Romantic Promises (Alluring Promises Series, #2) (12 page)

“I…” I swiped at a new tear that fell and at the same time I realized he was still “inside” of me. I moved slightly making it seem as if I were uncomfortable. He immediately withdrew and ran to the bathroom. He returned to me, laying on his side, propping his hand under his head to look down at me.

“I just.” I stopped and took a deep breath. “Charles. Are you...happy with our relationship?” I stared at him and started to bite my lip, nervous of his answer.

“Yeah, of course I am. I think we’re on the right path. We know each other very well. You’re perfect for me.”

There was that damn word again. God, I was never going to be able to escape it, was I? My life was doomed to achieve to be “perfect.” I could never do it for my parents. What made me think I could do it for my husband? Panic set in. My mouth became dry and I began to breathe heav
ily as tears flooded my eyes.

Charles sat up. “Vanessa? Are you alright?” I sat up, staring at him. Tears flowed as
I realized what I was about to do was going to change this
perfect
relationship.

“Charles. I think…I think I need a break from our relationship.” I stared at him, waiting for him to say something to me.

He ran his hand through his hair as he looked around the room nervously. His eyes landed back on mine as he frowned. “What makes you think that?” He asked me in an uncertain manner.

Because you’re perfect.
Why would that make any sense to him? It doesn’t even make any sense to me. I closed my eyes and tried to respond. “I think I’m just…”
Just what?
What was I going to say to Charles? I should have thought this through better.

His fingers brushed through my hair, placing it behind my shoulder. “Is it your parents again? Are they just too much right now?” He asked, his eyes pulled together showing how completely concerned he was for me.

My eyes widened as I tried to find a reason for him. He deserves something more without being hurt. “I think I’m just having a tough time with my new job and moving into a new place. I feel like I need some time to myself.”
Or to date other people.
Why couldn’t I be honest and tell him that?

His eyes softened as he nodded his head. “Okay, Vanessa. If you need time alone for a little bit, we can do that. I mean, I have a lot of studying and I’m working all the time anyway. I know that makes you…lonely. We could take a break from our relationship for a little while.” His eyes sparked with an idea. “We could put a time on it and revisit our relationship. I’ve read about many couples that do that. We could even list out things that we like and don’t like. Or things that we could change.” He seemed excited about writing down this list of things and I began to wonder what he would write about me on his list of things to change.

I was terrified to ask him, but felt like I needed to know. “Charles.” I looked down at my hands as I twirled my engagement ring around. “Do…do I…excite you?”

He seemed to chuckle as he gave me a questioning look. “Of course you excite me. I mean it’s nice and comfortable between us. We know how to please each other in bed.” He gave me a small smile. “This stuff happens with all couples, Vanessa. Sometimes people just need a little time apart to appreciate each other again. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

I nodded and gave him a small smile as I stared down at my ring. “I’m so sorry, Charles,” I whispered.

He pulled me towards him, wrapping his arms around me. He kissed my hair as I buried my head into his neck. “All couples go through this Vanessa. We’ll be okay.”

“Do you feel the same way?”

He nodded. “A little. But I think my side is because I have to work all the time and I can’t be the best fiancé to you right now. I mean, we keep putting off the wedding because of my job. I never even stop to think about what you’re going through with your career.” He pulled back and gave me a faint smile. “If this will help you concentrate more on your job, then we’ll just take a small break.” He pulled his brows together before saying, “I don’t think we should tell our parents, though. Let’s just wait and see what happens, alright?”

I nodded, seeing as that was more than okay with me. I wasn’t ready to fight my mom on this just yet.

Charles pecked my lips with a caring kiss and then pulled me into a hug. “It’s going to be alright Vanessa. Things like this make a relationship stronger.” I nodded snuggling into his chest, hoping he’s right.

Maybe this would work out the right way and we would get a spark to our relationship. Time apart might be just what we needed to rethink things through.

I walked back into my apartment with a heavy heart after my ‘needing a break’ discussion with Charles. To make me feel even worse, he let me borrow a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt since I was scantily clad last night.

Aubrey was watching TV on the couch, sipping her coffee. I walked over, dropped my purse on the coffee table and flopped next to her. Aubrey’s eyes warily swept over me and I could tell her questions before she even asked. “Are you okay? Did you break up with him?”

I nodded as I wiped my tears and sniffled. “Umm, we’re going to take a break for a couple of months. As he put it, we’re going to “revisit” our relationship and see where we go from there. We’re going to keep the engagement up for our parents.”

“What?” She asked as she sat up and placed her coffee cup on the table. “That makes no sense. At some point you’re going to have to announce it’s over.”

I cleared my throat and realized I was getting nervous just explaining this to her. “Well, just for now. We’re actually just taking a couple months break.”

“Why wouldn’t you just break up completely?” She crossed her arms in front of her and glared at me. Seeing her anger made me realize why I had been so nervous in explaining our “break” to her.

“We are. Sort of,” I maintained, avoiding her eyes completely.

Aubrey shook her head, her face telling me what I already knew, as I glanced back at her. “You should’ve just made a clean break. It will be so much easier. It’s gonna linger, Vanessa. You’re just going to have to break his heart later.”

I slouched back not wanting to look at her as I whined, “You didn’t see him. He…how can I break up with him when he’s…”

Aubrey interrupted me mid-sentence. “Perfect? You use that word one more time to describe him and I’ll have to bitch slap you.” She threw her hands up in the air and let them slap her thighs showing me her frustration.

I knew she was right. But she didn’t see the look on his face. “He looked like he wanted to help me. How could I break up with him?” She threw a loud huff, glaring at me as she did. I continued, “He told me he wanted to revisit our relationship hoping he could be a better fiancé. He feels like it’s his fault and it’s not. It’s just…us,” I said as I glanced around the room not wanting to meet Aubrey’s stare. I bit my lip as I felt the tears coming. I’m such a horrible person.

“He deserves to know he’s not the right person for you. You’re just leading him on.”

“He wanted it,” I threw out in defiance of her statement.
Shit.
I am leading him on. “He insisted on continuing to try.” Didn’t he? I was trying to remember our exact conversation. Did I lead him on?

Aubrey leaned forward and hugged me. “You’re going to have finally break up with him in a couple of months.” All I could do was nod as my tears fell. After a few moments, I pulled back and wiped my selfish tears.

I pasted on a fake smile and asked, “So, how was your date? Who did you go out with?” I bit my lip, pretending to show my eagerness to listen to her details, hoping to change the subject.

I knew she couldn’t resist my question as she grabbed her coffee off the table and leaned back. She began to retell her evening with last night’s stranger. Actually, he wasn’t a stranger. He was a guy from her job that she’s told me about before. Poor guy. I wonder if he knew beforehand that he’d never get a second chance with her. They don’t have a “no dating” policy in place and I quickly wondered what it would be like on Monday for th
ose two.

After she regaled me with her night, she peered at me from under her long black bangs. “Are you really doing alright?”

I nodded, but then the dam burst and I began to cry. Really cry. Aubrey put her coffee down again and shot forward, wrapping her arms around me while I continued to heave sobs into her shoulder. It was the ugly cry; the kind you usually do in your own room and if I had been any better at hiding my feelings, I’d have done that. But Aubrey has always been there for me. She’s seen me through all my highs and lows through college.

After I finally regained some composure, I sat up and wiped my eyes. I was sure this was something that we’d probably talk about after I calmed down a little. Aubrey gave me a small smile as she turned on the TV and flipped through the channels while I curled up into the corner. We watched in silence until my eyes fluttered shut and I fell asleep.

I awoke to the TV on and Aubrey flipping through the channels again. She smiled at me and walked into the kitchen, returning with a cup of coffee for me. “Here, have some coffee. You’ll need to perk up before the wedding. Your mom is going to be a handful at this one,” she told me with a smile.

I cringed. I had forgotten all about the wedding. “I don’t think I should go. I think I’ll tell Mom I can’t go because I feel sick.”

Aubrey shook her head. “Nope. I’m not letting you out of this one.” She smiled and added, “You know how I love to seek out single guys on the prowl, especially at weddings. It’s as if they’re all ready and waiting. And since this is a huge one, there’ll be tons to choose from.” She nudged me. “You should have a one night stand tonight after your mom leaves. You need to get into singles mode, pronto.”

I shook my head. “It just happened last night. And technically to my mom, I won’t be single.”

“Well, that doesn’t mean you still can’t get some. You’re technically broken up with Charles, right? Except for this fake engagement for your parents.” She rolled her eyes on the last part, which I ignored. “Hey, stop thinking about Charles. It’s going to be okay,” Aubrey’s voice was soft as she spoke. I nodded and gave her a fake smile.

“Let’s go get a workout in before the wedding. You’ll at least get your frustration out and get your endorphins kicking in.” Aubrey exclaimed excitedly as she put her coffee down on the coffee table as I started to try to protest. “Come on. It’ll do you good. You’ll feel fantastic and be ready to dance the night away as a single girl!”

I rolled my eyes as she took my cup and grabbed my elbow leading me toward my bedroom. She gave me a slight nudge and told me to change. I tried to protest, but knew that she wouldn’t take no for an answer. Especially since I was in a sulky mood. She firmly believes that exercise will brighten any mood. I leaned against my closed door and knew I was in for a tough workout. Aubrey was going to push me today so that I wouldn’t think about Charles and our breakup. If I were to be honest with myself, I’d realize that I loved her for it.

Flynn and Mel’s wedding. Man, I can’t believe they finally got together after all that back and forth. Flynn should have manned up and just taken her in the beginning.

At least he proposed to her the right way. He flew her down to St. John in the Virgin Islands for a vacation getaway and proposed to her on the beach. I told him to make sure to do it at the beginning of vacation so he wouldn’t be nervous the entire vacation and could enjoy his time with her. He wound up proposing mid-week because he was so nervous. As if she’d say no to him. Fat chance. Mel was always head
-over-heels for him. Any idiot could see that. Except Flynn.

Izzy told me that Mel actually stumbled across the ring before they left. It was in his sock drawer and she found it when she was putting away laundry. Dumbass. He should have hidden it in his nightstand underneath stacks of porn and car magazines. Girls never look through that shit.

I’ve been sweating my ass off in this monkey suit standing up here as one of his groomsmen. I glanced over at Z standing next to me. He was sweating bullets too. A sunset wedding outside at this gorgeous winery and they couldn’t have done it in the fall? What the hell was Mel thinking?

I glanced out at all their guests, scanning the crowd for the single ladies. Several of them were crying over what Flynn just said. Something romantic I’m sure. I tried the romantic route and look where that got me — my girl dating another guy at the same time. Romance does get the ladies hot and bothered. I continued to search the crowd, looking for the ones that were hot and bothered by what he said instead of crying.

Hello. We have a winner. I watched a chick with long strawberry blonde hair giggle with her friend as she elbowed her playfully. She was eying either Clark or me. I couldn’t tell from here since we’re standing next to each other. I gave her my best sexy stare down –– small turn up of the corner of my mouth, eyes slightly hooded, you know, to make them think you’re all horny for them. She smiled back and licked her lips. I held her stare for a short time and then glanced away. Gotta play hard to get a little bit. I nudged Clark next to me.

“Two o’clock. Strawberry and her blonde short hair friend,” I whispered.

From the corner of my eye, I watched him scan and finally land on the targets. “The strawberry one is mine.”

“Fuck you. She’s mine. I already landed her. You take the short hair blonde,” I whispered a bit louder than I intended.

“Can’t.” He said out of the corner of his mouth.

“Why not?” I tried my best not to snap my head to him, but it was hard not to. I tried to do it quickly, but I’m sure I still held a disgusted look when I faced back to the guests.

He leaned over slightly and whispered, “She’s Ricky’s sister-in-law. I’m not messing with Ricky. I fucked his sister before and he beat the shit out of me.”

I nodded, understanding the dilemma. Ricky’s a big dude and I’m sure his wife would be protective over her sister. “Then you need to find someone else because I’ve already landed strawberry.”

“What makes you think that?” Clark turned his head to me, clearly annoyed. If we’re going to start hitting on the same chicks, rooming with him might not work out as great as I thought.

“We had eye contact. We’ve been eye fucking for a while now.” Z elbowed me that I was getting too loud. I nodded and looked over at Flynn and Mel exchanging their vows. I looked back over to the guests. Damn, this is a big wedding. Aunt Claire and Flynn’s dad really got into a pissing match about who knew more people. I wonder how much this set them back. Not that it matters. I’m sure Flynn’s Dad has a shit load of his business partners and clients out there. I wiped at the sweat beading on my forehead. How long does it take to say “I do” and get the hell out of here?

“Dude, how much longer? My balls are all sweaty,” I whispered to Z out of the corner of my mouth.

Z didn’t respond. I looked over to him and noticed him eying his wife across the way. I glanced over at my sister-in-law and realized they were making eyes at each other. Damn honeymoon stage. I really think it’s lasting longer than it should.
I elbowed him. “Hey asswipe, quit eye fucking your wife. How much longer is this thing?”

Z leaned over to me, “They’re almost there; the rings are almost on.”

I nodded as I watched him continue to gaze lovingly at his wife. I glanced back out to the guests searching for strawberry. She was eying me again. Nice.

Clark elbowed me, “Check out the late one trying to sneak in. Nice summer dress, tanned fit bod.”

My eyes shifted to the back row to see who he was talking about, but I was pretty sure I already knew. My heart dropped and my throat tightened immediately as I watched Stephanie and her husband quickly take their seats in the last row. Her blonde hair was short now, cut into a bob just below her chin. She had long bangs that were swept to the side making her blue eyes really stand out. It looked really good on her. Actually, anything would have looked good on her. She’s just beautiful. My palms were already sweaty from the outdoor heat, but they seemed to become more clammy. I felt sick to my stomach as my brother nudged me.

“Hey, just saw Stephanie pop in. Last row,” Z whispered to me.

“Yeah, I saw her,” I responded.

“She looks good,” Z whispered back, still looking out at her.

“Shut up,” I told him. He gave a quick head nod. He should have known better than to have even pointed her out to me. He helped me try to get over her, like I had helped him get over all his heartaches.

Clark nudged me again. “Wonder if she’s married to that dick or just dating him?”

“Married. She’s married. Keep scanning.” I felt bile rising in my throat and I fought to keep it back. I looked away, but my eyes kept flicking back to her. I kept wondering if she was looking at me and wondering if she regretted what she did to me. To us.

I took a deep breath and tried to keep it together. At this point focusing on eye fucking the strawberry was my best bet. The trouble was, my eyes and heart didn’t agree.

Stephanie looked so beautiful in that light pink sundress. Everyone else was dressed their best. Not Stephanie. As always she looked amazing in anything she wore. Fuck, she could have worn a burlap sack and still looked stunning.

Her dress reminded me of summers during high school. I used to drive both of us out to that lake just outside of town. We parked off a dirt road that no one but us knew about. She always wore a summer dress with those thin small straps. She used to say it was hot and the dress was more comfortable than the tiny shorts most girls wore. It sure helped out at the lake. She was my first and I was hers. It was supposed to be just us the rest of our lives. Until college when she decided for both of us it was over.

Finally, Mel and Flynn were announced to their guests that they were husband and wife, bringing me out of my own private hell thinking about Stephanie.

I had hoped we were allowed to get out of the sun and heat. Too bad that wasn’t the end of my duties. Wedding pictures in the hot sun sucked and by the time we were allowed to go back inside, we were all a mess. The girls ran for the bathroom to freshen up. The guys, we all took off our jackets and rolled up our sleeves as we walked up to the bar.

The dinner was amazing and everything in this room was the epitome of elegance. Izzy made a heartwarming toast that had everyone tearing up, especially when she mentioned that Mel’s parents are smiling down at her from heaven, proud of her choice of partner for life. Z, of course, made an amazing speech too, making sure to add in the necessary humor to offset his wife’s tribute that made everyone cry.

Flynn and Mel’s first dance was beautiful and just as I predicted, all stress and anxiety was gone as they glided across the room. Aunt Claire insisted they take ballroom dancing lessons since some of the older guests would appreciate it. Flynn already knew how to ballroom dance since his parents and our parents made us take classes when we were young. Our parents being best friends meant Flynn, Z and I were always forced to do the same things. Despite the fact of who made Flynn and Mel take lessons, you could tell the newlyweds enjoyed their first dance looking like they were professional dancers.

I managed to cut in after a couple of songs so I could dance with the bride. Mel looked exquisite in her wedding dress. Yes, I said exquisite. The dress had this sort of sex appeal without flashing sex. It was a dress that only Mel could pull off. The dress wrapped around her body as if she were a Greek goddess. Her shoulders were covered with this white sheer fabric with crystals all over it. Finally, she had this slit that went up half her thigh.

I was glad Mom made my brother and me take ballroom classes when we were younger. She told me it would come in handy one day. She was right because the last thing I wanted was to look like a jackass in front of all these jerks and this gorgeous bride.

“You look beautiful, Mel,” I sighed as we moved smoothly along the dance floor.

She smiled brightly up at me. “Thank you. Thanks for handling Aunt Claire last night too. What did you wind up doing with her after all? I didn’t see her after dinner.”

I chuckled and gave her a devilish grin. She smacked my shoulder and made a sickened face. “You did not ‘do’ my Aunt Claire, did you?”

I shrugged and replied, “She left you alone didn’t she? I took one for the team.”

“You’re so gross. My poor Uncle Randy,” she sighed with a slight pout.

“They’re divorced. She’s a good looking woman and pretty energetic actually,” I joked remembering how greedy and authoritative Aunt Claire was in the bedroom.

“Eww!” Mel exclaimed, laughing as she smacked my chest again.

I continued to tease her. “I think Clark will hit her up tonight just to make sure she leaves you and Flynn alone.”

“He better not!” She looked around the room to make sure Clark wasn’t hitting on Aunt Claire.

“I’m just teasing. He had his eye on your cousin at first, but I told him she was out.”

“Well, thank you. I guess. Leah has her own troubles with Aunt Claire as her mother. Poor thing. At least she’s off to college next year. Leah wanted to live with my uncle, but Aunt Claire won in the courts. Along with a huge settlement too.” I nodded feeling sorry for Leah. I’m sure their divorce wasn’t fun at all seeing how Aunt Claire is with her niece’s wedding. I couldn’t imagine having to be her daughter, much less related to her.

Mel gave a deep sigh and pressed her lips together before she slowly spoke again. “I noticed Stephanie and her husband made it. How are you doing seeing them here?” I felt bad for her since I knew she and Flynn were put in the middle of deciding whether to invite her or not.

I shrugged and took a deep breath. “It’s no big deal. The wedding is large enough that I probably won’t run into her.” I hoped. Mel gave a faint smile as we continued to dance.

She glanced away briefly and then looked back into my eyes. “You’ll find someone else, you know.” She said with sincerity and a little bit of pity in her voice.

“I know I will. There’s a shitload of chicks in here to fuck. I better get started.” I tried to joke, giving her a faint smile. Weddings always make everyone want to match people up. I’ll stay single, thank you. It’s much easier and a lot less painful.

“Stop joking. I know you’re still hurting over her. Sometimes you just need to let go of what you had hoped for and the next person you meet could be your love for life.” I decided to let her have her say and nodded my head.

I gave a fake half smile and looked away from her eyes. I glanced across everyone dancing and swallowed before answering. “One day. Just not yet. I’m having too much fun finding that someone.”

A tap on my shoulder saved me from any further discussion on the subject. “My wife. My turn,” Flynn stated with a deep voice, trying to act bravado. It made me chuckle, but I squeezed Mel’s hand and kissed it before placing her hand into Flynn’s.

“All yours, man.” I smiled at Flynn who was basically like my second little brother. Z and Flynn were inseparable growing up. It was like I had twin little brothers. Both pains in the ass growing up and now amazing friends that I’d kill for. I couldn’t be happier for him that he and Mel found each other.

I headed up to the bar where the other guys were gathered and laughing about something. Clark handed me a beer and we turned around to scope out the guests. I was searching for strawberry to take my mind off the possibility of running into Stephanie.

I noticed Aunt Claire dancing with some older guy. He looked like he had money which I’m sure was her reason for dancing with him. She made it clear to me last night that she enjoys younger guys. I’m pretty sure that was the reason for her divorce.

Clark elbowed me and nodded his head toward the other direction. I took a quick look and clamped my teeth trying to keep my nerves in check. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a thing I could do about my heart trying to jump out of my chest. Stephanie seemed to float towards us, almost as if she were an angel. She used to be an angel in my mind. Maybe that was the problem. The pedestal I put her on was too high for her. Tumbling off was inevitable.

Clark leaned over and joked, “You don’t do married women. Let me take a stab at her.”

I gave him a sideways glare as I told him, “That’s Stephanie,
my ex
.”