Her Kind of Man (29 page)

He looked down at her, the love he felt for her shining in his eyes. “For what?”

“Just say you're welcome.”

“Okay. You're welcome.”

She leaned in and kissed him. “I love you.”

“I love you more.”

D
on't move.”

Sydney Williams glanced at her watch. “Allina, I have to go. I'm meeting Den in thirty minutes.” In a few short months, Syd was finally going to marry her longtime love, Caden Smith, affectionately known as Den.

Sydney flinched when she received a playful whack on the behind.

“I told you to be still. I'm almost finished. There. You can turn around.”

Sydney sucked in a deep breath then turned and looked at her reflection. The white silk, floor-length gown fit her perfectly. Smoothing a hand over her hip, she eyed the tiny crystals adorning the plunging neckline. It was simple, understated—exactly how she wanted it.

“What do you think?” Allina said, biting her thumbnail as she stepped back. “I think it looks much better with your hair up.”

“It's beautiful. Den's going to love it.” Sydney ignored the look her friend gave her and the quick rolling of her eyes. Sighing, she took one last glance at herself, turned around, and raised her arms. Allina unzipped her and she rushed into the fitting room. “I appreciate this, girlfriend. You're truly gifted,” she told her from behind the curtain.

Tossing the gown over the door for her friend, she dressed. When she was finished, she slipped into her sandals and pulled the curtain open. Allina was zipping up the garment bag.

“I'm ready to invest when you're ready to go out on your own,” Sydney said, rummaging through her purse. “It's time.”

“It'll be ready for you Friday after five o'clock,” Allina said, changing the subject. She tucked a stray braid that had fallen out into her neat bun.

Before Sydney could go into the countless reasons it was better for Allina to venture out and open her own boutique, her cell phone vibrated. Muttering a curse, she shook her bag and felt around for the cell phone. Sighing heavily, she grabbed a hold of it and pulled it out. After a quick glance at the anonymous number, she was tempted to ignore the call—except she was planning a wedding and it could be someone calling to confirm something.

Grumbling a curse, she answered, “This is Sydney.”

“I wasn't sure you'd answer.” The nasal-toned voice of her fiancé's ex–booty call, Laney, immediately put Sydney in a bad mood.

“Can't make the right choice all the time. Why the hell are you calling me?” Syd snapped.

“I just thought you'd want to know—”

“And how did you get my number?” She dropped her purse on the chair.

Curiosity prevented her from hanging up on the other woman. It was no secret she couldn't stand Laney, but she couldn't help but wonder why she was calling her. “Look, I'm doing you a favor,” Laney said. “The least you can do is treat me with some respect.”

Syd's interest turned to dread at Laney's snide tone. The last “favor” from Laney had almost destroyed her relationship with Den. It took months to get over the fact that he'd cheated on her while she was away at graduate school. She gripped her phone. “Laney, what the hell do you want?”

Allina, who'd just returned from the back, stopped in her tracks at the mention of that name.

Placing a hand over the receiver, Syd mouthed to her friend, “I'm fine. Go ahead and finish what you were doing.”

Allina didn't look convinced, but walked away anyway, glancing back as she headed toward the counter.

“I'll just cut to the chase,” Laney sneered.

“Please do.” Something told Syd to have a seat, but she remained on her feet. Although the other woman couldn't see her, she didn't want to give even the slightest impression that she was affected by anything Laney had to say. “I don't have all day.”

“If you think you're going to be happy with Den, you're fooling yourself.”

“What do you know about it?” Sydney asked with a snicker.

“Everything. I know that Den has been lying to you for months. He told you that you could trust him. That he'd never hurt you again. That he wanted to start fresh, confess everything… the random woman at a bar story… then he realized that he couldn't live without you… couldn't wait to make you his wife.”

Syd felt sick to her stomach as Laney droned on. The fact that this woman knew all of her business wasn't the worst part. It was what she feared was coming next that was giving her fits.

“Sydney, did you hear me?” Laney called through the receiver.

She swallowed, then cleared her throat. “Just say what you need to say and stop wasting my time with this shit, Laney.”

“And I'll bet you believed him, too.” Laney laughed, and the sound made Syd's skin crawl. “The thing is, he may be ready to make you his wife, but he surely can't keep that promise of never hurting you again, because
I
was the woman at the bar and it definitely wasn't a random hookup. We've been seeing each other for months now—at your house, in your bed.”

Closing her eyes, Syd barely flinched when the phone landed on her toes, then the carpeted floor, with a thump.

Allina rushed over to her. “What's going on?”

“Oh God,” Syd cried. “This can't be happening.”

She vaguely felt Allina nudging her, heard her begging her to say something, anything. It seemed like everything was happening in slow motion. Over the last eight months, she'd spent thousands on the details, the plans, the invitations… Oh God, her family was coming. They'd purchased tickets and paid for hotel rooms. What would they think of her? How would she face them?

“Sydney!” Allina yelled, shaking her out of her thoughts. “What's wrong?”

Syd wouldn't bother calling Den to confirm Laney's story. In her heart, she knew the other woman was telling the truth. She was sure it had happened just the way Laney described. And it wasn't because Laney was such a truth teller. It was only because Den had lied to her more times than she cared to admit, more times than she ever told anyone. He'd promised her he was a changed man, but she knew change didn't come easily to Den. She wanted to drive to his job and embarrass him in front of his employees, demand that he explain himself, order him to do something—anything—to make this seem less real, less devastating. Would there be anything he could say to justify this? Wasn't it her fault for believing the lies, taking him back, and choosing to never hold him accountable every single time he'd hurt her? Yet, even as her heart seemed to split open and the pain crept into her bones, she couldn't muster up any blame for the man she loved. No, there was no one to blame but herself.

Blinking, Sydney zeroed in on her phone lying on the floor and picked it up. She didn't bother checking to see if Laney was still on the line. She turned it off and tossed it into her purse.

What the hell am I going to do now?

“Do me a favor?” she asked Allina, grabbing her keys and heading toward the door. “Call Calisa. Tell her to cancel… everything.”

“Wait,” Allina called to her before she opened the door. “Don't just leave like this. Something happened. You're upset and crying. You can't drive like this.” She walked over and took Sydney's purse from her hand. “Come on. I'm closing up. Keep me company?”

Sydney wiped her eyes angrily then plopped down on an empty chair. “Allina, I know you have an event this evening. You don't have to stay with me.”

“I have a few hours.” Allina sat down next to her and squeezed her hand. “I'm here for whatever you need, okay?”

“I need a drink.” She pulled some tissue from a dispenser and blew her nose.

“I have some wine in the back,” Allina offered. “We keep it for bridal parties.”

“Bring it out and let me wallow.”

“Syd, what happened?” her friend asked again, concern in her brown eyes. She ran her hand over Syd's back.

“He cheated on me,” Syd said on a sigh. “Again. With her. Again.”

Allina shook her head, disgust playing on her features. “That fucking… piece of shit.”

Syd knew that her friend didn't care for Den. It'd been painfully obvious for months. Hell, it'd been years since she'd heard Allina curse, and she'd said “fucking” and “shit” in the same sentence. But Lina wasn't the type to voice her opinion about someone else's relationship. Never had been. She'd always supported Sydney's decisions even if she didn't agree with them.

“You don't have to say it, Lina. I already know you hate him.”

Allina sighed heavily, but continued to focus on the end-of-the-night receipts.

The silence from her friend did nothing but heighten her anxiety, and she realized she wanted—no, needed—to hear her thoughts. Exasperated, she told her, “Fine. Say it.”

“What's there to say?” Allina shrugged. “He's an ass, but you already knew that.”

Ouch
. Allina always did have a way of making things very plain. So plain it irked the hell out of her.

“He hurt you again,” Allina continued. “I can't say I'm surprised, but I do think it's better that you found out now instead of after you married him.”

Syd grabbed hold of Allina's wrist. “Please don't say anything, not even to Kent,” Syd begged.

Syd had tried to play matchmaker for Allina and Den's brother Kent for years. But the stubborn duo had refused to see the potential in each other that she had. Instead of dating, they were firmly in the “we're just good friends” camp.

“I never do.” Allina smiled slightly and patted her hand.

Releasing her hold, Syd stood up and pulled on her shirt. “Where the hell is that wine?”

Allina disappeared into the back of the store and emerged a few minutes later with a bottle of Red Moscato, Syd's favorite. Pouring it into a cup, she held it out to her.

Instead of taking the cup, Syd grabbed the bottle and put it to her lips.

“Allina?” Syd belched and muttered, “Excuse me.”

“Yeah?”

“What am I going to do?” Syd felt like she was going to choke on her tears. It was hard to even think straight. She had no clue where to start. “How am I going to tell everyone? My dad, Red…” Gulping down more of the wine, she covered her mouth when another burp escaped. “Oh God, Red is going to kill him.”

Syd knew her twin brother, Jared, or Red as they called him, wasn't Den's biggest fan. He'd always felt that Den didn't appreciate her and took her for granted. Every chance he got, he told her that Den didn't deserve her loyalty.

“Red is going to be fine, Syd. He's an attorney. He knows how to keep his cool.”

“It's really my fault,” she confessed. “I shouldn't have taken him back again. I knew he wasn't ready. When he proposed, I knew it wasn't right. He did it during my lunch hour, for Christ's sake. Who does that?”

The quick, unromantic proposal had been the talk for weeks within their small circle of friends. Even Den's brothers thought the approach was rather trifling and had told him so countless times. Syd, on the other hand, made excuses for Den: it was romantic to her, they hadn't been able to schedule a dinner, or it was always her dream to get proposed to in an ordinary way. That last excuse was kind of true. She did envision a proposal during a random weeknight dinner or during their favorite television show. Sitting in the drive-thru at Mickey D's? Yeah, somehow that didn't make the cut, but she was happy and couldn't wait to become Den's wife.

Allina scratched her head and peered up at the ceiling.

“Allina, I know you have something to say. You always hold back. It's the reason you never told Kent that you have feelings for him that go beyond just friends, or why you don't have your own shop. You're a kick-ass seamstress, with a good business sense. But you never speak your mind, say how you really feel about stuff.”

“Maybe it's not my place,” Allina said, her pale cheeks now a dark shade of crimson. “And you promised never to say anything out loud about Kent and my true feelings for him.”

Syd smiled. “I'm sorry. I did promise, didn't I? Kent would be lucky to have your tall ass on his arm. You're so beautiful. Just wish you'd realize it.” When Allina didn't respond, Syd finished off the bottle and set it on a table nearby. Her friend was modest as this day from hell was long, so it was no use ever paying her a compliment. “You have another one of these?” she asked after a few minutes of silence.

Allina glanced at her before heading to the back. Syd couldn't be sure, but she swore she saw it on Allina's face… pity. Her friend thought she was pitiful. Maybe she was.

When Allina returned, Syd reached out to grab the bottle. But Allina held it back. “Syd, maybe you should slow down. You still have to drive.”

“I'll slow down when you tell me what you're really thinking.”

Sighing heavily, Allina sat down. “Okay. I just think you deserve better. Den is okay—charming, funny, and attentive when he wants to be. I don't think any of us doubts that he loves you. But love and respect are two different things and one or the other isn't enough to sustain a relationship on its own. He's hurt you so much… Sometimes it's better to let it go than to keep trying when a relationship isn't working.”

“I love him.” Her words sounded hollow even to Syd's own ears. Allina hadn't told her anything that she hadn't already thought herself over the past few months.

“I know you do, sweetie. But Den has issues. You said yourself that sometimes you feel like you can't even leave him alone because you're so worried he won't take his meds, or he won't make it without you. In the meantime, it's like you're willing to accept everything he throws at you.”

Den's bipolar disorder had wreaked havoc in the lives of those closest to him, especially her and his other brother, Morgan. He had a habit of not taking his meds when he was busy. A part of him always wanted to test the limits, see if he could do without the Lithium.