She looked even more beautiful in the blue dress. She insisted I looked good in my suit. A suit was a suit, though. A dress was made for a woman’s body. Certain styles and colors worked with certain people, kind of like tattoos. Some women were able to wear certain tattoos in a way that just made them come alive. It was something really amazing.

And what else was amazing was the way I got to hold Bella’s hand after we climbed off my motorcycle. Yeah, she was in a dress, I was in a suit, and we rolled up to a wedding on a loud-as-hell motorcycle.

People looked at us with wide eyes, and all I could do was smile.

This was really fucking happening.

The good news was that the wedding and reception were being held in the same place. Some fancy country club thing. Really nice and serene, a lot of green trees, buildings designed to look old but weren’t. The aura of douche bag floating low in the air.

It all made me grin.

But as we walked the stone path and I saw the rows of white chairs and a large white trellis with red roses, the altar where Steph would get married, I felt my heart tightening a little. Not because I had any love left for Steph at all, but just from thinking what we went through. What she’d done to me. The way she’d twisted me up on purpose and kept me like that for her own entertainment.

I paused and Bella looked up at me. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

“We can go.”

“Fuck no, darlin’,” I said. “She’s going to walk down that aisle and look right at me.”

“You think so?”

“I know so,” I said.

How did I pull that off? Simple. I walked to the last row of white chairs and took a seat right at the aisle. I stuck out like a sore thumb to those who knew me. I made damn sure I was on the side of Steph’s family and friends. In the other set of chairs, not a single person looked at me.

But being there…right in the mix of the glances, gasps, red faces, and people grabbing for their phones to text each other that OMG! Zayne is here! What is he doing here?! it made me want to smile, but I held it back. I just sat there with a stoic look on my face, my hand interlocked with Bella’s.

I glanced over at her and winked. “Are you good?”

“I’m great,” she said. “Can’t picture a time in my life when so many were staring at me judgmentally.”

“They’re not looking at you, darlin’,” I whispered. “They’re looking at me.”

“No, Zayne, they’re looking at me too,” Bella said. She lifted her left hand and showed the engagement ring I had given to Steph to one of Steph’s friends who wasn’t good enough to be in the bridal party.

I think her name was Karie, and she widened her eyes and turned around.

“You’re so sexy right now,” I whispered.

“I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing here,” Bella whispered.

Right then, stringed music began to play. Live music from a deck a short distance away from the altar. I hadn’t even noticed the band there.

The wedding…it was underway.

A group of men walked down the aisle quickly, the last guy in line being the groom. I’d studied the calligraphy signature of his name on the invitation for a long time.

Stephanie Marie & Scott Andrew

He didn’t even look at me, because he had no clue who I was.

Then came the bridesmaids. All of them I knew. All of them knew me. They would each take three steps and then realize I was sitting there. I was tall and unavoidable, and I’d sat at the end of the aisle to really drive that point home.

The look on their faces was priceless. Surprise. Shock. Forcing themselves to stare forward, smile, all the while their mind played out scenes of what could happen. Would Steph freak out? Would she throw her flowers at me? Would she attack me? Better yet, what did I have planned? Would I stand up and interrupt the wedding?

I never thought presences and silence could be so powerful.

Then came the music for the bride.

I looked at Bella and grinned. I grabbed her hand and we stood up just like everyone else at the wedding did.

That’s when Steph appeared.

She was alone, but that didn’t mean her father wasn’t there. Steph loved attention and the spotlight. That was how I met her. In a sea of people at a club one night, she was the one who stuck out. She commanded the place, the people, the attention. It attracted me because I thought it meant confidence. That was something she did have. But that confidence was just a front for a cold woman.

Her white dress was flowing. It was the picture of innocence, which made me roll my eyes inside my mind.

She began to walk, a slow shuffle, her bouquet of flowers in front of her. Her veil was already flipped back. Of course it was. She wouldn’t want anyone to not see her.

Then Steph was right next to me. Me towering over her.

She paused for a second and turned her head enough to look at me. She blinked once, twice, the third time she held her eyes shut for one, two…

Her eyes opened again.

As though she expected me to disappear.

I smiled.

Inches from her.

It was the first time my eyes had met with hers in a really long time. The last time I looked at Steph, I was desperate for her. Desperate for reasons I’d never truly get and never truly understand. Desperate to find a way to get back all the time she wasted in my fucking life.

But right then…

I felt Bella slide up next to me. She put her head against my arm. And she lifted her left hand and touched my chest. Flashing the engagement ring that Steph had left on the table for me.

I smiled even bigger.

Steph started to walk again.

Call me whatever you want but in that moment I felt satisfied.

Steph was going to spend her entire walk down the aisle to marry another man thinking about me.

* * *

The crowd cheered, threw their flowers and rice, and Steph and her new husband walked down the aisle, smiles and tears on their face. Someone then made an announcement that the bar was open and to be seated in thirty minutes for the reception.

I glanced over at Bella as she stood there, easily the prettiest woman at the wedding.

“How about a drink?” I asked.

“I’d like that,” she said.

I took her hand, feeling so comfortable doing it, and led the way.

That was the thing here though…the comfortable feeling Bella gave me. From the second I met her on the side of the road. From the second I looked into her sad eyes. It just felt good to be near her.

Inside the reception hall, I pointed to a table top in the corner and leaned down to Bella’s cheek. “Go grab us those seats, darlin’. We’ll worry about what to do next in a bit.”

“You got it,” she said.

“Thank you for being here,” I said.

I kissed her cheek.

She reached up and touched my face.

Sometimes the look she gave me…it was like she loved me or something.

Another thing about Bella that got me? She could drink a beer with me. I had no clue why that turned me on so much, but it did. I ordered two drinks and dropped a five in the jar for tips.

I then turned and froze. I stared at Bella from a distance. Sitting in the chair. That blue dress flirting up those legs of hers. Looking off to the side. Her hair fancied up and pulled back. The shape of her face. The shape of her nose.

Holy fuck…

I felt like pounding both beers on the spot.

I didn’t need to be at the fucking wedding anymore. I didn’t need to prove a point to Steph anymore.

I just wanted to make Bella happy. I didn’t want her to leave. I didn’t want her to stop working at the cafe. Or making a mess of papers on my table. Or miss out on the way the bathroom smelled after she took a shower.

Holy fuck…I’m falling in lo-

A hand touched my arm.

I turned my head and it was Steph’s Maid-oh-honor, Tasha.

I raised an eyebrow at her.

“She wants to talk to you.”

“Who?” I asked.

“Oh, come on. Steph.”

“Really?”

Tasha nodded. “Please, Zayne. Before this starts.”

“Yeah, sure,” I said. “Give me a second.”

I walked the beers to the table and leaned in and kissed Bella right on the lips. “Darlin’, I have to go talk to someone.”

“Oh?” Bella asked.

“I promise, I’ll be back quick. This is the end of it all.”

“Good,” Bella said.

Staring at her…

I cleared my throat and turned away. I then followed Tasha out a side door. We walked off the large deck down to the perfect landscaped yard. There was a small pebble walkway where she stopped and pointed.

“Down there,” she said.

“Wow,” I said. “So what, this is secret?”

“Fuck off, Zayne,” Tasha said. “I have no idea what you’re trying to prove being here.”

I smirked. “She invited me, actually.”

Tasha’s eyes went wide.

Oh, you didn’t know that?

I walked down the pebble walkway and there was Steph, standing at a long stone bench, her wedding dress looking even bigger, if that were possible.

The pebbles gave way to a large circle of more pebbles. All things considered, it was a nicely hidden, romantic spot to be in. Surrounded by flowers and trees. Quiet and quaint.

I kept my distance as I stood there.

“Congrats,” I said, breaking the ice that poured from Steph.

“Funny.”

“Funny? What do you mean?”

“You actually came,” she said.

“I did. I figured…why not? Open bar. Free food. And I get to watch some sucker fall for your bullshit harder than I ever did. So, you can turn around now and get half of everything he’s ever worked for, huh?”

“My dream,” Steph said. She then stepped toward me. “What are you really doing here, Zayne?”

“Already told you.”

“You brought someone.”

“Yeah.”

“Trying to get me upset?”

“No,” I said. “I enjoy a good wedding. Something about romance in the air.”

Steph laughed. “You’re so full of shit.”

“That makes two of us, Steph,” I said.

She nodded. “Right. What happened with us was wrong. There were things I shouldn’t have done but I did. I can’t take it back.”

“Is that why you sent me the invite?” I asked. “To apologize? Clear your conscience a little? That’s a good thing to do when you’re-”

“Shut up, Z,” Steph said. She closed in on me even more. “I’ll tell you exactly why I invited you.” Steph touched the top button of my shirt and rolled it between her thumb and forefinger. “I invited you because I knew you’d come. I had a few invitations leftover, and thought it would be fun to play…”

“Play?” I asked. “And what game are we in now?”

“The one I always win,” she purred in a voice that used to drive me wild.

“You think so?”

“I know so, Z,” Steph said. “You’re here. Which means you feel something. Which is good.”

“Why?”

“I love Jeff,” she said. “I mean that. He’s smart. Successful. He spoils me better than you ever did—or could, for that matter. No offense, but he’s got a shit ton of money.”

I gritted my teeth. “Okay. You married for money. That doesn’t surprise me at all.”

Steph laughed. “Oh, don’t be jealous. You still have a purpose, Z.”

“Do I?”

“Yes,” she said. She slipped her pointer finger into my shirt and tugged. “I need you, Z. I love Jeff. He’s good to me. But he’s not you. He’s not wild like you were. He doesn’t have tattoos. He doesn’t have the muscles. He doesn’t have that ability to just…fuck me senseless…”

I swallowed hard. “What?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about. When you put me on the table after we broke up… that was the best I ever had. I want that again. And again. And again.”

I stepped back. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Oh, come on,” Steph said. “We could make it work, Z. Jeff travels a lot.”

“You’re suggesting…an affair?”

“No. Not an affair. I don’t like that word. That sounds fancy. This is about being filthy and dirty together. I tell you when and where to be and you’re there. You get me. I get you. And there’s nothing else involved.”

“You’re crazy, Steph,” I said.

“No I’m not. I’m right. I’m exactly what you need.”

“You don’t know a thing.”

“You showed up.”

“Yes, I did.”

“Why?” Steph asked. “Really think about it.”

“So, let me get this straight…you just got married fifteen minutes ago, and you’re already working on sleeping with someone else.”

“Not just someone else,” she whispered. “You, Z. You. You and me…”

Steph grabbed for my shirt and pulled me again.

Now, I’d be a liar if I didn’t admit there was a split second where I thought of hate-fucking her. The fantasy of turning her around, flipping up that wedding dress, and reminding her what she was missing.

But that wasn’t me. I wouldn’t do that to her…husband. I wouldn’t do that to Bella. Or to myself.

I was over that shit.

I grabbed Steph’s wrist and made her let me go.

“It’s not going to work,” I said. “Never. I came here to just be here. To be in your way. Because you think you have me, Steph. But you don’t.”

“If I don’t, then who does? That woman with you?”

I couldn’t have timed it better as I saw Steph’s eyes look away for a moment. I turned my head and saw Bella.

“You okay?” she called out.

“Yeah,” I said. “Come here, Bella. I want you to meet Steph.”

She didn’t hesitate. She walked right to me, and I put my arm around her waist.

“Steph, this is Bella,” I said. “And, Bella, this is Steph.”

“Congrats,” Bella said. “You look beautiful.”

“Thanks,” Steph said.

Bella put her hand out…her left hand.

Steph saw the ring again, but this time it sunk in.

She gasped.

“You’re engaged?” Steph asked.

“What, you’re the only one who could be happy?” I asked.

“I just offered to make you happy,” Steph said.

“Oh, he’s happy,” Bella said.

“You realize that’s my ring?” Steph asked Bella.

“Yeah,” she said. “Why?”

“So, you took an engagement ring he gave to me?”

“Yeah,” Bella said. “Looks better on me.”

“Please,” Steph said. “You’re pathetic. You both are.”

I squeezed Bella tighter. “At least I’m not looking for a hookup with another person on my wedding day.”

Steph’s lip curled. Then she blinked fast, holding back tears.

“So that’s where this goes?” she asked me.

“There is no going,” I said. “Just letting go.”

Steph looked at Bella. “And you really want this?”

“My life, my business,” Bella said. “I love him in a way you never could. And if you think this ring matters…here, take it.”

I watched in shock as Bella took the engagement ring off her finger and held it out.

“I’m not taking that,” Steph said.

“Why not?” Bella asked. “I don’t need a ring to know how I feel and how he feels.”

“Hey, Steph,” a voice called out. It was Tasha. “They’re ready for you.”

Steph swatted Bella’s hand away. She dropped the ring.

“I don’t know if I ever really loved you, Zayne,” Steph said.

“And it doesn’t matter now or ever,” I said. “But, Steph…I do hope you’re happy. Congrats again.”

Steph didn’t say a word.

I knew I’d never talk to her again.

She disappeared.

Bella moved for the ring. I quickly put my foot over the ring. I grabbed her and stared down at her.

“What now?” she asked.

“We blast out of here, and then you tell me what to do with your situation.”

“Can we do something first?”

“Anything you want, darlin’,” I said.

“I was hoping we would get to dance together,” she said.

I nodded.

I knew it was going to be a while before everyone at the reception got introduced, ate, had their speeches, and then danced. So, I took my phone out of my pocket and found some cliché, sappy-ass love song that would be played at any wedding. I stuck the phone into my pocket, let it play, and smiled at Bella.

I held her for a few seconds as we started to dance, but I couldn’t contain myself for long.

My hands touched her face and I kissed her.

And we kept dancing as we kissed, my foot over the engagement ring, where I’d leave it and never give a shit about it again.