Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
E lisabetta
"Oh my gosh, I'm so excited for you." Skye grabs my hands as we dance in the middle of the street.
"Don't be too excited. You do realize that?—"
"I know, I know. It's not a true marriage, but still, it's cool."
"What do you mean?" I say. "You don’t think it's weird?"
"No. I mean, Liam's a hunk, and I have to admit that I was really glad when you told me that he was being a jackass to me and Juniper and Lila on purpose because when I thought you were falling for the biggest, grumpiest douchebag in the world, I was really worried about you. To be honest, Kingston, Max, and Remington are all very concerned."
"Why?"
"Because while they love Liam as a client, they don’t really think he has the best reputation."
"Why, because he's a ladies' man?"
"No, because none of us girls liked working for him, and, well, you know Kingston knows about your past."
"Oh my gosh, don't remind me about that evening."
"Well, because of that, he tends to think that you don't make the best decisions when it comes to men."
"I mean, would he feel any differently if he knew the truth about this?"
"I don't know," she says, "but come on, we're nearly at the bar. Lila, Marie, and Juniper are waiting on us."
"Oh?"
"Marie is coming, as well, yeah. She may be pregnant, but she still wants to have fun. She just can't drink."
"Do you think it's a good idea that she's working for Gabe? I heard that they're already, like, arguing and having issues. I mean, I don't know either one of them very well, but it seems to me that there's going to be drama because I know that Max doesn't even really want her working. He just wants to take care of her.
"And I know that Lila is trying to talk to Max and convince him that she needs to be her own independent woman, especially now that she's becoming a mom, but you know how some men can be. He's going all protective big brother on her."
"I mean, I think that's kinda nice. Romeo went all protective brother on Liam, and I thought it was cute. I mean, not that he would actually do anything, but I like how he called Liam out."
"Romeo loves you and would do anything for you.” She smiles at me. “So your dad still doesn’t know that you know that Liam is gonna be the man you’re marrying?”
“Nope. In fact, I haven’t heard from my dad in a couple of days. I guess he got the money and all of a sudden, he's wheeling and dealing again."
I let out a deep sigh. "I'm trying not to think about my father and how disappointed I am in him, but I can't help it."
"Hey, cheer up, buttercup. Your dad's not the worst man in the world. He just isn't really…" She pauses.
"What were you gonna say?"
"I guess I was gonna say he just isn't really the sort of father that we all wish and hope for."
She grabs my hands. "But we're not thinking about that tonight. Tonight, we're gonna have fun."
"Oh, yeah? And what are we gonna do to have fun?"
"I don't know, but Lila's come up with some games." Hey, there's the bar," she says. "Come on."
She starts running, and I giggle.
“I can’t run fast in these heels.”
“Yes, you can!”
We get to the bar, and I’m pleased to see that no one is waiting to card us, but I suppose it’s still only 5:00 p.m. on a Friday evening. We’re starting early.
"Hey, there they are!" Skye says as she looks around. Juniper, Lila, and Marie are sitting in a booth in the corner, and all of them are wearing princess crowns.
Lila jumps up with a huge smile on her face and a tiara and sash in her hands.
"Oh my gosh, what does she have?"
"What? You're the bride-to-be. It’s your bachelorette party. Of course, we're gonna have fun."
"I suppose." I let Lila come up to me and give me a huge grin.
"Hi, darling. You're looking absolutely stunning."
"Hi! What is that?" I say, pointing at the tiara.
"It's for you because we're all princesses for a night, but you're the queen."
"Oh my gosh."
"And here, you have to wear this. It reads, Tonight's my last night to have fun. "
"Oh my gosh, really?"
"What? All the men are gonna come up to you now."
"I don’t want all the men to come up to me."
"Why not? Don't you want them to know what they're missing?"
"I do not need them to know what they're missing whatsoever, thank you very much. Plus?—"
"Plus nothing. You're wearing it," she says, putting it over my shoulders. "And can I say, your boobs look absolutely fantastic in that dress."
"You don’t think it's too slutty?"
"Oh, it's very slutty, but hey, it's your bachelorette party. This is the last time you can go out in public looking like a ho without your husband getting upset."
"You do realize that?—"
"No, no, no, no," Skye says, pressing her finger to my lips. "We're not gonna talk about how this isn't real again."
"Fine!" I say. "But really, guys, this is too much for a fake wedding."
"Was the sex last night fake?" Lila says, whispering in my ear, and I just glare at her. "Exactly. So come on, let's have some fun. I have tequila shots waiting, and then we're going to do some lemon drops."
"Oh my gosh, you really wanna get me wasted."
"We're all gonna have fun!"
We head over to the table.
"Hey!" Marie says, standing up and giving me a huge hug. "Congratulations! I’m so happy for you!"
"Thank you," I say, feeling slightly guilty. Marie is the only one out of all the girls who doesn't fully know the truth, but I didn't want to have to make a pregnant woman lie for me.
"Hey!" Juniper says, standing up and giving me a hug. "I love that dress. I need that dress. Oh my gosh, Remington would die if I wore it."
"Well, you can have it if you want. After tonight, of course."
"Oh, thank you. And thank you in advance from Remington because he will be very excited to see me in it." She grins. "So, how are you feeling about your last couple of nights of singledom?"
"I'm feeling like a little bit of a fraud, but…" I say as I catch Marie's curious expression. "I'm excited, super-duper excited."
"You're gonna make such a pretty bride. I can't wait to come to the wedding. I mean, hopefully, I can come. I haven't gotten the okay from my doctor about flying yet, but, you know, if I can come, I will." She beams at me. "Did you hear? I'm starting work next week for Gabe Lucas. Ugh!" She juts her chin out. "I must be crazy, absolutely crazy."
"I mean, you don’t have to work for him if you don't want to," Lila says softly.
"You're only saying that because my brother told you to say that."
"Well, it's true."
"Yeah, but I want to. Anyway, enough about me. So, tell me, Elisabetta, what are your plans for your honeymoon?"
"Actually, we're gonna go over to England."
"England?" She wrinkles her nose. "For a honeymoon? I mean, don't get me wrong, it's a fine country if you wanna go to see Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament and maybe take a train up to Stratford-upon-Avon and see a Shakespeare performance at the Globe. But who wants to do that on their honeymoon? Like, England, really?"
“Where would you go if it was your honeymoon?” I ask her.
“I don’t know, like, Fiji or the Maldives, or even one of the Caribbean islands like Jamaica or Barbados, or somewhere hot and warm and?—?
“Well, actually, we just got back from the Caribbean recently,” I say, grinning wickedly, thinking about our time there. "And let's just say that it was a very pleasant experience."
"Oh my gosh, tell me more," Marie says, leaning forward. "I want all the dirty details."
"Um, are you sure? You seem a bit young to?—"
She points at her protruding belly. "I'm a bit too young for what? I'm pregnant, if you missed that, Elisabetta." She giggles. "I've had sex."
"Yeah, but I don't know, I don’t wanna corrupt you or anything."
"I've been corrupted. I mean, yeah, it sucks that I got pregnant the first time I had sex with a douchebag of a football player who I will never, ever sleep with again, even though he's called me like a billion times. But that is a conversation for another night."
"Oh." All of us women look at each other. This is more information than we've ever gotten about the identity of Marie's baby ever. I can tell from the expression on Skye's face that she's surprised. For some reason, she really thought that Gabe was the father, even though it'd been quite clear to me that he was definitely not sticking his quill in that pot.
"So, tonight, we are going to bar hop," Lila says, "and we'll be here for two drinks, and then we're gonna go to the next bar and then the next, and then I have a special surprise."
"Please tell me you're not getting a male stripper." I give her a look.
"Would I do that?"
"Yeah, you would," Skye says, giggling. "And I'm totally down with that."
"Yeah, I'm totally down with that, too." Juniper grins. "Though don't tell Remington. He does have a penchant for getting jealous."
"That man loves you so much," I say, staring at her.
"Yeah, he does, and it makes me feel like a million dollars. I mean, how lucky are we that we've all found love with men who work together and who are best friends? Like, our friendship will last forever."
“I mean, I’m happy for you guys,” Marie says, looking sad for a couple of seconds. “I think that’s cool. Hopefully one day, I’ll find love, too."
"Oh, darling, you're gonna find an amazing man," I say to her.
"Really, you think so? I'm eighteen and pregnant, living with my brother and his fiancée." She looks over at Lila. "And I love you, trust me, but come on, what man is gonna want that baggage, you know?"
"It’s not baggage," I say. “You shouldn’t think of yourself like that."
"I mean, a single mom who doesn't even have a college degree and is working as an assistant to an attorney who thinks she's an imbecile and stupid."
"What? Please tell me Gabe didn't say that to you." I cross my arms. "Because I will call him right now and tell him off."
"No, he didn't say that exactly. But he definitely thinks I am immature, though."
I press my lips together. "But who cares what he thinks, right?"
"Yeah, I guess." She shrugs. "So, I guess I'm gonna drink my orange juice like a good girl." She grins. "I can't wait till I have this baby."
"Oh?" I stare at her.
"Why are you giving me that look?" she asks.
"Because you do know that you'll still be underage even after you have the baby, so you won't be able to drink?"
"I know that. I've never drunk before in my life." She winks at me. "Um, okay. I mean, honestly, I drank once, and that's the night that, well…" She looks at her belly. "So, believe you me, that's not something I'm rushing to do again with or without a baby in my stomach."
"Okay, well, that's good to hear."
My phone beeps then, and I look down. It's Liam.
"You cannot answer that. No men tonight," Skye says, trying to grab my phone from me. "One second. Let me just see if it's anything important."
"What important thing does he have to tell you at 5:30 on a Friday?"
"I don't know, but let me just check."
"Oh my gosh. Fine, pick it up."
I answer the phone and head outside because it's a little noisy in the bar.
"Hey, how's it going?"
"I was just about to ask you that," he says in his deep, smooth voice. "What's going on?"
"Um, we just got to the first bar. Lila got tequila shots, and then we're gonna do lemon drops and then go to the next bar."
"Oh, so you're having fun?"
"I am, thank you."
"And you're not missing me at all?"
"Oh my gosh, Liam!"
"What? I didn't even get to see you tonight."
"Yeah, because you knew I was going out and?—"
"And well, I would have liked to have seen you."
"Um, you'll see me tomorrow."
"You mean you're not coming over to my place afterward?"
"No. I told you, we're gonna have a sleepover."
"Bah humbug," he says.
"Why are you sounding like Scrooge?"
"Because I wanna see you. I miss you."
"Um, really?"
"Yeah, but I suppose I still want you to have fun tonight."
"Thank you."
"You know, I was thinking."
"What were you thinking?"
"I was thinking that maybe when we go to Italy, we go to Florence for the ball and take a trip to Tuscany and visit some vineyards."
"Oh, that would be cool."
"Yeah. I know you like wine, and I figured if we're gonna be in Italy…"
"That sounds good to me."
"Great! And I was also thinking?—"
"Yeah?"
"That maybe?—"
"Yeah?"
"Well, I don't know if I should say."
“Oh my gosh, what is it?” My mind is racing now. What does he wanna say? Does he also wanna go to Australia or Antarctica or?—
“Can you FaceTime me?”
“What?” I answer in surprise. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I wanna say something to you, but I’d rather do it looking into your eyes.”
“Okay, I guess.” I press the video button, and it calls him. He answers immediately. He's sitting there in his crisp, white shirt, looking as handsome as ever.
"Damn, girl, you look fine!" he says, whistling.
I blush at his comment. "Okay, okay. Now what did you have to say to me?"
"Hey, pull the phone back a little bit. I wanna see all of you."
"Really, Liam?"
"What, a man can't appreciate his fiancée?"
"Fine!" I say as I pull the phone back.
"Damn, you look good!"
"Okay, now what did you wanna tell me that had to be said over FaceTime?"
"Well, there were two things," he says with a childish grin that makes my heart leap for joy.
"Oh, boy, what is it?"
"First thing is you look sexy as hell."
"Thank you, Liam." I giggle. "And the second thing?"
"The second thing is that I just wanted to tell you that I love you."
"Oh. I love you, too," I say, staring at him on the screen.
"I really do. You have no water to swim under right now and hide from me."
"I know," I say. "It's gonna be an interesting next couple of weeks, isn't it?"
"It's gonna be fine. It's gonna be amazing," he says. "Just know that whatever hurdles we may face, we'll jump over them together."
"Okay. I like the sound of that," I say. "Love you."
"Love you, too. I'll see you tomorrow."