Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Rosie
Monday
I wake up to a text message from Mel.
Happy belated birthday. I’m sorry about yesterday morning.
I steal a look at Daniel. He’s still fast asleep.
Thank you.
We’re going to the airport in an hour. Can we get coffee first?
I let out a rushed breath. After telling her I’ll be ready in ten minutes, I roll over and gently kiss Daniel. “Hey, sleepyhead. Don’t wake up, okay? I’m going to get coffee.”
“Room service,” he mumbles.
I rub my lips against his stumbled jaw. “Takes too long. You want me to bring something back for you?”
“I’ll come with you.” His eyes are still closed, though.
I take a deep breath and fess up. “I’m going to see Mel before she goes to the airport.”
His eyes snap open, and he frowns at me. “Just you?”
I show him the texts. “I think. . .yeah. Just me.”
He props himself up on one arm. The sheet falls away, and I take a second to appreciate just how much I love his body. The visceral oomph I feel when he’s bared for me like this is something more than I ever would have imagined for myself.
But now is not the time to be distracted by his thick, brawny perfection.
I have a peacemaking mission to go on.
“All right,” he says slowly. “If you think this is best.”
“I do. Thank you for trusting me.”
He catches me, his hand warm on the back of my neck. “I love you.”
“God, same.”
That makes him laugh. “Bring me back a fancy latte of some kind. Nothing too weird, but something good.”
I roll my eyes. We have so much work to do on his coffee knowledge.
Downstairs, my friend—hopefully not former friend—is waiting at the coffee kiosk. She looks beautiful but a little sad, and I feel that right in my chest.
I don’t want Melanie to be my former friend. I just want her to understand that we can’t help where our feelings go.
“Hey,” I say as soon as I’m in getting her attention range.
She starts, like she was lost in thought, and then opens her arms for a hug.
It’s a better start than I was expecting. I squeeze her back.
“Coffee?”
“Definitely.”
We order, and I decide not to get Daniel’s just yet. I’ll wait until we’re done talking. She doesn’t need to keep staring at two cups on my side of the table.
Once we’re sitting, she goes straight to the point. “About yesterday.”
“Yes.”
“I handled that badly.”
“So did we.”
“My dad thinks he should have said something sooner, but—”
“No,” I interject. “That would have been worse.”
“Right?” She nods. “Yeah. I mean, I wish I hadn’t seen that yesterday, either, but definitely wouldn’t have wanted to know about it before the wedding.”
“I told him as much.”
“What did he say?”
He was too busy spanking me for us to get back to that particular point. Poker face. “It was a complicated conversation.”
“I bet.” She wrinkles her nose.
“Neither of us planned this,” I say softly. “It just happened. And we really didn’t plan for you to find out this weekend. All we wanted was for you to have the most wonderful wedding ever.”
“You say that like you’re a real couple.” She gives me a beseeching look. “Rosie, he’s so much older than you.”
“You just married a man who is closer to your dad’s age than yours!”
“That’s different.”
“How?”
“Because this is weird.”
It’s a rehash of everything she said to Daniel yesterday, but it’s less hostile now.
And I can see how, for her, it is weird.
“Well. . .” I shrug. “Everyone’s personal life is weird if you think about it too long.”
“Yeah, I still think this is kind of ew.” She’s processing the news, and now she’s working her way around to being mollified. She sighs. “It’s really serious, isn’t it? This wasn’t just a vacation fling.”
I shake my head. “No. It wasn’t. And that took us both by surprise, I promise you.”
“That’s actually. . .I guess I knew that. I have something for you.” She takes a deep breath. “The photographer sent me a preview pack of some of the highlights from Saturday.”
She pulls out her phone and shows me three photographs.
The first one is from before the ceremony. Daniel is in the middle, with Mel on one side of him and me on the other. Leesa and Leigh bracket us. The other three women are all looking at the photographer.
Daniel and I are gazing at each other, sharing a private laugh.
“I don’t remember this. . .” My breath catches in my throat.
“I don’t know how I didn’t see it,” she says thickly. “Look at how he looks at you.”
The second photo is exactly that. It’s from the ceremony. I’m looking at Mel. Daniel, in the front row, is looking right at me.
And the third picture is from after dinner, when we’re dancing. His hand is dangerously low on my back, and his head is dipped close to mine. His eyes are closed, and he looks like he’s breathing in the scent of my hair.
Well, fuck me.
I love this man so much, and we didn’t hide it at all. “I’m sorry,” I whisper. “We thought—”
“You dork,” she snaps. “Don’t be sorry. I mean, don’t be too gross about it, either, but look at how happy you make my dad.”
“Oh.” I bite my lip and try not to grin. “Well, yeah, I try. And I know it’s startling and unexpected from the outside. But I promise we’re just two dorks sharing some laughs.”
“He is a big dork.”
I laugh. “Right? I think what your dad would say is that our relationship is private. We’re both grown-ups, and we make each other happy.”
“My dad. . .happy. That’s a novel concept.”
“He’s waited a long time to trust someone with his heart.”
She makes a face. “I’m glad it’s you, then. Two dorks who are perfect for each other.”
“Listen. . .if you’re feeling forgiving. . .do you want to come up and see him before you go? It would make his day.”
We go upstairs together, and when Daniel opens the suite door and sees his daughter there, the look on his face is everything I need.
She shows him the pictures and makes us promise to keep the PDA to a minimum as she adjusts to this new normal.
And then she tells me again that she thinks he’s a big dork, and he protests that he’s right there, and he raised her better than to call people names.
It’s as good an ending as I could hope for on the weirdest, wildest adventure.
Next up: going home. And explaining to my parents what happened when I went to Vegas. . .