A Wedding Affair (The Wedding Affair) (47 page)

“Chateau de Bach” Erika see’s the bottle and looks at it puzzled then looks at Tristan handling the wine
over at the bar and I can tell the wheels are moving yet again.

“
Aria this isn’t Tristan is it?” she says very surprisingly

Just then a wine steward comes over with a bottle of white and red for us.

“Compliments of Chateau de Bach” the very tall blond, blue eyes wine steward fills our glasses and leaves the bottles on the table. Tristan is in no way going to let me forget he is here.

I take a sip
of the wine and it warms my lips like Tristan’s kisses! It is just as intoxicating as he is.

I
look at Sabrina and Erika, oh shit they don’t know about any of this.

“It’s cool, crisp, delicious, fresh and enticing just like the owner”

“Aria what the fuck is going on here?” Sabrina never swears so this is just too much for her to take, I had better start talking. I take another sip and I’m belligerent already, they say the truth comes out when you’re drunk well hello I’m drunk!

“This is what Tristan has been doing for the past two years, this food is from his restaurant and the wine is from his vineyard”

“So he is not with the, what did you use to call her?”

“Slut-bag-ugly-whore” Sabrina says to Erika as we all
know Tristan’s ex by this expletive. Ok so I guess I should tell them everything and enlighten them why I finally gave into him.

“No
, he has been the hermit wine maker and now a restaurant owner”

“I just don’t get you cheating on Ian, there has to be something else Aria?”

“Ok you two, not that I have ever told anyone my fantasies, or my dreams, but I told Tristan them, I told him how I wanted to own a vineyard and well he liked the idea, he got a team together and ladies what we are drinking is the fruits of his labor”

“So your fantasy was to own a vineyard and he now owns one?”

“Yes Sabrina we use to talk a lot, hell we weren’t sleeping together back then we talked about everything”

“Aria this is the most romantic thing I have ever heard”
Oh Sabrina is the hopeless romantic I kind of had a feeling she was going to switch teams. And we both are pulled from our blissful thinking by the judge.

“Just remember ladies a
boy makes you jealous of another women, but a gentleman makes another woman jealous of you”

“That is my dilemma, Tristan finally grew-up and I moved on without him”

“Aria look I am sure all of us are warming to Tristan and his Bacchanalia but you are missing the real point at hand, all of this has nothing to do with that ring on your finger, you either honor that ring and the man who gave it to you or say good bye, this needs to come to a stop, one way or another.” Leave it to Erika to cut it down to size, boy meets girl, boy loses girl, girl loses her dream, yes that is a fair assessment of my life thus far.

W
e glance over at the guys, they are with some other men drinking and taste testing all the micro brews, they look happy and content as they catch the last of the Indians game on the big screen television in the distance.

My hazy shade of deceit begins to dissipate as I get my common sense back. My friends, these peopl
e whom I love and adore, we have always rallied for one another and looking at me and my actions, I am wrong in my words in what I have done and what I have failed to do.

I look back at my two dear
friends; do I want to throw all of this away? And then I glance over at Tristan, he was my dream, and on that sentiment we all know dreams don’t always come true, not everyone gets to keep their first love, it saddens me to face this truth but looking at them I am forced to face the facts, I have a man who loves me and who I have agreed to marry three weeks ago, that is my reality, as I look down at my left hand, I have to honor this ring on my finger. I look up at them and the worry and doubt on their faces is all my doing, I have to right all that I have wronged. My heart aches but I guess doing the grown-up thing is not always the popular thing to do, so with a heavy heart I come to the conclusion they want me to.

“Y
ou both are right, this needs to stop, I want to tell Ian the truth tonight when we get home, Ian needs to know what I did, we will work this out, I want to work this out with Ian”

T
he somber look on my friends faces brings me out of this mess that I am in, they nod in unison and I put my left hand that bears my engagement ring down on the table and we pile up our hands one after another on top of one others hands just like we use to in high school, we giggle and laugh like school girls. I don’t ever want to lose what I have with them, they have seen me through triumphs and tribulations and I needed them to pull me out of the fire and like always they were more than happy to do so.

“I love you
guy’s thanks for being here for me tonight”

“That’s want friends are for” they both say
and I know where this is going

“Oh not another 80’s hit song
!” and we all start singing the lyrics

“Keep smiling
, keep shining, knowing you can always count on me for sure that’s what friends are for”

Ian and
Christopher come back over and join us as we are singing, their puzzled faces are priceless.

The photographer
comes to our table and takes our photograph five old friends who came out for a worthy cause and wound up saving one of their own instead. I am blessed with friends and I will be blessed to have Ian Bollinger as my husband.

“One more dance before we call i
t a night?”

“Sure Ian” I take his hand and we dance to
It had to be you
we are joined by Erika and Christopher and I put my head on Ian’s chest as he holds me tight. I will never have friends like this again, they are keepers, they keep me in line, they keep me in check and I will
keep calm and marry on.

The music fades
, the night is coming to a close for all intents and purposes a lot of business went down this evening, we helped the cancer center, and my friends helped me out of a sticky situation.

We fi
nally say our good-byes, it’s after eleven in the evening Ian offers to stay and help me clean up but I know he has to be up early for class tomorrow. I told him that Oliver is here to help me and I shouldn’t be too long.

I hug the
girl’s goodbye and we all nod that I am doing the right thing by telling Ian.

I collect Oliver and head back to the store, we pull back all the rolling racks, yeah they are empty, everything is sold I am happy for that, we get everything back and locked up.

“Aria if you need me I am here for you” Oliver hugs me hard, I kiss his head he is just the best thing since sliced bread.

“
I know and thank you but I got it all under control”

Chapter 24

A TOWN WITHOUT PITY

I am pacing the floor
, if I smoked at all this would be a good time to light up and calm while I get my head together because I know that Tristan is on his way here, after this afternoons festivities he sure as hell was not letting this evening fly by without one last kiss.

“Aria are
you leaving soon?”

“Yes I just have some unfinished
business then I am on my home”

“Ok sweetheart have a good night the show was fantastic and so are you”

“No the show was fantastic because of you Oliver, it was all you, thank you again for everything”

He
hugs me and kisses my temple as I hug him hard he is this amazing present in my life a real gift.

Oliver
leaves out of the dark wood and glass doors and no sooner Tristan is at my door.

RING A DING DING

I look up and see what I have been missing,
why am I so excited to see this man?
Is it just the exterior, the killer good looks, the hair, the sexy smile, those eyes? Is it that I am reacting to him the way all women react to him? I have to admit it’s the way he looks at me when those hazel eyes lock onto me, he drives me crazy. Not to mention he is beyond handsome; with a rock hard body, the physical presence of him has always been my weakness, I was always just mesmerized by him. I was forever day dreaming about him when we worked together, just much too shy and timid to do anything about it back then.

The old adage a
s I live and breathe, this man is the lethal combination of striking good looks, tiresome endeavors and an insensitive personality should have warned me off, but somewhere between being exasperatingly annoying and romantically captivating we captured one another’s hearts. I have to say my reasons for going so willingly into his arms is his declaration of love for me, after two years of headache, heartache, and unrequited love he offers himself to me and stakes his claim to be mine what would you have done in my heels?

I’m brought back from my wondering thoughts as
Tristan walks towards me slowly with his ever seductive malicious intent I have to say he always seems to be on the prowl, his eyes lock onto mine and everything south of my waist is at attention I’ve been more than wet for him and I can’t do this anymore, as he approaches me I stand behind the counter it is a good buffer between us but I am awe struck as he gets closer and I just want to take him in one last time as a remembrance a memento is you will.

I
slowly come around from the display cases and my heart is pounding as I edge closer to him, the sensation sends thrills through me as my blood courses through my veins, my mouth goes dry and I am nervous, I could never lie to Tristan he always saw through me. I take a deep breath and try to calm my racing pulse, how I have forgotten on purpose his smile, those eyes but I could never erase his voice from my memory and how he said my name.

I smirk a
s I remember the shirt he is wearing it’s the one I put on him after our tryst in my office right down to the bow-tie I dressed him in, he looks tired and his five o’clock shadow makes him devastatingly handsome.

“Hi” he says very softly
as he reaches over to touch my cheek, his hands are warm and he reaches for me but I take a few steps back to put some distance between us. I look at him and make a memory, I want him but I can’t, I have to be strong and I must keep my distance, just one whiff of his Chanel Egoiste and this dress will come off in record time.

“Hello yourself”
I continue to distance myself from him as I walk over to the sofa which is at the far end of the store. Tristan follows me slowly as he bridges the gap between us. I try to get my bearings and brace myself for what I am about to do. I take down my hair and it falls in a brunette haze as my curls frame my face, I take a seat on the leather sofa. Tristan follows me over and sits down next to me, he is always too close for comfort these days. Even though I am someone else’s his proximity puts this smile on my face, that I feel deep inside, Tristan lights me up from within and he is the only one who does this to me and for that it is wrong of me to have such intense feelings because I am promised to someone else, my head needs to make some adult decisions because my heart wants what it can’t have.

My smile of contentment, and satisfaction
sparks his salacious grin, he moves my hair away from my face with a gentle touch as he caresses my cheek, it’s all too much for me to deal with, so I break the sexual tension as I shift and clear my throat.

“The food was wonderful tonight,
you really have outdone yourself Tristan I have to say everyone was raving about you, the girls and I loved the wine too, you really found your true calling, I’m really happy for you.” He shifts to look at me closely as if he is ready to jump me, ok this will be the absolute last time I kiss him and sleep with him
I promise
.

“You look like you all had a nice time
Aria” he turns to his left and puts up one leg as his arm is on the back of the sofa touching my face and caressing my hair, I am going to jump him if he doesn’t stop touching me.

“
We did, how about you?” I want to keep this civil and keep him calm but you know Tristan he always has sex on the brain and he has trained me well, as all I can think about is how fast can I get him naked.

“Well Aria,
I would have to say the pre-fashion show events were far more to my liking than the actual show itself” see what I mean! Sex is on his mind, hell it’s on mine too when I am around him. I bite my lip. So I bring out my can of sarcasm.

“
Really Mr. Bach” I smile at him and move from his touch as I reach for the vodka on the cherry coffee table in front of us and fill a glass, I need my
courage
in a glass when I deal with this man.

“
Do you want a drink?” I am always polite and courteous, it’s an occupational hazard. I would say Tristan seems to always come across as the sexy and provocative one, but what entices me is his boyish charm, when we are together I have never seen him like this with others it’s like he is humbled before me.