Chapter Forty
chapter forty
MAY
The week leading up to Isla and Caio’s wedding has gone by in the blink of an eye, from the last-minute dress fittings, to the rehearsal dinner, the wedding has snuck up on me quicker than expected.
It’s hard to believe that just over nine months ago we didn’t even know that a small town called Ruby Cove existed. Caio and Isla had never met, the two of us were living in New York, trying to figure out what to do with our lives. If they knew then what we do now I don’t think they’d believe it.
I walk through the front doors of Hotel Dolce and make my way into the wing that’s been reserved for the wedding party.
“ Ciao Stefan,” I say as I walk past him.
“Oh!” He walks up to me and gives me a kiss on my cheek. “You look beautiful, will you tell the bride good luck from me?”
Stefan is the operational manager at Hotel Dolce, promoted from Caio’s assistant when he decided to take a step back from the hotel to spend more time with my best friend.
“She won’t need it,” I say.
“Then tell her to throw Caio’s phone into the ocean the first chance she gets. I don’t need him checking up on me while he’s on his honeymoon. ”
“That I can do.”
He throws me a wink before I find the door to the ‘bridal suite’ and twist the knob. I walk in to find Isla’s family sitting on the plush couches sitting in the corner of the room.
Caio went all out transforming this place, white furniture fills the room, with bouquets of flowers sitting on every side table. There’s a dressing table in the corner and Isla’s wedding dress is hung on the wall.
“Hey munchkin.”
I smile as I’m pulled into a hug by Miles. “Ugh I’ve missed you, you big idiot.”
“With the insults already? I heard things have changed for you since the last time I was here.” I look over to Isla and the guilty look on her face tells me everything I need to know.
“We’re going to head out, we’ll leave you guys to it,” Isla’s mom Emily says, pulling her daughter into an embrace before her and Graham head out. Emily giving me a kiss on the cheek before she closes the door. “See you out there.”
“Any tears yet?” I ask, it’s my turn to hug the bride.
She laughs. “None, yet .”
“That’s got to be some kind of record, no?” I look over to Miles.
He just shrugs and Isla swats me on the arm. “Shut up.”
I smile back at her. Half of her hair is twisted back into a half up half down do, the chocolate brown waves hanging down her back. “You look like a bride.” My eyes start to water.
She spins around, facing away from me. “Nope. If you start, I’ll start, and I am not skilled enough to fix the makeup my tears will ruin.”
I just wrap my arms around her from behind. “I’m so proud of you, sunshine.”
“Love you,” she says, leaning back into me.
“Love you too.”
Miles shakes his head. “God, I forgot how sappy you two are.”
I pick up a makeup brush that was discarded on the table and send it flying his way. He ducks, dodging the brush and smiling as he comes up to us, pressing a kiss to both of our cheeks. “I’ve missed the both of you.”
I wrap an arm around his middle. “Look who’s sappy now.”
He chuckles. “I better go before Marina arrives.”
My eyes snap to Isla’s in surprise. She rolls her eyes. “Did you think I was going to invite my brother to a wedding where his ex was attending and not tell him?” She asks. I don’t have a response, cause yeah, I kinda did. “I wasn’t going to have his drama upstage my big day.”
“I’d never let it,” he frowns. “I’m here to see my baby sister get hitched, that’s where my focus will be.” Isla rises up onto her tiptoes and plants a kiss on his cheek.
I smile. “Should we get this dress on then?”
Isla looks like an angel as she walks down the aisle. The lace of her dress cascades after her, and the gigantic veil adds to her ethereal look.
They decided to do the wedding here at Hotel Dolce, because that’s where all of this started. Caio had people here for over a week, transforming the lawn into a dreamy wedding venue.
Luca walks steadily beside her, but from where I’m standing on the side of the dais, I can see the shine in his eyes as he looks at his nephew waiting at the end of the aisle. My eyes begin to sting at the sight of it. Everything is so perfect.
A warm hand intertwines with mine, and I look to my side to see Marisol smiling warmly at me. She gives my hand an encouraging squeeze, and I squeeze back.
I’ve gotten to know Rafael’s sister more and more over the last couple of weeks. She’s still staying at Rafael’s house, so he and I have been going between his place and mine, not spending many nights apart now. That means that Marisol and I have quickly grown close as she and Rafael try to piece their relationship back together.
My obsession for him grows every night that I spend wrapped up in his arms. I’ve been getting more and more attached, and I’ve been trying to let myself be okay with that, let myself melt into the feeling instead of pushing it away.
My eyes flick across the aisle to see Leo, Rafael, Heath, and Miles all looking teary-eyed as they look at Isla. Then I switch my gaze to Marina on the other side of me, her eyes are locked on Isla as she comes to stand next to Caio, but I can feel the hint of tension coming from her. I can see it in the set of her shoulders. She entered the suite less than a minute after Miles left. I don’t know if something happened in the hallway, but she’s tense, nonetheless.
My gaze focuses back on my best friend, where Luca is giving her away. I’m not sure if Graham is offended that he isn’t the one walking her down the aisle, but as I look at Isla's parents in the front row, all I can see is joy, and pride glistening in their eyes. Vanessa stands behind the pair. Along with being the town's favorite patisserie she’s also an officiant, apparently.
A tear slips down my face as Isla recites her vows, looking up at the man who found her, and helped her find herself.
My eyes can’t help but drift across to Rafael standing on the other side of our best friends. His eyes meet mine, and the way he looks at me wakes up the butterflies in my tummy. I used to think his eyes were cold, their darkness like the black of night. But now I think they’re warm, or maybe now I just find comfort in the darkness.
Cheers erupts throughout the room as Caio and Isla share their first kiss as husband and wife. Isla looks over to me, her smile beaming as tears roll down my cheeks.
Love you she mouths. I blow her a kiss before Caio grabs her hand and tugs her back down the aisle.
Isla giggles as Marina and I try to pull her out of her dress. All of us are swapping out of our long dresses into something a bit shorter for the reception. We help Isla into a short bridal dress that shows off her tan legs and her white stilettos.
“You look beautiful,” I say.
She grabs both of us by the hand. “Thank you both for making this such a special day.”
Marina points at the both of us. “No tears!” Even though she’s blinking away her own.
The door cracks open, and Marisol peeks her head in. “They’re ready for you, Isla.”
She links her hands with ours and leads us out, down the hallway and into the ballroom. Everyone cheers as we enter the room, and Caio’s face is of pure admiration when he sees his new wife walking up to him.
I smile as they begin their first dance on the dance floor, the two of them wrapped up in each other's arms, swaying to the music.
Strong arms wrap around my middle. “You look delectable.” Rafael’s voice is low in my ear. One of his hands drops to skim my thigh just below the hem of my dress. “When can I get you alone?”
I lean back into him. “That’s all I’m good for, is it? Do you not want to be seen in public with me?”
He chuckles. “Well now that I know you are a fan of public demonstrations, I don’t mind one bit, Whitley.”
I dig my elbow into his side, and he jerks, avoiding the assault. His hands grip my elbows, keeping them steady. “Dance with me.”
“What?”
He spins me around in his arms. “There is nothing that I want to do more than get you out on that dance floor with me and show everyone that you’re mine.” My body hums in his arms. “If you think that I don’t want to show you off all day, every day, then you’re deluded.”
I tilt my head. “Rafael.”
“Dance with me.” He holds his hand out for me. “Please?”
The look on his face melts any of my resolve. I place my hand in his and he leads me out to the dance floor next to our friends.
I wrap my arms around his neck as his settle on my waist so naturally, like that’s exactly where they’re meant to be. When I gaze up at him, he’s looking down at me like he knows something I don’t.
“What?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “Nothing.”
I smack his chest. “You can’t do that. What ?”
He sighs. “You just…you act so harsh, so brazen, like nothing could ever hurt you, but I can see it.”
“See what?”
“I can see the little girl who wanted to know the feeling of a father’s love. I can see the girl who was never dragged out onto the dance floor in front of everyone. I can see the girl who thinks she’s not enough for a man to stick it out with her. I can see why you hardened yourself when you thought someone proved exactly that.”
My eyes roam the room around us, avoiding his gaze until he grabs my chin gently, urging me to look at him. “You don’t need to be hard with me.”
“Yes, I do,” I whisper.
He runs his knuckles along my cheekbone. “Why is that?”
I take a breath, collecting my thoughts. Why is that? Rafael raises his eyebrows in question.
“Because this isn’t serious for you,” I say.
He tilts his head. A knowing look on his face. “What about this entire situation has ever given you that impression?”
“You don’t do serious.” He narrows his eyes, waiting for me to give him some valid point.“You’ve probably missed out on so many potential hookups.”
I don’t even know what I’m saying at this point. I sound ridiculous.
“Do I look like I’m concerned about that?” I look up into those dark eyes, and no, he doesn’t. Not a single bit.
He wraps his arms back around my waist, pulling me even closer. “You remember when you teased me about the lack of women you’d seen me with?”
I nod.
“That’s because as soon as you opened that dirty little mouth to tell me to shove my meatballs where the sun doesn’t shine,” I blush and look away, but the intensity of his gaze forces my attention back on him. “I couldn’t get you out of my head. I couldn’t even focus on any other woman after you blew into my life like an annoying, beautiful little hurricane.”
He leans down pressing his lips to mine. “This isn’t just another hookup for me, Whitley. And I don’t think it is for you either. You are enough for someone to want to stick around.”
My eyes start to sting at that one sentence. I’ve always treated guys like all that they are is a good time, and most of that is because of my mom and her ideals. But I think a little part of me always felt like that’s how they saw me too. I was perfect for a hookup but nothing more, and I think when Owen left me that proved it to me. But here is this man in front of me, doing his best to unravel all of that, taking time to show me that maybe that’s not true.
I open my mouth to respond when a third figure appears in my peripheral vision.
“Sorry to break up the party,” Leo says. “But can I talk to Rafael?”
Raf turns his head to glare at his best friend. “Kinda busy here hotshot.”
I step away, running my hand down his arm. “It’s fine, I’ll catch up with you later. ”
“Wait, May.”
“It’s fine,” I say over my shoulder as I walk away from the pair. Rafael gives Leo a smack on the side of his head for interrupting us, and I shake my head as I walk over to the bar.
I’m sort of relieved for the interruption, that conversation was…I don’t even know what I was about to say. Rafael is right, we aren’t just hooking up, but I don’t know where that leaves us.
I order a Long Island iced tea and take a seat at the bar, swiveling my seat so I can look out over the dance floor.My eyes immediately catch on my best friend, her smile beaming as Caio spins her around the dance floor. I smile, like I do every time I see them together. I always thought that it’s not what I want. Marriage, kids, a dog. But seeing those two, it makes me second guess it.“Here you go, miss,” the bartender says, sliding my drink over to me.
“ Grazie ,” I say, turning back around to face my friends with my drink in hand. I can see Rafael and Leo in what looks like it could be a heated discussion. Rafael keeps glancing over here, like he doesn’t want to let me out of his sight. It’s adorably over the top.
My eyes scan the room for Miles, he’s nowhere to be seen, and neither is Marina. Oh god.
I move to stand but then Marisol comes up beside me. “Hey,”
I smile. I really like Rafael’s sister. She’s got a bit of fire in her that I recognize. “Hey.”
She sits down on the stool next to me, her pale-yellow dress fanning over the seat. “I’ve never seen him look at anyone like that.”
I look back to Caio and Isla, both of them grinning at each other. “He’s always looked at her like that—like she’s an angel that fell from the sky just for him.” I take a sip of my drink from my straw.
“I meant my brother.”
I nearly choke on my drink and look over at her, then flick my eyes back to where he stands bickering with Leo. “Like that?” I ask. “He looks at pretty much everyone like that.”
She rolls her eyes with a smile. “Especially Leo, but I meant the way he looks at you .”
My heart stops. I look over at Marisol, not knowing what to say. She just smiles. “He’s never looked at any woman the way he looks at you—like nothing else matters when you’re in front of him. I saw it at Olive&Vine, and I saw it out there.” She nods to the dance floor.
I attempt to make this all a bit more lighthearted. “Yeah, well, he can barely go five minutes without checking where I am,” I laugh.
She chuckles. “Wow, he really must be in love with you.”
This time, my heart drops all the way to my ass. He what?
Marisol just jumps off her seat and walks over to the two of them, taking Leo by the hand and pulling him into a dance, like she didn’t just throw an emotional grenade at me and walk away.
Rafael’s eyes meet mine, and then he takes a step towards me, and another, and another. I slide off my seat and start in the other direction. He can’t love me. No guy has ever loved me, not really. This was only ever meant to be something fun. I can’t do love. I don’t know how .
It will never last. I should’ve never involved myself with Rafael. It was never going to end well, and now what? What happens with our friends?
I need to get out of here.
I turn the corner and run straight into something hard. Hands grip my arms, and I look up to see Heath.
He frowns down at me. “What’s wrong?”
It’s then that I feel the moisture gathering in the corner of my eyes. “Help me get out of here?”