Nick
"I've checked out back. The gazebo looks beautiful. The leaves are changing colors and--"
"I don't care what the gazebo looks like. Did you find her?"
"No."
"I checked all the women's restrooms."
D and I both turned to look at J. He grinned, tipping the fedora he wore over his right eye. "Monkee helped me check," he said meekly.
"I've asked the kitchen staff, I've gone into the rooms we're gonna be changing in tomorrow, and I've made sure the car is still here," I ticked off. "She hasn't left."
"I can't believe Chris said that about her writing," D mumbled. "That was really low. You've read her book. Is it really that bad?"
D looked at me expectantly. I found a sudden interest in an ivy that was hanging above AJ's head.
"Well, I haven't really read it since she's redone it for the publisher..." I trailed off.
"You haven't? Why not?"
"She hasn't offered."
"When have you ever waited for an offer?"
It was like I was being attacked by Crackle and Pop. And damn, I was ready to Snap.
"Listen, this isn't about her book, this is about her. What if she fell down and got hurt or--"
"Maybe you should get her one of those Med-Alert bracelets for a wedding gift."
"Where's my daughter?"
The three of us turned before I had a chance to smack the stupid right out of AJ McLean. Marietta was looking directly at me, worry lines etched deeply in her face.
"We're looking," I said gently.
She steeled her shoulders and I wondered if she too was gonna let me have it. Instead she pressed her hip into the doorframe and pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose. It looked like what she was preparing to say was killing her.
"Do I need to call of the wedding?" she asked seriously.
The silence that came afterwards was horrific. I began to play with the lapel flower that had so interested me during the rehearsal. A petal broke off into my hand.
"What? N-No," I stammered. "It's jitters. This whole thing's jitters. Well, besides your son hating me."
Marietta shook her head. "Chris is--" she trailed off. "Chris just wanted something different for his sister."
She didn't say it, but I swear to God that she was thinking, 'we all did.'
"Yeah, well, I'mma gonna prove him wrong," I said. I smacked J and Howie on the shoulders. "Let's split up again. This place isn't that big."
"I'll help," Marietta said. "A mother's intuition is never wrong."
Our eyes met for a second before she turned and headed off down a side hallway. I wanted to ask what her intuition was saying about other things...
But I didn't. I couldn't.
I had a feeling I wouldn't like the answer.
Heather
It was incredible. There I was, trapped in an old wine cellar, nothing but cob-webby boards criss-crossing overhead and a million wooden cases of wine scattered all around, kissing Brian. Brian Littrell.
This was what dreams were made of.
The moment he had said 'Whack-a-Mole' it was all over. Chipped pieces of a completely irratic puzzle were finally shifting into place. Brian did want me. And I wanted him. And I was tired of him being a gentlemen, because I realized that's what he'd always been.
All was right with the world.
At that exact moment, my tongue was pressing against his in a delicious tug-of-war. The subtle hint of fried chicken and tater slaw was better than the actual meal had been. A million times better. Brian's hands gripped the back of my sundress as I felt a sudden breeze on the back of my thighs as he bunched it up.
I didn't want to break the kiss for fear that the spell would end. My lungs felt like they were about to burst as I finally broke away. Air rushed into my body just as heat traveled all the way to the tips of my toes.
Even with just a few dimly lit bulbs hanging over head, I could see lust, a kind of lust I had never seen before, fill Brian's blue eyes. The dress continued to crawl up me.
He wasn't going to let the end of the kiss break the spell. I ran my hands through his hair, my lips following the line of peachfuzz covering his jawline.
"I love you, I love you," I said over and over again. The words just sounded so good when I actually meant them.
"I'm dreaming," he whispered. "I'm..." his hands yanked the dress up over my head. "in heaven."
He wasn't the only one. His hardness pressed against my bare stomach as I pressed one last kiss to his face. I sat up, my hands falling to the dark black buckle.
"You don't know how long I've daydreamed of doing this," I said breathlessly. My fingers fumbled and I realized that I was shaking slightly. I was waiting for an excited 'me too,' but instead Bri shifted his weight slightly.
"While you were writing your book?"
I paused, the belt undone and the zipper only a fourth of the way slid. My eyes widened.
"How do you--"
He had the decency to look guilty. "You left the first manuscript by accident. And I read it."
For a second, I was mortified. Once that feeling passed, I was just...curious.
"And?"
"Eric's me."
I licked my lips, my finger grabbing the zipper once more. "I know."
"You used everything we did and put it in the story. Was I a test dummy?"
Again I paused. My mouth fell open and for a second I didn't know how to respond. When I did, my voice came out like a screech.
"Are you kidding me?"
Bri didn't respond. I saw his Adam's apple bob hard and I realized that he was serious. Dead serious.
"You're my hero," I whispered. "I figured since I couldn't have the real you I would give my character the happily ever after. And I couldn't think of a better prince."
"Heath..."
My heart began to pound out of control. I leaned forward, pressing my lips against his until once again my lungs were depleted of air. I wormed his zipper all the way down.
"I don't want to talk anymore," I said, pulling away. "I want to show you."
Brian
I couldn’t breathe. Her fingers on me were like magic and I felt my mind slipping further and further away from reality. The dim lights got dimmer and the room got blurry and Heather’s fingers worked to pull my pants down and travelled back up my legs, to my boxers. She laid between them, her face dangerously close to me. She reached for the opening of my boxers, my hard on pressing against the soft cotton…
And suddenly I realized what we were doing.
“Wait,” I gasped. Even as I said the words, I couldn’t believe that they were coming out of my mouth. Heather looked up at me, concerned. “Wait,” I gasped the word again and used my wrists to pull me out of the position we’d wrangled into. I stared down at Heather’s eyes. “You want to show me that you love me?”
Heather nodded, and started to reach for my pants again, but I reached for her hand and stilled it.
“You need to break up with Nick first,” I said, “Then we can do this.”
Heather’s eyes filled with tears.
“I don’t want to do what he’s done,” I explained, “I don’t want you to be just as bad as him, I don’t want to be the other man.” I reached for her chin, “I don’t want you to be a mistress, I don’t want you to be a – a cheater. If we’re gonna do this…” I said, “We’re gonna do it right.”
Heather nodded.
I licked my lips. “So when we get out of here… you go to Nick, and you tell him.”
Heather nodded again.
“I just love you too much, and I respect you too much, to be without you before you’re mine,” I whispered, “You understand don’t you Heather? I can’t be with you until you pick me.”
Heather nodded a third time.
I smiled and cupped her chin in my hand, looking into her eyes. “You’re beautiful.”
Tears were spilling over her cheeks.
I stood up, leaving Heather there on the floor. She started adjusting her dress while I pulled up my pants, zipped and rebuckled myself. I took a deep breath. When I turned around, she was taking her hair down from the bun that it had been knotted into, and the long blonde curls dropped to her shoulders like corn silk. I closed my eyes, the heady smell of the fermenting wine filling my nostrils.
Suddenly the door burst open and there was Howie. Howie glanced between me and Heather, eyes suspicious but not condemning and he hesitated. A slight nod from me and he turned, “Nick, I found them.”
Nick came bounding down the stairs, a whirlwind of activity and noise and he gasped in relief, “Oh Heather, thank God. Are you okay?” he wrapped his arms around her, pulled her into him and held her tight. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered into her ear.
She didn’t pull back.
Nick guided Heather up the stairs, out of the wine cellar, and Howie followed, too. I scrambled after them, carrying my jacket, my shirt untucked. I hurried up beside Heather and Nick and grabbed Heather’s hand. “I’ll wait by the gazebo,” I whispered. “Come find me…after.”
Heather nodded.
And just like that… Nick whisked her away.
Howie came up beside me and pressed a hand onto my shoulder. “Did you…?”
I looked at Howie, square in the eyes. “If she loves me… if she picks me… she’ll come tonight.”
