Chapter 6 Lisa
LISA
Lisa stared down at the rich chocolate cake in front of her.
The rehearsal dinner of steak and lobster had filled her, and there was a wedding dress to wear tomorrow.
She glanced over at her mother, who sat at the other end of the table next to Maggie and Jackson.
A familiar unease caused her stomach to clench.
As a chubby child, Lisa had always felt her mother’s eyes on her during mealtimes, judging and monitoring what she ate.
The comments in the form of a question still haunted her.
Do you really need that much butter on your toast?
Didn’t I buy you a size larger pair of jeans last month?
Other times, there were no words. Instead, her mouth had set in a thin, disapproving line as Lisa reached for a cookie.
For years, other than with Pepper and Maggie, Lisa hadn’t been able to eat in front of other people. Until Rafael. She’d shared with him her destructive relationship with food and her mother’s hurtful words. Somehow, his love had changed her.
She smoothed her hand down the front of her dress.
Her stomach was not flat by any means, especially for an actress, but she was proud of the muscles that years of dancing had given her.
She liked the feminine curve to her hips.
Was it that she learned to love them through the touch of Rafael’s hands?
Could a lover’s caress repair a lifetime of self-hatred?
In her case, it seemed so. She’d come to terms with her curves and the roundness of her limbs.
Most of the time. But in the presence of her mother, the old insecurities rushed back into her consciousness.
No, she would not let her mother ruin this night for her.
Another quick glance in Mom’s direction told her that she was occupied with Maggie.
Their heads were tilted toward each other, obviously engrossed in conversation.
God bless her friends. They’d always been patient and respectful to her mother, even though they disliked her.
She picked up her dessert fork, then hovered over the piece of cake.
Rafael whispered in her ear. “Sweetheart, if you want the cake, have the cake.”
She met his gaze. The kindness and understanding in his brown eyes always moved her. Even a request or criticism was said with such love that it never stung or hurt. She ached with love for him. “I love you more today than I did yesterday.”
He rested his cheek in his hand and simply gazed at her.
The rest of the room vanished. It was only Rafael and his kind eyes.
For better or worse, richer or poorer, he would always be there.
Rafael would not leave her if her career imploded or when wrinkles came.
He was here by her side for the rest of forever.
She scooped a small bite of cake onto her fork, then brought the rich, dark chocolate to her mouth.
As it melted against her tongue, she closed her eyes and allowed herself the pleasure of this decadence on the eve of her wedding.
She would not let her mother’s voice, past or present, dictate her life.
A truth came to her then, one that seemed obvious now, on the other side childhood.
I’ve spent my life trying to make her happy.
All that wasted energy trying to please her when it was an impossible task. Her mother’s unhappiness was not Lisa’s fault.
And then she knew.
I’m enough just as I am.
She ate another forkful of cake.
Pepper stood and tapped her butter knife against a wine glass. “It’s speech time.”
The table quieted. Lisa took in a deep breath as she looked around the table.
Although only David and Stone were groomsmen, Rafael had invited the other Wolves to the rehearsal dinner.
Nico, Trey, and David sat together at one end of the table, with Ria and Autumn, Stone’s sister, next to them.
Dad was on the other end, as physically far from his wife as possible.
Pepper cleared her throat dramatically. “Maggie and I decided, as co-maids of honor, that tonight would be the time for the more intimate speeches, given that this is a dinner for family and closest friends.” She hesitated as she took in a deep breath and waved her hands in front of her eyes.
“Sorry. Give me a second here.” She looked at Stone, who gave her an encouraging smile.
“Lisa and Maggie and I have been through a lot together. Some highs and some lows, but always together. Our years as drama students at NYU and the subsequent years in New York City might have eaten us up if we’d been alone, but together we were strong, even brave.
We sustained one another through some dark times.
The darkest times.” Her voice cracked, and she paused to take a drink from her water glass.
Lisa closed her eyes as memories of the night they’d gotten the call about Pepper from the police.
Their friend had been assaulted and was at the hospital.
She was asking for them. Without hesitation, they’d thrown their coats over their pajamas and hailed a taxi they couldn’t afford.
Nothing would have stopped them that night or any night.
When one of them was in trouble, the others came.
That night, they’d held Pepper’s hands as the nurses and police went through the humiliating steps of the rape protocol.
Afterward, she and Maggie had taken her home and stood outside the shower as Pepper tried to wash away the darkness.
It had taken Stone Hickman, more than ten years later, to heal those wounds.
Rafael squeezed her hand under the table, bringing her back to the present.
Pepper continued. “When we were in our twenties, broke and discouraged, we played this game where we told one another our dreams for the future. Lisa and I would describe our perfect man and how many children we wanted. But Maggie’s were always about her music or the theater.
She never talked about a man or a family, because her heart was already taken. ”
Maggie’s eyes swam with tears. Jackson put his arm around her.
“All those years they were apart, Maggie never stopped loving Jackson. He was her one true love. Little did we know that Jackson was across the country feeling the same way about her. When she finally found her way back to Cliffside Bay, there he was, waiting with open arms to pick up where they’d left off all those years before.
Seeing them together made Lisa and me hopeful that our loves were out there, too.
We had no idea they’d be in Cliffside Bay.
That’s perhaps the biggest surprise of all.
I mean, seriously, what are the odds we found our loves in a town the size of a New York City block?
It’s like something out of a romantic comedy. ”
Laughter rippled around the table.
Pepper turned to look at Rafael. “In the dozen years I’ve known her, Lisa has wished for a man who was courageous, smart, kind.
Maggie and I knew that only the rarest of men would see her for who she is—not just her outer beauty because, trust me, there were plenty of those, but one who saw how generous, gifted, and special she is and how terribly vulnerable that makes her.
She wanted a man who would treasure her, but also be mature enough to accept the love she offered.
And it’s a big love from her giant heart.
Rafael, that man is you. You’re everything we wanted for her.
You’re everything she dreamed of and more.
Finally, you’re here. The one worthy of my friend.
I don’t have to say it, but I will. Take care of our friend as I know she will take care of you.
” She raised her glass. “To the beautiful couple. As you grow together, may every day be better than the one before.”
The full ugly cry had taken over Lisa’s resolve to remain tearless. She wiped under her eyes with the tissue Rafael had thrust into her hand and tried to pull herself together.
Maggie’s long copper hair glimmered under the lights.
Her fair cheeks pinkened as she looked over at Lisa and Rafael.
“In show business, it’s never good to follow an act better than you.
Pepper said it all, really. The three of us have been sisters since the first day we met when we were eighteen years old.
When I arrived at college, my heart was broken, for all the reasons we know now were due to my father’s cruel actions.
Lisa and Pepper put me back together when I’d lost everyone I’d ever loved.
They taught me how to live again, how to trust after my heart had been shattered.
The happy endings that awaited us were impossible for me to imagine.
But Lisa did. She never lost faith in love or people.
She never stopped believing that her one true love was out there.
That’s the kind of person she is. A lot has changed for us since I came back to the little town that raised me and dragged these two with me.
But no matter how much fame or money comes her way, Lisa will never change.
She will always be the girl I met twelve years ago who wore her heart on her sleeve.
Thank you, Rafael, for being her one true love and making her dreams come true. ”
Everyone raised their glasses in another toast. Lisa sneaked a glance at Rafael just as he dabbed at his eyes. “You know they’re exaggerating my goodness, right?”
“I know they’re not,” he said.