Diary of a Wedding Planner in Love (Tales Behind the Veils Book 2)

by Howe, Violet

  I giggled like a schoolgirl, unable to believe the whirlwind of emotions swirling inside me. I'd been here with him so many times before, but not like this. This was all new.

  Cabe didn't stop there. His finger ran the length of my neck, and then he slid his hand inside my jacket to slide it off my shoulder as I shrugged out of the other side.

  "You have exquisite shoulders, Ty. Your neck, the little curve of your collarbone," he whispered as he nestled his thumb in the hollow there and leaned forward to place his lips against my shoulder. I moaned a little without meaning to, and he laughed again.

  "Are you laughing at me?" I asked him, sitting up straight.

  "Oh, no ma'am. Just enjoying you, Buttercup. Appreciating you. Trying to decide which quality is your most attractive and having trouble narrowing it down."

  "Well, aren't you the smooth talker?" I stood and walked to the kitchen, suddenly uncomfortable. Maybe too much too soon, or perhaps I didn't believe it yet. The tingling sensations coursing through me threatened to explode, and I needed space to catch my breath and regain a little control.

  "Want something to drink?" I opened the fridge even though I knew it held no options. I glanced up at the wine rack and wondered if I was ready for the consequences of opening a bottle of wine in the current atmosphere.

  Cabe followed and stood behind me, brushing my hair aside to plant small kisses along my neckline and across my shoulder. That boy had me fired up like a race car on the starting line. No wine was needed to make me toss any consequences out the window and press forward, but he spoke before I could put my desire into action.

  "So about the other night…" he started, turning me to face him as he leaned back against the kitchen counter. His hands grasped my hips to pull me against him. "I don't remember a helluva lot after you came through the door and tried to jump my bones."

  "Tried to? What? I didn't…" I couldn't protest much, because that was pretty much what had happened, but I wasn't about to let him hold that over me.

  Cabe laughed and slid his hands up my back, leaning down to kiss me again, effectively shutting me up and making me forget to protest.

  "I'm not complaining, Ty. To the contrary, I'm apologizing. I'm just not sure what for. I don't know if I need to apologize for passing out in a drunken stupor and not being up to the challenge, or if I actually went through with it and don't remember. In which case, I need to apologize for not only what was likely a poor performance, but also for being a drunken ass and not remembering the first time you jumped my bones. So which is it? I mean, obviously you took advantage of me either way, but I'm willing to apologize."

  His eyes twinkled with teasing mischief, and I resisted the urge to playfully raise my knee between his legs in retaliation.

  "First of all, I did not jump your bones, and does anyone even say that anymore? Really? I kissed you, Cabe Shaw. For New Year's. Then you slobbered all over me a bit, and the next thing I knew you were snoring. So no apology needed. No harm done. Sorry to disappoint you." I lifted my chin in smug defiance, but I couldn't keep a smile from spreading across my face.

  He didn't miss a beat. He pulled me to him and crushed his lips against mine until I swayed like a limp noodle again and quite possibly made that moaning noise I mentioned before. He leaned back slowly, and despite the grin plastered on his face, I could tell by his breathing I wasn't the only one affected.

  "Oh, well. Then I guess my apology is that I'm sorry you have no idea what you missed out on." He cocked one eyebrow.

  "Oh, really? Well, I'd say that's your loss, sir." I nodded and crossed my arms, my hips still firmly against his.

  He laughed and pushed me up and away from the counter as he stood to his full height, looking down at me with that smile I adore. He leaned down and kissed me again, this time a brief encounter of the lips before he moved toward the door, still holding my hand. I followed him, debating whether I should ask him to stay. I didn't want him to leave, but I didn't want to push us farther along either. My warning lights were still flashing caution to take things slow. He turned to face me before he walked outside.

  "Galen has tickets to a comedy show tomorrow night. What time's your rehearsal done?"

  "I should probably be out around seven if it starts on time." He still held my hand as we stood there, but I felt the shift from our newfound intimacy back to the old familiar roles we were used to playing.

  "Okay, great. Show starts at 8:30. Want to meet us downtown? Or I could swing by here and get you?" He squeezed my hand lightly, and I shook my head.

  "No, I can meet you there. I'm sure your sister plans on getting something to eat."

  "Alright. Talk to you tomorrow."

  He kissed me again and was gone, leaving me alone to contemplate my heart and my body both aflame.

  Friday, January 3rd

  I seriously have no idea what happened.

  I met up with Cabe, Galen, and her boyfriend, Tate, to see the comedy show after my rehearsal. I thought we were having a great time. Everyone in great spirits. Good times. Hilarious jokes. Cabe especially seemed downright jovial, happier than I've seen him in a while.

  My heart soared. I relished the comfort of being with him, snuggled under his arm draped around my shoulders, sharing an occasional kiss, and enjoying the company of his sister and Tate. Life was good.

  Well, until Galen broadsided me in the ladies' room from out of nowhere.

  "What kind of game are you playing, Tyler?"

  She stood there by the sink with both hands on her hips and murder in her eyes. We've always gotten along pretty well, I thought. We both have a sarcastic sense of humor and a quick wit that allows us to play off each other well.

  But I've seen that girl go off on people. She has a temper like a penned-up rattlesnake, ready to strike at a moment's notice. I wondered what on earth I'd done to provoke her.

  "What do you mean?" I asked as I ran my hands back and forth under the dryer.

  "Don't play stupid, Ty. I see how you're fawning all over my brother and giving him puppy-dog eyes. Flirting all sugar-sweet. What are you up to?"

  I pulled back in surprise at the hostility billowing out from her like an angry cloak that threatened to envelop me in its folds.

  "Galen, I don't know—"

  "Look here. I watched my brother flop around at your beck and call for the past five years, hoping you'd give him even the slightest encouragement. I stood by while you used him for your emotional security blanket, all the while tearing his heart out bit by bit."

  My mouth dropped open. "What the hell are you talking about?"

  She held her hand up to indicate I wasn't to speak while she had the floor.

  "I really liked you, Ty, and I saw how much Cabe loved you, so I hoped it would work out. But you never gave him a chance. Too caught up on some loser back home to see this incredible man busting his ass to be there for you."

  I blinked hard, perhaps hoping she'd disappear or I'd suddenly understand her rampage, but it didn't help.

  "Galen, Cabe and I were just friends."

  "Yeah, I give you credit for that, I must say. You always professed friendship. Didn't pretend to be interested. But you still snagged him on your hook, and he couldn't get loose. Which is why I introduced him to Monica, hoping he'd finally look somewhere beyond you. Obviously, that went bust and between the two of you, you've nearly destroyed my brother."

  She took a step closer to me and poked her finger in my chest.

  "He's starting to breathe again, Tyler, and I won't have you playing games with his head. So I don't know why you're suddenly all affectionate and acting love struck, but I'm telling you it stops now. He needs to heal, and I'll be damned if you're going to screw him over again. Stay away from my brother."

  She spun on her heel and left the bathroom as I stood there trembling. Completely in overload. My knees wobbled, but the only available seats were public toilets, so I leaned against the wall and bent over to try and catch my breath.

&nb
sp; What the hell?

  Cabe in love with me? Since we met?

  No way. How often had we discussed it? How many times had we talked about how comfortable our friendship was and laughed at people who insinuated there was more?

  Galen had to be mistaken. Right? I mean, she came across pretty pissed tonight. How long has she felt that way? Why wouldn't she have mentioned this sooner? I thought she liked me. I haven't seen her in a long time, though. In fact, tonight was the first time I’d seen Galen since Cabe moved to Seattle over a year ago to pursue Monica and eventually marry her. And divorce her.

  Wait—did she really say she introduced him to Monica to get him away from me?

  Even now as I write, I keep replaying the conversation in my head as my thoughts and feelings zing around like a pinball machine on a multi-ball run.

  Did Cabe know she felt this way? Had they discussed it? Did he agree with her?

  No. That couldn't be. We were on the same page. Weren't we?

  My stomach churned, and I fought the urge to throw up. A few minutes earlier, I'd been on top of the world. So happy to be in Cabe's arms and feeling like finally the tides had turned for me.

  But he seemed happy, too. It wasn't just me. Cabe was in the best mood tonight. He couldn't take his eyes off me. Or his hands.

  And I guess that's when it dawned on me.

  New Year's Eve, I crossed the floor and threw my arms around Cabe and kissed him. For me, it was like I saw him for the first time and realized I loved him.

  But he never questioned it.

  He never asked why his best friend suddenly kissed him. He certainly never resisted. Granted, he'd been drinking and actually passed out cold a few minutes later, but what about last night? Or tonight? Stone-cold sober and he never once questioned the change in our relationship. Quite the opposite, in fact. He hadn't let go of me since I got downtown. Touching, kissing, hugging, and looking at me so intensely my heart beat faster and my body quivered in response.

  Could I have been so blind that I had no idea?

  I sank down the wall as the past replayed in my head in vivid snippets.

  I thought about his kiss on the couch the night his divorce was final. The passionate embrace that took my breath away the night I told him I was going back home for Christmas.

  What had he said when I kissed him? "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for you to do that."

  Suddenly, it all made sense and yet none of it made sense. Flashbacks fired through my mind in rapid succession. I ran to the nearest toilet and gave up the contents of my stomach before sinking to my knees on the filthy bathroom floor. Dizziness forced me to clutch the bottom of the toilet stall for stability. Scenes of the two of us, tidbits of conversations, memories morphed together and distorted through this new lens.

  It was all too much to sort through.

  Some drunk chick came into the bathroom and offered to help me up, but I could stand up on my own. I wasn't drunk. Just blindsided. I knew I couldn't go back to the table and act like nothing was wrong.

  I couldn't sit there with Galen's eyes boring a hole through in me. Cabe would know something was up, and I needed more time to process this before I mentioned it to him. I was positive he had no idea his sister had played bodyguard in the bathroom and threatened me. The last thing I wanted to do was cause a problem between them.

  I splashed water on my face and rinsed the puke taste from my mouth. I wished I could just leave and go home without going back to the table. But I couldn't do that to him. Not on top of everything else I'd evidently already done.

  I made my way back amid the guffaws of laughter erupting around me. I couldn't make out the comedian's words, and it seemed for a moment the audience was laughing at me.

  "How could you not know? How could you be so stupid? Best friends, huh? Poor guy!"

  I tried not to make eye contact with anyone, even though I knew the remarks were only in my imagination.

  Cabe stood when I got back to our booth, but I shook my head and reached to grab my purse. I very carefully avoided any glance in Galen's direction at all.

  "What's wrong?" He leaned down to ask me, his hand lightly stroking my back. I wanted to throw myself in his arms and beg his forgiveness. I wanted to go back to the happiness of a few minutes before.

  "I don't feel well. I got sick in the bathroom, and I want to go home."

  "Okay, let me drive you."

  I shook my head again.

  "No. I have my car. I'll be fine."

  "I don't want you to drive if you're not feeling well. Let me take you home, and we'll come back and get your car in the morning."

  Tears welled up in my eyes and threatened to spill down my cheeks. I knew he'd never let me go if he saw me crying. I swallowed hard and shook my head back and forth, getting dizzier with each movement.

  "No, I have the wedding tomorrow. I don't want to risk being late. I'm fine. Just something I ate probably. I'll text you to let you know I made it home."

  He stared at me intently, and I prayed the lights were dim enough that he couldn't see my face well. He knew me. He'd know I was lying. That I wasn't fine. At all.

  I reached up on tiptoe and placed my lips gingerly against his cheek, wanting to remain there for as long as it took to figure out everything, but the people behind us were already starting to comment about us blocking their view.

  "Ty, let me tell Galen we're leaving, and I'll follow you home."

  My stomach revolted at the sound of her name, and I laid my hand across my belly to calm it.

  "No! You stay here. Enjoy the rest of the show. I just want to get home and go to bed. I'll be fine."

  He frowned and looked away. Guilt racked me. I'd let him down. For much more than just this.

  "Let her go," Galen said behind him. "She's a big girl. She can handle herself. Sit down so the people behind you can see."

  Anger sparked within me, and I resisted the urge to reach around Cabe and slap his sister across her smug face. Regardless of how badly I may have screwed everything up, none of it was intentional. I cared for Cabe deeply. I loved him. It had just taken me a while to acknowledge it. Whatever happened between us now would be for us to decide, not Galen.

  I told Cabe goodbye and stumbled my way through the crowd, hoping he wouldn't follow me almost as much as I was praying he would.

  I drove home in a blur of tears as I sorted through the chaos in my mind.

  I wondered how much Cabe had discussed with Galen. Was she just going by her own gut instincts, or had he admitted his feelings to her? Lamented over my seeming lack of interest? She came across pretty damned certain of what she was asserting, so they must have talked at some point.

  But had he told her about New Year's Eve? I mean, we hadn't discussed it between the two of us. Had they? Was that why she suddenly turned so venomous toward me? Or did she see us tonight and notice the difference? I mean, Cabe and I had been close. But we had certainly never snuggled up and shared kisses in public, whispering and acting all goo-goo over each other.

  I don't know what set her off, but she had rocked my perception of everything. Of what it had been. What it was becoming.

  Was I the bad guy Galen made me out to be? Had I strung Cabe along all these years without knowing it?

  Cabe dated other girls while we were friends. It wasn't like he sat at home like a monk waiting for me.

  What about Monica? He’d married her! They were in love. I had nothing to do with their break-up. Hell, I’d even encouraged him to go. Told him he should follow her. That definitely wasn't stringing him along or—how did Galen put it?—snagging him on my hook?

  Good Lord! She made me sound like a movie villain who poisoned her brother with mind control and made him do my bidding.

  This was Cabe. My best friend. I didn't make him do anything.

  I'm not sure how I made it home in the state I was in, but I did. I texted him that I was going to sleep and would call him in the morning. I can't sleep, though.
I keep staring at the phone willing it to ring and praying it doesn't.

  I think I knew.

  Somewhere in my gut, I think I knew. Somewhere deep down inside, Galen's words resonated truth I didn't want to face. I had an inkling all along, but I didn't want it to be true, because then I would've had to give up his friendship. I would've needed to acknowledge my own feelings and risk losing him. Risk him betraying me, or leaving me, or not loving me anymore.

  I think I knew how Cabe felt about me. How we felt each other. But I denied it because it was safer just being Cabe's friend.

  What had I done? To Cabe? To me? To us?

  An image of Maggie popped in my head, and I wondered if she knew, too. I adored Cabe's mom, and I hated to think she might feel the same anger toward me as Galen. Did she think I had strung her son along all these years? Did she resent me, too?

  I just want to go to sleep. Please just let me sleep. And please let me know what I should do next when I wake up.

  Saturday, January 4th

  I went to bed so rattled I completely forgot to plug the phone in to charge. It died in the night so I overslept and got to Mel's wedding twenty minutes late. Thank God it was a Melanie event instead of Lillian's. Mel never gets uptight. I swear the bride could run away with the best man and Mel would just shrug and say, "Oh well. Let's go eat the cake."

  My phone came back on after a few minutes on the car charger, and I had two missed texts from Cabe last night and a voice mail this morning checking on me.

  I texted him I was fine but running very late. I didn't dare call him back. I had no idea what to say.

  The hectic pace pre-ceremony meant there was no time to talk to Mel. Besides, part of me knew she would say I told you so, and I wasn't sure I wanted to hear it. She had insisted all along that Cabe and I were more than friends. That we belonged together and just needed to admit it. Melanie didn't often gloat, but I knew she'd revel in being right about this one.

  By the time the wedding reception was underway, the confusion in my head had built to a raging maelstrom, and I feared I may explode into hysterics if I didn't get it out.