Oh So Wrong With Mr. Right, page 4
“Aren’t you even a little scared?” Sasha asked, her voice shaky.
“Of what?” Ari raised a finger. “Don’t you dare say that word.”
The word exploded from Sasha’s chest. “THE CURSE!”
“For the love of God, Sasha!” Ari grabbed her by the sleeve of her robe and dragged her to the bed. They sat side by side, shoulders touching. “There’s no curse. No evil witch hexed us. We are not the Witches of San Bernardino Valley.”
“What about Mom? And Grandma? How do you explain what happened to them?”
Ari’s eyes skidded away. Sasha knew she was being unfair. Now wasn’t the time to rehash all of this. If only her sister didn’t insist on minimizing her experience to a soap opera plot point. There was nothing uncomplicated about a generational curse. Three generations of runaway brides...it boggled the mind.
“Okay,” Ari said. “I hear you. It happens a lot in our family, but it ends now. I am not backing out of this wedding. You don’t have to worry about that. Xavier is the love of my life.”
The love of her life... Sasha wondered how it would feel to love like that, to be so sure, to leap forward and never look back.
“Nothing short of a typhoon could stop me from marrying him.” Ari went on with her rant. “And, on the off chance I am visited by the curse, it’s your role as the maid of honor to set me straight. Remind me that on the other side of ‘I do’ my whole life is waiting with that wonderful man.”
“Fine!” Sasha cried, eager to drop the topic. “Can we still be witches, though?”
“Sure. Why not?” Ari said with a laugh. “So long as our witchcraft doesn’t interfere with my wedding.”
Sasha dropped her head on Ari’s shoulder. “You’re going to be the most beautiful bride Royal has ever seen.”
“Damn right!” she cried. “Now let’s go eat ice cream!”
Curled up on the couch with bowls of ice cream drowning in chocolate syrup, they were girls again, only in premium loungewear as opposed to matching pajamas sets. Sasha indulged Ari, and let her carry on about the wedding plans, starting with the venue down to the cake and flowers. When they exhausted the topic, they moved on to gossip. Ari’s best friend, Dee, who’d flown to Texas ahead of time to lay the groundwork when Ari was stuck filming on location, had fallen for Xavier’s cousin, a guy named Tripp.
“Love is in the air!” Ari proclaimed.
“In that case, I’m going to double-mask,” Sasha quipped.
“Don’t be a grump,” Ari said. “When you’re ready, you’ll find love.”
A phone rang from somewhere in the apartment. Ari sprung from the couch. “That’s the doorman,” she said. “Probably a delivery. I’m expecting loads of packages.”
Sasha licked chocolate sauce off the back of her spoon. “You’re going to have to find somewhere other than my closet to stash them all.”
“You’re too pretty to be petty!” Ari sang on her way to answer the phone.
She was back in a flash, eager to get on with her story. “In the beginning, Dee was all... I don’t have time for love. I’m focused on work. You know how that goes.” She mimicked her friend’s tone and mannerisms so well Sasha couldn’t help but laugh. “Now she’s head over heels in love. There’s just something about these country boys, you know?”
“With all due respect,” Sasha said. “Royal doesn’t qualify as ‘the country.’ Just look at where we are.”
“Tripp is a rancher,” Ari said. “He makes his living off the land.”
“A rancher?” Sasha said. “Is that a real thing?”
Ari pinched her cheek. “Yes, sweetie, it is,” she said. “And careful what you say in these parts.”
The doorbell rang. Ari sprung off the couch once again. Sasha went to the kitchen and added another scoop of ice cream to her bowl. She desperately needed comfort food.
From the door, she heard Ari cry. “Nik Williams! What are you doing here? This is a surprise. I thought you were the delivery guy.”
Sasha dropped her spoon. Nik?
“I have something for Sasha,” he said evenly. “I told your doorman I had a delivery.”
“How do you know Sasha? Are you friends?”
Ari’s voice had stiffened with protectiveness. It was a tone Sasha knew all too well. The overbearing older sister was flexing her strength. She set down her bowl and rushed out to rescue him.
He stood outside the door, keeping a respectful distance. However, he towered over Ariana and was easily able to scan the interior until his molten brown eyes rested on her. Sasha shivered. The memory of their kiss rushed back to her, nearly bowled her over. How could she have tucked it away? The way he’d touched her, tasted her, tangled his fingers in her hair. She nearly cried; it felt so good.
“Let him in,” she said.
Ariana turned to face her. “How do you know him? You just got here. I barely know him.”
Sasha narrowed her eyes at her sister. “You’re being very rude.”
“I don’t mean to be. I’m just confused,” Ari said.
“Ariana!” Sasha snapped. “Who died and made you mom? Let the man in.”
When Sasha entered junior high and the neighborhood boys started coming around, Ariana had taken it upon herself to protect her virtue. It wasn’t cute then, and it wasn’t cute now.
Ari moved out of the way. “Please come in.”
Nik stepped into the entryway and the whole room filled with warmth. “I’m sorry for interrupting your night.”
“Never mind that,” Ari said. “You’re welcome to stay. Would you like some ice cream?”
“No, thank you,” he said.
He was so polite and polished; Sasha wanted to ruffle him up. “You have something for me?”
“I have your phone.”
That simple statement triggered Ariana once again. “You lost your phone and didn’t notice?”
“Apparently so,” Sasha said.
Normally, she was glued to her phone, texting, responding to email inquiries, or updating her portfolio on three social media sites. The fact that she’d gone this long without noticing was a miracle.
He handed over the phone. “I found it on the floor of the car.”
Ariana was well on her way to the kitchen when that last bit caught her attention. “What car? I thought you took the bus.”
Nik cut Sasha a glance. Sasha took a breath. “I never said I took the bus. You assumed that I did.”
“Oh, yeah?” Ari folded her arms across her chest. “And who let me go right on assuming?”
“I should go,” Nik said.
This time, Sasha blocked his exit. “Don’t go. Stay for dinner.”
Unlike her, Nik hadn’t enjoyed the luxury of a shower and a change of clothes. He wore the same rumpled T-shirt that she’d come so close to ripping off at the Hillside Smokehouse parking lot. He had to be exhausted from the drive. In the end, she hadn’t been much help.
“Dinner?” he said. “Don’t you mean dessert?”
Sasha’s mind wandered. Yes, she meant dessert. Stay for the most delicious dessert.
“She means dinner,” Ari cut in. “Don’t let the ice cream fool you. That’s just our weird sister thing. We’ve got plenty of food. I ordered tacos, all kinds. What are your preferences?”
“He eats everything,” Sasha said.
Ari went silent for the first time that evening, taking in Sasha with a steady gaze. “Vamos a la cocina.”
Great! Now she was being summoned to the kitchen. “Porque? No hace falta.”
Nik cleared his throat. “Full disclosure: I speak a little Spanish.”
He was from South Florida. There was a chance his Spanish was better than theirs. Ariana and Sasha were multiethnic and racial. Their father was half-Mexican and spoke mostly English at home.
Sasha smiled up at him. “Is there anything you can’t do?”
Nik stifled a laugh, a shy smile spreading across his lips. Sasha wished they were alone.
Ariana granted that wish. She stomped into the kitchen, granting them a moment of privacy. Sasha watched her go. “You’ll like her once you get to know her. She’s going through some weird overprotective sister phase.”
“I don’t think she likes me,” Nik said.
“You’ll just have to charm her, like you charmed me.”
Nik crossed the distance between them in two strides. “Is that what I did?”
“You know exactly what you did.”
He pulled her to him by the tie of her robe and brushed a kiss to her temple. His breath fanned her cheek. Sasha closed her eyes and let the feeling take her. “Stay,” she whispered into his neck. “Don’t go just yet. Stay and have dinner with me and my oddball of a sister.”
His grip tightened on the knot of her robe. “I can’t. I’m behind on so many things.”
Sasha tossed her head back and searched for his eyes. “Because of me?”
“Let’s blame the deer,” he said.
“Fair enough.”
A clamor from the kitchen broke them apart. Sasha adjusted the flap of her robe. “Thanks for returning my phone. I would have noticed it was missing eventually.”
“I was halfway across town when I sent you my number, and it started buzzing.”
Ariana poked her head out of the kitchen. “Nik, will you have beer or wine?”
“I have to pass,” he said, politely.
“Are you sure?” Ari asked. “Xavier bought a case at a local brewery. He says it’s the best he’s ever had.”
“No doubt it is,” Nik replied. “May I take a raincheck?”
“Absolutely. You put up with my bratty sister and brought her home safe,” Ari said. “I owe you one.”
“That was my pleasure,” Nik said.
Ariana returned to the kitchen. Sasha could not hold back her smile. “You charmer,” she said, and led him to the couch.
Six
Ariana pounced just as soon as Nik walked out the door. “I want the whole story and don’t leave out a thing. Start talking.”
Sasha loaded the dishwasher to keep busy and play for time. She had to be as forthcoming as possible, all the while withholding some crucial details. Sasha told her sister the story of how she and Nik had met on the plane and recounted his bravery in the face of danger. She peppered in anecdotes of their impromptu road trip, leaving out the accident, the parking lot kiss and the way he made her shiver just by whispering her name.
“Let’s recap,” Ari said. “He’s handsome, smart, kind, heroic and trustworthy.”
“He’s all those things.” Sasha rinsed a handful of utensils and shoved them in the basket. “What are you getting at? Don’t you like him?”
It hurt her to her core that her sister, or anyone really, might not see how awesome Nik was.
“I like him fine!” Ari exclaimed. “I liked him well before you showed up. Nexus took over the company that handles Ex’s book marketing. He was very impressed with them.”
Nexus had a nice ring to it. Sasha would get him to talk more about his work when she saw him next. Right now, she focused on her sister.
“Did you have to be so rude to him?” Sasha demanded.
“Didn’t mean to be,” Ari said, contrite. “I’ve lived in Hollywood for too long. Protecting my privacy is key.”
Sasha scoffed. “He’s not paparazzi!”
“I’ll send him a case of beer or a bottle of scotch,” Ari said. “Or better yet, let’s all go out to dinner when Ex returns. He’s a member of the Texas Cattleman’s Club. We’ll go there—or somewhere else, someplace nice.”
Sasha grunted her approval and went back to rinsing dishes.
Ariana folded her hands on the kitchen counter. “Oh my... This is more complicated than I thought.”
“Complicated how?” Sasha asked. In her view, there was nothing complicated about the way she and Nik had come together. It was easy and fun.
“You like him,” Ari said.
Sasha rinsed their wine glasses. “What’s not to like?”
“No.... I mean, you like him.”
“Sure,” she conceded. “Obviously.”
“He likes you, too. I can tell.”
“I hope so.”
“Where do you see things going?” Ari asked.
Sasha dismissed the question with a laugh. “Going? We just met today!”
Ariana jutted her chin, defiant. “I knew how I felt about Xavier the day we met.”
“We’re not all as brilliant as you,” Sasha quipped. “Some of us are a little slow.”
“You’re the sharpest person I know,” Ari said. “You have a plan for everything. I’m sure you’ve charted the course of this budding relationship.”
“There’s no course to chart!” Sasha shut the dishwasher door with far more force than the task needed. “I’ll be gone in a few weeks.”
“Aha!” Ari cried. “I knew it!”
“Knew what?”
“You’re doing it again.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Ari’s eyes narrowed. “I think you do.”
Suddenly frightened, Sasha left the kitchen for her bedroom. Ariana hounded her all the way. Sasha threw herself onto her bed. Ariana did the same.
“There’s no getting rid of you, is there?” Sasha wailed.
“Nope! We’re going to have this conversation, like it or not,” Ari said. “You made me your accountability partner for a reason.”
“When did I do that?” Sasha asked.
“The night you called me—in tears—with the list of your therapist’s recommendations.”
Damn it! In a rare moment of candor, she’d called her sister and confided about the issues that had pushed her to seek therapy. Her therapist had some ideas as to why Sasha’s love life had grown stagnant. If she wasn’t in a committed relationship, there was no risk of being looped into marriage. By restricting her dating pool to emotionally unavailable men, she’d eliminated the risk of ever enduring a marriage proposal that she would likely turn down. It was a foolproof plan. Only years and years of this had left her depleted and numb. That night, on the call to her sister, she’d tearfully admitted to feeling lonely.
“Nik is nothing like the guys I’ve dated,” Sasha said.
There was no shortage of tech bros and finance bros in the bay area. Nik had nothing in common with them. He was decent, generous and considerate. He wasn’t a “bro” of any kind. He was a man.
“What does it matter what kind of guy he is if you plan to write him off after the wedding.”
“He might be okay with it, Ari,” Sasha said. “Have you considered that? He’s here on business and may not have the time to—”
“You’re proving my point,” Ari said. “If he’s not open to a relationship, and you know this going in, how is this any different from your past relationships? Wasn’t the point to break the cycle?”
Sasha sat up and drew her knees to her chest. Ariana was aggravating, irritating, but she was also right. Under normal circumstances, a fling with a handsome stranger at her sister’s wedding was no big deal. Her circumstances were far from normal. She’d enrolled in therapy to deal with the aftermath of ending her engagement and being labeled a runaway bride. She had been dealing with her issues in an open and honest way, going so far as to asking her sister to hold her accountable. Once she’d touched ground in Texas, all of that flew out the window. She was willing to toss out the progress she’d made for Nik’s easy smile.
Ari tugged on one of her braids. “With all my heart, I want you to be happy, Sasha.”
“I am happy,” Sasha insisted. “You don’t have to worry about that. I’m doing great. I love my job. Did you see last month’s spread in New Day? That was pretty epic.”
“It was epic, and I’m proud of you,” Ari said. “I’m just as proud of the work you’ve done to turn your life around. Promise me you won’t flush it down the toilet.”
Heart sinking, Sasha turned to her brilliant big sister and said, “I promise.”
Sasha couldn’t sleep that night. She got out of bed and found her therapy journal. She read the first entry.
Dream I
My grandmother’s lace veil cascades down the back of my gown. The chapel is full. He waits at the altar. I take a few steps toward him, gripping my bouquet so hard the flower stems crack. Someone bangs out “The Bridal Chorus” on an organ. The groundswell of music carries me along. Step by step, I make it halfway down the aisle, but no further. My feet sink into the red carpet. Panicked, I look around for help. The wedding guests are strangers. I don’t recognize a single one. Panicked, I seek the eyes of the man I’m going to marry and devote my life to. His face is a blur.
My instincts tell me to run, and I do.
Organ music, the swish of taffeta and the cries of the assembly combine in one horrible sound. I push past the ushers, out the chapel doors, and stumble down the steps. Outside all is peaceful. The air is fresh and I can breathe freely. I toss the crumbled bouquet and march down the road.
Dream II
It’s a scene straight out of a noir film. I’m in a phone booth, the kind that doesn’t exist anymore, weeping into the phone. I tell him that I can’t go through with it. The life that he wants is nothing like the one I envisioned for myself. I fear that if I marry him, I’ll lose me. I apologize over and over again. His voice comes out loud and clear through the phone line. He is angry and hurt. He should’ve known better than to trust a woman like me.
“What does that mean?” I say.
The line goes dead.
The second dream was closer to the truth.
Sasha was engaged to a hedge fund manager named Terrence Rhodes. Looking back, she barely recognized the girl who’d said yes to a lifetime of sameness. They met in college. He was the clever one, she the moody artist. They went out on a few dates and just kept on dating. After a few months, their circle of friends had labeled them a couple. Sasha didn’t mind so much. Although her feelings for Terrance were lukewarm at best, it beat vying for the attention of the frat bros and jocks. She’d never envisioned a future with him and just assumed they’d part ways after graduation. Instead, they stayed together through graduate school. Terrence went on to business school and Sasha earned her MFA. There was nothing wrong with their relationship, but there was nothing right with it, either. They were an image in muted sepia tones, and Sasha craved color. Just when she started to feel restless and mere weeks after sharing her feelings with Terrence, he went ahead and staged a proposal at a party in front of all their friends. What was she to do? Turn him down in front of everyone?
