Shattered Hart (23 page)

We spend the next half an hour talking about things other than this shitty
party. 
She’s actually a very smart girl, and I enjoy her company.
 
Turns out she goes to UCLA and is
just about to graduate.  Making small talk,
I ask if she knows Delilah, Dominique or Sabrina
,
but
she
doesn’t
recognize their names.

Our
conversation
is halted
when Spencer comes in to the kitchen. 
“Just more of my mother’s bullshit.
 
She’s
fine
, just an asshole.
  She wanted a fucking loan, if you can believe that shit.
  We can go any time
you
want Damien.”

I gesture toward Tally and then motion for Spence to come over.  “Spence, this is Tally Simon.  Like us, she in no way wants to be here.  I’ve been keeping an eye on her.”

Tally briefly fills Spencer in on why
she’s
at the party.  At the conclusion of her explanation he tells her that we’re bailing, but i
f she wants to escape with us,
she’s
more than welcome.  Her relief is readily apparent.

“
You
guys are lifesavers! 
When Damien came in I’d just got off the phone with a cab company that told me it would take upwards of two hours to get here.
  I was ready to walk.”

We’re all anxious to leave so we continue talking as we head out the kitchen door.  No need to walk through the debauchery at the front of the house again.

Turning my way Spencer says, “The nights early.
  Are
you
up for going out and having some fun?  I need to get this scene out of my head ASAP.”

Of course
I’m in, and I politely ask Tally if
she’d
like to tag along.  Once she says
she’d
love to, the three of us head to a good bar in Santa Monica.

Tally’s
very
sweet.  She
reminds me a lot of my sisters and
the Tyler girls
.  There is a quiet strength about her that I approve of. 
She’s
gorgeous
,
but
I’m in no way attracted to her so
it’s
easy to talk to her.  Spence
is taken
with her as well, but in a very friendly way. I’m shocked when he tells her that the bar that we’re in used to be one of our favorite places to pick up women.

I’m pretty sure
she’s
going to be appalled, and I
am blown
away when she just laughs. 
“Hey, more power to you.
  If
you
guys find a girl
who’s
a keeper,
send her my way.  I’m looking for that someone special
.
  I thought I’d found her, but she
isn’t
ready to come out to her family and I
can’t
be a secret.  I need something real.
”

Over the course of the next few beers,
Tally explains to us
that her melancholy over her
the
situation
with the girls
that she likes
is what brought her to Marceline’s party tonight. 
When her friend’s boyfriend told her that there would be beautiful girls at the party, she had hope for a minute that she might meet somebody.  Unfortunately for her, Marceline’s parties
aren’t thrown
to meet
nice
people.  Those parties are about fucking, pure and
simple
.

By the end of the night, friendships
are formed
.  Spencer and I both like Tally and find spending time with her to be enjoyable.  When we pull up to her apartment building to drop her off, we all exchange phone numbers and make plans to go out again soon.

Once we’re sure that
she’s
safely in her building, Spence tu
rns to me and says, “Don’t kill
me, but I have an idea. 
Keep an open mind and really think about it before you shoot it down.”

Well
,
now
he’s
piqued my interest. “What’s up Spence?”

“I think I know how to solve your
Brooke
problem. 
You’re saying you can’t be with her because she’s a virgin, but you also said you don’t think she’s ever going to move on.
  I say
you
ask Tally to come to a family dinner and pretend to be your date. 
She’s
hot as hell so no one will question it, and it will send a signal to Brooke that
you
are off the market.  Problem solved.”

My gut reaction is to say no.  I
don’t
relish lying to B
rooke at all. 
But
the voice in my head
tells me that I need to be selfless and help Brooke move on from me.  She deserves someone
worthy
.

Nodding my head at Spence I say, “
You
know what? Not your worst idea.  I’m going to talk to Tally and see if she would be willing to help me out. 
It’s
an easy way to let Brooke down without hurting her
too much.  This way she can get on with her life
.  Good thinking Spence.”

It’s
hard to believe that I’m sitting in a jeweler with my future brother-in-la
w as he picks up my sister’s
engagement ring. 
I can tell
he’s
nervous about seeing the ring
,
and that makes me smile. 
He’s come a long way since the days when he swore he’d never have a girlfriend, much less a fiancée.

It’s really
touching,
watching him fidget.
  I’m used to seeing Dante as an alpha male who
rarely
falter
s
.  This is the second time this mon
th that I’ve seen him anxious, t
he first
being
the afternoon that he asked
to meet me at my house
and
he asked
me for permission to marry Sabrina.
 

I smile
remembering
how sweet he was.  I
can’t
wait to be able to share these memories with my sister. 
It’s
been damn near impossible to k
eep this under my hat. 
S
he’s
been dying to tell him that she loves him, but she is afraid he will panic.  I’ve commiserated with her and held my silence, all the while knowing that
he’
s
completely
in love with her and is ready to make the biggest commitment of all.

Feeling Dante tense beside me, I turn and see the jeweler comin
g toward us with the ring box on a tray
.  I rub Dante’s shoulder in encouragement
and
he turns and smiles at me.  “Thanks for doing this with me Brooke.  I’m a wreck!”

Turning
our
attention to the jeweler, we both wait for him to open the box.  I
can’t
wait to see what Dante and the jeweler designed.  When Dante asked me for Sabrina’s hand,
he’d
also asked if I would be against to letting him melt down some of the metal from my mother’s engagement ring to have it put in to Sabrina’s. 

I knew that would mean the world to my sister, so I
didn’t
even hesitate before saying yes. 
Our
mother’s engagement ring consisted of four large rubies, and once Dante got a look at it, he asked if I would mind him taking two of them and using them in Sabrina’s ring.  This is the first time I’ll be seeing how that all came together.

When the box opens
and
we see the ring for the first time, both of us gasp. 
It’s
stunning, and I know that my sister will love it. 
I try to stay stoic but fail miserably as tears starts sliding down my cheeks.
  Leaning in to Dante, I grab him in a hug and kiss his cheek.  “It’s beautiful, perfect and
very
Sabrina. 
You
did a
great
job Dante.  Thank
you
for making my sister’s dreams
come
true.”

We embrace for a few moments before I pull back to look at the ring again. 
It really is awesome.
Turning my attention back to Dante, I smile when I see how emotional he is about the ring. 

“It’s me that should thank
you
. 
It’s
a definite plus that after Sabrina and I get married
,
you
will be my sister.  I love
you
Brooke, and I’m happy that we’re all about
to officially be
one
big
family.”

My sister lucked out when she met Dante.  The two of them are so well matched that
it’s
almost too much.  I love that family means to him what it means to us, and I tell him so.

The appointment comes to a close
and
we head off to lunch together. 
Dante chooses a great deli in the valley and we are seated right away.
 

We talk a bit more about the ring, and Dante reminds me that
he’s
put the additional two rubies are in a safe deposit box for when it comes time for me to get engaged.  I
can’t
help it
,
the thought of getting engaged brings Damien immediately
to my mind, and my heartbeat speeds up.

I realize that I must
have
be
en
making a face when Dante raises his eyebrow at me
, and not in a warm fuzzy way.  There is a definite glower to his look
.  “Well.  Am I to assume that there
is
a
special
guy in your life?”

I shake my head, mortified
that I’ve been caught day dreaming
.  “No!
Nothing like that.
  I was just imagining how
great
it will be when I find someone I want to spend my life with.”

Pretending that
he’s
just wiped the sweat from his brow, Dante smiles at me.  “Thank
god
.  I
don’t
think there is anyone
good
enough for
you
, Dominique or Delilah.  I’m going to be
very
hard on
the guys
you
girls
eventually bring home. 
I’m warning
you
now that not
just anybody will be getting those rubies from me.”

I have to force myself to smile past the lump in my throat.  The person that I want
doesn’t
want me, and it seems likely that the rubies will be in Dante’s care for many years. 

The rest of
our
lunch passes quickly
and
a short while later
Dante is dropping me off at my apartment. 

“I’m so glad that
you
came with me today Brooke. 
You
mean the world to me. 
Thanks for being there
when I needed
you
.  It means more than I can ever say.”

I see so clearly what it is that my sister loves about this man.   Giving him a hug and a kiss, I shake my head when I feel the lump forming in my throat.  “Dante, I
can’t
tell
you
what it means to me that you asked me for my sister’s hand
,
and that you asked me to be with you today.  Thank
you
for this.  I
can’t
wait for
you
to officially be
my
big
brother.  I adore you.”

The lump in my throat grows when I pull back and see that Dante
is choked
up. 
He struggles for a minute and then says, “I thought that the family that I had would be it until the girls had children of their own. 
You
can never know how happy I am to have not only your sister, but you in my life.  It amazes me that I now have the family that I was too afraid to wish for because I never
believed I was worthy of it.”