Chapter 33
33
Tatum
“You tricked me.”
“It’s not a trick when you love him,” Natalie starts, completely unashamed by her actions.
Shifting the phone to my other ear, I taste a cucumber lobster bite before the caterer finishes loading the tray. I’m starved, having to work a proposal event for the father of my child to another woman, and my best friend is denying all culpability in the matter. I say, “That’s why the contact information was missing. I asked for it how many times? Until I got here, I had no idea who our client was. It’s not totally foreign to work with event representatives for the location like we’re doing here, but you knew, didn’t you?” Pointing at the appetizer cucumber bites, I whisper, “Add a hint of sea salt. Thanks.”
“Just give him this one chance, Tate.”
“I’ve given him two. But apparently, I get no credit for that. It’s all about innocent Harrison. He’s a big boy. He helped create this mess, and he can dig himself out of it. Next, you’ll harp on about a third time.”
“Third time’s a charm. I know firsthand with Nick.”
I grab a piece of bruschetta and walk out to the proposal site. “Natalie, do you hear what you’re saying?” She’s got to be off her rocker. “You want me to ruin a beautiful marriage proposal that you designed and organized for my own selfish gains.”
“Yes. I do. Call me a horrible person, but if it makes everyone involved happy, why wouldn’t you do this?”
Everyone? I can’t imagine the woman he’s about to propose to is going to be too happy about this. My friend’s hormones are definitely clouding her better judgment. “Natalie, our business could be destroyed if I purposely ruin the event.”
“Love is powerful. Everyone will understand. I bet most will even support it.”
“You’re talking crazy. You need to get to the candle ceremony, and I need to check on the flower arrangements for the dinner.”
“Tatum?”
My patience has worn thin, but I know it’s not with her. It’s coming, the breakdown I’ve been dreading for a month, the one I raise my chin above and put off. “Natalie, I need to go do my job.”
“Tate—”
I hang up. I’ve never hung up on her, but this is taking things too far. Heading for the door, I tell the caterer, “It looks great. Thank you.” I rush outside, wishing it was winter to help cool my heated face. I’m met with the heat of the day instead.
With my suppressed emotions bubbling to the surface, I struggle to hide behind a stiff upper lip. I can’t do this. Why would my best friend put me in this position? I’m strong on the outside, but this is just too much. I walk the length of the dinner table, checking to make sure everything’s in place.
He may break my heart and me while he’s at it, but I won’t let him ruin my reputation. It doesn’t matter that I was so easily replaced. He’ll be in LA, and I’ll be back in the city. We’ll live our own lives separately. The baby is the only reason we need to have any contact, and as much as I never imagined I’d be raising a child alone, I can do it. That way, we don’t ever have to come face-to-face again.
I grab a bottle of water from the bar and leave to go back to my room. There has to be a way to avoid having Harrison’s family bear witness to my heartbreak. Who can I call to step in for me?
My phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out, knowing I’m not answering any calls, but texts are a necessary evil. Cookie Christiansen: I heard you were in LA. I’d love to see you if you have time in your busy schedule.
That’s it. I need Cookie.
She arrives as if she had nothing better to do today than assist me. After hugs and greetings, she waits while I get dressed for the event, and says, “This doesn’t sound like Harrison at all. Meeting a girl and moving quickly is not so shocking because he was a spontaneous kid. But proposing? That doesn’t sound like him. Should I call Nick? Wouldn’t Nick be a part of it?” She peeks into the bathroom, and our eyes meet in the reflection. “He’d invite me, and I knew nothing about it.”
“It’s clearly very last minute, which is why they hired our company to plan it for them.” I don’t miss the effects of alcohol while pregnant. I miss giving fewer cares while I’m drinking, especially tonight. Cookie thinks I need to face my demons head-on. Why does mine have to be so handsome, though? I can only imagine how gorgeous his soon-to-be fiancée will be. He lands very pretty women.
I step back and brush down the front of my pale-yellow dress. I always let the brides, wives, girlfriends, and in this case, fiancée own the spotlight.
Cookie’s admiring smile makes me feel I’ve done something right. I wiggle the belt to make sure it stays in place and then hold my arms wide. “All good?”
“Beautiful.”
“Hope not too beautiful. It’s not my day.” Despite the fact that it’s the love of my life, it’s their day.
“Oh honey, come here.” She brings me into her mother fold and rubs my back. “I’m at a loss of what to say. That Harrison would do this to you . . . I’m so sorry. I don’t understand what’s going on in his head.”
Before the tears that are gathering can fall, I tilt my head back and take a quick and deep breath. “I’m ready. Let’s go.”
The hillside pavilion is stunning, with the sunset in the background. The table is set, the crystal sparkling, and the arch of the proposal area with orange and yellow flowers wrapped around it are perfection. I direct the photographer to capture the magic for our portfolio just as guests start to arrive.
From the file, the dinner bringing two families together for the first time is the cover. The proposal is the surprise. As soon as the question is popped, a yes is secured, dinner will be served and then my duties are done. I won’t be staying another minute on this island or even in the state. I want to be as far away from this place as possible.
The woman of the night arrives wearing a white satin dress straight from the runway. By her height and physical attributes, she could be a model. She circulates through the small crowd, kissing everybody on two cheeks.
But there’s no sign of Harrison yet.
Cookie comes up behind me, and whispers, “Not that you would do this . . . I mean, you’re not me, but it’s a proposal, not an exchange of wedding vows. So there’s not a justice of the peace to ask if there are any objections. But if the love of my life were getting engaged, I might have a few things to say about it.”
I look at her over my shoulder as she sips her champagne so innocently. “And here I thought I was trouble with a capital T.”
“Sometimes we have to stop worrying about others and go after what we want. Incoming at ten o’clock.”
My gaze darts straight for him. He hasn’t seen me as I hide in the shadows, but there’s no mistaking that even among family, he stands out.
“Tatum?”
Turning around, I find Nora. “Hello, it’s so good to see you again.”
“You, too. You look lovely in that color.”
“Thank you. Congratulations for tonight.”
She shifts, and then says, “Thank you.”
Before any awkwardness can sneak in, I say, “I need to check?—”
“He misses you.”
My feet stop. My breathing stops. My heart. All of me because he misses me. I’m not ready to turn around and confess everything, but I can admit, “I miss him, too.”
“You should tell him.”
What kind of alternate universe am I living in that everyone is rooting for the crazy ex-girlfriend? And pregnant, but they don’t know about that big detail. Yet.
But Nora’s right. So are Cookie and Natalie. And it seems anyone else I speak to. I bet even Madison. So with my heart thumping loud enough for everyone in the Big Apple to hear, I start thinking maybe this isn’t so crazy. Maybe this is my moment to tell Harrison that I still love him.
A knife is tapped against a glass, and a man I don’t recognize starts speaking. “We’re so glad you could be here to celebrate this special occasion for us and our families. . .”
I frantically search for the one man who already changed my destiny but still holds my fate in his hands. When I find him in the crowd, his eyes are already locked on me. Pain. Happiness. And everything in between is working through his features. The woman in the white dress leans over and whispers something in his ear, but his eyes are still mine. I’m willing to bet his heart is as well.
She starts walking toward the man with the microphone. Her name is Natasha. Figures. He then calls, “Harrison?”
But Harrison doesn’t move a muscle.
“Harrison?” is called louder over the speakers, snapping him out of the connection we have.
I won’t give it up. I won’t give him up.
Cookie whispers, “Now’s your chance.”
“I object!” I shout over the small crowd. “I object to this sham!”
I hear Cookie giggling and turn back to see Madison laughing along with her. Madison gives me a thumbs-up and says, “You got this.”
“I do. I got this.”
Natasha asks, “Why is she saying my proposal is a sham?”
Mic man puts his arm around her and starts soothing her. “It’ll be okay, tookie wookie.”
I thought I had this until I see Harrison still working his way up to her. “Harrison?” I yell over everyone as he pulls the ring box from his pocket. “I love you. And you love me. I always based a lot of my worth on my looks. But you’re not drawn to that. You love my soul, who I am on the inside, and that’s more important.”
“Your beauty is . . . to see, Tate. Your . . . like a rose just for me.”
Cupping my ear, I yell, “What? I can’t hear you.”
He grabs the microphone, and says, “Your beauty is for the world to see. Your soul blooms like a rose for me. Come here, Tate.”
I seek Nora’s approval, not sure why, but it would be nice to have, considering the death glares I’m getting from Natasha’s side.
To Nora, I say, “I love him.”
She nods, and relief washes through her. “Go get him then.”
As silence falls over the group, I hurry through to get to Harrison. I don’t know how this will turn out—my biggest triumph or greatest defeat. But I believe love is on my side. Stopping with a few feet remaining between us, I realize everything has to be aired. No secrets and no hidden fears. “You left me like everyone else, and when I called, and I heard a woman’s laughter.”
Madison calls from the back. “That was me. He was with me when you called.” I turn back to Harrison, and he’s nodding. “You didn’t even give me a chance to explain. I think that’s when you blocked me.”
“It was. I thought you moved on without me.”
“I couldn’t. I can’t. Never. When I was at my lowest, when my niece was in ICU, you were the person I called.”
“When?”
“Almost five years, but that doesn’t matter now. I just need you to know that I called, but you didn’t answer. And I’m okay with that now because I got the second chance I needed.” Bringing my hand to his mouth, he kisses it like when we lie together naked. I love that he’s not afraid to show the intimacy that exists between us. “I can’t get you out from under my skin. But now it’s worse. You’ve invaded my heart, you own my soul, and now you’re carrying my baby.” An audible gasp is heard from behind me. “Oh shit.”
“It’s okay,” I say, laughing. “I don’t think you still need the microphone, though.”
He gives it to the first mic guy and then takes my hands. “We’ve fucked up. Both of us have.”
“You were right. I leave first to avoid being left behind.”
“I won’t leave you, Tatum.” Touching my stomach, he says, “I won’t leave this baby or any of the other four kids we have.”
“Four?”
His smile is so smug and adorable that he might be able to talk me into this. When I smile, he says, “I’ve missed seeing your face and your naked body, but most of all, I miss you. Just everything from not knowing where your own dishes are stored to the bed you hog without apology to how you cling to me when you’re sleeping. Your laugh and love of being silly, like falling on your ass in a candy shop, and how animated you are when you talk about your work. I missed you, Tatum. All of you.”
He kisses me. Grabbing my face, he steps into my space, and we kiss, taking advantage of this opportunity. “I love you,” he whispers against my lips.
“I need to say something, Harrison. You seem to think I’m only with you because of the baby.” I hold onto him not wanting to ever let go as we talk with only a breath separating us. “The baby didn’t bring us together. Catalina did. Life did. Destiny.”
“I realized the same thing. Whatever brought us together is doing it again.”
We kiss again, ready for our happily ever after to begin.
Natasha whines, “This was supposed be about me.”
Harrison turns to mic guy and says, “Don’t do it, Dawson.”
I say, “I’m confused.”
“Oh, yeah, this is my brother Dawson.” Harrison looks at me with a huge grin practically splitting his face in half. “And this is my Tatum.” I shake his hand, and we do the greeting, noticeably leaving Natasha out of it.
He says, “I’ve heard a lot about you.” Distracted, Dawson moves around Harrison and speaks under his breath to Natasha, “I think we need to talk.”
When they start weaving their way toward the exit, Harrison says, “My other brother couldn’t make it. He just doesn’t like Natasha.”
“ Ah . And your dad?”
“Thinking about an office in Dallas, so he traveled there.”
Poking him in the chest, I warn, “Not for you. Just setting that straight right now.”
He chuckles. “Don’t worry. I don’t want to be anywhere else than with you.”
A phone rings in the background just as our lips press together in a kiss.
Along with everyone else, we look out to see Cookie with the phone to her ear. Holding it up, she says, “Juni’s having her baby.”
That’s when it dawns on me. She’s supposed to be at the candle ceremony, so why is she here? I laugh because I knew that couldn’t be a real thing. I turn to Harrison, and my knees weaken just from being in his arms again. “I think we’ve been set up.”
“I think the universe did it long before our friends.”
Despite his hold on me tightening, I tap his chin. “A-ha! Natalie knew it was Dawson’s day, didn’t she?”
“Yes, she’s the one I hired to pull it off.”
“She pulled off more than a . . . actually, since the proposal didn’t happen, we could stay and enjoy the meal, and then catch a flight home in the morning?”
“I have a suite. You’re very familiar with it.”
I lean against him, ready to claw his clothes off right here. “Oh yeah? Is it our suite?”
“I requested it.”
“Maybe we should retire early.”
“After dinner,” he replies, tucking hair behind my ear. “You’re eating for two.”
“You’re going to spoil me, aren’t you?” Please say yes.
“Every chance I get, baby.”