Hotbox (51 page)

“And now?” I couldn’t help asking.

With a smile he replied, “And now he just wants what’s best for her.
He’s glad she’s happy. I’m so relieved all their arguing is over, though. That really s
ucked.
I never saw Jayden so angry, and I never heard Chris yell at her before. It was scary. I thought they were done for good.”

I shook my head. Matt had shared some of it with me once before and I was completely shocked by some of the things Chris had said to her. Of course she only got upset over the things he’d said about
me
, and that’s what had really set her off. It was amazing that they were still even friends. 

We worked the rest of the day and continued our conversations. I’d always loved working in Lou’s shop, but having Matt
t
here was especially nice
, and I couldn’t believe how fast the day went sometimes
. Most of our talk
drifted between Jayden and Stacie
to
sports or
mechanics, and after talking shop for a bit, our conversation t
urned back to
music.

“So what do you know about
Nick
?” I found myself asking.

Matt looked a little surprised. “You mean why he was here?”

“Oh, I know why he was here. Jayden told me that she was going to invite him.”

He paused for a moment. “I
don’t understand your question.” Then h
e smiled. “Oh, you mean what do I know about the two of them?” he asked with raised eyebrows. “You’re not jealous
, are you?”

“No. The guy’s married and almost has two kids
. I just like to feel informed.”

He looked at me carefully. “And you think Jayden didn’t tell you everything?”

“No, I was just wondering
the main reason
why it didn’t work out. Jayden said she just wanted to be friends with him.”

“Jayden’s
not
a mystery
,” he
smiled
. “Like I said earlier… She feels a certain way about her life and the direction it’s meant to take. She really liked
Nick
—a lot—and I think he liked her even more. But I honestly believe that’s where her ‘divine providen
ce’ played a part.
She didn’t feel like he was her soul mate. She’s one of those girls that a million guys could fall in love with, but unless she chooses
you
, there’s n
o chance in hell.
Consider yourself lucky.”

“I do,” I said adamantly.

“Good, because the fact is…she did choose you. It’s a miracle in and of itself, so take hold of it, brother.” I was quietly taking that in whe
n he continued with,
“You know what might be bothering you?”

“What’s that?”

“
Nick
is a really great guy. D
espite all his fame, good looks
and money, he actually would have been perfect for Jayden.”

“Thanks a lot,” I scoffed.
“
Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
But deep down
, I knew
it really was the issue.

He laughed and said,
“I’m not done yet. The crazy thing is… You and him are
so much
alike.”

I looked at him skeptically, not sure I un
derstood where he was headed
.

“You don’t get it?” he asked me.

“I don’t get what
you’re
getting at,” I admitted.

“She knows what she wants. She’s always known. The second she met you, she found it. You’re the one
that filled in all the missing pieces
.”

I stared at him, wai
ting for it to be spelled out.

“
Whatever it is about you,
she feels complete. You love her entirely, you treat her well, you want what’s best for her, and you’re willing to make sacrifices if you have to. Now there are probably a hundred gu
ys that would do that for her, b
ut…she wants
you
.
She doesn’t want to run across the country, trying to rais
e a family while her husband is
touring, or whatever. She wants to be here, with her friends and family.”

I was shaking my head. “Your
theory is shot.”

“And how’s that?”

“She was willing to travel around the country with me if I played baseball
.
She told me she’d live wherever I lived.”

“Then again, the difference is
you
. Ty, I’ve never seen her in love with anybody. As a person, you’re everything she wants. Where you live or what you do for a living are just minor details to her. She found the love of her life and that’s what she’s focusing on.” After a pause he asked, “You’re not seriously doubting her feelings for you, are you?”

“No, not at all,” I replied honestly. “I just… I like talking to you, I guess. And I like talking about Jayden. I guess I just feel it’s important to understand people
from different perspectives
.”

“Yeah, I
know
how you feel. Stacie was Cali and Jayden’s friend before she was my girlfriend. Even with all the time we spent together it was still nice to learn things
about her
from her friends, or just hear things repeated, but from someone else’s point of view.”

I nodded with agreement
.
“So how long have you two been together?” I asked.

“
Over a
year.”

“A year?”

I couldn’t imagine knowing Jayden for a year
without giving her a stronger commitment
. But yet she was willing to be with me no matter what, and she had even suggested living together.
She admitted she thought it was all she was going to get from me. I was glad she was able to talk me out of my prior feelings about marriage.

“Well, we wer
e kind of roommates before that,” he
continued
, “
for about four months. She lost her job and then her apartment. H
er parents are kind of ridiculous and… Well, to make a long story short, I told her she could stay with me until
she could work something out
. But,” he laughed, “
I guess we became more than roommates. It was a little difficult to see her come out of the bathroom with
just a towel on all the time.”

             
I laughed, but I admitted I was probably weaker than he was; all Jayden had to do was smile and I wanted to take her clothes off.

“It makes a guy sound so pathetic when you put it that way,” Matt laughed, “but I guess we’re only human.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

I finished up my work around
four-thirty
, and then
went home to shower and change so I could meet Jayde
n at Jack and Megan’s wedding
. It was being held
at a community church downtown, and when I got there,
Jess
e was the first person that
I recognized. We talked for a minute before he said, “I know where Jayden is if you want to find her.”

“Is she busy? I don’t want to bother her. She’s supposed to be putting corsages and stuff on people.”

“Yeah, I think she’s done with that. I saw her out
in the hall talking to some guy
,” he smiled. “Maybe you should go rescue your
fiancée
.”

“Oh, she told you, huh?”

“She wanted
you
to tell me, but she said she couldn’t wait. She’s betting that you’ll forgive her, thou
gh. But anyway, congratulations, man.
”

We talked another minute until he pointed me to a hall he thought I could find her in. I felt a little out of plac
e because there wasn’t anyone else
that I knew. Finally I heard her laugh and I slowly made my way toward the sound. I stood in front of an open door and saw her talking to a little boy and girl.
They looked like they might be the ring bearer and the flower girl.
There were two other adults in the room, and a few seconds later Jayden sent the two kids with the grown-ups. They passed me on the way out and that’s when Jayden saw me.

“Oh, my goodness,” she said
with wide eyes. “You own a
tie
?
”

I smiled a
nd glanced down at myself. “Yes, Ty owns a tie
.
I figure if I’m going to be in a church I’d better not offend God.”

She smiled
as I approached her
and
she
quietly said, “Wow. You look so amazing.”

“Look at
you
,” I said, looking her over. She
was
absolutely beautiful
in a long, lavender dress
.
Her hair was entirely down with soft waves that framed her beautiful face.
“I think it’s a sin to look like that
in here
.”

She opened her mouth in
protest
, but then smiled as I took her hands in mine. I stared at her for a moment, completely astounded that she was mine to marry, and I got
an incredible feeling that washed through me
.
After I kissed her she said, “I think it’s a sin to
kiss
me like that in here!”

             
I gave her
a guilty smile
and then
asked,
“So? How is this wedding stuff looking so far?”

             
“It’s definitely a lot of work.”

             
“But th
is is a huge wedding.
Did you see how many people were in the chapel?”

             
She nodded with a laugh. “I don’t think I even know that many people.”

             
“No kidding. Who are they all?”

             
“I think half of them are Megan’s
relatives
. There are a lot.” She wrapped her arms around my neck
and kissed me once more
. “Did you look out back where the reception will be?”

I shook my head no.

“You know how you teased me about ice sculptures and a live orchestra…” I was chuckling by then
, and she shrugged and added, “But
it all looks beautiful.”

             
“Hey, Ty!” Jack said from the doorway.

             
“Hey yourself. Wow, you look nice enough to get married.”

             
“Yeah, i
t looks like it mig
ht turn out that way,” he laughed.
“
Maybe you’ll have your day if you look as good as me,
”
he joked
, tugging on his lapels
.

             
I nodded and led Jayden toward him. “Well
, maybe it’s sooner than you think. We’ll be
getting married in November
.”

             
His face lit up. “Seriously? That’s awesome! Congratulations. I better get an invitation, then,” he informed me. “You’re not gonna have a huge, lavish wedding like this, a
re you?
Because this is
insane
!” he hissed dramatically
,
and we both laughed. “But,” he shrugged as he looked at me, “whatever the girl wants, right? Jayden, be nice to him.” Someone called his name from the hall
, so after he agreed to get moving, he turned to us and said,
“I gotta take my battle st
ation.
I’ll talk to you two later. Hopefully the ice swan doesn’t melt before then.”

             
I laughed and said, “Well, just remember
why
you’re doing this. It doesn’t matter what the decorations look like, just that you’re marrying the girl of your dreams.”

             
He thought for a second and smil
ed. “Yeah, you’re exactly right.
”

He left down the hall and
I
caught
Jayden staring at me.

             
“What?” I asked her.

             
She almost looked emotional when she said, “You’re just very sweet.”

             
“
Shh
, don’t tell anyone,” I said as I took her hand. She laughed as we made our way toward the chapel to take our seats.