CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Tim
I got to the party late. I was not the type of man who spent an overly long time on my appearance. Tonight, though, was different. I wanted to get Natalie by herself and convince her to give me another chance. Once and for all. If she said no, I’d have to accept it the best I could and move on.
But if she said yes…
Well, my heart could hardly take the idea of that. It had me all fidgety like a teenager. I wanted her so fucking bad. Both in my bed and just with me. Always.
So, I’d ended up spending at least a half hour longer than usual getting ready. Sadie and Harrison, who I was riding over with so I could drink, were impatiently waiting at their house nearby.
Once we were on our way, Sadie kept remarking on me being quiet, but I’d been monosyllabic in my returns.
She hadn’t appreciated it.
“I’m in love with Natalie,” I blurted.
The car got quiet.
“Yeah, man,” Harrison said, turning around and looking at me with twinkling eyes, “we know.”
“We suspected,” Sadie corrected. “I think everyone suspects that you’re in love with each other.
We just weren’t sure either one of you knew it yet.
” She looked at me in the rearview mirror.
“I know what went down between y’all was rough.
But if I can forgive Harrison for the way he cheated, I’m sure Nat can forgive you. You just have to prove yourself.”
“How though? How do I prove myself when she won’t even date me or talk about what happened between us?”
Sadie was quiet. Finally, she said, “Just keep doing what you’re doing. You show her in a bunch of small ways how important she is to you.”
“My mind goes back to the Redi-Whip and fruit for the waffles at Thanksgiving,” Harrison said.
“Huh?” Had he lost it?
“You remembered she hates maple syrup. Not Lynne, not Sadie or Alexis or Pete. You. And you made sure someone brought it.”
“That’s just basic…”
“No, it’s not. It shows you care. That you’re always thinking of her.”
Before they could give me more examples, because I definitely wanted some, we’d pulled up at the Reyes’ house.
I whistled. “Good thing Nat’s not all that impressed by material things. This place is… something.”
“It really is,” Carrie agreed. “It’s nicer than Carrie’s parents’ house, and that’s one of the nicest in Indigo Falls.”
We all agreed.
I admired the house as we walked up. I hoped Natalie wasn’t looking to marry someone for their money. I wasn’t poor by any means. But this? This was way out of my league.
Sadie and Harrison fell back, talking softly to each other as I sped towards the house. I was ready to see Natalie.
When I walked in, the first thing I did was look for her. I didn’t see her in the ballroom, so I went from room to room, searching.
Where the hell was she?
I’d seen Heath a few times, and he’d appeared to be searching for her, too.
I kept looking but didn’t see her. I pulled out my phone, ready to text her. Then I remembered she wasn’t likely to have pockets in her dress, and I knew she hated carrying a purse around at a party.
I sighed and put it back. I was stumped. I didn’t even see anyone I knew so that I could ask them.
I spied Heath again, but I’d have to be truly desperate to ask him.
Then I cocked my head, watching him interact with what seemed like some long-time friends of his. They looked around the same age, and I wondered if they’d grown up together. Or maybe they’d gone to college together.
But there was something about the way they were standing off from everyone and talking animatedly that had me curious. What were they talking about?
I thought I’d come around the back and stand nearby so I could hear what they were saying. I didn’t have anything better to do since I couldn’t find Natalie.
I strolled over and leaned against a wall that provided me at least a small place to hide.
“But does she know?” one guy asked.
“No. And I don’t intend to tell her.” Heath’s voice.
“Aren’t you afraid she’ll find out?” another voice.
“Not really. Besides, what is there to find out, really?” Heath asked.
“That you have to be married by your thirtieth birthday or you won’t inherit the trust fund from your grandparents?”
“I don’t think she’d care about the money,” Heath said, lifting his glass and sipping.
“No, I don’t, either. I think she’ll care that you’re marrying her because you want the money. You’re not marrying her because you love her.”
Heath shrugged. “I’ll love her in time. She’s gorgeous, good in bed, smart, sweet.
She’ll make a good wife and mother. I’m already halfway in love with her as it is.
This whole trust fund clause just speeds things up.
” He took another drink. “Besides, I could’ve picked someone else. But I chose her.”
My fingers clenched into fists. He didn’t love her. He was marrying her because he had to marry someone, and she was the best he’d seen.
“She’s also easily trainable. Some of the women I went to med school with were prettier, smarter, had bigger tits, whatever. But there was no way they were going to give up being a doctor to stay home and have my kids and throw my parties, you know? She’ll do it. She’s sweet like that.”
“You won’t get bored with her?”
“Have you seen her? She’s gorgeous. Yeah, I’d like her tits and ass to be larger. But there’s always plastic surgery. Besides, I’ve never seen eyes like hers before. So fucking pretty.” He leaned towards them. “And she sucks me like a Dyson.”
I wanted to punch him so bad my hand was shaking.
One guy shook his head. “You get all the luck, Reyes. You always have. Does she have a sister?”
“Nope,” Heath seemed pleased. “That’s another great part. She doesn’t have much family at all. She has an aunt in Paris—who is stunning, by the way. If you’re looking for a cougar, she’s your girl. She’s here for the holidays.”
“Point her out.”
I had to wait while he showed Sabine to them, and they discussed all of her plentiful physical attributes. What fucking pigs.
“But back to Natalie’s other ‘family.’” He used air quotes.
“She has a bunch of friends that helped raise her after her mom died. But they’re obnoxious.
As soon as we’re married, I’ll make sure she doesn’t spend much time with them anymore.
As for blood relatives, besides her aunt, everyone else is dead. ”
“That’s so sad,” one of the guys said.
“I guess,” Heath conceded. “But I’m kind of glad I don’t have to worry about in-laws. She comes to me unencumbered. So, congratulate me, gentlemen.”
They did, though at least one of the guys seemed fairly disgusted with Heath.
“I have to go,” Heath said suddenly.
Before I could move, he was almost on top of me. When he saw me, he winced. “Tim.”
“Heath. I couldn’t help but overhear your little convo with your buddies. Are you going to tell Nat all of those things, or do you want me to do it?”
He swiped a hand over his face. “Look, don’t make trouble for me. Natalie fucking hates you. She’s told me that she only tolerates you because she loves your parents and sisters. She thinks you stare at her like a lovesick puppy.”
I felt sick. Did she really say those things? Or was he lying? “I don’t believe you.”
“That doesn’t matter to me.” He tossed the rest of his drink back.
“It doesn’t matter anyway. After tonight, I’ll make sure she’s never alone with you again.
” He held up his empty glass and shook it a bit.
“I’m headed to the bar. Can I get you anything?
I hear people who’ve lost someone they love often feel the need to drink a lot.
Might as well get started on that, brother. ”
He slapped me on the back and hurried off.
Probably because if I slapped him on the back, it would throw him right into one of the walls.
I had to get to Natalie before he proposed. Because it didn’t take a genius to figure out that’s what he was planning on doing tonight.
***
I had looked everywhere for Natalie but couldn’t find her. I was standing by the bar, scanning all entrances to the room. I knew I’d see her eventually.
And then I saw her.
She walked in the room shortly after Blair entered with some guy who was most definitely not her husband.
Almost immediately, Nat’s eyes found me. For just a moment, it was like just the two of us were in the room. I’d experienced this feeling with her before. It was like time slowed down, the noise faded, everything besides Natalie grew blurry. We were back in our private bubble.
She looked stunning. Her blue gown made her eyes seem even brighter than usual, and the fitted material showed off her figure to its very best advantage. I would give just about anything to be the one who got to take that dress off her tonight.
The look she was giving me as she walked my way wasn’t helping things. I was hard as a fucking pipe and so glad my jacket gave me some camouflage. I didn’t want to traumatize any little old ladies tonight.
I set down my glass and started walking towards her. I would take her somewhere, kiss the hell out of her, tell her about Heath, tell her I loved her, and then spend all weekend in bed with her. We’d make up for lost time. We’d…
“Ladies and gentlemen…”
Record scratch. The bubble around Nat and me popped. I didn’t listen to a word Heath said, I just tried to keep willing Natalie over to me.
And then he said her name, inviting her to go to the front of the room with him.
Fuck. He was about to do it. In front of all these people like a douche so she wouldn’t say no.
This… wasn’t good.
I watched helplessly while Heath got down on one knee, flipped open a Cartier box to show off a ring that probably cost more than I made in a year, and proposed.
To my girl.
To my Natalie.
To the woman who would’ve been mine more than a year ago if I’d just done what everyone had told me to do and gotten help years before I actually had. If I just hadn’t broken her heart and crushed her self-esteem and then told her it was her own fault.
I caught her eye and mouthed, “Say no.”
But there was something on her face that was giving me an awful pit in my stomach. Her lips parted, and I knew I had to get out of there. I was going to be sick. I couldn’t stand to watch her agree to marry that bastard.
I pushed several people aside, all of whom complained until they saw my size. Then they backed way off.
I finally pushed my way through the hordes of people and made it outside. I sat on the bottom step leading off the Reyes’ porch and held my head in my hands. I’d lost her. She was going to marry that guy.
He didn’t even come close to deserving her. Was part of this my fault? Had I given her bad self-esteem to the point that she was willing to settle for someone she didn’t even love?
I wanted to cry, but I restrained myself.
I stood up to walk to Harrison’s car, hoping they’d left it unlocked. I wanted to just sit in there until it was time for them to go home.
But before I could get more than thirty feet from the house, I heard Sadie calling me.
“Tim! Where are you going?”
I turned and looked, surprised. She was in the middle of taking her shoes off so she could run after me. I held up my hand to stop her and ran to her instead.
“What is it?”
“She said no,” she said, slightly out of breath and smiling from ear to ear.
“She said no?”
“She said no!” Sadie did a little jump and dance combo that I would have made fun of her for if I weren’t so intent on getting to Nat. I had to get her out of there before Heath or his parents were nasty to her.
Because I didn’t think they’d be very pleasant after she’d turned him down in front of hundreds of their closest friends.