Chapter Six

 

Luca

 

The energy of the room completely shifted as soon as we walked in the door. People who had been talking and laughing suddenly paused and looked our way. Then the whispering began.

Holy hell. They really are that invested.

Roxie's hand tightened on mine and I squeezed back reassuringly. We took a few more steps in the room, and the onslaught began. People rushed up to us from all sides, greeting Roxie with an amount of exuberance that seemed to far exceed the two years she had been away from her hometown. I was starting to get images of everyone in her hometown coming together and holding hands to sing Whoville-style songs and that her absence meant an ever-present hole that would never be filled. Maybe a solo that could never be sung.

This was the Seuss that was never written.

Roxie had to let go of my hand to accept all the hugs that were being thrown at her, but it wasn’t empty for long. Soon I was shaking hands and having my back clapped like I was running for mayor. Just as quickly I noticed that the people greeting her really did seem more interested in evaluating me than they did welcoming her back.

"You really did come with a date!"

"I can't believe it. I mean – I'm so happy for you!"

"Look at him. You did a good job for yourself in the city, Roxie."

"I was sure that you were still single. Your parents hadn't mentioned any special man in your life!"

The comments were coming so fast Roxie couldn't even respond to them all. None of them were said bitterly or with even a hint of meanness. Instead, they were just subtly judgmental, each comment filled with pity and utter astonishment, but veiled with delight. I couldn't decide if it would be better if they were just blatantly mean. If they were directly mistreating her, she could push back. But this way they sounded like they were being nice, so she had no choice but to be nice back to them. It was rubbing me the wrong way, and I didn't even know these people.

Suddenly the group parted and a group of four women came toward us. They had a similar look to Roxie but looked much more like each other than her. They were even wearing similar dresses. Not enough that it looked like they had gone shopping together to purposefully coordinate, but enough so that it showed the similarity between their thought patterns. The effect was somewhat unnerving.

"Luca," Roxie said, gesturing toward them. "These are my sisters. Marcia, Janet, Cynthia, and Kimberly."

Marcia, Janet, and Cynthia?

I looked at her to see if she was kidding. The stony expression on her face told me that she wasn't.

"I'm picking up on a little Cinderella vibe here," I muttered to Roxie.

"Yeah, but they aren't my stepsisters. I come by this naturally."

"It's nice to meet all of you," I said, turning to them with a smile.

"Hello, Roxie," Marcia said in almost the exact haughty tone I’d imagined she would use. It was almost comical.

"It's nice of you to finally join us," Janet added.

Well, now we might be edging a bit toward being mean.

"We were starting to think that being maid of honor might just be too much for you."

Getting closer.

"Especially with Brad and all."

And there it is.

"Brad?" I asked.

Marcia looked at me with a delightedly cynical smile.

"She didn't mention Brad to you?" she asked. "Her ex – the reason she ran off to New York in the first place?"

"I thought she went to New York to pursue her career. At least, that's what she's been doing. With exceptional success, I might add. And she has told me about her ex." I turned to Roxie and stroked her face tenderly. "She just hasn't had much of a reason to think about him recently."

Her lips turned up into a slight smile that promptly disappeared with her sister's next comment.

"That's good to hear. It means it won't bother you the entire time that Brad and Heather got engaged last week."

Roxie's eyes snapped over to Marcia.

"They're engaged?"

Janet nodded.

"They told everyone yesterday."

"Well, I think that's a little bit tacky. He's heading into his sister's wedding week and he takes that as an opportunity to announce his engagement?"

"You're sweet to be so concerned about Thea, my darling," I said and leaned down to kiss her on the cheek. "But think of it this way. Thea will be such a lovely bride and this wedding is going to be incredible. That poor Heather has already been completely overshadowed. This special time for her isn't even really that special now."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Roxie's sisters exchange glances. None of them said anything. They seemed to have been silenced. Roxie looked up at me and her eyes told me she felt the same thing I did.

Score one, Roxie.

"Roxie?"

We turned to the sound of the voice behind us and I saw a dewy-eyed woman coming toward us.

"Serena," Roxie said, stepping toward her and opening her arms in one of the very few truly voluntary hugs I had seen from her that day. "It's so good to see you."

"I've missed you, Roxie. Thea's missed you, too. She's so happy that you're here."

"I am, too."

Roxie stepped back from the hug and took my hand, pulling me toward them.

"This is Luca. Luca, this is Thea's mother."

"Serena," she said, extending her hand to me.

There was a soft lilt in her voice, a lingering reminder of an Italian accent that had faded away over years of only speaking English, and not her native language. Now I knew she was Thea's mother, I could see the younger woman in her face. She had the same eyes and the same petite nose. I hadn't seen as many similarities between Roxie and her mother.

"Thank you for having me, Serena," I said.

"You are very welcome. I'm glad to see my Roxie so happy. I can tell you've been good for her."

"You can?"

She nodded.

"It's in her eyes."

I looked down at Roxie and she met my gaze for a moment before blushing and looking away.

"Speaking of Thea," I said, nodding over Serena’s head toward where I saw the bride-to-be approaching.

"Roxie," Thea said, reaching for her hands. "All the girls have been talking."

"You have?" she asked.

"About what?" I asked

"You, of course," Thea said, looking at me with laughter in her eyes, then back at Roxie. "We realized we don't know how the two of you met."

I felt my heart thud as Roxie and I looked at each other sharply.

Shit.

"On the subway," Roxie said suddenly, snapping her eyes back to Thea.

"The subway?" Thea asked, looking confused. "I thought you didn't use the subway because you hated it."

"She doesn't," I swooped in. "That's actually how we met. She doesn't use the subway because she hates it, but I don't mind it at all."

"That's right," Roxie said. "I was running late one day for an appointment and I just couldn't catch a cab."

"They are notoriously hard to get in New York," I added. "I'm not sure if you've heard that."

"And I had left my car at home, because, silly me, always trying to be the big New Yorker, you know. So, I realized the only way I was going to be able to get to my appointment on time was if I took the subway."

"But she went down into the wrong station and didn't know how to get through the turnstiles. So, I helped her figure it out and helped her figure out what station she should have gone to in the first place."

"Then he came along with me to make sure I got there safely," Roxie added.

"But we started talking, and we were enjoying the conversation so much we missed the station she was supposed to get off at completely, so we just kept riding."

"I didn't even realize how long it has been until Terri called me to ask where I was. I completely missed my appointment."

"But that was alright because the appointment was with the head of an organization that was trying to bully her into dropping her support for a cause she's really passionate about. They were supposed to meet to discuss the issue, and when she didn't show up, he interpreted it as her making a stand against him and was impressed."

"He ended up backing out of the protests, and I was able to organize a fundraiser that brought in more money for the cause then we had ever raised before. But even better than that, I got Luca."

"Where were you going that day?" Thea asked, looking at me.

"What do you mean?"

"On the subway," she said. "Where were you going?"

"To her," I said, wrapping my arm around Roxie and pulling her up close. "I didn't even have anywhere I was supposed to go on the subway that day. Something just brought me down to that station. I believe I went down there just to find her."

Thea sighed and rested her head against the chest of the man who stepped up beside her. I’m assuming he was Bryce, her fiancé.

"Isn't that such a sweet story," a woman behind them said.

Thea and Bryce moved slightly to the side as another couple approached. I could feel Roxie tighten beside me and I knew the man must be Brad.

"Hello, Roxie," he said.

"Brad," she said. "Hello, Heather."

"Roxie, I'm surprised to see you here."

Roxie looked at her quizzically.

"Why? Thea's my best friend. Why wouldn't I be at her wedding? I'm her maid of honor."

"Oh, I know that. I'm just surprised to see you here tonight. When you didn't get here with the rest of us, I just assumed you were too tied to your desk in the city to make it out here. I thought it would be too much for Thea to get you out here for something like this when you obviously have much more important business to do in New York."

There was nothing subtle about this woman. I could absolutely see her having a “picnic” with another woman's boyfriend.

"Roxie has been talking about this wedding for months," I said. "Nothing would keep her away. It was hard for the office to let her go because she's so valuable, but fortunately, that means she has a lot of leverage. They'll get by without her." I turned her toward me and gathered her in my arms, her body pressed against mine, and looked down into her face.

I had already agreed to go along with the fake relationship, but the stakes were higher now. Since arriving at the resort and experiencing the people Roxie had told me about, I had a better understanding of what she was going through. Now I was committed to doing everything I possibly could to make this week go smoothly for her.

For the rest of the evening, Roxie and I spun tall tales of our relationship. We built off each other and created increasingly elaborate stories until we were standing together at one side of the room, exhausted, sounding like we were in the most epic romance of our time.

"Do you think we went too far?" Roxie asked.

I offered her one of the tiny hors-d'oeuvres that comprised the buffet Thea had mentioned.

"I don't think so," I said. "Well. The private ferry ride to the Statue of Liberty and watching the fireworks over the harbor might have been a little on the outlandish side."

Roxie took the miniature fruit tart and nibbled around the edge of the pastry before popping the rest of it in her mouth.

"Maybe. But on the other hand, they – my parents especially – don't really know much about life in New York. They think New York, the only thing that really comes to mind…"

"Other than terrifying crime and endless traffic?"

"Other than those, but they are high on their list, is the Statue of Liberty. I think mentioning it actually gives us more credibility."

"It's good to know that the most over the top lies make the most sense."

"It happens."

I picked up another one of the miniature snacks on my plate and looked at it.

"What is this?"

"Elegant."

"What?"

"It's elegant. Thea thinks that tiny food at an event like this is sophisticated. Either that or she's concerned about calories. She has a thing for healthy food, but Bryce… not so much. This might be her way of making sure he has the food he likes without totally freaking out about it. Little tiny portions means less bad stuff."

"How very celebratory of her."

I took a bite and immediately winced as the intensely garlic-laced flavor filled my mouth. I pulled the rest away and shook my head.

"Don't like it?" Roxie asked through her laughter.

"Was Thea expecting vampires at her wedding and wanted to ward them off?"

Roxie took the remaining bite from my fingers and sampled it.

"I think it's delicious," she said. She took another from my plate and ate it. "I guess it's a good thing I won't be kissing anyone tonight."

As soon as she said it, our eyes met. Some of the laughter drained from her face as she licked crumbs of puff pastry from her fingertips.

"I –"

"We should go ask Thea when she thinks the cabins are going to be ready," she said, cutting me off before I had a chance to respond.

Roxie walked around me and started across the room toward the happy couple, who were talking with Thea’s parents. I watched her for a few seconds, aware that my heart had begun beating faster in my chest. By the time I got to them, Thea and Roxie were walking away. I caught up and Roxie glanced at me.

"She's going to get us our assignment," she said. "The cabins are ready."

"Do you want me to grab our luggage?"

"No," Thea said, waving the suggestion away. "Don't go to the trouble. The resort staff will do it for you. Just get settled into your cabin and we'll start sending out the luggage later. Unless there's something specific you need in there."

"I'm just going to grab my overnight bag," Roxie said. "After all the travel today, I'd really like a hot bath and to get to bed early."

"I totally understand," Thea said. "So many fun activities start tomorrow!"

I hadn't yet seen the itinerary, but Roxie had told me Thea went to great lengths to ensure the entire wedding week was filled with events and activities for everyone to do together. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I felt like getting a few extra hours of sleep couldn't hurt.

We went into the suite with the luggage and Roxie pointed out which of her bags she wanted. I scooped it up, and we followed Thea back out into the entryway. Brad was standing next to a small glass table, positioned directly across from the front door of the suite. He seemed to be arranging small cards on the table and looked up when he heard us coming.

"Brad, Roxie and Luca want to go to their cabin."

"What's he doing?" Roxie muttered to Thea.

"He offered to handle the cabin assignments for me," Thea responded. "When we found out about all the confusion and chaos from the resort, he didn't want me to have to do it and be stressed, so he said he'd handle it for me."

"Fantastic."

Brad picked up one of the cards on the table and held it out to Roxie. Something in his smile told me he was getting more from this gesture than just him doing something nice for his sister. Roxie took the card without comment and hugged Thea goodnight, promising to meet her in the main building early for breakfast so they could talk about the day's plans together. We left the building and walked in silence along the winding cobblestone walkway toward the cabins.

"I think all things considered, that went really well," I said after a few moments.

Roxie nodded.

"So do I."

"Do you think they bought it?"

"Absolutely. You were the quintessential charmer. Thank you."

"I'm glad."

"There were a few times that I almost believed it myself. I had to remind myself we aren't really together."

"That actually brings us to an interesting point. If we're staying in this cabin together," I gestured to the shorter walkway that led to the cabin with the same name that was written on the card Brad had given her. "How are we going to manage it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, like you said. We aren't really together. We're not a couple. So how are we going to handle staying in a cabin together for the week? Showers? Getting dressed? Sleeping arrangements? I think we should plan it all out right now so there is no confusion or awkwardness."

Roxie used the key attached to the card to unlock the door and we stepped inside the cabin. It was everything a beachside cabin built decades ago should be, with just enough of a sense of luxury to remind us we hadn't actually walked into a room stuck in the past.

"I don't think it will be too difficult, honestly," Roxie said. "As for showers, we take them alone. I've been doing that since I was about six, so I'm pretty confident I can handle it." We crossed through the small living room area toward a door I assumed led to the bedroom. "One of us can get dressed in the bathroom and the other in the bedroom, so that's fine. As for sleeping arrangements. We'll just have to figure it out."

She opened the bedroom door and we both stopped in our tracks.

"Well. That should make things easier."