by Jessie Cooke
Perhaps she had hit a little below the belt, Bella thought, but from where she stood looking at the situation, she deserved a few cheap shots just so she could feel a little better. He owed her that at the very least.
She took a deep breath before continuing.
“Well, I’ve made my decision, and in spite of your charm and my falling for the charade of the weekend, I think I’m gonna have to pass on this relationship or whatever it was exactly you were seeking, seeing as how you have a baby on the way and all. I wish you and Nicky the best of luck, but I hope you won’t ever try to talk to me again. I’ll be moving soon, anyway.”
Bella heard Reece begin to defend himself or try and convince her to stay, one of the two, but she didn’t listen long enough to find out which. She hit the disconnect button on her phone and then threw herself on the bed. The tears began, and she wished fervently that Christo hadn’t opted to spend the night over at Simon’s house.
And she would not allow herself to call him home when he had finally found such happiness. This was all her mess, and all her fault. She never should have gotten involved with a guy like Reece. She should’ve known after having sex with him as a stranger twice that he was not a guy to be trusted.
“If he cheated on Nicky, why wouldn’t I believe he’d cheat on me? How could I expect him to have morals after fucking a painted waitress at some random party before he ever knew her name?”
Now just a minute, Missy, a voice that sounded like her mother interrupted her thoughts. I seem to remember that it takes two to tango, and you weren’t exactly fighting him off. He could have been thinking the exact thing about you.
Bella shook her head. She didn’t want that kind of rational thinking to invade her anger at this point. She was the victim, damnit, and she deserved all the rights and privileges that came with the title. She kicked the sheets off her bed and padded to the kitchen where she poured herself a large glass of wine and sat down. She began scribbling what she thought was a letter to Nicky, but once she read it, she knew she’d never ever let her friend see it.
When Christo came home at noon, he found Bella passed out on the sofa, her mouth stained purple and her hair a greasy rat’s nest around her head.
“What’s going on?” he said as he gently shook her awake. “Why aren’t you at work?”
“Sick,” she groaned and draped her hair back over her eyes to block out the sunlight.
“I can see,” Christo said. “What happened, Bella? Did you and Nicky tie one on last night? Did ya’ll forget it was a regular school night?”
Bella flipped her heavy hair away from her face and stuck a finger up in Christo’s face.
“Don’t ever speak her name to me again for as long as you live,” she said through clenched teeth. “She and Reece Hamilton are dead to me, you understand?”
Christo backed away slowly, his hands up in display of innocence.
“I’m sorry. Geez, friend. What the hell happened to cause this anger? I’ve never seen you like this.”
She thrust the letter she’d written into his face as she remained in repose.
“What? What is this? Nicky’s pregnant? By Reece?”
She filled him in on the rest of the details, including how Nicky had delivered the news, how she’d felt like it was all happening to someone else but herself at the same time, how she’d called Reece in the wee hours of the morning, and how she’d decided to leave town.
“Fort Worth?” Christo asked. “Bella, are you sure?”
She nodded as she wiped at her eyes, already puffy from all the crying and the wine she’d had over the last nine hours.
“I can get a transfer. Dreamscapes has a branch there, so I don’t have to worry about work. It’s still relatively close to you . . . and my folks. It’s closer than I’d like to be to the situation, but . . . I have to, Christo. I don’t trust myself, and I sure as hell don’t trust Reece Hamilton. I can’t get in the way of his doing the right thing and Nicky’s being happy.”
She looked at Christo with tears welling in her eyes again.
“It’s time for me to put my big girl panties on and do some things for myself anyway,” she confided. “And with me out of the picture, Simon could move in, and ya’ll could truly get on with your relationship.” She reached out to hug him. “I want you to do that,” she said.
The next month and a half passed like a Texas tornado. Her boss, Rita, was more than happy to sign the transfer papers, declaring that the Fort Worth office was stagnating and could use some fresh new talent in the form of Bella Ryan. Bella used that excuse as her explanation to her family regarding why she was moving.
Her mother Gale oozed prideful praise upon her daughter’s news, and before she knew it, Bella’s cousins were all lined up to help her move at no cost.
“It’s what we do, hon,” her mother reminded her. “We’re family. And we’re just all so proud of you.”
The words were spoken with sweetness, but Bella felt a painful ringing of guilt as they twanged against her heart. She only wanted to make her parents proud despite not joining the family cattle business, and she had worked hard to earn the respect of her cousins who had never understood why she didn’t want to live in Brownsville and work with the family, but now she felt she’d earned it dishonestly, and it made her gut cramp just thinking about it.
Her first day at the Fort Worth office of Dreamscapes Interior Design went smoothly. She was welcomed with open arms by names she’d heard during her time at the Dallas office.
“It’s so nice to put faces with the names,” she said at a small office party after work. “I’m really excited to be the new blood, and I’ll do everything within my power to make you all proud to work with me.”
Rita had heralded her joining the office with lavish praise, and everyone seemed genuinely excited about her being there.
Judy, the office receptionist, stepped forward.
“A little welcome gift from everyone at the office. We hope it helps you get settled in and stocked up,” she said, and handed an envelope to Bella.
Inside was a check for two thousand dollars. Bella was speechless, and she could feel the tears spring up at this exorbitant kindness shown to her, practically a stranger to all of them.
“You can buy lots of beer and Ramen noodles with that,” came a mellifluous tenor voice from the crowd.
“That I can,” Bella said, grateful for the humor that saved her from making a spectacle of herself.
As the party was breaking up, the voice called her name, and Bella turned to make eye contact with a pair of beautiful hazel eyes that made her feel warmly hugged. The eyes were deep set and framed by prominent cheekbones under which a convivial smile spread. The smile and the face from which it radiated was outlined in a neat, trim beard of copper brown, the color that matched the close-cropped hair on top of the speaker’s head.
“My name is Luke Berringer. It’s good to meet you, Bella Ryan. We’ve all been hearing your praises for weeks, and I, for one, am glad to have some younger blood around.”
They shook hands amicably, Bella wondering if he felt as lost in her eyes as she felt in his. She examined his tailored suit and Italian leather shoes.
“You, my friend, know how to dress,” she commented. “I may need you to give me a beginner’s guide to shopping in Fort Worth.”
“I would never leave a damsel in dis-dress,” he punned, and Bella laughed the first genuine laugh she had felt for weeks. “How about this weekend?”
Bella felt her stomach flip-flop at the possibility of spending time with this beautiful man and shopping.
“I think that’d be great, and I’ll treat you to dinner for your troubles. Of course, you’ll have to show me the best places for that, too.”
Luke put his arm around Bella, and they began to walk out of the office together.
“This is gonna be the beginning of a beautiful friendship, I can already tell,” he said.
And Bella felt a hope swell from her stom
ach to her heart.
Lord knows I could use a beautiful friendship right now, she thought, and a beautiful friend wouldn’t hurt either.
21
“I’m so glad you suggested we order in,” Bella said as she and Luke approached the door to her townhome, both laden with packages from their shopping spree.
“I’m thinking we may need a little impromptu fashion show,” he said.
Bella rolled her eyes at him.
“You were there when I tried everything on,” she said. “And you saved me from some very embarrassing choices, thank you very much.”
Luke waltzed right into the living room and on through to the bedrooms as if he’d been in the house a million times even though this was his first.
“Which one?” he asked, Bella trailing behind him. “Never mind. Oh, I can read you like a book,” he said as he set bags and boxes on the bench at the end of the bed, the top of it a hot pink suede that matched the wall panels behind the headboard.
“This is quite lavish,” he remarked.
“Nice choice of words,” Bella said. “It was my inspiration.”
“What?”
“Lavish.”
“Yeah, that’s what I said.”
“No, I meant the nightclub.”
“Don’t know it.”
“It’s in Dallas, and I loved the décor.”
“Let me guess: it was quite lavish.”
“How’d you know?”
It was nice to banter with someone. She had been missing Christo, but Luke was quickly filling in as a great second. He was someone she felt as if she’d known for almost as long. He was a great shopping partner, one who was honest—to the point of brutality at some points—but he also complimented her, and not just on her wardrobe or fashion sense but her laugh, her smile, her eyes, her decorating style, her designs.
She really enjoyed being with him, and over the past week, they’d found a way to have lunch or dinner together every day. She’d learned more about Luke in a week than she had about Reece in months . . . but she was trying not to think about all that. What did it matter to her now, anyway?
“Okay, which one’s first?” Luke said as he looked at everything spread out on her bed.
“Aren’t you exhausted?” Bella asked, not in the mood to change her clothes another time unless it meant baggy pajama pants and an oversized shirt.
“Oh, come on, you’ll get your second wind. Let’s see this one,” he said as he held up a kelly green dress with one sleeve. “This made your eyes look so much more turquoise than sapphire,” he mentioned, and he sat himself down on her bed with no intentions of going anywhere without seeing that dress.
She ruffled his copper hair and poked him lightly on the nose.
“I’m doing this because you make it hard to tell you no,” she said. “That, and you are persuasive with your comments, and you’re just so damn cute when you dish them out. But don’t get your hopes up, mister, you’re not gonna see me in my skivvies.” She winked and pranced off into the master bathroom, leaving the door just barely cracked so they could talk.
“I really do appreciate your taking me under your wing,” she called from the bathroom.
“No problem,” he answered her. “Like I said, I have this gift, and I like to be well-dressed, so I totally understand your need to know all the best places in town for you to have at your disposal.”
“Though I don’t really know why I let you talk me into several of those items, this dress being one of them.”
“What do you mean?”
She opened the door and walked out, her hair falling softly over the uncovered shoulder. She had paired the dress with a blue beaded necklace that boasted a large blue geode stone.
“I mean I have no use for a dress like this. Nowhere to really wear it.”
“You look ravishing,” Luke said, and Bella felt her body temperature rise with the sincerity in his voice. “If I were your boyfriend, I would tell you to wear this on every date for the next year.”
Bella laughed and cast her eyes down with shyness.
“I don’t have a boyfriend,” she said.
“Really?” Luke allowed the shock to come through his voice, and it was not lost on Bella.
“Really. I mean, I almost did, but . . .”
“Almost?”
Bella sighed.
“It’s complicated and in the past and not even worth your time.” She noticed that Luke had taken another step towards her as she bent her foot back and dug her heels into the lush carpet.
“Would you like to ‘almost’ have one again?” he asked as he reached out to touch her elbow. He caressed her arm faintly, and Bella found herself praying that he would go ahead and kiss her.
“I’m open to negotiations,” she remarked as she bit down on the inside of her lower lip.
“Let me draw up some terms and conditions,” Luke said, and with that, his mouth was on hers while she wound her fingers thought the cropped copper on his head.
“But I only want one ‘almost’,” she said in between fervent kisses, his tongue licking her lips and finding its way back inside when she was finished speaking.
Her mind was telling her to slow down, reminding her of how she got into a similar situation merely months ago, and how it had ended up almost breaking her heart, but her body was hot, and she could feel Luke’s desire as he pressed her closer.
Suddenly, she felt herself pushing back on his well-defined chest.
“I can’t,” she breathed.
“We don’t have to get crazy,” Luke said. “I’m a bit surprised myself, believe me. I just couldn’t go any longer without knowing what your lips on mine felt like. I’ve been wondering about it ever since I laid eyes on you that first day.”
Bella could feel herself blushing.
“I want to be honest with you as well as with myself, and I know I’m really vulnerable right now, especially in a new place and starting a new life. I should probably take it much slower than this.”
Luke smiled, his hazel eyes beckoning her and promising her she could trust him.
“Slow and steady always wins the race,” he said, and he caught her up in another crushing kiss.
22
Six months. It had seemed like such a long period of time when she first committed to it, but now . . . not so much.
They’d flown faster than any time period Bella could remember, and she honestly couldn’t remember ever being happier during that many months consecutively.
And now, here she was on a glorious spring day, walking down the aisle with fresh irises and day lilies as she’d always imagined, her heart full of love so intense she didn’t know if she would make it through the ceremony without balling her eyes out.
He is more handsome and gorgeous than I have ever seen him, she thought to herself, and she knew that her smile was communicating exactly how happy she was to be here with him on this day: a day that would change their lives forever.
She always thought she’d be nervous, but it turned out she was far from it. She felt lighter than air knowing that she looked more beautiful on this day than she ever had in her entire life. She felt it. As she approached the altar, Christo held out his hand to her, and she reached for him.
“I love you,” he said tenderly.
“And I love you,” she responded, the tears already threatening.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered today to celebrate a union, not just of two people, but of two souls,” the minister began. Bella looked at the crowd gathered. Who would have thought they had so many friends? Family, she understood, would take up plenty of room. Christo had relatives galore. She always felt like she was meeting another aunt or uncle or cousin, and they’d always been supportive no matter what. But the friends that had gathered to support this unique union was overwhelming, and Bella knew that in this place, in this special garden where lifetime commitments were made, she felt bathed in love in this moment.
“Pssst,” Christo broke t
hrough her reverie. “Ring?”
“Oh, yeah,” she pulled the oversized male’s band off her thumb and handed it over to Christo.
“Repeat after me,” the minister instructed. “With this ring, I thee wed, and all my earthly treasures I lay at your feet.”
Christo chanted the words, but not in the robotic way that people often mimicked in their wedding ceremonies. His words held emotion, passion. He emphasized certain words and drew out others, making it obvious that the words rang true from the inner folds of his heart.
“I’ll follow you, through good and bad, rich and poor, sickness and health, for as long as we both shall live and more, our love and our lives together a never-ending circle of love that knows no end,” the vows continued, and Bella sniffed back a tear.
No music had ever sounded more beautiful than the words she heard Christo saying, and she was glad he’d decided to put his own spin on the traditional vows. It was all going so fast, and Bella wished she could put the ceremony on pause and rewind it and start from the beginning again, afraid that she was missing too many wonderful details.
Thank God for DVD, she said, and she nodded towards the cameraman slightly with a smile. He wasn’t cheap, but she was certain they’d be glad they’d hired him to capture all the moments she was worried she had missed.
“By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you partners for life. Though the law may not recognize your union yet, your friends, family, and all who matter are here to witness this day, the joining of you two, Christo and Simon. Congregants, will you please stand?”
Everyone in the audience stood at the minister’s request, and Bella looked out, pride beaming from her face as she stood behind her best friend, both literally and figuratively.
“Friends and family, will you vow to love, honor, and cherish Christo and Simon as they embark on their life journey together? To support them when they feel unsupported; to join the fight for equal marriage rights, so that someday, their union will be as legal as yours in the eyes of the law? If so, will you please affirm my answering, ‘I do?’”
