InHap*pily Ever After (Incidental Happenstance) (76 page)

            Hand in
hand we skip upon the stars

            And swim
through starry skies…

            You…wrap me
in your heaven—

            Blue skies
and sunshine

            Good God
you take my breath away

            You…make me
a new man

            Oh baby,
we’re so good together, but even though we’ll have forever…

            I’ll still
need another day

            So now we
pledge our lives forever more…

            There’s a
promise in the whisper of every wave to kiss the shore

            Enchanted
by the smallest things you do

            When I look
into your eyes, I have the greatest view

            Wrap me
tight in your heaven

            bright
shooting stars

            Good God
you take my breath away

            You make me
a better man

            Baby I know
we’re so good together

            But even
though we’ll have forever…

            I’ll still
need another day…

            Hold me
close in your heaven…

            Float in
the clouds

            Good God
you steal my breath away

            I’m yours,
I am only your man…

            We’re best
when we’re together,

            But even
with forever…

            I’ll still
need another day…

            When he
strummed the final chord, there was an audible gasp; an intake of the wind by
every silent guest that sat on the beach. Tia couldn’t speak—she could only
smile at her perfect man as tears of joy burned in her eyes. Dylan set his
guitar on the back of the chair and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around
her waist and looking deep into her eyes. “I love you, baby girl” he whispered,
“I’ll always love you.”

            “Always and
forever,” she whispered back, and he kissed her so reverently, so sweetly, that
she swooned.

           
One clap sounded, and instantly, the rest of the crowd
joined in an enthusiastic round of applause. Tia turned to Dylan with a tear in
her eye. “I can’t even begin to tell you how you complete me,” she smiled, and
Dylan took her mouth with an intimate kiss.

            “I mean it,
you know. Forever isn’t long enough to give you all the love I have.” 

            They took a
moment with each other before turning toward their audience—their true friends
and family—and taking a little bow. “Hey,” Dylan said to the crowd. “I just
want to tell you all how happy we are that you are all here to share this
incredible time with us.” Tia nodded her agreement. “This is the most special
time in my life, and I want to thank you all for your support, your love, and
your friendship—it really means the world to both of us, and we couldn’t
imagine a more perfect wedding. Each of you has been there for one or both of
us over the course of this crazy year, and we will continue to need your love
and support as man and wife.” He paused, not having planned the little speech.
“So, ah, anyway, thank you very much.”

            People started
separating from the crowd to come up and hug them both, and only Bo saw Lexi
slip away after embracing the couple.
Ready or not
, he thought, giving
his friends a hug and slipping off in the direction she’d gone. 

            He caught up
with her around a bend on the beach, out of sight from the bonfire. “Come on,”
Bo said, putting his hand on the small of her back and steering her further
away from the roaring bonfire and toward the breakwater. “Let’s take a walk.
Tell your old friend Bo all about it.”

            She wiped away
a tear and turned to him. “That’s sweet,” she said, her voice nearly lost in
the wind. “But it’s nothing, really. I’ll be OK.”

            “Not taking no
for an answer,” he said simply, keeping pace with her.

            They found a
little secluded spot away from the partygoers and took a seat on a fallen palm
that had been smoothed by the waves. The light of the bonfire didn’t reach
here, and overhead a million stars splattered the dark night sky, and gentle
waves lapped up on the shore just a few steps away.

            They
simultaneously sucked in huge breaths and said at the same time, “I’m so sorry
about what happened in California…”

            “You don’t
have anything to apologize for, Lexi, that’s all on me,” Bo said.

            “I came to
your room before I left—I didn’t want to leave things uncomfortable between
us—but you didn’t answer the door…”

            Bo felt relief
and hope settle in his bones. She hadn’t run off because of him—she’d actually
come back! “I went down to the gym to burn off some energy—I came up to your
room after, but you were already gone.”

            Lexi’s heart
lightened at the news. “Oh God, that’s a relief. I thought you never wanted to
see me again.”

            “Now that’s
never going to happen.”

            “I’m so glad.
I really missed you, Bo.”

            “I missed you
too.”
Oh I want to tell you how much.
“Well, I’m listening,” he said
gently. “It’s obvious you’ve got a lot on your mind—why don’t you dump the
burden?”

            “Oh Bo,” she
started, her lips pursing and her eyes going distant. “I just don’t think I can
really talk to anyone about it,” she exhaled slowly, then turned to meet his
gaze. “Is it really that obvious that something’s bothering me?” she asked,
trying to force a wan smile.

            “It is to
someone who knows you,” he replied, then added, “but you’re doing a good job of
hiding it, don’t worry. I’ve got insight, though, you know. Mad skills.”

            The ghost of a
smile touched her lips. “It’s not a big deal, really,” she said wistfully.
“Just something I have to deal with.”

            “You don’t
have to deal with it alone, you know,” he said. “I’m a good listener, and it
might help to just get it off your chest. Is it your ex?”

            “In a way,”
she said, taking a deep breath and letting it slip back out through clenched
teeth. She made a decision then, and figured there was no one she could trust
more than Bo Collins. He waited patiently for her to continue, and she finally
took another deep breath and stared off toward the sea.

            “I know I can
trust you, Bo, but I don’t ever want Tia or Dylan to find out,” she said
softly. “I don’t want them to feel guilty or responsible in any way.”

            “That’s not my
style,” he said sincerely. “I would never betray your confidence. I hope you
know I really mean that.”

            Her shoulders
dropped, and she turned her head slowly, stretching the muscles she’d been
clenching so tightly over the past few days. Finally, she spoke.

            “It might be a
long story,” she said. “I have to start at the beginning.”

            “I’ve got
nothing but time,” he said softly, reaching over to pat her sweetly on the
shoulder.

            She inhaled
deeply, and pushed the breath out through clenched teeth. “OK,” she said. If
you’re sure you want to hear it, I’d appreciate a sympathetic ear.” He nodded,
and she continued. “It all started, I guess, when Ryan and I were watching a
movie one night—oh, a couple years ago or so. I don’t remember the title—it wasn’t
that good of a movie, really—but it starred Alexis Janice.”

            “Mmm hmm,” Bo
murmured.

            “There was
this one scene where she was running along the beach in a bikini with a 357
magnum in her hand—she was dirty and her hair was a mess, but it was hard not
to notice Ryan noticing her. I made a funny comment, about chicks with guns in
skimpy bikinis, and he admitted he found her ‘sizzling,’ or something like
that. So I said, ‘OK, I’ll tell you what. If you ever meet Alexis Janice on the
street, and she wants to sleep with you, go for it. One night for free; no
questions, no consequences.  A freebie.’ I called it, his ‘one gimme.’ Of
course, we both knew that the chances of that happening were slim to none, so
it just became a stupid game, a private joke. He said that if he got a gimme,
it was only fair that I got one, too.” She paused, absently twirled a lock of
hair around her finger, and stared down at the ground. “Mine was Dylan,” she
said slowly.

            “I see,” Bo
said. “You know, I have a pretty strong suspicion that he’s at the top of a lot
of those lists, wouldn’t you agree?  Is that what you don’t want them to know?”

            “Oh, Tia
knows…she knew from the beginning and could have told Dylan for all I know, but
that doesn’t even matter anymore at all.”

            “Are you
worried that she still thinks you…”

            “Oh no!” she
cut him off. “Now that I know him, I like him as a person. A lot. I could never
think of him that way—at the time I objectified him; just like every other fan
does. Now that I call him a friend, I could never, ever, think about him that
way again. Even if he wasn’t with Tia,” she added. “But they’re so perfect
together anyway, and I’m incredibly happy for both of them. They belong
together, and I love them as a couple.”

            Bo nodded.
“Me, too. It’s great seeing Dylan so happy, too. It’s been a long time comin’
for that dude, and I can’t think of anyone who deserves it more than he does.”

            “I feel the
same way about Tia. The whole ‘gimme’ thing crashed down the first time I saw
them together—at the show that first night. And it’s never once entered my mind
again.”

            “I think I
see,” Bo said, the realization dawning on him. “Ryan couldn’t see that, could
he?”

            She shook her
head. “The trouble with Ryan,” she continued, “started when I got home from
Europe, I guess. I couldn’t tell anyone about Tia and Dylan, but I also
couldn’t keep the whole story to myself. Tia was going to tell people that
she’d met all you guys at the first Aid for Africa concert—her secretary at
school had a mad crush on Dylan and Tia wanted to give her an autographed
picture of him as a little gift. It’s Lilly, you know, she’s here, and she
looked after Tia a lot after Nick died—sending her home with meals, dragging
her out to social gatherings, stopping over with groceries and helping her with
yard work; things like that.

“I
mean, Tia did tell people Dylan’s first name, and that he played in a band; she
just gave the impression that he was playing on one of the smaller stages and
managed to meet you guys.  She didn’t figure that anyone was going to assume
that she’d won the heart of Dylan Miller, and she was right. No one even gave
it a second thought. So even though I couldn’t say much, I could tell people
that I’d hung out with Inhap.”

            “A bit of an
understatement,” Bo chuckled, remembering their trip, the shows, nights out,
spa days for the girls, shopping sprees, the night in Northampton…

            She smiled
thinly back. “It gave me a bit of celebrity status for a little while,” she
said, “but Ryan couldn’t get past the fact that I’d met my gimme face to face.
He was pretty agitated, and asked me point blank if I’d slept with him. Of
course I hadn’t, and I told him that, and he got really snotty—started saying
things like, ‘What, he didn’t want you?’ and ‘What a disappointment that must
have been.’ I told him the same thing I told you—that I’d had a chance to get
to know him as a person and that I didn’t think of him that way anymore—that
I’d have to find a new gimme—but he wasn’t buying it. Of course, I couldn’t
tell him about Tia, so he didn’t believe that I’d have any reason not to try.

            “He knew I was
hiding something too—something big—and of course it was the secret that Tia and
Dylan were dating, and shortly after that, the secret that they were in love.
Paris was the next stop after I left you guys in Amsterdam, so it was just a
few days after I got home that she called me and told me about her birthday
dinner on the Eiffel Tower.

            “When I told
Ryan that Tia and her new boyfriend were in love and shared some of the story
with him, his immediate response was to tell me that I probably wished it was
me up there, with Dylan Miller. We fought that night—he was so jealous and
convinced that something had happened between Dylan and me, and things were
just never the same after that. I could feel the distance growing between us
from then on, even though I didn’t fully realize it at the time. I was pissed
that he didn’t trust me, and maybe more so that he didn’t believe me—that he
really thought I’d lied to his face. That just isn’t me—I have a bit of a
reputation for telling it like it is…” her voice trailed off, and Bo
interjected.