Marty
WATCHING FIONA STALK OFF LIKE she was fucking royalty made me smile. She didn’t want to care or feel anything, but I knew better. I saw the anger flashing in her eyes. Fiona’s comments about Rowan told me she did care. With each snarky comment and furious gleam my hope rose some.
“Okay, I’m ready. Where do I need to go?” Rowan asked behind me. I hadn’t even heard the elevator open again. I waited until Fiona was completely gone from my sight before turning to Rowan.
“She really hates you,” I said with a goofy ass grin. I could feel it on my face, but I didn’t care. I was happy.
“And this makes you happy I see,” Rowan drawled. “Were you worried that I’d bring her over to my side?”
“No. But she hates you because she’s jealous. IF she’s jealous then that means she cares. There’s something there. She’s not over me. Over us.”
Rowan frowned. “Men will seriously grasp at any straws, won’t they?”
“Shut up. Go to breakfast. Talk about how amazing I am. Make her so mad she throws food in your face.”
Rowan raised her eyebrows. “You want me to provoke a food fight at your future sister-in-law’s special breakfast?”
Maybe a food fight was a little over the top. “Just make her jealous.”
Rowan shook her head like I was crazy. She gave me a wiggle of her fingers as a parting wave before walking away.
I headed toward the restaurant inside the hotel. Mack was meeting me for breakfast while the girls went down the road to some little café that Shay loved.
My grin was firmly in place as I walked into the dining room and made my way back to the large round table Mack had reserved. Stone was already sitting there with a cup of coffee and the Wallstreet Journal, looking important and business-like.
When I stopped at the table to pull out a chair, he glanced up at me. I nodded then turned to tell the waitress I’d like some coffee. Lots of it.
I sat down. Stone straightened the paper carefully and leaned back in his chair. He took a sip of coffee while watching me. We sat there silently for a few moments. He was thinking about something. I let him decide what he wanted to say. No need to rush him.
“She’s a lesbian,” he finally stated. I knew he wasn’t referring to his wife. Or Fiona. I nodded and could not stop my grin. He smirked. “Beulah didn’t believe me when I told her Rowan was more interested in Fiona than you. But I’m rarely wrong about those things. I people watch intensely.”
“Rowan is my friend. My best friend in Nashville,” I confirmed.
“That’s either incredibly smart or incredibly stupid bringing Rowan here to make Fiona jealous. Fiona can be fierce. You know that.”
“I didn’t bring her here for that,” I replied. Because I hadn’t.
“But that’s what is happening, and you are feeding it to her. Letting her think Rowan is your red-hot lover. Fiona is gonna blow.”
Yes. And when Fiona blew, I was going to be there to direct all that anger, passion, and turn it to me. Show her that she’s not over us. If she was, she wouldn’t care.
“Sorry, I’m late. I had to make two calls after Shay left the room. Trying to set up a surprise for her. Did you order me coffee?” Mack asked as he sat down.
“No. We’re too busy discussing Rowan’s love for pussy verses dick. And Fiona’s jealousy because she doesn’t realize it. And contemplating the merits of Marty playing a dangerous game he might lose.”
Mack’s forehead creased as ingested what Stone had just said. The waitress arrived again. “Coffee for you, sir?” she asked Mack.
He nodded. “Yes please.” He continued to stew on what Stone had said.
“Okay, you figured out Rowan was a lesbian . . . but what game are you talking about?” Mack finally asked.
Stone nodded in my direction. “The one where Marty here makes Fiona jealous with the gorgeous redhead.”
Mack frowned at me. “You and Fiona are done. What are you doing? If you upset Fiona you’ll upset Shay, and then I’m fucked.”
“I’m not going to send Fiona running. Jesus, calm down. I’m only making her face that we aren’t done. We never will be. I thought maybe we were, but then I saw her and nothing has changed.”
Mack groaned. “I told Shay this was going to cause drama. But she said it would all be fine. The guy she’s introducing Fiona too isn’t going to help this, clusterfuck.”
Guy? “What guy?” I asked irritated.
“We might need to add whiskey to our coffee,” I heard Stone say but I didn’t respond. I wanted an explanation about this other guy now.
Mack sighed. “Some guy Shay wants Fiona to meet. Calm down. You have a date. Fiona needs one. That’s what Shay thinks.”
“Rowan isn’t a date. She’s a friend. She should be having coffee with us not with the women having mimosas.”
Mack shrugged. “Calm down. It won’t work—the guy is very straightlaced. He’s a dentist I believe. Not Fiona’s type.”
“Whiskey anyone?” Stone asked. I turned this time to look at him. There was a flight of whiskeys in front of him.
I grabbed one and threw it back. Motherfucking dentist. I hated dentists. Unless I needed dental work, then I liked them just fine. But this dentist I was going to hate.
“He arrives today. His wife passed away three years ago. Shay is friends with his sister,” Mack went on to elaborate.
Fuck. The man was a widower. I didn’t want to be nice to him. I wanted to bash his teeth in. The grin I’d been unable to get off my face from earlier was now completely gone. I had to fix this.
“Give me a job that I have to do with Fiona for the wedding,” I said more like an order. Or demand.
“What?” Mack asked me as if I’d gone crazy.
“Wedding shit. Give Fiona and me a job to do together. Force it. Make us have to be around each other. I need some time with her and God knows she won’t let it happen naturally.”
“I don’t know if we need anything else for the wedding. Shay has all that planned out.”
“Make something up, dammit,” I argued.
Mack shook his head at me. I started to get more demanding when Stone handed Mack a shot glass. “Drink this.”
Mack took it from him and poured it into his black coffee.
“They need to work on their man and maid of honor speeches together. Make sure they aren’t alike but that they complement each other,” Stone said casually. Then he turned to me and added, “You’re welcome.