Chapter Twenty-Six
Tristan
When the tailor was done poking me I took myself to the café to grab lunch and got some cake pops for Emilia. I learned they were her favorite when I saw her yesterday at the floral shop. I was filling in for Levi again.
I made my way to her shop and let myself in. She was by the register, probably balancing it. She was so concentrated she didn’t even look up from what she was doing. I smiled softly and walked up, announcing my presence.
“Hey, baby doll.” She gasped, jumping a bit as she looked at me. Then she smiled brightly and relaxed.
“You scared me.” She eyed the bag. “Is that for me?” I nodded, and she beamed. She was so damn cute.
“Thank you.” She popped a vanilla cake pop in her mouth. She looked adorable in her pink graphic tee and holey jeans. Her hair pinned up loosely. I was staring shamelessly.
“No problem…what are you doing?” I asked her. She licked some icing from her lip and I followed her little tongue as she licked it away. It went right to my dick, always acting up around her.
“I’m trying to balance the register. But it isn’t coming up right.” She looked down at the number sheets, frustrated.
“I’ll help you.” I stepped around the counter and she unlocked it for me. I stepped up next to her, inhaling her fresh lilac scent.
“Really?” she looked at me like I didn’t know basic check book balancing.
“Emilia, I have a degree in electrical mathematics. I can balance a check book.”
She giggled and stepped aside. She watched me and ate her cake pops as I did it in about ten minutes. She was doing well, overhead was well below profits.
“There you go.” She looked at the numbers like it wasn’t real.
“Whoa, this is good.” She said to herself. I nodded in agreement.
“What time are you getting to the dinner?” I asked her.
“Around four. I’m leaving soon actually.”
“You’re staying at the hotel, right?” I asked her, hopeful.
“Yeah. It will make it easier tomorrow. “
Levi and Gab decided to book the hotel out for the night, so the guests invited to the rehearsal dinner could just stay the night. It made things easier, for sure. But I was going out on a limb here with Emilia.
“I was thinking…we could get a room together.”
Her eyes widened in shock, and she blinked rapidly
“I don’t know. I need to focus.” She replied. Her voice soft.
“Okay. Just thought I’d ask. But I’ll see you tonight, I just wanted to bring you something sweet.” I winked at her, and she smiled brightly. I love that smile.
“Thank you.” And I knew she wasn’t saying it just for the cake pops. I asked her something pretty big, and I stepped back when she wasn’t sure.
“See you later.”
I leaned in for a kiss and she met my lips. I deepened the kiss and pressed her against the desk, my tongue swirling with hers as I felt her up through her shirt, and her ass too. When I released her, her eyes were dreamy as she looked up at me. I smirked with a wink and left.
I went back home to have at least a few hours of sanity before I got dropped into a room of happy people. The only thing tiding me over was the thought of seeing Emilia. I wondered what dress she would wear. If it was anything like the ball, I was in trouble.
Usually my mom called me, but I wanted to touch base with her since I hadn’t talked to her in a while.
“You’re calling me? Are you sick?” I chuckled.
“No mom, I’m not sick. I just wanted to talk to you. How are you doing?”
“I’m fine. I just picked up my dress for the dinner tonight. Aren’t you happy for your friend?”
“I am. He deserves it.”
“Yeah, he does. Gabriella is such a sweet girl.” I nearly choked.
“No, she isn’t. Do you have any idea how much she has driven me crazy? The girl is insane.” I shuddered at the thought.
“Honey, it’s her wedding…are you sure it wasn’t hard for you?” I sighed. Her and Natalie kept asking me that.
“No. I told you, Vivian hired someone to do all of this. I don’t even remember it.”
Not even the cake tasting. She outsourced that too. It was like one day I proposed, and the next thing I was getting married. There was no journey along with it, and there was no bridal shower. Maybe I should have noticed the signs when I found out she didn’t have any friends. That wasn’t normal.
“Okay, whatever you say. Are you staying at the hotel?” she asked me.
“Yeah, I am. You and dad are too?”
“Yeah, it can be in a mini vacation for us.”
“Right. I’ll see if our seating arrangement is together for tonight.”
“I hope it is, we can talk more. I have to run though, I’ll see you tonight. I love you.”
“Love you too.”
As I was getting ready, I thought of mom meeting Emilia. I don’t know why. I knew mom would like her. Emilia was perfect. And I knew deep down it was never casual. When I’m with her…it was anything but casual.
It was everything.
It is what I have been afraid of since I found out what Vivian did. It’s what I always wanted out of a marriage. I want it with her, I knew that now. But I won’t make her regret loving me if her career doesn’t work out because she was too busy in a relationship.
So, I couldn’t introduce her to my mother as my casual sex fling. And if I did, mom would see right through it. She always had a way of doing that.
I made sure I wasn’t supposed to bring anything with me and then finished getting ready. I actually put product in my hair for a change and slicked it down. I slung my jacket over my shoulder and headed out. I took the Tesla and drove the twenty minutes to the hotel downtown. There were cars lining the valet, but I wasn’t sure if it was for the dinner. There should only be about twenty guests.
I went to the front desk to book my room and was glad to see a woman because then I could charm her into doing what I wanted.
“Is there an Emilia Michelle checked in?” she was young, her big brown eyes stared back at me.
“Uh, I can’t give out that information.” I smirked and leaned closer to her, so no one could hear and so she could get lost in my dreamy eyes. Confident, not conceited.
“Please, she’s a friend of mine.” She doesn’t have to know the full truth. She sighed but checked her computer anyway.
“Yes, there is.” She looked back at me blushing.
“Can you book my room next to hers?” she blinked like she didn’t know what I had said.
“Um, I can see.”
“Please.” I smiled.
She swallowed nervously but did some clicking and typing. “Someone booked that room for tomorrow.”
“Well, can I book it tonight and maybe you can tell them something happened, and you had to move them?”
She bit her lip nervously as she contemplated. Maybe it helped I was looking at her like I wanted to bring her up to the hotel room with me. I mean, she was pretty. But she wasn’t Emilia.
“Um…sure.” She finally said.
“Thank you.”
Once she finished I gave her my best, knee-weakening smile and then left for the reception hall. It was pretty much empty save the catering staff, event staff, and…Emilia. I spotted her by the podium, setting up a beautiful tulip arrangement. The theme was similar to the bridal shower, but not completely identical.
I walked up to her, not announcing myself until I was right behind her. She wore a black dress that glinted under the light and made her hair even brighter, she had curled it loosely to fall down her back. The dress hugged all of her curves, my eyes lingered at her pear-shaped ass for a good moment.
“Emilia.” I said simply. She turned to look at me slowly.
I was taken aback by how gorgeous she looked. Her makeup was minimal, but her lips were a light pink, a natural blush. All I wanted to do was kiss her because she looked so damned edible.
“Tristan. Hi.” She gave me a once over, her cheeks flushing at the sight of me.
Yeah, I know how to wear a suit. I just wasn’t very excited about that tail suit tomorrow.
“You look so gorgeous, baby doll.” I had to tell her. The smile that erupted on her face was so perfect. Timid, because she is still so shocked by compliments, but perfect.
“Do you need any help?” I asked her.
“I don’t think so. I’m almost done…you look really handsome too.” She giggled.
I couldn’t help but smile. Everything always feels so comfortable around her, like I don’t belong anywhere else.
“Thank you, I dressed up for you.”
Her brow arched.
“For me?” She gaped.
“Yes, for you. I’m going to wait by the bar.” I leaned in and kissed her cheek, not sure if she wanted this kept a secret or not. With a wink, I left her to get back to work, I could tell she was dying to.
But I did go to the bar for a drink. A neat scotch was just what I needed to relax.
“Tristan.” That booming voice could only be my dad. Seriously, he should be an announcer or something.
I turned, and it was him. He wore a simple black suit, his hair matched mine. I hoped I would look like him when I got older, we could be brothers. Maybe that’s why mom sticks around with his boring ass.
“Hey, dad.” I stood up, and he hugged me quick. It doesn’t really matter how old you get. A hug from a parent leaves me all warm and fuzzy.
“Where is mom?” He sat next to me.
“With your sister. Talking to Kit.” I arched a brow.
“Whoa, he’s here?”
When dad ordered a vodka rocks, I knew the answer was yes.
“Yep.”
“You don’t want to talk to him?” I know I don’t. I mean, I want to meet the man with my sister, but I’m not in the mood to play good cop-bad cop.
“I already did. He seems alright. But I needed a drink.” He chuckled.
I shook my head.
Maybe I should just stay in here. Convince Emilia to have a private dinner with me instead. I want to do that stuff with her. Go out to dinner, take her home, rub her feet and listen to her day.
I never did that with Vivian. Hell, the more I looked back on it, the more it felt like we weren’t even married in the first place.
“Got it. She seems happy though.” He nodded.
“Yeah. She does.” He smiled to himself. I ordered another scotch.
We had our drinks and caught up on all the boring stuff. Dad and I never had very deep conversations. But I always felt I could talk to him, and he gave good advice. I guess I was lucky in that way.
“What do you think of me starting another business? This time keeping it.” I asked him, and he shot me a look.
“Bored already?” his thick brow arched.
“Maybe. But I figure if I did it again, I wouldn’t do it with the intention of selling it.” He pursed his lips.
“Understandable. What would it be?” He asked.
“Tech holding.”
“Damn, ambitious. I like it. You think you can handle it?” He smiled.
I shrugged, “Yeah.”
“Then go for it. You know we’ll support you.” I nodded. That was always a guarantee.
“What’s the first step?” He asked.
“Uh, buy an old startup. Decide to sell it for parts or rebuild and then keep doing that. I have to put a lot of my own money into it at first, but it will pay off soon.” Dad nodded.
“Makes sense. Is this something you’ve been thinking about?”
“Yeah. Since Vivian…I just need a change. A new goal.”
I couldn’t tell him I also wanted something to keep me from Emilia. If she was going to focus on work, I wanted to do the same thing too. And I didn’t want to lose sight of my ambition. I couldn’t sleep until noon and day trade for the rest of my life.
“You will do a great job, I know it. Come on, let’s join the party.” He dragged me, figuratively kicking and screaming, back to the reception hall.
The guests had piled in and taken their seats, but Emilia was nowhere to be found. I was sandwiched between mom and Natalie, with dad on mom’s side. And Kit.
He looked like a fucking screen model. Blonde hair, gray eyes. Maybe that’s why he can go out and sell a bunch of expensive medical equipment hospitals know they don’t need. He was taller that Nat, which rarely happened because she was almost six feet. She went to college on a volleyball scholarship. Naturally, I was inclined to dislike him. But the way he looked at my sister…that I liked.
He tried to make conversation with me, and I was as polite as possible. Well, Natalie just kicked me under the table if I wasn’t being nice enough. But he was smart, in a way. He was five years older than her, but I guess it didn’t matter at her age. Thirty-seven and thirty-two are the same thing, apparently. Emilia was younger than me by three years and it didn’t seem like it. She’d always been smarter than me. Well, when she wasn’t balancing a check book.
Anyway, the happy couple sat at the end of the table. Levi was giving Gab that look, and her the same. We made eyes a few times, and he nodded to the end of the table where Emilia sat, engaging in conversation with Sasha and her grandson. Her son was there too, and he was my age. It was obvious he was hitting on Emilia.
They sat next to each other. He was showing her photos on his phone, probably of his developments. He was involved in real estate too. Thinks his custom homes are the best of all. She was vaguely intrigued but pretended well. I could tell. I stared at her, until she felt my eyes and she looked at me. I smiled softly, and she returned it before being pulled back into the conversation. It made my blood boil, seeing her with anyone else.
I knew my feelings were strong, and I didn’t think I could do just casual beyond the wedding. But I’m not a monster. I won’t take her dream away from her. So, I just sit back and watched her from a distance.
“You’re staring.” Natalie whispered in my ear. I glared at her softly.
“Maybe.” I sipped my wine. It went well with their choice of a ravioli dish and tres leches cake for dessert.
“Have you guys talked?” She pressed.
“A little. She wants to be casual. I guess it’s better than nothing at all.”
“Yeah, but don’t let it hurt more.”
She was right. And it would hurt more at some point. I didn’t really want to stick around for that, but there wasn’t much I could do. I would rather have at least a piece of her than nothing at all. And the piece I was getting was pretty damned good.
Glasses clunk together and Levi stood up to make his speech. I wanted to be a good friend, so I didn’t do any asshole moves I was thinking of doing.
“Thank you, guys, for coming. I figured I would read my vows now in case Gabriella decides to leave me at the altar.” Everyone laughed at his joke, but I honestly wouldn’t put it past her.
He didn’t even read from the paper as he talked.
“When I first met you,” he turned to her, and she gleamed up at him in her off-white evening gown, “I knew you were way out of my league. But I still went for you, because I couldn’t imagine not taking a chance. I would regret it if I didn’t at least get rejected by you. So, I did. But you said yes when I asked you out, and I didn’t know what to do because I didn’t imagine it going that far. But it did. You said yes to me even when I was just a poor farm boy, with no family. And no money. Now I have you—which is everything I could ever want. And I can’t wait to say yes to the rest of our lives. I love you so much.”
The room was up in applause and Gab was on him in seconds. Kissing him like they were alone, but I couldn’t be mad. They were in love, and happy. And it was one hell of a speech. Levi got the best end of it. He has one of those life stories that make you wonder how he can even get up in the mornings, but he does. And he is better for it. Gab stuck around and gave him a chance even when he had nothing. Most women wouldn’t do that. It’s how I knew she really loved him even though she made him wait almost a decade to marry her.
“That was so sweet.” Natalie sniffed.
“Are you crying?” I gaped at her. She shoved me as she wiped her eye with a napkin before it could drip on her makeup.
“Shut up. It was beautiful.” She leaned into Kit and he kissed her forehead.
I avoided his gaze and looked on to Emilia. Since the order of the dinner was over, people started getting up to dance. Was I allowed to dance with her? I wanted to. And I mostly wanted her away from Luke. Sasha’s grandson.
“Excuse me.” I said to no one in particular.
I got up and headed toward Emilia. I touched her shoulder gently and she turned to face me.
“Tristan, you look dashing.” Sasha stood and hugged me.
“Thank you. You look ravishing as always.” She swatted me away, even though she was all pimped out in a gold dress.
“If you don’t mind, I would like to dance with Emilia.” Her eyes lit up. How do old people always know when you like someone?
“Of course.”
Emilia took my hand and I led her to the dance floor, the live jazz band played an easy track.
“You looked like you needed saving.” I rested my hand on her hip and used the other to take her hand. Her hand was around my shoulders, her fingers swirling the nape of my neck. It sent a shiver right down my spine. The closeness of her body made me feel her heat against me; the warmth and softness of her body is a novelty.
“A little. Did you enjoy the party?” I stared down at her eyes. They pulled me right in and made me crazy.
“I enjoyed the flowers.” I smirked.
“His speech was good. He’s always been good with words. He is a lawyer after all.” I chuckled.
“Yeah. But it was nice. Gabriella looks really happy,” I admitted. Speaking of the happy couple, we spotted them next to the cake, stealing some more. Levi is a pig, he used to always steal my food in our dorm.
“She does. I’m just ready to be done playing wedding planner. It’s stressful.” I laughed, and she giggled softly.
“You did a good job though.”
“Thank you.”
We danced on, until she got closer and closer and we were basically embracing on the dance floor, her head on my chest.
I whispered in her ear, “I booked my hotel room next to yours.” Her body froze, but then her clenched muscles relaxed. “You can stop by if you want. I’m a great stress reliever.”
My fingers circled her hip. Making it obvious how much I want her.
“Maybe. I want to stay focused.”
“I know I’m a distraction.” A smile hinted at my voice. She pulled back to look into my eyes.
“I didn’t mean it that way…I’m easily distracted. And you…I could stay in bed with you all day if I’m not careful.” She smiled softly. My cock hardened at the thought of it.
“You know, we’ve never had sex in a bed before.” Her eyes widened as her skin flushed.
I just pulled her back and kept dancing with her, leaving her with that thought.