13. Chapter 13 #2
I have to force myself from my Juliette-induced haze so I can continue. “I decided to date her exclusively, and she was all in. Things went really well, and after a year, I proposed.”
We both take another drink of wine with our free hands, and I swirl my glass before setting it down. “That’s when Leia started to change. All kinds of red flags began popping up, but I ignored them.”
“What kinds of red flags?” the woman across from me asks in a soft voice.
“The wedding planning process became a nightmare. Despite coming from money, Leia had always seemed down to earth, but she became a bit of a Bridezilla. I convinced myself that after the wedding, things would go back to normal.” I shake my head at my own stupidity.
“Then she quit her job at the marketing firm where she worked, and she couldn’t afford her apartment anymore. ”
Juliette’s eyebrows pressed together. “Why did she quit?”
“She said she wanted to focus on making her special day the best it could be, and work was taking up too much time.”
“ Her special day?”
One corner of my mouth creeps up into a humorless smile. “Red flags, remember?” A sigh escapes me. “So I told her she could move in with me. That’s when those flags started waving like crazy.”
“But you still ignored them,” Juliette says. There’s no judgment in her tone. It’s simply a statement.
“Yup. She became very critical of my work schedule.”
“Well, you can’t help that,” my beautiful date says a bit indignantly.
“Exactly.” The NHL doesn’t cancel games just because my fiancée wants to go to Aspen for the weekend, I think bitterly.
“My busiest time of the year is October through April, but Leia insisted she just had to have a fall wedding for the aesthetics—something about the colors and leaves and stuff—so she planned it for last September. I reminded her of how busy I’d be, but she said it was fine, and we could just put off our honeymoon until May. ”
I pick up my wine glass and stare into it before setting it back down without drinking.
“Then about six months before the wedding, she told me she wanted to try something before she got tied down.”
Juliette’s lips part on her sharp intake of air. “Tied down? She literally said tied down ?”
“Her exact words,” I confirm. “She told me she’d always wanted to try a threesome, and this would be her last chance to do it, and would I please be willing to give that to her?”
The aqua eyes across from me go round as saucers. “Wow. Okay.”
“Yeah, I wasn’t exactly comfortable with it.
I’m not a prude by any means. I’d done that a couple times in the past but with casual hookups.
The thought of sharing my future wife with another man didn’t sit well with me.
” I scrape my bottom lip with my teeth. “But after a few weeks, I finally said yes. I wanted to make her happy.”
“Oh god, Reno. That’s…” Juliette takes a long drink of her wine. “I don’t even have words. ”
A suited waiter appears beside us and sets down a sleek, rectangular turquoise plate between us. “Your seared scallops,” he says. “I’ll have your dinner out shortly.”
“Thank you,” I say, releasing Juliette’s hand and instantly missing her soft warmth. We each put two scallops on our plate and take a bite. The meat is flaky and salty on my tongue, with a hint of sweetness.
“This is really good,” Juliette says, meeting my gaze across the table. Her eyes are bright but soft at the same time. “You don’t have to keep going if it’s too painful.”
Heaving out a long breath, I shake my head. “No, it’s okay. I realize now that Leia and I weren’t meant to be. It took me a while, but… I’m good.”
Shockingly, I realize it’s true. I’d harbored the resentment and hurt for so long, it practically became part of my skin, but somehow I’d barely thought of my former fiancée since I’d been here on this island. Like the pain had been scraped away by the Caribbean air.
And maybe by a certain sweet blonde with big blue-green eyes.
“Okay, so you went through with the threesome?” Juliette asks, and I nod. “How did you choose the other person?”
“I let Leia give me suggestions since it was her idea. She said she would feel better if it was someone we knew instead of finding a stranger online.”
“I guess that makes sense, though I could see where that would have its own set of problems.”
“Yeah, no shit,” I scoff, thinking of the problems that had ensued. “She said she’d feel comfortable with Jeffrey, who was a friend of mine from high school. He’d been to our house numerous times, so she knew him pretty well.”
Juliette took another bite without looking, her attention focused on me. “And was this Jeffrey willing?”
I glug back the remainder of my wine and place my empty glass on the table. “He was. Before that night, I sat down with Leia and told her this was only a one-time thing, just so she could have the experience she wanted. She completely agreed, so we set it up.”
Reading the unspoken questions on Juliette’s face, I went on. “We went through with it, and everything was going fine, you know… during.”
“Was it difficult for you?” Juli asks.
“I mean, it was enjoyable to a point, but yes. It was difficult. I kept telling myself it was only one night, and then Leia and I could go back to how we were before. We were in the middle of things when she said she thought it would be totally hot if Jeffrey and I kissed.”
Juliette’s eyebrows practically shoot off the top of her head. “Are you…”
“No, I’m not bisexual, but Jeffrey is. I’ve never been attracted to men.”
My date presses her lips together and shakes her head. “Reno, I’m all for pushing boundaries, but no one should ask you to touch or kiss someone you’re not attracted to.”
“Agreed. Jeffrey looked at me, like he was trying to determine if I was into it, but I just kind of nervously laughed it off and suggested that we concentrate on Leia since this was her fantasy.”
“Good for you,” Juliette says indignantly, the color rising in her cheeks. “I can’t believe she had the nerve to ask that in the middle of everything. She never brought it up with you when you talked about it beforehand?”
“No, and it never even crossed my mind to set that boundary.” Movement catches my eye, and I see our waiter headed our way. “I think our food is here.”
He presents our food with a fancy flourish of his hand and then opens the wine, pouring a taste into a fresh glass for me. The bold flavor is warm and delicious, and I nod my approval before he serves Juliette and I each a glass.
Once he’s gone, we dig into our food, garnering soft noises of satisfaction from both of us. I love watching Juliette eat. She fully enjoys her food, and it makes me enjoy mine even more .
After a few bites, she asks, “What happened after that night was over?”
“Afterward, I could still picture it in my mind, and I didn’t like it at all, but I pushed it away and tried to move forward.
” I take a sip of wine. “Leia went into full-fledged wedding planning mode. We barely saw each other because she was always going to some tasting or a meeting with the planner.”
As I add some horseradish to my au jus, I think about that time a little over a year ago. I was so confused.
“Leia started pulling away. We were no longer… intimate at all. I still stupidly thought things would get better once she had her perfect wedding. That she would be happy with just me.” The bitterness in my voice was unmistakable.
Juliette winces. “Sounds like she’s one of those women who cares more about the wedding than the marriage.”
“You’re not wrong. She started going nuts with the spending. Her parents are wealthy and have always given her pretty much anything she wanted, but even her father put a lid on it after she insisted on a pair of fifteen-thousand dollar shoes for the wedding.”
Juliette chokes on a bite of asparagus and pulls her napkin to her mouth while she coughs. “Did you say fifteen thousand for a pair of shoes? That she would wear once ?” she croaks. “You could buy a damn car for that.”
That makes me laugh. “Exactly, but I bought them for her anyway.” I bite into my bottom lip and shake my head at my stupidity. “I’m not sure what I was trying to prove by doing that.”
Juliette reaches across the table and drifts her fingers across the back of my hand. “You loved her and were trying to make her happy.”
I wince. “That’s the thing. I’m not sure I was in love with her anymore.
And it wasn’t just the sex stuff,” I say quickly.
“We barely even talked, and when we did, it was only for her to ask me for more money. I started to realize Leia wasn’t the person I thought I knew.
For some reason, I still thought I should do my best to make it work.
I mean, the damn wedding was only a few months away at that point, and then all the craziness would settle, right? ”
“But it didn’t?”
“Not really. Her dad had put a stop to all the frivolous spending, so I started footing the bill for whatever crazy thing she wanted. She commissioned ten ice sculptures for the reception.” I shake my head and give Juliette a wan smile.
“You don’t even want to know how much those cost. It’s fucking frozen water, for Pete’s sake, but the artist apparently thought he was Michelangelo working with the finest Italian marble. ”
My date swallows a bite of her meat and shakes her head, blonde hair swaying around her shoulders. “Don’t tell me. It will only spoil my appetite, and this prime rib is too good to waste.”
“No doubt. The chef here is amazing,” I say, taking another bite before continuing. “Anyway, I was looking forward to the big day finally arriving, and I’m a little ashamed to say I was more excited about it being over than actually being married to Leia.”
“That’s totally valid, Reno. Weddings can be stressful.”