Chapter 41 #2
“Why the hell would she?”
“I spent months working on this wedding!”
“You steamrolled her. I wish I’d realized how much you’ve been doing that her whole damn life. It fucking stops now, Tiffany,” I demand.
“She needs guidance. I’ve tried to mold her, but that rebellious streak of hers is so hard to fight against. Especially with that little bitch of a best friend—”
“Enough,” I growl. “I don’t want to hear another word about Lizzie or Amelia come out of your mouth.”
“Amelia,” she spits, her eyes narrowing and dropping to my chest, even though she can’t see my tattoo through my suit. “She’s young enough to be your daughter, Zander.” She scrunches her face up disapprovingly.
“She’s the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. And we don’t give two shits what you think, Tiffany. Either keep your opinions and thoughts to yourself or get the fuck out.”
I put a twenty in the tip jar, grab the drinks, and find a table close to the dance floor to claim as ours for the night.
Amelia catches my gaze, raising an eyebrow to ask me if everything is okay.
She must have seen Tiffany accost me at the bar.
I shoot her a smile and a little nod, and she blows me a kiss.
I feel my smile get even bigger. Lizzie looks over her shoulder and grins, then continues dancing with my girl.
When the third song starts, Amelia makes her way to me and I finally get to take her in my arms for a dance.
“This is nice,” she says with a soft sigh as we sway.
“Mmhmm,” I hum in agreement. It’s too fucking nice.
She leans back and tilts her head. “You sound like you’re in pain.”
“I’m trying to focus on not stepping on your feet.”
Her eyebrow and the corner of her mouth lift simultaneously. “Is that all?”
“Of course,” I lie.
Biting her lip, her eyes drop. “I don’t think it is.”
“Fuck,” I groan. “Don’t do that!”
She chuckles and smirks at me. “This would be a very inconvenient time and place to get a boner.”
“Yes, it would be. And no, that’s not a challenge, sunshine,” I add when I see a glint in her eye.
“Fine,” she huffs. “But only for tonight. All bets are off starting tomorrow.”
“God, you’re such a sassy ass troublemaker.”
“You love it,” she declares.
I lean close, brushing her nose with mine. “I really fucking do.”
A couple of minutes later, I’m alone at our table when a hand claps me on the shoulder, and I turn toward Amelia’s dad.
“So that girl at the center of your wake-up call is our Minnie, huh?” he asks, looking surprisingly thrilled at the idea.
“That she is. She’s one hell of a woman, Barry.”
“I’d like to take credit for that, but I’m sure that’s more Joan’s doing than mine. But I’m happy for you both. As long as you treat her right, I won’t have to kill you. And none of that asking for my blessing shit when the time comes, that way she doesn’t have to kill you.”
I chuckle. “God, she absolutely would kill me.”
Gloria walks up to us. “Alright, boys, I’m busting up chat time and asking this hunk of a man to dance with me. I’m sure Minnie won’t mind as long as I keep my hands above the waist.”
“Watch yourself, Gloria,” Barry says, pointing at her like a parent would to drive the words home. Gloria just laughs and grabs my hand. We join the other pairs dancing. Henry and Raelynn are holding hands and twirling in circles in the middle of the dance floor.
Over the next few hours, we all change partners a million times, though I try to keep Amelia to myself as much as possible, especially for the occasional slow song. Lizzie dances with Henry and Raelynn often, and I notice that Haven and Dax share more than a few dances as well.
After a couple of hours, the catering staff brings out platters filled with cheese, meats, breads, and other late-night snack options.
We eat, drink, and chat between dances. It seems as though most of the guests decided to stay at the reception that’s not a reception, and are making the most of a fucked up situation.
Tiffany must have taken my advice and left because I don’t see her again after the incident at the bar.
Katie and Gloria spend half the night laughing and drinking at a table, and the other half dancing with whoever they can pin down for a song.
When Amelia told me she and Lizzie made a playlist of inappropriate songs to play at a wedding reception, I thought she was joking.
I don’t know why I ever doubted her; those two are their own brand of wild.
Cardi B’s WAP comes on over the speakers as soon as the younger kids are taken upstairs for the night.
It’s just the first of many songs one might not expect to hear in the setting, but it shouldn’t really be surprising, knowing Lizzie and Amelia, or given the whole jilted thing.
I’m pretty sure the entire Bitter Bitch playlist plays over the course of the night.
It’s after midnight when the crowd starts to thin out and an hour later almost everyone has gone up to their rooms. Katie and Gloria are still laughing about who knows what at one table while Grant and Dax chat at another.
I can tell that between our activities last night and all the dancing, Amelia’s leg is bothering her.
I drag her to the table and go to the bar for fresh drinks.
When I sit next to her, she rests her head on my shoulder and her hand on my thigh as she watches Lizzie and Haven giggle their way through a ridiculous tango.
I sip my Scotch and stretch my arm out across the back of Amelia’s chair, gently running my fingertips along her shoulder.
“I’m going to have to be the one to shut it down, aren’t I?
” I ask, smiling as the girls get to the end of the dance floor and turn back the other way.
They’re the only ones still dancing, each have a flower that is most definitely not a rose in their teeth, and no shoes on their feet.
Hell, even I took my shoes off a while ago.
“Yeah. But give them a few more songs first.” Even though I can’t see her face, I can hear the smile in her voice.
Fifteen minutes later, I make my way to the DJ and tell him we’re wrapping the dance party up.
When a new song doesn’t start after Cold Hearted by Paula Abdul, Lizzie pouts until I agree to one more.
She picks Nessa Barrett’s I hope ur miserable until ur dead and spends the entire two minutes and fifty-eight seconds spinning and screaming the words at the ceiling.
“Do you think she’ll be okay alone tonight?” I ask Amelia.
She shrugs a shoulder, not looking very worried. But I must look exactly as worried as I feel because she wraps her arms around my waist.
“Hey, she’s a strong, badass bitch who knows when to ask for support. If she’s not okay, she’ll reach out to someone. She feels like she needs to try to be alone, and we need to let her until she says otherwise.”
I nod, trusting her to know her best friend better than anyone. When the song ends, we all grab our shoes and walk to the elevators in socks or barefoot. Everyone heads to their rooms once we reach their floor.
Lizzie opens her door and stands in the doorway. “Thank you both for helping to salvage some good out of today.”
Amelia puts her hands on Lizzie’s cheeks.
“Anything for you, Bean. Seriously, call or just come get us if you need us. The same goes for Haven, Grant, my mom, your grandma, Gloria, Rachel, Katie, and pretty much anyone. Hell, wake the three musketeers up for a four AM movie if that’s what you’re feeling. ”
Lizzie chuckles, tears falling from her eyes.
“I wouldn’t recommend waking Raerae, though,” Amelia adds.
“I’d rather feed a gremlin after midnight,” Lizzie claims
Amelia nods solemnly. “It would be safer.”
“Whatever you need, just ask, kiddo,” I tell Lizzie.
“Right now, I want a little time to myself. But I promise I’ll seek someone out if that changes.” She gives us each a hug and sends us on our way.
Up in our suite, there’s a bottle of champagne waiting for us. I immediately pop the cork and then turn on the faucet for the bathtub, putting the bottle and two champagne glasses on a small table near the tub.
“It’s two in the morning, Alex. What are you doing?” Amelia watches me from the bathroom doorway, a soft smile on her face.
“I’m running a bath so we can soak your leg and just relax together for a few minutes before whatever outrageous thing comes our way tomorrow.”
I check the temperature to make sure it’s not too hot, then let it fill while I move toward Amelia and lean down to kiss her. She opens her mouth with a moan, and my tongue meets hers. “Turn around,” I tell her huskily.
She does so, and I unzip her dress. She lets it fall and pool at her feet, revealing that icy blue lingerie I saw earlier.
A shiver runs up her spine and I drop a kiss on the back of her neck before unhooking her strapless bra and peeling her thong down her legs.
I resist the urge to bite the perfect curve of her ass.
Stifling a yawn, she turns to face me, her blue eyes sleepy.
My jacket is long gone and still down in the ballroom somewhere.
Her deft fingers make quick work of my tie and the buttons on my shirt.
She pushes it off my shoulders and leans in to kiss my tattoo.
Soon, my pants and my boxers join the rest of our clothes on the floor.
I take her hand and lead her to the tub, helping her in and then getting in behind her.
She leans against my chest and sighs. “I like this.”
“Me, too.”
Amelia reaches for her glass of Champagne and takes a sip. “Jesus, this is the good stuff. I’m glad Bean’s not stuck with that dickhole, but you sure spent a fuck ton of money on a wedding that didn’t happen.”
“It was worth it since it brought me to you, sunshine.”
She looks back over her shoulder and smiles at me, love shining in her eyes.
“Yeah, that is pretty amazing. I still can’t believe we never met in all the years that Bean and I have been friends and didn’t realize we know so many of the same people. Thank god you showed up, though. I don’t know if I would have ever let myself go back to New York, Alex.”
“I was going to hire the best fucking private investigator I could find to track your ass down and I wasn’t going to give up until I found you. I needed to at least tell you how I feel about you, even if you just told me to go fuck myself.”
She snorts. “I mean, there’s a very real possibility that would have been my response. But even with as mad and hurt as I was, I loved you more. I probably would have smacked you and then climbed you like a tree.”
I laugh and press a kiss to her shoulder. “That’s a visual I can get behind.”
About twenty minutes into our soak, Amelia dozes off. I haul us both out of the tub, dry us off, and carry her to bed, where we instantly fall asleep wrapped up in each other.