Chapter 47
CHAPTER 47
T-MINUS ONE DAY UNTIL THE FAUX WEDDING…
Porter laid propped on my bed, looking sinfully hot in his suit and open white shirt. He watched me dress, his eyes so dark it made me want to rip my clothes back off and forget about the “friends and family” rehearsal dinner we had planned for tonight.
The last three weeks had been the best weeks of my life. It had felt like we both knew there was a shelf life to this relationship, so each moment, each time we came together, was more intense and more mind-blowing than the last.
In between preparing for the wedding and helping my father campaign, we stole away for hot dates and discovered a mutual love of public sex. The riskier, the better.
And I had never seen my parents so happy. To say they adored Porter was an understatement. Mom was his number one fan. She doted on him like the sun and moon shone out of him, fussing over him like he was her own son.
“Does Porter like Wellington beef?”
“Porter doesn’t like cooked carrots. Please, steam some other veggie for him. ”
“Porter mentioned he likes to hike, so I bought you some hiking boots, Beth. And this thing they call a water camel.”
“I bought these dress shirts for Porter. I think this blue would look fabulous with his eyes.”
It felt so perfect, so magical, I couldn’t believe it was all about to come to an end. Mom was going to be devastated when he was gone. I, myself, was in complete denial.
The thought of facing the rest of my life without him was too impossible to process. So, I’d immersed myself into this fantasy, not willing to face the truth of this situation.
This was the end.
I didn’t understand how something so perfect could abruptly end. The whole thing felt surreal. We didn’t talk about a future. We didn’t talk about what would happen past today. I didn’t even know if he’d still want to see me.
Unwilling to ruin the last few weeks I had with him, I had been too afraid to bring it up. And he certainly didn’t talk about it. I think part of me had been hoping against hope that he’d bring it to the table.
I wanted him to tell me that he wanted to see me post-fake-wedding. But he never did. And now, in a few hours, in front of all our friends, we were going to announce our breakup. Not my idea of a good time.
I shrugged into my dress, turned around and lifted my hair. In a heartbeat, he was at my back, his lips at my neck while his fingers inched up the zip.
“Are you ready for tonight?” I asked, shutting my eyes as his warm lips nibbled on the sensitive skin behind my ear. We had decided as soon as everyone got adequately liquored up at our party, we’d drop the bomb that we had amicably decided to call off our wedding.
“You sure you want to do this?” his voice was low.
What???
Our eyes met in the mirror .
“Well, I’m pretty sure I don’t want to be the bride left standing at the altar, so it’s now or never.”
Grey eyes studied me in the mirror. “Can we talk?”
Oh, please, tell me you actually want to marry me.
“Sure.” I spun in his embrace and wrapped my arms around his neck. “What did you want to talk about?”
He swallowed hard as his gaze searched my face. A knock sounded at my bedroom door.
“Go away,” I yelled, not even joking.
“Beth,” Mom’s voice sounded through the door. “We need to talk to you.”
“Mom, come back later.”
She persisted in a way only she could. “Beth, this is incredibly important. Please. Roo and I need to talk to you.”
Porter kissed my forehead. “Go, but promise me we’re going to talk before dinner tonight.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
My mom’s emergency was more of a non-emergency, involving shades of pink for the bridesmaid's bouquet ribbon. I honestly couldn’t see a difference in any of the shades of pink, but according to Roo, the wrong tone could be disastrous.
Once I had calmed them both down, I went searching for my fake groom. I heard Porter and my dad talking in the living room. Their words stopped me in my tracks.
Dad sounded anxious. “Of course, I’m giving you my blessing, but I’m begging you, one man to another. Please, don’t tell her.”
Porter’s voice was firm. “I need to tell her. This isn’t something I can pretend didn’t happen.”
“Porter, it’d ruin everything. After all these years, our family is finally where I’ve dreamed we’d be. I can’t afford to let the truth come out. ”
I froze, wondering what they were discussing.
Porter’s stubborn tone was all too familiar. “I know that, but I can’t go through with this unless she knows.”
“It’s all working out the way it should’ve anyway. So why do we have to go there? Please, don’t tell Beth. Promise me, Porter.”
Before Dad could wrangle a promise out of Porter that Porter obviously didn’t want to make, I stepped into the room. “Tell me what?”
Porter stood with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.
Dad turned and pasted the weakest smile on his face. “Darling, you look gorgeous. Is that a new dress?”
“Tell me what?” I inspected both men.
“Nothing, sweetheart. There’s nothing to tell,” Dad lied to my face.
I glanced at Porter, who seemed grim. He shrugged, and whatever they’d been talking about, I knew, as long as Dad was present, he wouldn’t tell me. I stepped further into the large room, about to push Dad for answers, but Mom approached from behind.
She sounded so damn happy it hurt, “There you three are. What are these long faces for? Come on, hurry up. The reservation is at 7 PM, and we should be there to greet everyone.”
“Of course, darling,” Dad said with false cheer. “Come on, now. Shall we all take my driver? The parking at this restaurant is dreadful.”
I knew the only reason Dad wanted to drive with us was so Porter wouldn’t talk to me. I glanced over my shoulder, catching Porter with his eyes momentarily shut. He looked tortured. I vowed that the moment we were alone, I would find out what they’d talked about.
The restaurant was one of New York’s most beautiful dining spots. Mom had reserved the entire restaurant for the affair. As soon as we arrived, friends and guests started to join us .
It was standing room only, with dozens of different tapas, sliders, a sushi table and a carving station, all paired with the finest wine available. I was kept busy, meeting and greeting people.
I searched the room, trying to find Porter. He stood at the bar, talking to some of my father’s friends. What didn’t Dad want Porter to tell me? Was that the same thing that Porter had wanted to speak to me about earlier?
And what about announcing the end of our engagement? Would that still happen tonight? Porter had made me promise we’d talk before our announcement.
Our guests were more that liquored up. We were reaching the now or never point of the evening. If we didn’t do it tonight, when would we do it? We were scheduled to get married tomorrow afternoon.
“I can’t believe you’re going through with this.” Yates appeared beside me. “This was supposed to be us.”
“I can’t believe you’re still my father’s campaign manager,” I replied, disbelief lacing my voice.
Dad had downplayed everything Yates had done up until this point, claiming they were too far into the campaign to replace Yates. Secretly, I believed it was because Dad was good friends with Yates’ father and couldn’t punt him without damaging his own friendship.
“Your father needs me. So do you.”
I worked to refrain from rolling my eyes. “Have you always been this delusional, or is this a new, fun trait?”
“Something is going on,” Yates assured me. “I don’t know what it is, but I’m going to find out.”
I sighed, and my eyes met Porter’s eyes across the room. I tapped out the only Morse code I knew with one of my fingers, against my wine glass.
Short, short, short, long, long, long, short, short, short.
S.O.S.
“Yates, has it ever dawned on you that maybe you should move on? ”
Porter’s eyes narrowed on my tapping finger. I repeated the signal.
“We were the ones that were supposed to be engaged. And now you're marrying him?”
Porter put down his glass and started to make his way towards me. Yates was going on about something, and he was completely unaware of Porter, but the moment Porter stood in front of us, he stopped mid-sentence.
“Well, if it isn’t the military monkey,” Yates sneered, counting on the fact that Porter wouldn’t do anything in front of a roomful of people.
Porter smiled one of his scary smiles. “How’s the broken nose? Did you enjoy getting that re-set?”
Yates took a small step backward. “Don’t think you can physically bully me. I know something is going on. I’m going to find out.”
“Beat it.” Porter’s eyes shifted to my face.
Yates disappeared into the crowd.
“SOS?” he asked.
“Thanks for saving me.” I stared into those beautiful eyes I loved.
He bent his head, so his lips pressed against my ear. “I need to talk to you.”
“Right now?”
He pulled back and stared into my eyes. “Right now. In private.”
My heart thudded against my ribs. His tone was so serious. “Okay. Let’s find someplace to talk.”
“Let’s go outside.” He took my hand and started to lead me across the room when he suddenly stopped so short, I almost bumped into him.
Five huge men, who all looked vaguely familiar in an unfamiliar way, stood in the doorway, staring at Porter.