Intensity (23 page)

“Oh, is it not? Don’t you remember lying about having a deadline so you could leave because of who else? Brian! Then you ended up getting driven home by him anyway!”

“You know I didn’t want that to happen!” Celine shot back.

“But you didn’t stop it!” Ruthie sputtered.

Both women paused, feeling out of breath. Neither could recall a time when they were ever this mad at one another.

Celine sighed. “Look, I don’t want to fight with you—”

“I don’t either,” Ruthie interrupted.

Celine nodded, despite knowing Ruthie couldn’t see her. “I think it’s best to take this week away from each other. Cool off and just let things get back to normal.”

“Fine.”

Rolling her eyes, Celine said, “See you in a week.”

What Celine really wanted to say was ‘Talk to you in a week.’ She had the distinct feeling she would not hear from her friend until she was forced to meet with her.

Chapter 36

Ruthie ran down the sidewalks of Pasadena in a hurry. She gripped two cups of coffee—her usual Skinny Macchiato and Celine’s Caramel Latte—a peace offering. It had been a full week since she had last seen her best friend. She desperately needed something to get back into Celine’s good graces.

To Ruthie’s surprise and relief, she and Celine continued to talk during their week apart. Sure, it was all through text messaging and IM’s, but nevertheless it was something. Dress shopping would be the first time they came face to face and Ruthie was sweating bullets. Fortunately, Celine’s mother and sister would be there. As much as Ruthie didn’t like Melissa at least she’d be somewhat of a buffer between them.

A tiny bell clinked against the glass door, announcing Ruthie’s arrival. She stepped inside and gazed around. The store was painted all white with little accents of peach and light blue. Despite the concrete flooring, the store looked quite fancy. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, further accented by thin white curtains, which bordered the fitting rooms. Simple Celine would never have chosen such a ritzy boutique and Ruthie was willing to bet it was her sister’s doing.

The bell rang again, announcing more clientele. Ruthie took a step to the side and looked behind her. She gulped, spotting Celine’s petite figure walking through the door. Two dark circles lined her eyes and somehow she looked even tinier than she had a week prior. Ruthie couldn’t help but wonder if Celine was getting sleep. Celine spotted her simultaneously and slowed her walk. Melissa scooted in from behind her and gave the pair a curious look.

“Ruthie!” Mrs. Fabre entered the door and immediately threw her arms around her. “I haven’t seen you in so long! How are you?” The woman didn’t stand taller than four-foot eleven, but still managed to have a personality bigger than the whole room.

“Hi, Mrs. Fabre,” Ruthie said. She somehow managed to give her a hug while not spilling her two cups of coffee. “How are you?”

Celine’s mother released her hold and stepped back. She frowned at Celine and gestured towards Ruthie. “So, how’s it been going living together?”

“Peachy,” Celine responded with no emotion in her voice.

Ruthie forced a smile and held out her cup. “Caramel Latte. Not as good—”

“As the ones I make,” Celine finished. She took the cup into her hand, smiling hesitantly. Quietly, she said, “Thanks for coming.”

Ruthie felt her eyebrows scrunched together. “Why wouldn’t I?”

Celine snorted, but didn’t answer. Instead, she walked up to the desk and checked in.

“Welcome, ladies,” a tiny blonde greeted the party. “My name is Samantha and I’ll be helping you today.” She gazed around with a fake smile on her face. Despite the Joker-looking grin, the girl was effortlessly beautiful. Celine fidgeted uneasily, feeling rather self-conscious. She couldn’t imagine undressing in front of the Gabrielle Wilde lookalike.

“Who’s the bride?” the girl asked.

Celine didn’t answer. Melissa rolled her eyes and grabbed Celine’s wrist, raising her arm in the air. “My sister, who has been rendered catatonic.”

Celine rolled her eyes, but smiled softly. “Yeah, that’s me.”

“Wonderful! Is there a certain type of dress you want?” the girl asked, scribbling away on a notepad. “Any specific silhouette?”

“Erm…I want a strapless one? That’s about it,” Celine responded. She hated dressing up and even her own wedding wouldn’t change that.

Samantha nodded. “Tell you what, why don’t you all look around and pull things you like. I’ll take into account the styles and price range and we can go from there?”

The women rose from their seats and began making their way around the small boutique. Melissa grabbed her mom away, ushering her over to a section of conservative dresses. Celine and Ruthie found their way towards the racks which hung the dresses with a more modern feel.

Celine brushed her hands over the sea of white, feeling the lace, chiffon and taffeta material. She knew she should be feeling excited about the experience, but she still felt a heavy weight in the pit of her stomach. She sipped on her coffee and wandered around aimlessly. Ruthie trailed behind her.

After a few minutes of silence, Ruthie sighed. “Celine? Can we stop this already? We’re too old for this.”

Pursing her lips together, Celine spun on her heel and gazed up at her friend. “I’m not trying to prolong this. I’m sorry, but I can’t pretend everything is okay when it’s obviously not.”

“But why isn’t it okay? What happened between us?” Ruthie looked around, making sure Celine’s family was out of earshot. She leaned over and whispered, “It’s ridiculous to think a guy could come between us! We’re too strong for this shit.”

“There’s not a guy coming in between us,” Celine pointed out.

“There is! I mean there are.”

Celine raised an eyebrow. “You’re talking crazy.”

“Cash and Brian?” Ruthie snorted. “Things have been weird since they came into our lives, or rather, back into our lives.”

“What do you expect?” Celine asked. “I’m trying to look out for you, but you keep brushing me off like I don’t mean anything to you! You can’t expect me to act like I’m okay with that.”

“Haven’t you noticed that I’m looking out for you, too? I keep warning you about Brian, but it’s like you’re not taking into account my observations.”

“Because there’s nothing to worry about,” Celine pointed out. “Once again, might I remind you the same thing you told me before? He’s our friend.”

“Fine, I’ll bite. But you have to know that there’s nothing to worry about Cash, either!” Ruthie insisted. She threw her head back and shut her eyes. “You know what? I know exactly what’s going on.”

“And what’s that?” Celine asked with disinterest.

“We’re both worried about each other and don’t know exactly how to handle it.”

Celine grunted, “And you think that’s why we’re mad at each other?”

“Do you remember when we were kids? We’d get hurt and skin our knees and instead of getting a hug, we’d get in trouble for not listening when we were told to be careful? It was because our parents were worried about us and didn’t want to see us hurt. Inevitably, that worry turned into anger. We’re doing the exact same thing now.”

Celine felt her teeth press into her plump bottom lip, but ignored the slight taste of iron that tinged her tongue. “Thank you for worrying about me,” she ground out. “You really don’t have a reason to be worried. You know I wouldn’t do anything stupid.”

“Same for me! I know you’re worried about Cash, but every time you warn me about him, it makes me feel like you don’t think I can get a man like him. Almost like you don’t think I’m good enough.”

Celine’s mouth dropped open. “That’s not it and you know it!”

Ruthie nodded her head slowly. “Yeah.”

Shaking her head, Celine looked down at her feet. “You know what? Let’s just drop it okay? I’m as tired of this as you are.”

Ruthie grinned. “I can tell.” She reached out and touched the skin under Celine’s left eye. “Has Noah been keeping you up all night? Is he welcoming you into his home?”

Celine couldn’t help but giggle. “Yeah, he’s really welcoming me all right. All I’ve been doing is cleaning up his mess all week.”

Ruthie grabbed Celine’s arm, playing on the momentum of the situation. “Come on, let’s find you a dress.”

“Yes,” Celine agreed.

Just like that, things went back to normal. Or so it seemed. Celine couldn’t shrug off the feeling that things were still strained. It would only take something minor to cause everything to come crashing down.

Chapter 37

“I like it!” Melissa exclaimed, happily clapping her hands. Her slight jump caused her frizzy mane to bounce up and down.

Ruthie cringed and caught Celine’s eyes in mirror. Celine shook her head slightly and grimaced back.

“No,” Celine shook her head. “I told you I didn’t want to wear lace.”

Melissa groaned and rolled her eyes, causing Ruthie to snicker. Just when Melissa threw her an evil look, Ruthie felt her pocket vibrating. She took out her phone and glanced at the screen.

Hey babe, needed to see you. Flew into town early. Be ready in an hour.

Ruthie sucked in her breath. Cash flew into town early to see her? She couldn’t help but feel like the luckiest woman in the world!

“In an hour?” she mumbled under her breath.

“What was that, Sweetie?” Mrs. Fabre asked, giving her a sideways glance.

Ruthie blinked. “I was just saying I don’t like the flowers on the lace of that dress.”

Melissa shook her head in annoyance. “Fine, next dress then.”

Celine laughed and gave Ruthie a grateful smile, all the while Ruthie squirmed in her seat. There was no way they’d be finished in an hour. Things were already a bit strained with Celine, she couldn’t risk leaving. Or could she? Biting her lip, she put away her phone and tried her best to smile.

She tried to sit still, but succumbed to the incessant bounce of her knee. Cash Walker was in town, for her. There was no way she could ignore the fact. Thinking twice about it, Ruthie took her phone out and texted him back.

Why an hour? Can we meet a little later?

She waited impatiently for a reply. After a few minutes one finally came.

Has to be then. Got some stuff to do afterwards.

Celine would have to understand. She’d do the same thing. She was sure of it. Pushing back a wave a guilt she typed:

Where do you want to meet?

Almost immediately, her phone buzzed.

Meet you at your place.

Her place? There was definitely no way she’d make it back in time! In order to do so she’d have to leave at that precise moment and even then she’d probably be late. She cringed. What the hell was she going to do?

The curtain to the fitting room suddenly opened, revealing an angelic looking Celine. A mermaid style dress hugged her body in just the right places, elongating her tiny body. The smooth material accentuated her olive toned skin, causing her to glow.

“I love it!” Ruthie exclaimed somewhat loudly. She stood up suddenly, startling the Fabres.

“Wow! I guess this dress is the winner?” the blonde asked, smiling happily. Dollar signs were definitely dancing through her head.

“Wait a minute, she’s the only one who likes it,” Melissa snapped in her signature snooty tone. “Why don’t we ask Celine what she thinks?”

Please say yes, please say yes
, Ruthie thought in her head. The dress did look beautiful on Celine. In fact any of the dresses she had tried on could have been the one. Well, except for the hideous monstrosity Melissa picked. Regardless, Celine needed to hurry up and pick a dress. Ruthie didn’t want to miss Celine ‘Saying yes to the dress,’ but she didn’t want to miss Cash either.

Ruthie looked up with pleading eyes. Celine frowned, taken aback at her friend’s sudden enthusiasm. She examined her reflection and was happy with what she saw, but wasn’t sure if it was the one. She always thought she’d feel that certain spark once she put the winner on. As beautiful as the dress was there was no spark.

“I’m not sure…” she admitted, glancing apologetically at the sales woman.

Samantha shrugged. “It’s your day, Sweetie. Don’t force yourself into a dress you’re not entirely happy with.”

Celine’s eyes fluttered back up and looked up into the mirror. She eyed Ruthie’s reflection instead of her own and noticed that her friend seemed rather pre-occupied. “What’s wrong?” Celine asked. “You okay?”

“Um…” Ruthie turned red.

Celine lifted an eyebrow. “Ruthie?”

“I’m sorry,” Ruthie sighed, gripping her stomach. “I…uh…forgot I promised to pick up my friend from the airport.”

Celine pursed her lips skeptically. “What friend? I know all your friends.”

“Did I say friend? I meant my boss. My other coworker flaked and it was left on me. I thought I could go to this and have enough time to make it to LAX, but my boss just texted and he took an earlier flight.”

“Her phone did buzz,” Mrs. Fabre pointed out.

Celine had an expression on her face that looked as if she smelled something revolting. “How come you didn’t tell me about it earlier? You knew we were going dress shopping today.”

“I told you, I thought I could do both.” Ruthie shrugged, lying through her teeth.

“So do you really like this dress? Or is it because you need to leave?” Celine asked suspiciously.

“I really do like the dress. I love it,” Ruthie answered truthfully. “But I do need to leave.”

“Fine.” Celine turned back to the mirror and began fussing with the little belt at her waist.

“Celine? Are you mad?” Ruthie asked, though she had the distinct feeling she knew the answer.

“No,” Celine said too quickly. “I know you need to kiss ass at your job to move up, so by all means pucker up.”

Ruthie frowned. Celine wasn’t usually so sarcastic in her remarks. She must have been seriously pissed off. Nevertheless, there was no way Ruthie could backtrack now. “Um, okay. I’ll see you later?”

“Fine.”

Melissa narrowed her eyes suspiciously as Ruthie silently collected her things. Ignoring the weird stares she was receiving, she quickly exited the boutique barely holding back from breaking into a run.

Celine shook her head in exasperation and scowled at her reflection. “I hate this dress.”

“Amen!” Melissa exclaimed. In a snarky tone she added, “I’m beginning to hate your friend, too.”