9. Wiley
NINE
Wiley
“What do you mean, he’s not here?” Ines demands, scanning the corridor behind me as she opens the door to her apartment, and I trudge in, flopping on her lounge.
I don’t want to talk about it. I really don’t. Ines is my friend, though, and I know she’s only asking out of concern. I tell her everything I know and she listens, frowning, and then smiling sympathetically as she hands me a bourbon float.
“Sounds like Mr Flashy-winger-man, needs a bit of Wiley organisation in his life. How the hell do you forget you have a promo tour to go on? Especially when the last stop is Vegas?!” She waves her spoon in the air as she speaks, the bourbon hitting all the spots.
“I dunno, Ines. I guess he’s been busy with a new club and all the stuff he left behind at the last one, and?—”
“And you,” she interrupts, smirking. “Face it, you and he have been in each other’s virtual pockets since he sent that first message. I’d forget about the rest of the world too, if I had the kind of feelings you two seem to be developing.”
I tell Ines almost everything, but I hold back the feeling that Asher was going to tell me he loves me. She might be all onboard the lust express, but when it comes to love, especially this soon, I think she’d become a wailing alarm bell.
“So what you’re saying is that this is my fault?” It’s not like the thought hadn’t occurred to me, but hearing someone else say it out loud makes me feel even worse.
“Well, not entirely.” She shrugs, placing her glass on the coffee table. “Oh. My. God.”
Bolting up on the lounge, as much as is possible in its marshmallowy softness, I thump my glass on the table. “What? What’s wrong?”
“Wrong? No, nothing. Everything’s right.” She jumps to her feet, racing into her bedroom.
“I’m not sure me lamenting not being able to be with or see the man I am totally into is a good thing, Ines. And when I say I’m into him…I mean, I’m really into him.”
“That much is clear,” she calls out, laughter in her tone. “Just admit it, Wiley. You’re in love.”
“Wait? What? No, I’m not. Nu-uh?—”
“Liar,” she taunts, coming back into the room, a small box in her hand. “I knew it the moment you told me about him. Saw that sparkle in your eyes.”
“Sparkle? Really?” I shift forward on the seat as she sits next to me, surprised with her acceptance of something I’ve only just come to acknowledge myself.
“Oh, honey, you’ve got it bad. But I’m happy for you, the way you’ve thrown yourself into this odd situation. That’s why I have something for you. Well, it’s more of a re-gift, but you’ll get so much more use out of it than I will.”
“We haven’t exactly been conventional, have we?” I laugh, leaning on her shoulder as she opens the box and pulls out a travel pouch.
“No, but it seems to be working for you. Now, when you see this, your instinct is going to be to say no. I want you to know, I have no regrets about giving this to you.” Shifting back on the lounge, frowning at her, she passes the travel pouch over to me.
“Ines, you’re acting weird.” She waves me off and tells me to open it. As soon as I see the contents, I shove it back at her. “No! You’re right, I can’t accept this.”
“You can and you will.” She shoves it back, a don’t-argue-with-me look on her face.
“But…this is too much. First-class tickets to Las Vegas and the opening games of the rugby league season. In a box, no less! How? Why…” I stop asking questions when her lips roll together, Ines’s way of holding in her emotions. “Shit! This was from Simon, wasn’t it?”
“Hmm,” she nods, composing herself. “He never quite understood why I enjoyed the game so much. He’s a soccer man himself, but he never complained when I wanted to go and watch a game. This was supposed to be a surprise. He couldn’t stop himself from giving it to me for Christmas, though.”
“All the more reason for me not to take it, Ines. You should give it back to him or something?—”
“I tried to, trust me. The man is as stubborn as the day is long. No, it’s kismet, fate, destiny, whatever you want to call it that you should have this. Surprise your man. Give him the whole Wiley experience so he’ll never forget a damn thing again!” Pushing up from the couch, I know it’s her way of closing the discussion.
Not this time.
“This gift isn’t just some throw away thing. There’s more here you’re not telling me. Now spill!” Plonking my ass on a kitchen stool, I grab two glasses and decant a generous amount of bourbon in each, pushing hers toward her.
“Wiley, please?—”
“No! Not this time. You make me spill my guts whenever shit goes wrong. What sort of friend would I be if I didn’t do the same in return? I know you cared more for Simon than any of your previous boyfriends. And while I might have teased you about him being a sugar daddy, I know there was more to it. Now stop being a pussy and tell aunty Wiley what the fuck happened.” Her mouth flaps open and I’m surprised when a barking laugh comes out, but it dies quickly as she leans her hip on the bench, staring out the window.
“He asked me to marry him.”
“He fucking what?” I gulp down the mouthful of bourbon, the burn twice as bad as my throat works to get it down without choking on it.
“Yeah,” she swirls the amber liquid in her glass, a sad smile drawing her mouth down as she brings the drink to her lips. “On Christmas morning when I opened the box. He got down on one knee with a fucking ten-carat diamond ring and asked me to be Mrs Simon Hampstead. He said we could get married in Vegas and then jet off to Hawaii or wherever else I wanted to go for our honeymoon.”
“Holy. Fucking. Chicken. Nuggets,” I gasp, wrapping my head around it. “So what happened?”
“I said no, of course.” She says it so matter-of-factly, as if it were the only logical answer. I’m gobsmacked and it takes me a minute to absorb it.
“Why?” I finally manage, my glass clinking on the marble bench top.
“Because I’m a fucking idiot and a coward,” she says, swiping a tear from her cheek.
“Ines, no.” Sliding off the seat, I dash around the bench and pull her into my arms. She’s stiff at first and I know her. She thinks she’s not worth comforting, but I don’t let her go. Eventually, she caves and gives into her emotions. Her chest heaves and hot tears splatter on my jersey, joining the ones I cried on the train ride over here.
“I…I’m the big…biggest idiot on t…the face of the…earth,” she stutters, her shoulders jerking with the force of her tears.
“You’re not an idiot,” I soothe, rubbing a hand up and down her back. “Scared, maybe?”
“I don’t understand what I have to be scared of, though,” she mumbles against my shoulder, before pulling back and ripping a piece of paper towel off the tube and blowing her nose. “Simon was perfect. Loving, caring, attentive. He never judged me or asked me to be anything other than what I was.”
“Maybe that’s the problem.” Ines frowns at me in confusion, and I rub a hand up and down her arm. “Your parents’ marriage was one based on money, right?” she nods and I continue. “Your dad expected your mum to be the perfect wife. Keep the staff in line at the house so it always looked spotless. Make sure you and your brother were dressed right. Speak only when spoken to and, god forbid, have an opinion of your own. You watched your mother fade away. Become nothing. All because of money. Simon has money. A lot of it.”
While Ines is accustomed to a certain lifestyle, her father indulging all manner of her passion projects. She still earns her own money, her ability to spot a good real-estate deal and flip it has gotten her where she is today. A sub-penthouse apartment in the middle of Sydney, with a killer view.
“I never understood my mother,” she muses quietly. “She let Dad tell her what to do and what to wear every moment of her life. It was like she didn’t have a mind of her own.”
“ Are you afraid that’s what Simon will expect of you? To give up your independence for him?” Wide eyes stare back at me, her hands clamped around the glass to stop them from shaking.
“Is that so wrong? To want to stay who I am? I mean, it took a long time to like me.”
“Not in a million fucking years, is that wrong. For what it’s worth,” I offer her a warm smile. “Whenever I saw you two together, Simon never came across as a controlling douche. In fact, the man just wanted to adore you. He wanted to be in your presence and have some of your light shine on him.”
Ines’s bottom lip wobbles, her face contorting with the effort of trying to control it all. Simon is the only man I saw her truly being herself with. All the others forced her to douse her light so they could be the centre of attention. Not Simon.
“Do you love him?”
“What?” she mumbles, her throat bobbing.
“You heard me. It’s a simple enough question, Ines. Do. You. Love. Him?” I’ve never seen Ines in love, so I have no idea what it looks like. I’d bet my last dollar this is it, though.
“It doesn’t matter if I do or not,” she snaps, pushing away from the counter and walking over to the window. “It’s too late.”
“Bullshit,” I retort, joining her. “You’ve spun some lines in your life, bestie, but that was the biggest one of all. I know for a fact that if you were to ring him and ask him to talk, he’d be here in a flash.”
“You don’t know that. I hurt him, Wiley. You don’t just forgive someone for that kind of betrayal.” She doesn’t turn to face me, but I see the sideways glance she gives, straightening her spine as if that will be the end of it.
“No, maybe not, but you’ll never know unless you try.” She offers me a non-committal grunt, her chin jutting out. “Are you telling me you’d rather protect your pride than be with the man you love?! You’re a lot of things, Ines, but I never thought stupid was one of them.”
I walk away back to the living area, the sounds of Ines muttering to herself following me, and I pick up the travel pouch. Moving back to stand next to her, I slap the pouch against my palm, the tick in my friend’s jaw exactly what I’m hoping for.
“You’re wrong, you know. About Simon. He won’t come back to me.”
“I tell you what. I’ll make you a deal. I’ll take this over-the-top gift if you ring Simon and ask him to come over and talk.” This time she does turn to face me, her mouth an angry thin line.
“Wiley! I gave you that as a way for you to connect with your man. Out of the goodness of my heart. Not so you could bribe me with it!”
“No, this isn’t a bribe. This is plain old blackmail. Ring Simon and I’ll take the tickets and go to Vegas. Don’t ring him and you will have to babysit me over the next few weeks as I moan and wail about how unfair life is.” I put my hands out, palms up, and use them like scales, representing each option.
“You can’t do that,” she moans, but even in her complaint, I can see the beginnings of her doubt.
“Sure I can. I know how much of a pain in the ass I can be, so the ball is in your court, my love. Call Simon right now and all this goes away.” I thrust my bottom lip out and pretend to cry, making horrible wailing sounds, Ines slamming her hands up over her ears.
“God, I hate you,” she yells over the top of me.
“You fucking love me and you know it,” I poke my tongue out, getting down on the floor, and throw myself around like a toddler having a tantrum.
“You don’t play fair, Wiley Nolan,” she pouts, stamping her foot.
“Would you expect anything less?” I smirk up at her, waggling my eyebrows. “I can’t have my best friend throwing away the love of her life because she’s scared. Love is a leap of faith, Ines. You just have to close your eyes and jump.”
“Is that what you did?” she offers me a smirk of her own and considering she already called me out on being in love, I see no point in denying it.
“You bet your sweet ass I did. Whatever Asher and I are, well, we’ll figure it out. All I know is, I want him in my life.” Jumping up off the floor, I offer her a chance to argue, but she stays silent. “Well, what’s it gonna be?”
“ URGH! Fine! I will call him…tomorrow?—”
“NO! You call him now, in front of me, or no deal.” I state, offering her no prospect of backing away without hurting me. Yeah, I know, that makes me a bitch, but I don’t care. Ines deserves happiness and if I have to use all my skills of persuasion to get her to see I’m right, then that’s what I’ll do.
“Has anyone ever told you, you’re a cruel, cruel woman?” she grumbles, and I shrug, but she pulls her phone out. “He won’t answer, so it doesn’t matter. I’ll have fulfilled my end of this dastardly blackmail, and you’ll have to go to Vegas. In the end, I will be victorious.”
“We’ll see.” Folding my arms across my chest, I gesture for her to put the phone on speaker, but she shakes her head. It was worth a try.
With the phone pressed to her ear, she paces in front of the window giving me an I-told-you-so look every time she turns back in my direction. My heart aches as the seconds tick by and Ines’s face pales. I knew it was a risk to force her hand and that Simon might very well not answer, but I had to try, and so did she.
After what seems like ages, Ines lets go a deep, frustrated growl. The tears she’s been holding back finally release. Closing my eyes for a second, I take a deep breath and reach out a hand for her, when her eyes go wide.
“Simon?” We both hold our breaths. Me waiting to hear more, her obviously listening. “I…I’m sorry. Can we talk?”
As she walks toward her bedroom, she squeezes my shoulder and I breathe a sigh of relief. Whatever happens next is all on them. I just hope she takes this second chance at love.