“He will be by morning,” Devil muttered under his breath as he began to text on his phone.
Rising, Mannie rose to fix another drink. Reaching for the Crown Royale, he answered, “For now, he’s in Miami. The Devil over there,” he remarked, gesturing toward Molly’s husband, “couldn’t continue to live without some tech company. Nick went down to broker the deal.”
“I’ve already notified the company’s pilot, Armando. I’ll have him home by morning,” Devil informed the other man. “I’m sure this can all be worked out in no time.”
“You can fly him anywhere you want to, Devil. The wedding will still be off. I already left him a voice mail that said so.”
“What?” Molly shouted, shocked. Sure, she’d heart Mannie say it earlier, but she’d assumed he was being dramatic.
“He hid me, Molly. He hid me from people who matter to him. His familia. I can’t just forget that happened,” Mannie stated before he took a swig directly from the bottle. Staring at his friends, he shook his head emphatically. “Listen, amigas, I haven’t hid my light under a bushel tree since I was eighteen and came out to my biological family. They disowned me, but I stayed true to who I was. I can’t let anybody try to snuff out my light again. Not even the man I love more than life. I can’t do it. And after talking to his parents…let’s just say that it’s no secret why he’s remained in the closet where they are concerned. But me? In a closet? I’d never fit back inside one. I wouldn’t want to try. No, I’m gay to stay, my lovely ladies.”
“Well, of course you are,” Molly said decisively, “but, so is your future husband.”
“Not according to his parents,” Mannie muttered, swinging the half full bottle of Crown back to his lips.
“What I want to know is why the little coward hasn’t called. You left that voice mail for him, what? A couple of hours ago? Why isn’t he burning up the phone lines trying to fix this shit?” Samantha griped caustically.
“That’s probably my fault,” Mannie revealed with an empty laugh, shifting the bottle of Crown from hand to hand. “After I called him, ten minutes later, the phone started blowing up. Text, calls, more texts, more calls. I was forced to take drastic measures.”
“What drastic measures, Mannie?”
Batting his long, sooty eyelashes, Manny bit his lip before answering. “I might have relocated my phone to the blender…. And turned it on puree. For being so expensive, those iPhones really can’t take a beating AT ALL.”
“Oh, sweet Lord,” Molly moaned, staring at a man that just might be nuttier than her own husband. “You didn’t think maybe the better idea was to just turn the phone…I don’t know… off?”
“I was in the moment,” Mannie replied blandly, lifting the liquor to his lips. “God,” he bit out. “You know what this means? I’m facing thirty and single again. How fucked up is that?” Looking at Sami, he asked, “You wanna go halfsies on our room at the old folks’ home? We could be roomies!”
“Okay, what about me?” Vivian injected, smiling faintly at their mutual pal.
“Oh, you’ll eventually meet The One, Vivian. You’re too sweet not to find him. But me? I had my One and then found out that he was a big, fat, deceitful liar. As for our Samantha? Let’s just say that I haven’t met the boy with balls big enough for her not to bust. I don’t think he exists,” Mannie replied, slowly ambling back toward his seat on the sofa.
“You never know… I might not find anybody either,” Vivian returned easily. “You could just be stuck with me.”
“Or, I could finally kill Devil and need a place to live, too,” Molly inserted with a genuine laugh.
“Then we’d have a Three’s Company sitch on the horizon. Ohhhhh, that’d be fuuuuuunnnn. I loved, loved, loved that show. John Ritter was a comedic genius. You just know that white boy is cracking up the angelic choir up there. ‘Come and knock on my door…’” Manny sang, closing his eyes and bouncing his head to a beat only he seemed to hear.
“We’ll be waiting for youuuuu,” the girls returned together, each of them relieved to see Mannie’s mega-watt smile for a scant moment. It was better than nothing.
Leaning his head back against the cushions, Manny murmured, “I think I might be drunk a little.”
“You think?” Devil snorted from his chair in the corner, eyeing the glass bottle wedged between their Mexican friend’s legs. Nobody could blame him. One thing every single person in the room could agree on was that Mannie had lived through one hell of a night. “You drank a half bottle of booze in less than an hour. I’m surprised you’re still conscious, amigo.”
Molly laughed out loud when Armando answered with a long snore. “Well, I’d say that puts a period on the evening,” she said softly to no one and everyone.
Not to be dissuaded, Vivian turned around and narrowed her eyes on Devil. “Did you know about any of this tonight? And please remember that I’m an attorney….”
“…and I’m your wife,” Molly interjected with a glare of her own.
“…and both of us can spot a lie from less than five paces,” Vivian concluded, her face an impassive mask.
When Devil merely stared into space, Molly felt her irritation skyrocket. “Devil, I suggest you answer Vivian’s questions. What did you know about this? And don’t bother trying to lie or mislead me because I’ve already figured out by your reactions tonight that you knew more about this than any of us including poor Armando!”
“I knew everything. Nick and I discussed it before he left for Miami. You know, the day after you read him the riot act for not giving you a complete guest list so that you could finish mailing out invitations. The poor guy was freaked the hell out. Evidently, you’re scary when you’re working against the clock.”
“I was perfectly polite to your little lackey. It’s not my fault if he wears his heart on his sleeve and can’t handle a few simple requests,” Molly objected huffily, her eyebrows furrowing. Was it her fault that Nick had procrastinated to the point where she was going to have to pay the printers a substantial extra fee to have their invitations done on time? Damn it, they were down to single digits here. In less than eight days, those boys would be committing to each other for the rest of their lives… at least, she hoped they would be. Based on Mannie’s statements before he passed out, however, the likelihood of it was looking iffy. And she couldn’t even blame him. She completely saw where he was coming from on the issue. “And honestly, I could care less if Nick got his feelings hurt. Right now, all I care about is that evidently you knew your friend was hiding his fiancé from his family, but also his sexuality as well.”
“Molly, I can explain, sweetheart,” Devil soothed, holding up his hand and trying to reach for his wife.
“Sounds like famous last words to me,” Sami grunted, glaring at Devil.
“Don’t they just?” Molly returned, nodding at a sage Samantha.
“Not everything is simply black and white here, dammit. There is such a color as grey, you know,” Devil hissed at the three women, dropping his arm when Molly backed away from him and kept glowering at him. “Nick Santino is not the villain your overactive imaginations are trying to conjure up. He’s a decent guy, Molly.”
“Oh, my God,” Molly scoffed, carefully keeping her voice pitched low so she didn’t disturb a snoring Armando. Heaven knew that the poor man would need his rest to manage whatever ordeal was headed toward them. “You’re actually going to defend what he’s done? You know what you are, Devil? You’re a Judas!”
“Excuse me?” Devil snapped, his shoulders stiffening as he focused furious eyes on Molly. “I haven’t betrayed anybody, little girl. I simply didn’t stick my nose into somebody else’s relationship where – incidentally - it didn’t belong. I listened to Nick talk about his problem with his parents over a couple of beers during a business trip several months ago. I gave him some advice when he asked for it and then I put it out of my mind because it wasn’t my problem! I do that when something is none of my affair. It’s a pretty comm
on practice. I certainly didn’t deceive anybody! Not Mannie. And certainly not you,” Devil argued quietly as he stared at his wife. “The bottom line here is that I know Nick loves and adores young Armando over there just as much as I do you and listening to you three harpies crucify the man before he’s had a chance to defend himself is wrong. I know it, and so do you. When exactly did you get so self-righteous, huh? Since when aren’t you willing to at least hear the other side of the story, Margaret? How the hell can you or your terrible twosome here make an informed decision if you don’t have all the facts?”
Despite being irate that he employed the use of her much hated Christian name, Molly chose to let it go and pay attention to the matter at hand. Crossing her arms over her chest, she lifted her chin in defiance. “Don’t you think we have the pertinent facts, Devil?” she asked with a scowl. “Nick’s been lying to his parents and lying to the man he claims to love. Call me crazy, but it appears that he was willing to build a marriage on a foundation of lies and sins of omission. I’d say we all have a pretty good grasp on the facts. And as for Nick loving Mannie like you love me, if that’s true, Devil, I’m a little concerned about the health of our own relationship. How many deceptions will I find if I take a closer look at our marriage?”
“Okay, you two,” Vivian interceded calmly, “let’s agree to retreat to our neutral corners before somebody says something they can’t take back.”
Disregarding Vivian’s warning, Devil shook his head. “Have any of you asked yourself why a stand-up guy like Nick would choose to keep this to himself? Any of you given his reasoning any thought? Do any of you care about that?”
Stunned by Devil’s passionate defense of his employee and friend, it occurred to Molly that her husband was as protective of his pal as she was of hers. Shifting uncomfortably on her feet as she felt his observant eyes drilling into her. Knowing that he was waiting for a response, she murmured, “I care. Not as much as I care about Armando, but I do care.”
“Good,” Devil returned with a satisfied nod. “Then give Nick a chance to get here tomorrow and explain his reasons for doing what he did. I promise you all,” he continued, his gaze sweeping over all three worried women, “This is a far sight more complicated for Nick than you think. Armando doesn’t possess all the information that he needs to decide if he really wants to cancel his wedding. I’m asking all three of you to stall him for more time before he does something he’ll regret.”
“Whoa, there, Dr. Phil,” Molly drawled, automatically lifting her hand up in the air to stop Devil from carrying on. “I won’t do that. Whatever Nick’s motives were or weren’t, he’s deeply injured that man,” Molly declared, pointing at Mannie. Now sprawled on his back with feet propped on an ottoman, the man now slept, unmoving and drooling. “If Mannie wants to cancel the ceremony, I can’t stop him, Dev. Nobody will be able to do that. He’s a highly emotional, hot headed Latin man that feels like he’s been living a lie with his lover for years. I’m pretty sure that not even Godzilla could slow him down if he decides to end things with Nick.”
“I get that,” Devil agreed readily as both he and Molly watched Samantha cover a slack faced Armando with a cashmere blanket from the back of one of the wingback chairs. “I suppose what I’m asking from all of you is to not purposefully add any fuel to Mannie’s flame right now.”
“So you want us to delay him with a lack of support on our end,” Vivian clarified.
“All I’m saying is maybe don’t be so eager to help him start canceling plans if he asks you. I’ve been texting with Nick and the poor guy is a wreck. He doesn’t want to lose Armando any more than Mannie wants to let Nick go. This can be fixed, ladies,” Devil assured the roomful of doubtful women passionately, looking from one hesitant woman to another.
Glancing in Sami and Vivian’s direction, Molly gave a small shrug. “I guess we could give Nick a shot to make this right, couldn’t we?” she asked her friends in a small voice. The idea certainly didn’t thrill her, but this was Mannie’s future happiness on the line. If there was even the slightest chance that this major fuck-up could be repaired, didn’t they owe it to Armando to do what they could to insure his future with Nicolas? “What do you guys think?” she asked the girls.
Sami ran a frustrated hand through her long blonde hair. “As much as I despise agreeing with Satan’s son,” she began, offering a nod toward Devil, “I gotta say, if I was in Mannie’s position, I’d want some answers. And the only person that’s gonna have those answers to give is the pecker packing son of a bitch that we all wanna skin and skewer over an open flame.”
“Not all of us. I, for one, know this is all a big misunderstanding that can be straightened out if I can convince you people to not shift into the overly-emotional psycho mode you all seem to favor when times get a little rocky,” Devil announced belligerently.
That’s when Molly knew beyond a shadow of a doubt….
She’d married the smartest idiot on the planet.
Chapter Six
Devil
“I’m telling you both, I barely escaped that house of horrors with my life, assholes!” Devil yelled at the two men sitting in the darkened corner of the local sports bar they regularly frequented when the need to flee their significant others became too much of a temptation to resist. “Stop laughing at me, you hyenas! I thought those she-beasts were going to maul and devour me before I ever made it to my own front door, dammit! Even the lion gave the gazelle a thirty second head start, but not those women. Hell, no! In fact, not only did they not give me a head start, but I’m pretty sure it was Vivian that tripped me on the way out. And I know it was Samantha’s shoe that caught me on the temple once I was down. And all the while, my so-called loving wife just freaking watched! That was until she decided to participate. Thank God her aim hasn’t improved with time,” he yelped above the chuckles of his contemporaries.
Christ, but he needed to find better friends. The ones he had wouldn’t be entirely happy until one of his stories ended with, ‘and then, the paramedics shocked my heart back to life’. Evil bastards, the lot of ‘em, he thought as he looked between the faces of his oldest friend and his beleaguered vice president.
Hell, last night hadn’t even been a catastrophe of his own making. Which reminded him, blame still had to be rightly and justly placed on somebody else’s head. Narrowing his gaze as he looked at his company’s youngest (and most successful) vice president, Nick Santino, he growled and pointed one long, tapered finger to his left. “Look, I had to sleep in my car in the garage last night because I was too afraid to go back into the lion’s den, guys. I don’t want another night like that. Besides, this isn’t even my fucking war to fight. This is your battle, Kemo Sabe, so I suggest you take your ass home and suit up for the game.” Taking a hard look at his normally pristinely dressed employee, he shook his head at the man sitting next to him now. Nobody would accuse him of being a fussy dresser today. Clad in baggy jeans sans belt and an oversized red flannel long sleeved shirt, Nick Santino had completed the ensemble with a battered baseball cap pulled low over his eyes. “What the hell are you wearing anyway?” Devil asked. “You going for that fresh-from-the-forest lumberjack thug look?”
“Shut up, Devil,” Nick grumbled under his breath, reaching for the glass of Shiraz he’d ordered from the bouncy scantily-dressed waitress that had been by their table earlier. “I’m trying to fly under the radar. That’s kind of hard to do wearing a Gucci suit.”
“Well, trust me, nobody’s gonna recognize you right now,” Molly’s brother, Grant Ramsey, chuckled, eyeing the younger man sitting across from him. “Exactly who are you hiding from, though? Based on what Dev here has told me, I don’t exactly think Armando is combing the streets for you. Besides, I’m fairly certain Mannie might revoke your gay card if he saw you in that get-up. Redneck gangsta thug is not in your color wheel, my friend.”
“Look, I’m not exactly trying to hide from anybody. Not really,” Nick muttered into his glass. “I’m ju
st not necessarily trying to draw attention to myself right now, thank you both very much. I’m just not interested in advertising my presence back in Atlanta. At least not until I figure out how to explain to Armando about my fucked up family. Besides, I was actually really comfortable for a change on the flight into town. I told Mannie that there was something to be said for casual clothing, but he insists that clothes make the man.”
Devil snorted as he tilted his beer in the direction of the other man. “Son, at this moment, you’re damned lucky I like you. Otherwise, I’d have taken out a damn billboard over your head the second you deplaned over at Hartsfield-Jackson and pointed the four Musketeers your way. Despite your well-thought-out disguise as a straight man, I don’t think it’d distract them for long.”
“I might not fool the man I love and his three best friends, but it’s not them I’m trying to avoid. It’s the rest of Atlanta that I’m trying to dodge. Being stopped twelve times a day and congratulated on my upcoming nuptials was fun as hell when I was positive I had a groom waiting in the wings for me. Now, not knowing if I can even begin to gain Armando’s forgiveness….I don’t exactly feel like playing the gushing gay groom of the year, you know?”
“Ohhhh, you’re gonna fix this,” Devil growled back, leaning forward to clutch his highball glass of scotch with one hand. “That’s not negotiable,” he informed the younger man while he waved one hand in the air, signaling the waitress for a refill. “Seriously, I’m going to have to insist that you pull your shit together and commence kissing whatever you need to kiss to get Armando from my house back into YOUR house,” he informed the younger man while he waved one hand in the air.
“You think I don’t want that?” Nick asked, sounding desperate. Running a hand down his unshaven cheek, he shook his head. “I’ve called his cell at least fifty times. I’ve left him over two dozen voice mails. And that’s not even mentioning the texts I’ve sent. Devil, he won’t talk to me. For God’s sake, YOU, my boss, picked me up from the airport while my boyfriend did what? Nursed his grudge toward me?”
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