Chapter Twenty-Six
Sienna
When Parker left, I sat there for what felt like hours. It turned out to be only fifteen minutes. When I got up, my legs were stiff and they were filled with pins and needles. I grabbed my phone and called Tony.
I plopped onto the couch and numbly stared at the blank television. I heard Tony’s motorcycle pull into the driveway. I heard each step he took up the walkway. Then he knocked on the door.
“S’open!” I called.
Tony came into the house. “Sienna?”
I threw my arm up and waved him over.
He knelt down beside the couch. “Shit, it didn’t go well?”
And for the first time, he actually saw me cry. I wasn’t proud of being a sloppy mess, but it was necessary to purge Parker from my system. He was going through with the wedding and had made it clear I was to be no part of it.
After I explained what I’d said to Parker, Tony let out a string of curses. “He is a fucking fool, Sienna.”
I laughed, but it came out more like a sob. “Don’t I know it.”
“I can’t believe he would believe her over you. You’d think your friendship would mean more than a stick-thin chick. He doesn’t know the mess he’s walking into.”
I nodded. That’s all Rachel was: a pretty girl. She’d used her looks to blind Parker into giving her whatever she wanted. He was even too blind to see what was in front of him.
“I feel like such an ass,” I said.
“You shouldn’t,” he said.
“Really? Why not? I opened my heart to him and he didn’t even care.”
“I’m sure he cares, Sienna.”
“He doesn’t even want me to be a part of the wedding anymore.”
Tony scoffed. “Seriously?”
“Yeah.”
“All right, I’ve had enough of this.”
I opened my mouth in surprise. “Sorry, if I’m ruining your night, you didn’t—”
“Oh, shut up, Sienna,” he said. “I mean we should get out of here. Regroup. I think you could use a different perspective.”
That sounded like the best idea he’d ever had. “Where did you have in mind?”
“No, no, this is about you. Where do you want to go? I have a lot of miles on my credit card. Pick a place you’ve never been and have always wanted to go.”
“Sanibel,” I said immediately. “I’ve heard great things about that place. Are you game for that?” My parents had been fond of going to Sanibel before they had me. I tried not to feel bad about them selling their place once they found out they were pregnant with me. And for some reason, they’d never gone back. Their memories were visceral when they talked about those times. It had always been on my bucket list, but for some reason, I forgot about going until now.
“Yes,” he said quickly. “I’ve been before, and I know the perfect place to stay.”
I wiped the tears from my cheeks and clapped my hands together now that we had a plan. I needed to be moving forward, or else I might fall back into thinking of Parker and the fucked-up situation we were in.
Tony helped me pack and we booked a last minute flight up to Sanibel. I didn’t want to be anywhere near the wedding, but I didn’t want to leave Florida. I still had a business to run and wanted to be back at work Monday morning. I just needed to be away from the place where Parker and Rachel would say their vows. I hoped by Monday they would be somewhere tropical on their honeymoon and I could start moving on with my life.
While packing, my gaze fell on my best man dress. I lifted it from the rod and held the hanger high enough that the hem didn’t touch the ground. It had been sized to my measurements. And even though I hated to dress up, I’d become attached to the dress ever since I took it home.
“Sienna?” Tony said from the doorway.
He caught me holding the dress. I just stood there, not wanting to let go just yet. Tony came over and lifted the dress from my hands.
I sniffled and nodded. This was the right thing to do. I grabbed a few shirts and allowed Tony to put away the dress I’d never wear as a best man.
We closed up the diner and left a note on the front door for the customers. I hoped that Harriet and Kenneth wouldn’t be too disappointed. I was sure she’d be the first to ask me about the wedding when I got back. But I put that out of my mind for now and focused on clearing my head in a new place.
We arrived on Sanibel early the next morning. We found a diner on the main strip and stopped in for breakfast. We were seated on an open terrace and it appeared we were the only customers at the moment. The sound of the waves felt like home to me, but I also appreciated being hundreds of miles away from everything that I knew.
I glanced down at my menu, which was three pages long—and that was only for breakfast.
Once we got coffee and placed our order, the waitress left, leaving Tony and me to ourselves.
“You ever think of expanding Sunny’s?”
I took a sip of coffee. Damn, it was delicious. “No. I like the size.” Besides, I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to part with the location. It had sentimental value for me, and it was my comfort zone. After the conversation with Parker, I knew it was best to stay in my comfort zone. There was less of a chance I’d be hurt.
“Well, just so you know, I’ll follow wherever you decide to go. As much as I think it would be a pain in the ass to move, I think you have the potential for greater things. Don’t sell yourself short.”
“How did I ever get so lucky to have a friend like you?”
Tony’s smiled. “Now, don’t make me blush.”
After breakfast, Tony drove the rental car to the house he rented. It wasn’t the most spectacular looking place. It was a two-story beach house that could have used a little exterior work. But when we rounded the house, my jaw nearly fell to the sand. The entire backyard was white sand that led directly to the ocean.
“Holy shit, Tony,” I said.
“I know,” he said. “Cool, right?”
I had to tear my eyes away from the water to look at him. “Thank you for doing this.”
“No problem,” he said. “Now let’s get our bathing suits on and do some surfing.”
Tony had thought ahead. The owners of the house had several surfboards to choose from.
We spent the entire morning and well into the afternoon surfing together. As surfing tended to clear my mind, I found myself coming back to thinking of Parker. He was a married man now. Granted, to a liar and gold-digger. Rachel had gotten everything she wanted, and here I was, hiding from my home and my best friend.
A wave of water smacked me in the face and I turned to Tony, who was glaring at me. “Get out of your head, Sienna.”
I wrinkled my nose and stuck my tongue out at him.
He laughed and splashed me again.
By the time we took a break, there were several other surfers in the distance, and the other residents and tourists had come out of their homes to sit on the beach.
“Oh my god,” I said, plopping down on one of the kitchen table chairs. “That was so much fun. But I’m dying for a drink.”
Tony opened the refrigerator and pulled out two bottles of water. He handed one to me.
While I hydrated, I checked out the rest of the place. It was decorated in light blues, greens, and grays. Typical beach house colors. On the walls were various decorations made of shells and other faux beachy items. This place was so frickin’ adorable that I wanted to buy it for myself.
When I was done with my tour, Tony was still in the kitchen, finishing up some sandwiches for us.
“Thank you,” I said, grabbing one. “I’m starving.”
“Of course you are,” he said then bit into his own.
“So, I think we should address the elephant in the room one more time.”
I stopped chewing for a moment. “Why?”
“Because it’s all you were focused on while surfing.”
I shrugged. “It’s hard not to think about it. I mean, I practically helped plan the damn thing.”
“Sit down,” Tony said, and I did. “I know you love Parker. It’s been obvious for a very long time—”
“No it hasn’t,” I said.
He rolled his eyes. “You can think what you want. But all of that doesn’t matter. He’s married now. And that changes everything.”
“I know,” I agreed.
“Parker should have been the one for you.”
My lips trembled slightly and tears filled my eyes. “I know.”
“So, what are we going to do about it now?”
I wiped at my eyes, attempting to dry up the tears before they flowed down my cheeks. I let out an exasperated breath. “Nothing. We’re going to do nothing. I’m going to move on with my life, just as he is.”
“Do you think you would ever be able to be friends with him again after this?”
“I don’t know. I mean, we’ve fought more in these past two weeks than we ever had before. Maybe we’ve both outgrown the friendship. I mean, most people don’t last this long.”
“I hate to play devil’s advocate here, but do you think maybe because you’ve lasted this long that you will be able to overcome it?”
“It’s possible. But not anytime soon. He knows how I feel about Rachel and how I feel about him. It’s going to be awkward for a while.”
“That’s very true.”
I let out a big breath. “Let’s just take it a day at a time. I don’t know the next time I will get a vacation. Especially not in such an awesome place as this.”
He finished his sandwich in two bites and grinned at me with a mouth full of food. “Then let’s get back out there.”
We spent the rest of the afternoon surfing and laying out on the beach with a cooler full of beer and lots of potato chips. I thought I was stuffed by the time we got back to the house, but when Tony fired up the grill for burgers, my stomach cleared the way for them. Not much about my life had changed from when I was at home. I was still surfing and eating junk food. So much had changed in my relationships. At that point, Parker was gone, as much as I hated to admit it. He was married now, and there was no way we could be together. Plus, he was probably still pissed at me for calling his wife a cheater. I knew what I’d heard, and whether or not he chose to approach her about it was up to him.
After dinner, Tony opened a bottle of white wine and we sat out on the balcony watching the sunset and listening to the steady crash of waves on the ocean.
“What are you thinking about?” Tony asked.
“What do you think?” I said to my wine glass.
Tony bobbed his head. “It’s bound to be tough for a little while, but I know you’ll bounce back.”
“Yeah.” I knew my life wasn’t over, only just a part of it. And that was going to have to be the new normal for me.
That night as I went to sleep, Parker’s face filled my mind. And I was able to let it float away while I drifted off to sleep.