Chapter 25
AN APOLOGY BOUQUET
Ivy
Fun fact. There is hardly a woe that a vanilla latte and girlfriend time can’t cure. But big woes require big drinks, so I get a big-ass one.
With my drink in hand, I sink down into a comfy chair at a sidewalk table at Dr. Insomnia’s and take a thirsty sip from the mug. It gives me courage.
So does Roxy, who’s curled up in my lap at this outdoor table with me.
When Trina brought my pup, she whimpered with excitement when she saw me, proving once again that dogs are a girl’s best friend.
I scratch her ears while Trina’s three-legged pup, Nacho, sits on the sidewalk like a good boy, ears up, checking out lady dogs with avid interest as they walk by.
Well, he might be checking out boy dogs too. I don’t really know his preferences.
Aubrey settles in with her mango smoothie, flicks some strands of her red hair, and gives me an I’ve been waiting too long look. “Are you finally going to tell us about your wedding night?”
They already got the big picture details in text. Now it’s time for the real tea. My stomach does cartwheels as I draw a deep, fueling breath. I start with the good news. “I have been introduced to the joys of a double dicking.”
Everyone’s quiet for several long seconds till Aubrey gasps, and Trina’s green eyes pop. “Get it, get, get it,” she sings, shimmying in tune, before she says, “With who? I want details. Do not skimp.”
Aubrey lifts a finger. “Hayes and Stefan, I bet.”
“Nailed it,” I say.
“Sounds like they nailed you,” she corrects.
“Touché.”
Then Aubrey shoots me a frustrated stare. “Also, I hate you. That’s not fucking fair. When do I get my turn on the double-dude merry-go-round?”
Trina points down the street. “There’s a ticket counter at the fairgrounds. Just order two for the price of one and you’re good to go.”
“Thanks for the tip,” she deadpans, then turns back to me. “Now. Story time. And start at the beginning.”
“I will, but how did you guess who it was?”
She taps her skull. “They seem like the type who’d give a good dicking.”
“You’re not wrong. Also, who knew pleasure could be exponential when it’s doubled?” I whisper.
Trina clears her throat, all over the top. Takes the time raising her hand.
Aubrey slumps in her chair, hands raised in surrender. “Seriously, what does a girl need to do to get in on the double-duty action?”
“It’s not all fun and games,” I say, since as good as the night was, now I have to deal with the mess during the day. “Have I mentioned that I’m stuck being married to only one of them while I still want to see both of them?”
Aubrey mimes playing a small violin. “Poor baby.”
“Seriously, though. What do I do? I didn’t sign up to be a fake wife.” I take another drink.
Trina sets down her coffee and gives me a thoughtful look. “What do you want to do about it? Do you want to come clean to the team owner? That’s a viable option.”
I shudder, immediately and involuntarily. “Jessie’s been good to me. I don’t want to let her down. I don’t want to draw more attention to myself either.”
“There’s your answer. You have to pretend,” Trina says. “For a reasonable amount of time.”
My gut swirls, but I know she’s right.
“Do the charity event,” she continues. “Then move on and it’ll be fine.
Relationships don’t always work out. Maybe in a few months, you can quietly divorce.
It’s not like Jessie’s going to say you must stay married forever.
It sounds like you’re just trying to get through a couple months to save face, to be honest.”
I give that some thought as I take another drink.
That sounds reasonable enough. This isn’t forever.
It’s just for a short while. I can handle that.
Hayes needs to focus on hockey and finding his footing with the team, and I can do this for him.
He was helpful to me with his plus-one offer the night I met him.
Maybe this is my turn to white knight him.
I can be his plus-one. We’ll do Jessie’s golf luncheon so he can impress the owner.
And we’ll go to Xander and Simone’s wedding so I can write about it for Your Scrappy Little Fashionista.
Tit for tat. “You’re probably right. I was so pissed earlier that he didn’t check with me, so I’ve been stewing, and I hadn’t really thought through those details. But a short marriage makes sense.”
Aubrey taps a long pink fingernail against the iron table like she’s thinking this situation through too. “Besides, is it really the worst thing? It sounds like you could enjoy some benefits, if you know what I mean.”
I sure do, and I like how her dirty brain works. “I’m not interested in anything serious though. I don’t want to jump into another relationship.”
“Somehow, I don’t think it’d be a hardship to enjoy the marital benefits, judging from what you told us about last night,” she says dryly.
My chest flutters with nerves. Asking for what I want is a big hurdle. What if they reject me? What if one does, and the other doesn’t? How does that even work? This is uncharted territory for me. “But how do I broach that? How do I say can we keep seeing your friend while we are married?”
“Say that,” Trina says, like it’s so simple.
“I hate putting myself out there,” I mutter.
“It is hard,” she acknowledges. “But sometimes that’s what you have to do.”
* * *
Later that night I’m pacing through my apartment, trying to locate the nerve to go upstairs and see Hayes, when there’s a knock on my door. My heart races. Then it sprints when a voice says, “Hey. It’s Hayes.”
I’m still frustrated with him, but I’m also eager to just say what’s on my mind.
I fling open the door and whoa…
My husband is standing on the other side holding a basket of artsy, illustrated notebooks in bright pink, soft lavender, and cherry red, along with…is that what I think it is? “Is that a bouquet of pens?” My voice squeaks.
“Yes,” he says, clearly pleased. He hands me the pens, wrapped with a huge purple bow.
I must have ingested helium when I ask, “For me?”
He smiles and laughs. “Is there someone else here who has a thing for notebooks with women in vintage dresses on the front and beautiful colored pens for all her ideas?”
I reach my arms out and happily take the basket, hugging it close. “Thank you. I love it.”
“Open the first one,” he says, then hands me the notebook with the purple cover.
On the front is a pencil drawing of a woman in a flapper dress.
Gingerly, I open it, and the first line on the paper reads: I’m sorry I didn’t ask you first. If you forgive me, I promise to be the best fake husband there is.
The apology is more than I expected. I close my eyes, letting a new, warm feeling flow through my body.
When I open my eyes, I vow to put my frustrations from this morning fully behind me. But I also need him to understand a few ground rules. “I don’t want you to make decisions like that without me,” I say, clear and firm.
He nods, understanding in his dark eyes. “I get that. I do.”
“I’m a part of this.”
“I understand. I should have handled it…differently.”
“I know you felt like you were doing it for me, but it affects me,” I add, gentler now.
He sighs, dragging a hand through his hair, his eyes full of regret. “I wanted to help. But I didn’t do it in the best way. If you want to get an annulment now, I’ll handle it all. I did some research. It’s not that hard, and I’ll just man up and explain it to Ms. Rose.”
I set a hand on his arm, reassuring him. “I appreciate that, but you don’t need to do it. I’ll go to the golf event with you. You’ll go to my ex’s wedding with me.”
“Absolutely.”
I let go of his arm, square my shoulders, and say, “I just want to make a few things clear.”
“Lay it on me.”
Deep breath. Say the hard thing. “I hate to bring this up, but given what happened with my ex, I have to. I don’t want to be made a fool. You can’t see anyone else.”
He blinks. His brow furrows. “Are you fucking crazy?”
I tense. Did I misread everything? “That feels reasonable to me,” I say, standing my ground.
He rolls his eyes. “Don’t you get it, Ivy?”
“Get what?”
“I want you. Only you. I tried to resist you because we work together, and a lot of good that did. So I’m standing here, still wanting you.”
A smile takes shape on my lips, slow and easy. “Good. Then I only have one condition for us staying married.”
* * *
The next night when I arrive at The Great Dane, I say hello to the hostess then add, “I’d like a table for three.”
Well, I’m having a double date after all.