Unfortunately, they had differing points of view and often bumped heads.
Suzy and Jim both looked at us expectantly, waiting for one of us to admit what we had done while we were away. I hadn’t told Annie, but when we decided to elope, I had gone see them. Annie had sent me out to buy luggage, and I’d included a stop by their house in that trip. But Annie hadn’t known that. There was no way I would have this hanging over our marriage. Her relationship with her parents may not be close-knit now, but at one time it was, and I knew Annie missed elements of that. She wanted their acceptance but not at the expense of her own beliefs. I refused to compound the distance that lingered between them by sweeping Annie away without their knowledge to elope. I needed to know they were okay with Annie’s decision. If they hadn’t been, I wouldn’t have changed our plans, but I had been prepared to fly them, along with my parents, to the resort for the ceremony to keep the peace. I had been amazed when Jim said he thought it was a mature financial decision, and he knew Annie never wanted a big wedding. Suzy was disappointed because she had dreamed of planning an extravagant affair, but after the three of us had talked, she agreed, this was Annie’s style and had resigned herself to it.
I didn’t know either of them well. That night had been the one and only occasion I’d spent any time talking to either of them. I’d thought maybe Annie had exaggerated about the types of people they were, but she’d nailed them on the head. Her mom had spent twenty minutes asking me about my education, career, and financial stability, but her dad had only asked me if my intentions were honorable. It had been a joke, but one I hadn’t gotten, initially. Jim stared at me, waiting for me to crack a smile when he’d asked. His demeanor was stoic, never letting on his humor, but he couldn’t disguise it in his eyes. The two of us had a hearty laugh and settled in to talk before they had finally given me their blessing.
Annie broke the silence with a rush of words. Her anxiety was getting the best of her, and she needed a reprieve. The faster she talked the more apprehensive she was. “We had a great time, but I need to tell you both something, and I hope you aren’t mad.” She hesitated just long enough for Suzy to interject and save Annie from beating herself up any further.
Her mother’s gasp was audible when she grabbed Annie’s left hand. “Is that a wedding band?” Her eyes filled with joy as she waited for Annie’s confirmation.
Jim just leaned back on the couch smiling at his wife’s ability to assuage his daughter’s fears of having disappointed them. Annie wanted to please them, she always had—she’d just given up on ever reaching that goal.
My wife’s entire body relaxed at the realization that her parents weren’t angry, rather delighted and possibly even receptive to her once again. She stuttered her response, “Well…um…are you upset?”
It was strange to see my self-assured, vibrant, Annie so fearful of upsetting her parents. She made decisions confidently and never looked back, but with relationships, she was different. Her past hung in her future, and she always feared one wrong decision would cost her far more than an argument. She’d gotten better, but I knew how devastating this would have been for her had they been bothered—hence the reason I decided to ask before we left.
Her dad let out a hearty laugh while Suzy folded her hands properly in her lap. “Oh, no. We’re happy for the two of you. And we’re so glad you found a boy like Brett. He’ll be a good husband and provider.”
I sensed Annie’s internal eye-roll at the mention of my provisions. Her mother didn’t seem to understand—my wife made more money than I did and didn’t need a man to give her things. That was the one thing Annie had fought over with them—love wasn’t wrapped up in a dollar bill or saved in a checking account. She made sure she could take care of herself so all she needed from me was devotion.
Annie looked at me dumbfounded, not uttering a word before her dad broke the silence.
“Annie, Brett came by last week to discuss your plan with us. He got our blessing before you left and offered to fly us out to join you. We thought it was perfect for you, but didn’t want to spoil it. We know you aren’t a pomp and circumstance kind of girl and realized this suited you best. Knowing that, it didn’t make sense to encourage you to have a ceremony here that you wouldn’t want and would have only been for show.”
Tears ran down her face when she made eye contact with me. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
I reached up to brush away the evidence of her apprehension from her face and grinned at her. “You seemed okay with your decision at the time. I just wanted to make sure you were covered when we got back and reality hit.”
The relief was evident in her eyes—she had their blessing, and they had given it prior to the marriage. I loved that she knew I would always have her best interest at heart, that I would always go to the ends of the earth to protect her—not just physically, but emotionally. Once the cat was out of the bag, she visibly relaxed and started to share every detail of our trip, and I got to know my in-laws. I gave them the pictures we’d purchased and sat back to watch my wife and her mother go through each shot.
Annie’s eyes glimmered with animation as she talked about the details of the ceremony, her dress, and how romantic the island was. Her dad and I watched her gush. I loved hearing her regale them with the details of our wedding. The details from her point of view and what she was feeling through each step, it all reconfirmed how devoted the two of us were to each other. I hadn’t seen Annie engage with them before, or even mention their names with excitement, but today, happiness replaced the loneliness I’d witnessed when they came into her thoughts. Never had I desired to be part of a couple that made others sick because they were so hopelessly devoted to each other, but now that I’d experienced it, I could never settle for anything less. I knew passing this hurdle was the biggest issue—everything else would be a piece of cake. If her parents were okay, and she was repairing the relationship with them—she could deal with her friends.
We left an hour later. Annie was completely at ease, and I had a smile a mile wide on my face with my wife on my arm. My wife. Being able to use that term freely had me almost giddy. When we got to the SUV, she turned to me, grabbed my neck, and then pulled me to her mouth. She kissed me hard and with complete abandon. I lost myself in that kiss even if just briefly. When she released me, all she said was, “You’re amazing.”
Anticipating jet lag and the overwhelming fatigue that comes from vacation, we had planned the trip and time off work so we had one more day before returning to our daily grind. At that point, Annie’s friends knew she was back in town. They had laid low yesterday. We got in late afternoon, and they gave her some space. But as soon as the sun came up this morning, her phone wouldn’t stop ringing.
First, it was Jenny, then Lynn, followed by Scarlett, all of them wanting details. I felt for her. I had sent my friends a text message last night saying we’d gotten married. They each said congrats or some other guy form of the word, but none really cared. They had all known it was coming and knew Annie was it for me. Guys were just different that way. I think they all appreciated not having to sit through a ceremony or buy a gift.
She grunted a frustrated moan as she rolled over to face me. “I guess I just need to get this over with.”
I held her to my chest while she sent a group text to her girls asking them to get together for coffee after work today—all were in agreement with her plan.
“This is going to suck, Brett. What if they’re all mad at me?”
“Sweetheart, there’s nothing you can do to change it at this point. I truly don’t think they will be upset. But maybe if you’re lucky, Dan will tell Lynn at work, and then she can tell Jenny and Scarlett for you so you don’t have to break the news.”
She scowled at my suggestion, but she might want to give it some merit. Dan was like a girl with gossip, and Lynn was the head hen in the hen house.
“They all know you; surely they wouldn’t have expected anything different.”
“Brett, I am not a spontaneous person. There is not a single detail of my life that has not been painstakingly planned with meticulous detail. They’re going to think I’ve lost my mind, or you drugged me.”
I kissed her temple before I got up to start the day.
When Annie came home from Starbucks after meeting her friends, her face was puffy, and her eyes were red from crying, which was never a good sign. I had never met a woman who hated crying as much as Annie did. I had just gotten out of the shower and was sitting in the living room reading a book when she walked in the door. Not knowing what to say, I just extended my arm, welcoming her to my lap. She came quietly and willingly tucked herself into my shoulder and neck. She felt good against my bare chest, and her hair cascaded down my arm tickling my skin. I brushed aside the pieces that had fallen on her face and waited for her to share.
Moments of silence ticked by before I felt a tear hit my bare shoulder. I’d learned a long time ago, Annie had to come to me. She had to be ready to talk. But I couldn’t bear to know she was upset—all I wanted to do was fix it. I tilted her head up to meet my stare. “Did it not go well?”
“They were awesome, Brett. They were so excited for us, fawned all over the pictures, and never second-guessed my decision. Not one of them showed any anger for not being able to attend.”
“Then, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?” Women baffled me. She appeared to have been crying for hours. I figured her friends had raked her over the coals, but here she was telling me they were good as gold.
“I underestimated them. I didn’t give my best friends the benefit of the doubt. I feel horrible. I cried the whole way home.”
I couldn’t help myself. I was laughing, shaking with each roar that escaped my mouth, which of course pissed her off. She reared back to glare at me, and all I could think about was that damn luggage, and how she’d laughed incessantly at me when I’d come home with five thousand dollars worth of unnecessary pieces. She’d teased me for hours about the sales person taking advantage of me.
“Baby, you worry too much. You have great friends. They love you. They also know you and appreciate you for who you are. You’re an awesome friend to them in return. Don’t cry, sweetheart.”
Her tears dried up as she nestled herself into me, situating herself in my lap. I held her tightly, hoping she could feel how much I loved her through just my touch. We spent the rest of the evening lounging around the house in anticipation of returning to work tomorrow.
The moment I hit the DC floor, I was aware everyone in the facility knew Annie and I had gotten married. Dan was one of my best friends, and I’d told him the night before last. He was worse than any girl I’d ever known about gossiping. Couple that with Lynn knowing Annie’s side, it was the hot topic of conversation. For the most part, everyone was genuinely happy for us, sharing words of congratulations and well wishes. Luckily for me, Lynn filled everyone in on the details of the day, showed people pictures, and swooned for us in general. Everyone in the DC knew Annie, and to my knowledge, there wasn’t a soul who hadn’t loved her while she was here. I got lucky and only had to field questions with words of affirmation.
A couple hours into the day, Topher stopped by my office. He’d been bombarded by Scarlett with the details of the wedding. I knew he and Annie had shared a night together, but he was a good guy, and his well-wishes were heartfelt even if they came with a warning about Gray being on the warpath.
“Why?” I asked.
“He found out you married Annie.”
Quizzically staring at Topher, I asked, “Why does he care?” I couldn’t stop the exaggerated huff that escaped just after the words.
“Look, Brett, I realize he’s married to Amber, but you and I both know he and Annie had some weird connection neither of them has ever been able to break.”
He was wrong. Annie had broken the connection, but that wasn’t a point I would debate with another employee, so I just listened.
“The difference is that Annie chose to walk away from it. Gray never thought she’d have the courage to break loose. Your relationship with her broke him in a way I can’t explain other than to say, he thought she’d never leave. He believed she’d always be available to him. He loves her, man, deeply—even if it’s fucked up as hell; that’s all I know to tell you.”
“So, you’re telling me Gray is pissed that Annie married me—even though—he proposed to and married another woman…after kicking Annie to the curb on multiple occasions?” The anger had to be visible on my face, the heat from my rage turning my complexion a crimson color and radiating off my skin.
“What I’m telling you is he’s jealous as hell. Obviously, this has been the conversation of the day on the floor because no one has anything better to do than talk about other people’s business. If Gray’s around when it comes up, he just flies off the handle at whoever’s in the vicinity. I’ve told him to chill the fuck out, but I think it’s two-fold. One, he’s hurt she chose you, but two, and this is just a guess, I think it killed him to find out from someone other than Annie.” Topher paused for a second as though maybe he was waiting for a response from me, but when he didn’t get one he shrugged. “He won’t cause any problems for you, but I just thought you might want to know if you see him and wondered what is up with him—that’s what has his panties in a wad. Anyway, I’m happy for you both. She deserved something good. And Brett?”
“Yeah, man?”
“Your wife is smokin’ hot in those pictures Lynn is showing off.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. At the end of the day, guys were still guys, and my wife was still gorgeous. “Thanks, man.”
Topher smacked the door frame with his hand before turning around to leave my office.
Wrapping up my day, I’d managed to avoid Gray, not that I was trying to, but as luck would have it, I hadn’t seen him, and I certainly hadn’t sought him out to start any kind of drama. My luck ran out when I walked toward the front of the DC. He stepped in front of me right before I made it to the exit. I held his stare, but I didn’t say anything. He stopped me, so I waited. We were evenly matched in size and height, so his ability to intimidate me the way he did other people by towering over them was nonexistent. I just stood there waiting for whatever he had to say, but I wasn’t expecting what finally came out of his mouth.
“You know she settled for you. You and I both know it. You see the way she looks at me. You know the connection we have—the one you can’t touch. She’ll always be mine, regardless of whether your ring is on her finger. Watch your back, Brett; I’ll never let her go.
“I’m not getting into a pissing contest with you, Gray. You made your decisions, and she’s made hers. That’s between the two of you, but as you recall when she was given a choice—the one you presented her with—to have you…you weren’t the man she met at the altar. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going home to see my wife.” I didn’t wait for a response, just stepped around him to walk out the door.
I stopped when I heard Lynn ask him if he was okay. Unable to believe my wife’s best friend was coddling this arrogant ass who had nearly destroyed her, I waited. With one hand on the door, I turned around and stood silently as the scene unfolded in front of me.
“No, I’m not fucking okay. Why the hell did I find this shit out here? Why didn’t she tell me?” he roared in Lynn’s face. He was pissed and taking it out on the one person who cared how he felt about my marriage.
I shook my head in wonder. He hadn’t told Annie he was getti
ng married. I had the pleasure of that task. But somehow in his twisted mind, she owed him the courtesy of a phone call or a heads-up. I’d heard about how he’d treated her, and she’d told me tidbits, but I was witnessing his expectations first hand, and they pissed me off.
“You aren’t the only one who found out after the fact. She didn’t tell anyone other than Jack, and that was to ensure she would still have a job when she came back.”
Gray raked his hands through his hair as Lynn talked. Nothing either of them said mattered, but I couldn’t pull myself away. I refused to take the final step into the parking lot until I knew how this would play out. I was a fly on the wall in their scene—neither was even aware I was still in the building much less bearing witness to his outburst.
“Gray, she didn’t even tell her parents. She found out after they got back that Brett had asked for their blessing before they went. If she didn’t tell them and none of her friends, why would you think she would tell you?”
They had continued to walk as Gray had raged, but even from this distance, there was pity written all over Lynn’s face. She was friends with Annie and Gray, separately, but I had a hard time with her consoling this man, after all she’d watched my wife endure on Gray’s watch. What I couldn’t determine was whether Lynn was holding back or if she was on the verge of telling him off. There was something on the tip of her tongue, but before she could let it loose, Gray’s confession came pouring out.
“I never thought she’d really leave me, Lynn. I know I cut that tie, but I just didn’t expect it to be permanent. But, she’s gone.”
I managed to temper my rage. He was overwhelmed with sadness and maybe even disappointment, neither of which were my problem. None of this should bother me. There was no need for me to be worked up or even standing here worried about Gray making an ass of himself on the DC floor, but still, I remained—standing at the exit door with my mouth slightly ajar in sheer disbelief at the audacity of this man.
Freed (Bound Duet Book 2) Page 5
