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No second guessing.
And absolutely no guilt.
The woman was about as authentic and genuine as they came. I should’ve known better than to tell anyone, especially not Tammy.
Which begged the question… Did I even tell Tammy I’d sold my company?
I busied myself trying to remember when Cody asked, “Did my sister’s wedding push you over the edge? Is that why you sold?”
“Um, what? Your sister? Natalie?” I was having a hard time letting this information sink in. My head was swimming in overload.
“Yes. The woman we’re all here for,” Gabe said. “The wedding you just planned. Did she cause you to want to close up shop?”
“No. I mean, not exactly. It was a combination of things, but if I’m being honest, yes. I couldn’t face one more wedding for somebody else.”
I picked up my shot of tequila then, the guys did the same, and we clinked glasses.
“To Natalie,” Cody said.
“To Natalie,” we all repeated and downed our shots.
I TRULY HADN’T planned on something like this to happen. I’d merely been gathering up the single women for the bride’s bouquet toss, when out of the blue, someone yelled, “look up,” and instinct took over. My arms reached out and in some sort of slow-motion other world action, in the next moment, I stood in the middle of a swarm of women holding onto Natalie’s very expensive, white gardenia, with baby’s breath and baby white roses bouquet. In those next moments, while Natalie gave me the big evil eye, I tried to drop the thing so someone else could pick it up, but the crush of happy, congratulating women prevented me from moving.
Then, to add more fuel to the already burning house, both Dustin and Gabe caught her garter at the same time, and neither one of them would let go. They treated it like a wishbone on Thanksgiving. I could tell this argument wasn’t about to end, so I located scissors, cut the damn thing in two, and pinned the sides together, creating two much smaller garters.
I felt a little like King Solomon, only there were no babies involved. Just tequila-soaked brothers and a couple of sorry-looking garters.
By the time Wilder and Days sang their last song, the bride and groom finally disappeared, and the last of the guests left the building, I was ready to fall into bed and stay there for the next ten days.
Which led us to the next phase of the evening… Cody and the brothers piling into Tammy’s van for the drive back to her compound. I certainly wasn’t in any shape to drive my own car, and the guys didn’t much care who drove them. Considering we were all going to the same place, Tammy’s husband Jimmy did the actual driving while I leaned on Cody’s shoulder during the ride home.
“I think we need a raincheck on that bunny sex,” he whispered in my ear.
“Raincheck… yes,” I told him. “But that’ll be a long time before we can fulfill that promise. You’re leaving tomorrow.”
“We’re here for another week or so. Playing at Dirty Coyote a few times, just to drive home our concert tour. We always like to work a small venue before we go out on tour. You’re the one who’s leaving tomorrow.”
I sat up and looked at him in the darkness of the very backseat. Gabe and Dustin were in front of us, their heads resting on the two headrests. Gabe was gently snoring, while Dustin made little throaty sounds.
“I’m here for at least another ten days. Taking a break from LA while I try to figure out my new life as a free woman.”
I could hardly believe that we were both going to be in the same place for an extended period of time. I didn’t know if I liked this or not. I didn’t know if my heart could withstand it or not.
“You’re kidding, right?” Cody asked.
“No. And how could I not know about you playing Dirty Coyote?”
“We never announce these kinds of things. Just like when Paul McCartney shows up at a club and starts playing. That way, the crowds aren’t there. It’s just local folks… honest folks. And we get to try out stuff that we’re unsure about for our tour. We’ve been doing this since our first tour.”
I felt almost betrayed. Why hadn’t Natalie told me about her brother and his band hanging around Sweet Whiskey after her wedding?
Probably for the same reason I hadn’t told her that I’d also be hanging around. There was no telling what she would do with that information. In hindsight, it was probably the best decision I’d made… that and selling my business. The more Cody spoke, the more I liked being a free agent once again. A flush free agent with enough money to go and do almost anything.
“Sounds smart, but it also sounds as if this could be a problem.”
“For who?”
“For me.”
