I pulled my sunglasses out of my pocket and put them on. Then, I pulled the baseball cap that I kept for moments like this out of the inside pocket of my jacket and pulled it hard down over my face. I took a deep breath, put my head down and headed for the side exit from the foyer. I never used the main exit anywhere - unless I wanted to be photographed that is.
Just before the exit, I ducked around a corner and shielded myself behind a large fake fern. I looked around for the name of the hotel - 'The Meridian' - never heard of it, and texted my driver to come and pick me up. Ten minutes away. Shit.
I leaned with my back against the wall waiting and thought of what would be coming up in the next week. Cassie's wedding. A chance to get home to Mayfield Springs. It couldn't be more different than here, than this weird moment hiding behind a pot plant and waiting to escape.
Amy was going to be there. Amy, the love of my life. I wondered if she'd even talk to me again after what I did to her. I was a total asshole. I knew it at the time, and I still knew it now.
I'd known Amy, my little sister Cassie's best friend since she was a kid. I'd never thought of her romantically, but when I went back to Mayfield Springs for Cassie's graduation, Amy was different. She wasn't Amy the tomboy anymore - she was this gorgeous, amazing looking woman with Amy's voice and sense of humor packaged in this amazing body as well. How could I not fall for her? But it was bad timing. I was six months into a marriage that no one at home knew about. And when my wife Stacey heard rumors that the reason her husband was staying on in Mayfield Springs was that I had taken up with a girl there, she soon made sure everyone in Mayfield Springs knew about her existence. The moment when I opened the door to Stacey my wife on the doorstep of my parent's home was the worst in my life. I sighed. I lost my wife, the girl I really loved, and the respect of my mom and dad in the space of a second.
"Chris, Chris." An urgent whispering of my name broke my thoughts. It was Manuel, my driver.
Thank God, I was finally going to get out of this hotel.
CHAPTER 4
AMY
"There's just no way I've gone up a dress size," I pouted into the mirror and prodded at my hips.
"You look gorgeous, so stop worrying about it," said Cassie, as she stood behind me snapping endless pictures with her cellphone.
"Stop that Cass!" I laughed. "I look like I've put on heaps of weight."
"Oh my God Amy, don't be so ridiculous. You look beautiful."
"But I'm so much bigger than you are," I said, glancing over Cassie's perfect body.
It had been a few years since we'd seen each other but as lifelong friends do, we chat on the phone regularly. But, Cassie looks so different from the last time I saw her. She practically looks like a model. She's got her brother's looks and that lofty arrogance that seems to be a Taylor family trait.
I looked up and down her pin-like legs and couldn't help but feel envious. And her stomach? My God, I would do anything to have abs that flat. I'd hate her if I didn't love her so much.
"Hey," she snapped her fingers in front of my face. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Like what?" I said, trying to pretend I hadn't been checking her out.
"You were staring at me as if you had a bad smell under your nose or something," Cassie moaned.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it," I responded. "It's just that I'm feeling..." I slumped into a nearby chair and looked despairingly at the way the bridesmaid's dress puffed up around me like a rising meringue. "So ordinary and boring and fat."
"Oh honey," said Cassie as she rushed to my side, her heels clacking along the tiled floor. "You're far from boring, and you're definitely not fat. You've just got curves. Trust me, you're gorgeous," she said giving me a tight squeeze and kissing me on the cheek.
"Thanks," I said, smiling weakly as I hugged her back.
"But where has all this self-doubt come from?" Cassie asked as she sat down beside me, squeezing her tiny bottom in next to my rather larger one. "What happened to the wild girl who loved to party and who was proud of how she looked? The girl who didn't think twice about disappearing off to art school?"
I thought about my old self and my teenage years when I never said no to anything and was always on the lookout for a new adventure.
"I grew tired," I said, looking down to the floor. "I grew up... and I became a mom."
An awkward silence hung in the air between us, the only noise the sound of the bridal boutique's stereo playing cheesy love ballads.
"Don't get me wrong. I love being a Mom, but it's tiring, and it's so different to what I thought I'd be doing. I love Bella, but I'm just so miserable and disappointed with how my life has turned out." I sighed. "Sorry, Cass, I don't quite know what's come over me," I said as I leaned into the nook in her neck and held her tight.
"Oh Amy," she held onto me. "Why don't we go for a drink and talk this out? I can't stand seeing you like this."
I looked up at her and smiled, trying my very best to look happy.
"I'd like that."
The bar was crowded but relaxed, and we took a seat in one of the corner booths. As we made our way through the busy tables, I couldn't help but notice Cassie getting her fair share of admiring glances. I had to admit; I felt a little jealous. I wanted to feel attractive too. I know I'm not ugly, and it's not like I want a man but... I'm not the glamor puss that Cassie is, and it wouldn't hurt to feel wanted once in a while, by someone other than the drunk at the bar.
We'd only been sitting down for a few seconds when Cassie began to talk. She seemed to have forgotten that she was going to try to make me feel better. Or maybe she thought that talking about herself would help me take my mind off my troubles. But, on and on she spoke about her perfect life in New York where she already had her dream job and her dream man.
"I just can't wait for you to meet Daniel," she said as she sipped at her mimosa. "You'll love him, he's a real prince," she giggled.
"He sounds great Cassie, " I said looking disappointedly at my sparkling water and wishing that I had a mimosa but knowing that I had to drive home.
"So what's up? You've been miserable today. What's going on?" she asked as she pushed a plate of bruschetta towards me.
I shook my head politely and raised a hand.
"I shouldn't. I'm getting bigger by the day I swear."
"Oh, nonsense!" Cassie replied. "You look almost the same as you did when you were a teenager," she said before draining half her glass. "Which reminds me, talking about the good old days, are you looking forward to seeing Chris?"
"Oh... Sure!" I said, albeit in the most unconvincing way.
"You don't sound so sure that you want to see him," said Cassie narrowing her eyes skeptically. "Don't tell me that you haven't got over the breakup yet. It was four years ago, Amy. You should put it behind you. And you know he's not married to Stacey anymore. He's single you know," she smirked.
"Of course, I'm over it," I lied. "But just because Chris is single, it doesn't mean that I'd be interested or that he'd be interested in me. Once bitten, twice shy," I said. "I'm not going to get burnt a second time."
"Oh Amy," replied Cassie. "He's grown up since then too. You should give him a second chance."
Cassie raised two fingers to a passing waiter, and he returned promptly with more drinks. This time, however, the sparkling water was replaced with a mimosa.
"I shouldn't drink Cass; I'm driving."
"So? Take a cab," she replied, leaving no room for doubt that she wanted a drinking buddy.
I sighed. Cassie's flippant attitude was beginning to annoy me but how could she possibly help it. She lived the life of an NYC 'It' girl, getting her way all the time. With her high flying job and opulent lifestyle, she probably found me quite dull. I doubt she imagined that I'd love to join her in a drinking session but that I couldn't afford the mimosas... or the cab.
As if she was reading my mind, Cassie said, "My treat Amy, I'll pay ok?"
I guess if she was paying
I could enjoy a drink or two. Sipping my Mimosa, I thought back to what Cassie had said about Chris.
"Hang on Cassie," I said without thinking through what I was asking. "Did you say Chris was single? How can that be? He's never photographed without a beautiful blonde by his side."
Cassie hit me playfully on the arm.
"You do still have a thing for him. I knew it," she said laughing. "If you didn't, you wouldn't notice who he's with, or even care what he's doing." She hesitated for a second before looking me in the eye. "Yes, he's single. He hasn't found anyone since you."
I knew she was baiting me, to see how I would react, so I changed the subject.
"I'm only in love with one person Cassie, and that's my princess Bella who is right this moment waiting at home for me," I said, glancing at my watch to signal that I was worried about the time and would have to go shortly. "In fact, I should probably get home to her soon."
"Oh for God's sake, relax a little. Bella won't even notice."
Thinking of Bella made me wonder what I was going to tell Chris when he came to the wedding. And Cassie for that matter. Cassie had always known about Bella, but she thought Bella's father was someone I'd met in my first weeks of Art School. Sooner or later I was going to have to tell both of them.
My thoughts were broken by the jangling of Cartier bracelets and a very well-manicured hand waving in my face.
"Hello?" Cassie looked insulted. "I've been talking for ages, and you've just been all weird and staring into space."
"Sorry," I mumbled. "I've just got a lot on my mind. "
"I can see that. You wanna talk about it?"
"No, I'm ok," I said, my shoulders sagging, weighed down by my guilty secret.
Cassie didn't seem to notice. "So, as I was saying. Daniel. Oh, my god, he's so hot. You'll just love him. It's not long before he'll be here for his final night of freedom."
"He's having his buck's night in Mayfield Springs?" I frowned at the thought.
"Yeah! Haha!" Cassie burst out laughing and slapped the table. "I talked him into it. I thought it'd be funny. He's such a city slicker, can you imagine?" She seemed amused at the prospect of Daniel out for a night on the town.
I watched as the girls at the table beside us vacated their table. One of them had left behind a glossy magazine, one that I could never afford to buy. As it was directly in my line of vision, I couldn't help but see who was on the front cover. Chris stared back at me - the headline reading, 'Hottest Man on Earth? Definitely'.
It would seem there was no end to being reminded of him and a knot formed in my stomach as I thought of the wedding. There was no way I was going to be able to ignore him.
CHAPTER 5
AMY
Back in the diner, I piled up dirty dishes all night long and took orders from rude and ungrateful customers. It had been a long twelve-hour shift, and I couldn't wait to get home. I poked at the food stains on my apron and reflected on how my life couldn't be any further from Cassie's.
Half an hour to go. The kitchen was stinking hot, and I could feel the sweat running down my brow. I rubbed it with the back of my hand. I could tell that Lorraine wanted to get home too. I saw her begin to take the money out of the till and count it. She looked worse than I did. Maybe, just maybe, she'd close up early.
It was then, as we were getting ready to close up and the last of the customers were beginning to leave that I heard the sound of loud voices in the parking lot. I looked up as a crowd of well-dressed guys pushed their way in through the door. They weren't from around here, and there was something about them I instantly didn't like. They strode arrogantly into the diner and slid into a booth as though the world owed them everything.
There went my hopes of an early lock-up. Lorraine sighed and shut the cash register quickly. I was pretty sure she thought they were trouble as well.
"Bitch! What I gotta do to get some service around here?" called out one of the guys. He looked at me as if he was undressing me with his eyes and I didn't like it one little bit. Lorraine nodded her head to let me know I had to serve them but said under her breath, "Don't worry, I'll be watching. I've got your back."
"What can I get you?" I asked the group, holding my notebook tightly in front of me.
The same creepy guy turned to look at his buddies, the hair product in his hipster haircut gleaming in the light. "How about a round of beers, eh? And why don't you smile for me? You're a real sweetheart you know?" he said, reaching out and stroking my arm. I recoiled instinctively. This guy might be well-dressed and good looking, but he was also utterly vile.
I glanced at Lorraine, desperately hoping she would come to my aid.
"I'm afraid we don't serve alcohol here, fellas," she lied, striding across the diner to help me.
"You gotta be kidding - you've got a bar right there," said the same guy, who seemed to be the leader of the group.
"Yeah, we do, but at this time of night, we don't serve alcohol unless you've ordered a meal and I'm sorry fellas, but the kitchen's closed. Why don't you head back into town and get yourself a drink at one of the bars there? 'Tony's Cantina' is open until midnight - try there," she said firmly, making it quite clear there was going to be no changing her mind.
"Ah fuck," the same guy scrunched up his face and waved a hand dismissively. "This town is boring as hell. We've been in all your bars. There's nothing there for us."
Lorraine sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Guys, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to ask you to leave," she said as she looked the ringleader square in the face. "We're closing in a few minutes anyway."
"Aww...that's a real shame," he said as he leaned out of the booth towards me and put his arm around my hips. "I thought this little cutie and I were gonna have a good time."
"Well, you thought wrong," Lorraine replied. "Take your hands off her."
I moved away to take myself out of his grasp and gave him the filthiest look I could muster. It made no difference to him.
"How about you give us a twirl?" he winked at me.
I felt nauseous at the sight of him. I looked up at the clock and pointed with my pen. "We're closing at 10," I said.
"Yeah, actually you can leave now if you want, Amy," said Lorraine patting me on the back. "You've had a long day. I can look after these guys."
"Thanks," I replied, taking off my apron as I walked across the diner towards the staffroom.
"That's it, guys. Game over. Off you go."
I heard them grumble and move towards the front door, and just before I reached the staffroom, someone grabbed my arm from behind me. I knew before I even turned around that it would be the offensive leader of the group.
"Hey," he said as he pulled at my arm. I flinched and tried to pull away, but he had a real tight grip on me.
"Let me go," I ordered through gritted teeth.
I wished so badly that Lorraine would hurry up and save me, but she was hustling the other drunk guys out through the door. I could hear them making fun of her weight and imitating her accent. Those bastards, I thought. Who the hell are these guys? I looked down at the hand that was gripped around my wrist and tried to pull away once again. This time he let me go.
"No need to get all mad. I was just trying to have some fun," he said, attempting to justify his actions.
"Fun for who?" I asked as I rubbed my sore arm and pushed open the staffroom door. But as I turned to take a step inside, he slipped his hand up my skirt and squeezed me, learning in close behind me. "You've got a real nice ass," he whispered in my ear, his hot breath on the back of my neck. " I wish I could show it a good time."
I turned around and pushed him away.
"Get away from me you asshole!" I yelled at him, tears pricking my eyes.
His friends, who had all been on their way out the door, turned to look and laughed when they saw me in such a state of distress.
"These small-town girls. Been playing hard to get since we got here," one of them said as he came back into the
diner.
"Get out!" I yelled.
"Fellas, if you're not outta here in the next ten seconds, I'm calling the cops," Lorraine said defiantly, her hands out flat on the counter and a scowl on her face.
The tension in the diner was electric, and I knew the situation was on the cusp of getting very ugly. A couple of the guys started making their way back into the diner, and I saw Lorraine move towards the panic button hidden under the counter. But then a familiar voice cut through the crowd.
"What's going on here? Guys, move away from the door. I do hope you've not been giving Lorraine a hard time."
OMG Chris.
Chris Taylor.
I'd never been so glad to hear a familiar voice and for a moment I completely forgot that I'd been wanting to avoid him.
"Amy?" Chris questioned, stopping in the middle of the diner.
"Daniel?" he asked. I looked at the guy who had been hassling me. Daniel? My mind was whirling in confusion. Daniel? No, it couldn't be. Surely it wasn't Cassie's Daniel?
"Lorraine, have these guys been giving you grief?" Chris asked.
"Well, I was about to call the cops on them," she replied, "if that's what you mean by grief."
"Ok, you lot, get out of here. Head home to Mom and Dad's if you can't find another bar." He turned back to Lorraine. "I'm really sorry if they weren't behaving themselves. It's my sister's fiancé's bucks night, and I think they just got a bit out of control."
I stood at the door of the staffroom listening to the conversation as if it was happening on another planet. I was shaken from the incident with Daniel; I was stunned by the arrival of Chris; and I couldn't believe that the creepy bloke who'd been trying to hook up with me was going to marry my best friend.
I pushed backward into the swinging door and disappeared into the staffroom. It was bad enough that Chris had seen me like this, but I didn't want to have to talk to him now. In the safety of the staffroom, I could feel my cheeks burning red. Finally, after all these years, he was just out there a few feet away from me. Part of me wanted to run over and hug him for saving me from that creep. Part of me wanted to grab him and tell him that we couldn't let Cassie marry Daniel, and part of me just wanted to get out of the diner and forget that tonight had ever happened.
Small Town Secret: Mayfield Springs Book 1 Page 2
