Gorgeous Consort (21 page)

“Sea turtles?” I asked in excitement.

“Let’s go.”

***

After being at the beach all day, we showered and fooled around before we went to dinner. There were a few restaurants at the hotel, all noteworthy for their exceptional food and wine.

We were led to a table that overlooked the water, and Troy pulled out his chair for me like he usually did before he sat across from me. I stared at him for a long moment, unable to believe he was here with me. He was the most handsome man in the room, and he was spending the evening with me.

“What?” he asked when he noticed my look.

“Nothing,” I said quietly.

He looked at his menu.

The candle on the table glowed, and the night air came through the open window. The sea was too dark to distinguish, but I thought about all the turtles and sea creatures down below.

“What are you getting, baby?” He referred to me as such more often, usually in public. I liked the name. It sounded normal, like something couples would say when they were madly in love. In my heart, I knew Troy and I could be a couple like that—if he just tried.

“Probably the sirloin.”

“We’re at the beach,” he said. “You aren’t going to get seafood?”

“I don’t want to risk getting sick before tomorrow.”

“Red meat is just as dangerous,” he noted.

“I suppose.” I looked at the menu again. “I’ll probably get something vegetarian then.”

Troy put the menu down. “Are you nervous for tomorrow?”

“Not really. The hotel is setting everything up and I don’t need to worry about anything. I just have to keep Kara calm and breathing. That’s pretty much my only job.”

“Let me know if you need help with anything.”

“I might need someone to vent to—that’s about it.”

He chuckled. “I’m here for you. And if you need a nice massage, I can help with that.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

After our food was ordered and the wine was poured, we looked at each other silently.

“Thank you for coming with me,” I whispered.

“My pleasure.”

“You’ve been really helpful for the past two months. It’s hard to imagine my life without you.”

His eyes softened when he looked at me, and the emotion was evident.

“That week we were apart…I was lost—to say the least.”

“I was lost too.”

“I wanted to call you, and there were so many times I almost did…”

“Me too.”

“I know this is going to sound crazy but…I really don’t want to go through that again.”

“I understand the feeling.”

How could he agree with me but not tell me he loved me? How could he be in a beautiful and romantic place but not feel what I felt? How could he be so numb? How did one woman have the power to break him so deeply? I really hated that woman.

“Can I say something?” he asked quietly.

“Yes.”

“Rhett always tells me I can have what he has with Aspen. When I look at their relationship, I see two people who genuinely care about each other. Aspen is a very nice girl and she seems very trustworthy. But I don’t want what they have. I want what we have.”

I held my glass of wine by the stem and stirred it.

“I just really appreciate the fact you’re being so patient with me. When you brought Kyle and my parents back together…I realized just how much I was missing. You’re an incredible woman. Why would I ever not want an incredible woman in my life?”

We were so close. Troy was just at the edge. He was about to trust me implicitly. All he needed was another push, another shove. “You’re nothing like I thought you were. You acted like such a superficial jackass that I didn’t think anything meaningful was underneath the skin. But now I see an amazing person, someone I would never hurt. You can trust me, Troy.”

“I know I can, harper. I do.” He gave me that sad look that told me he wasn’t there yet. He wanted to be but he couldn’t cross the threshold. “It’s difficult to find a woman you want to spend the rest of your life with, the woman you picked to mother your children, and then have her walk away without any real explanation. I went from having life planned out to having to start over. How could I ever bounce back from that? But, my life is changing and I can see a new future—with you.”

We were vaguely dancing around our true emotions. Troy gave me what he could, and I appreciated the fact he gave me anything at all.

The food arrived and we spent the evening in silence. Looks were exchanged across the table, a silent conversation ensuing. He asked me about my meal and I asked about his. The silence was comfortable, not awkward like usual, and I loved the fact he was my best friend, but so much more at the same time.

Troy

Harper was up at the crack of dawn and started to get ready. The sound of the shower and her drying her hair kept me up so I stopped trying to go back to sleep. Instead, I ordered breakfast so she wouldn’t be running around on an empty stomach all day.

“Can I help?” I asked as I stood behind her and looked at her reflection in the mirror.

She was curling her hair while she wore a purple dress. “No. I’m sorry I woke you.”

“Don’t worry about it.” I continued to stand there and just watch her.

“Anything else?” she asked.

“No.” I ran my fingers through my messy hair and thought about our rendezvous from the previous night. It was more passionate than usual. Any time I looked at her, my heart rate increased slightly, almost unnoticeable. But I could hear my pulse ringing in my ears.

I was beginning to realize why I was so confused about Harper. I kept comparing my feelings for her to my relationship with Alexia. Did I like her as much? Was our relationship similar? Did they have anything in common? Alexia was the standard.

But I was quickly realizing it was the opposite way around. My feelings for Harper were a million times stronger than they ever were for Alexia. I may have loved Alexia, but whatever I felt for Harper…it wasn’t comparable. I never felt like Alexia was my best friend, just the woman I loved. Harper filled both voids, and that small detail was important. Friends didn’t stab each other in the back. Harper would be loyal to me no matter what. There was no reason to distrust her because what we had could survive anything.

“What?” she asked when she saw me staring at her.

“Nothing.”

She continued to curl her hair but a slight smile was on her lips. “Are you going to stare at me all morning?”

“Would it bother you if I did?”

“No. But I’d like to know what you’re thinking.”

“My thoughts are written all over my face, Harper. Just look a little closer.”

***

The wedding took place outside in the garden terrace. It overlooked the resort with the ocean in the background. It was beautiful, to say the least. Harper left the hotel room shortly after she finished getting ready and I hadn’t seen her since. Now I took my place in the rows of chairs with everyone else. My mind started to drift as I thought about my relationship with Harper. Memories of our time at the beach house and my apartment came back to me. There wasn’t a time when I was unhappy. That woman had the ability to always make me smile.

After everyone was seated, the wedding began. The other two bridesmaids walked down the aisle, and finally, Harper came, being escorted by a groomsmen. My head snapped in her direction and I watched her walk gracefully with the arrangement of flowers in her hand. To say she was gorgeous was the biggest understatement of the year. Her hair was down, and it trailed down her back in ringlets. Her face was highlighted with make up, and it brought out the deep color of her eyes. Her dress was tight in all the right places, and the curve of her breasts was noticeable to me and my hard cock. Harper had all the qualities of a dream girl. She was cute and pretty, but she could also be sexy as hell. Her intelligence was intimidating at times, and her wit was too quick to be competed with.

I couldn’t believe I was her date to this wedding. I couldn’t believe she was in love with me. And I couldn’t believe she was being so patient with me. What did I do to deserve someone like her? I couldn’t think of a single thing.

Kara made her entrance with her father as she headed to Sebastian down the aisle.

Instead of looking at either one of them, I looked at Harper. She watched her sister approach with love in her eyes. It was clear her sister meant the world to her, and even though she resented her at times, that love was undeniable.

Kara made it to Sebastian and the ceremony began.

I stared at Harper because nothing else could hold my interest for any length of time. I concentrated on the way her hair framed her face. The curve of her lips captured my focus, and I wanted to part her soft mouth with my tongue. Her rosy cheeks and glossy eyes were just as captivating.

She seemed to know I was staring at her because she turned her gaze my way.

My lips upturned in an involuntarily smile, and I made a discreet gesture with my hands, telling her I thought her boobs looked amazing in that dress.

Her mouth stretched into a quick grin and amusement came into her eyes. Then she dramatically rolled her eyes before she turned her attention back to her sister.

I’m in love with her.

It hit me hard and randomly, like a bolt of lightning on a summer day. It was so unexpected I wasn’t sure if it was real. It just flushed through me, powerful and binding. My subconscious thoughts emerged to the surface, moving past all the doubt, fear, and distrust. Now it was the prevalent emotion, beating out all other thoughts.

I loved Harper.

Alexia wounded me and made me bleed out until there wasn’t a drop of blood left. She broke my body and let my corpse rot with agony. She hurt me so much I didn’t think I’d ever find myself again.

But Harper changed that. I felt like my life started over. It was a new beginning, and I was on a journey that would lead to a much different fate. There was no reason to distrust Harper because she was my best friend and would never hurt me. Is this what unconditional love felt like? Was this what happiness felt like? True happiness?

Kara and Sebastian kissed and everyone applauded and whistled. My mind was elsewhere and I had to force it to come back. I clapped even though my heart wasn’t in it. I was still recovering from my epiphany, my sudden bout of reality.

***

I sat at the dinner table with Harper’s parents since she was at the bridal table with her sister and bridesmaids. I didn’t mind because her parents were nice people. They asked me about work and sports. They were particularly interested in my beach house, saying they were thinking of relocating in the near future.

I glanced at Harper whenever I could, and sure enough, she was always looking in my direction. I wiggled my eyebrows or winked at her. Back and forth, we flirted with discreet gestures. I couldn’t wait for the dinner to end so I could be with her. Being separated from her was akin to torture.

Finally, the bride and groom had their first dance, and then everyone else was invited to the dance floor.

I left my chair so quickly it almost fell over. Then I moved for Harper, eager to reach her. I came behind her then tapped her on the shoulder.

When she looked at me, her eyes broke out in joy. It was written all over her face.

“Dance with me.” I grabbed her hand and led her to the dance floor before she could answer. I spun her around then danced with her. She and I made goofy moves and laughed at each other. I could do the craziest things and she would still laugh, getting my humor like no one else did. She had some interesting moves herself, and I didn’t think I could fall harder for her.

“Where did you learn to dance?” she asked as she lifted her dress then spun around.

“Dance class,” I said. “It’s a requirement.”

“Well, you got some sweet moves.”

“Watch this.” I broke out in the dance moves from Foot Loose.

That made Harper laugh. “Wow, you’re worth every penny.”

“But I did this for free,” I reminded her.

“Then I got the best deal ever.”

I pulled her close and danced slowly with her, even though it wasn’t a slow song. “Sorry I stared at you so much.”

“It’s okay. I wanted to stare at you but I couldn’t as often.”

“Your tits really do look amazing in that dress.”

“Why, thank you. I was hoping you would notice.”

“I always notice.” I kissed the corner of her mouth then the other corner, wanting to give her a taste of what I wanted to do to her when this wedding was over.

“Don’t tease me like that, “she said, practically moaning.

“I won’t leave you hanging—later.”

“You’re such a jerk.” She wrapped her arms around my neck so I knew she wasn’t serious.

“I’m going to spank you for that comment later.”

“Good,” she challenged. “I like being spanked.”

“I always knew I liked you, Perfect Ten.”

A woman I didn’t recognize approached us. I tried to pull away from Harper slightly so it wasn’t too awkward. I was being a little too affectionate right now. She turned to me first and extended her hand. “I’m Kathy, Harper’s aunt. It’s a pleasure to meet you. It’s Troy, right?”

“Yes, it is. It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Kathy.” I shook her hand.

She gave Harper a smile. “I think you found the one, Harper. You guys are so cute to watch.”

Harper’s cheeks blushed. “Thanks, Kathy…”

“Invite me to your wedding.” She patted Harper’s shoulder before she walked away.

Harper turned back to me, her cheeks slightly red from embarrassment. “At least I’m the talk of this party—in a good way.”

“You already stole the show in that dress.”

“And you did an excellent job in convincing them you’re in love with me.”

This was the moment
. I didn’t know when I was going to tell her, but now seemed like the perfect time. “It wasn’t hard.” I looked into her eyes and said more with just a look. “Because I am in love with you.”

She stopped swaying with me for a moment, shocked by what I said and how easily I said it. The emotion moved into her eyes and she didn’t try to hide it.

“I’m sorry it took so long for me to realize it. I do love you, and I’ve loved you for a very long time.”

Her eyes watered and became glossy but the tears didn’t fall.

“I’m sorry I hurt you along the way.”

“It’s okay,” she said with a sniff.

“So, you’ll be my girlfriend?” I asked.

“I already am.”

“I know I can trust you.” I meant those words. I wouldn’t go through that pain again, not with Harper. It was different with her.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me a long kiss, not caring about anyone else being there. “You aren’t what I expected to find at all, Troy. You’re sarcastic and superficial. Most of the shit that comes out of your mouth is flat-out inappropriate. But you’re…exactly what I want.”

I smiled at her truthful declaration. “I know I’m a bit rough around the edges. But you soften me up, baby. But only you can pull that off.”

She pulled me closer to her and rested her face against mine. The emotion passed in her eyes, and now she just seemed happy. The music played in the background and everyone had a good time, but Harper and I were in our own little world. I didn’t care about anyone else there and neither did she. Time had stopped for us, and while life passed in a blink of an eye, it seemed to have no effect on us. It was our moment, and the world seemed to bow just to us.

***

I didn’t rush the evening even though I was eager to get back to the room. It was Harper’s sister’s wedding, and I could be patient.

Even though that was nearly impossible.

We spent the evening dancing and drinking. Her family members came up to me and made small talk. They seemed to be impressed that Harper brought a date along for the wedding. I didn’t understand why since Harper was a million times more beautiful than her sister. I guess beauty was in the eye of the beholder.

When the music ended at ten, the party didn’t continue much longer. People started to drift back to their rooms, and the cleaning crew came out and began to clean up the massacre of garbage the party had caused.

I could tell Sebastian was eager to call it a night. He kept pulling his wife close to him and whispering secrets in her ear. Kara smiled and blushed at the same time, so I knew they would retreat to their room soon.

Finally, Sebastian convinced her it was time to end the party. “We’re going to start our honeymoon.” He pulled Kara with him. “Thank you for everything, everyone.” He waved as he pulled her along.

Kara laughed as her husband dragged her with obvious enthusiasm.

I turned to Harper, feeling my excitement bubble to the surface. “Ready to head back to the room?” If she said no, I was going to pick her up and carry her.