Raw Deal (Beauty for Ashes: Book One) (54 page)

“Better run. I’ll see you guys later.” She hurried away.

“Me and Spencer are going to sit at our table now, but I hope we can talk later before you leave,” Tanya said to me.

I nodded, and then followed Monica as she took me by the hand and started walking quickly toward the exit. “Where are we going?”

“Outside.”

We pushed our way through the crowd until we got outside. Monica led me round to the back of the hotel into the gardens, and she sat down on the low wall that ran around it. I remained standing because I didn’t want to ruin my dress.

“Lexi Dixon, what are we going to do with you?” she said with a sigh.

“You mean Lexi Layton.”

“Why did you marry him?”

I frowned. “What kind of question is that? I married him for the same reasons anyone marries anyone else,” I said defensively.

“Last time we spoke, you were talking about going to Hawaii with Dan Black.”

“People change. Feelings change.”

“I’m just confused. I really can’t believe it.”

“Why?”

“Because you’ve never seemed to really like Carl. Even in high school, it was Jace you liked not Carl. Remember how far you went to try and get Jace back?”

I winced. “Don’t remind me.”

“Well, I saw the way you were looking at him before when he walked away. Carl saw too by the way. He was real jealous when I was his date for that disco.”

“Thanks for reminding me that you dated my husband.”

“You know I don’t mean it like that,” Monica said unapologetically. “I don’t know what possessed you to marry him. Has he changed or something?”

“Not really.”

“Then what happened?”

“Nothing happened. We just decided to get married.”

“And you didn’t invite me.” Monica scowled. “I don’t care if it was a small wedding; I’m supposed to be your best friend.”

“Oh, yeah, a best friend who I haven’t spoken to in months, who wasn’t really speaking to me, even before we left high school.”

Monica gave me a hurt glare. “I wanted to speak to you, but you cut me off when I became a Christian.”

“No, you cut me off and started hanging out with all your religious friends.”

“No,” Monica said. “I still wanted to talk to you, but you thought I was dating Jace.”

“Whatever,” I said giving up.

A gentle breeze played with Monica’s curls, and they danced around her face. She shook them out of her eyes and looked up at me, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand. “So who’s your best friend now?”

“Dr. Paula.”

“Why does that name sound familiar?”

I smiled bitterly. “She’s that psychotherapist we went to when you were depressed.”

“Oh, don’t remind me about that time. Do you see her?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Because of my dad.” Well, that was part of it. “I haven’t been for a while though. I’m fed up of talking about my problems. I want a solution not an agony aunt.”

“Jesus is the solution.”

“Maybe,” I said wistfully.

Monica looked surprised. “Oh, so I’m allowed to say that now? Because in high school, you bit my head off every time I tried to talk to you about God.”

I looked around at the hotel gardens wondering how big it was. It was so beautiful.

“So, how are things?” Monica asked.

“Great. I kind of believe in God now. I guess you’ll be happy to hear that.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I met a Christian girl at college. She’s been telling me stuff about God.”

Monica raised her eyebrows. “Cool. I actually prayed that God would send someone to speak to you.”

“I nearly became a Christian a few months ago.” I didn’t know why I was telling Monica this. The words were just spilling out of my mouth.

“Well, why didn’t you?”

That was the time Carl brought a girl home. “I don’t know. I’m not completely sure about it yet.”

“What aren’t you sure about?”

“Dunno. Maybe I’m just not really ready. I think I just wanted a quick fix for my issues.”

“Christianity is more than a quick fix.”

“I’ll bear that in mind.” I didn’t want to start some big deep conversation about religion right now.

Monica seemed to sense that. She twirled a curl around her finger and looked around. “What do you think of Jace’s hotel?”

“It’s great. Has Jace got a girlfriend?”

“Not that I know of.”

“I don’t get why he walked off like that before.”

She didn’t say anything.

“Have you got a boyfriend?” I asked her. She shook her head. “Why not?”

“The whole dating game just seems so superficial to me. I want the real deal. Until then, I’ll just keep myself to myself.”

“What’s the real deal?” I asked.

“A Christian guy who wants to marry me, preferably cute, with big muscles.”

I broke into giggles, and Monica joined me. “You haven’t changed, have you? I mean I like muscles too, but they’re not that essential.”

“Yeah, I have issues. I’m praying about it.”

I looked incredulous. “Oh, please, it’s normal. Most girls like big muscles.”

“Yeah, but I shouldn’t even be thinking about muscles. It’s what’s inside that matters. I’ll get over it. There’s more to life and marriage.”

“There’s gotta be a guy with muscles at your church.”

“You’d think.”

“Jace is Christian, and he’s got muscles.”

“And what?”

“Do each other a favor and hook up.”

Monica looked horrified.

“Come on. He’s a great guy. You know he is.”

Monica’s expression softened. “Don’t kill me if I tell you something.”

My heartbeat accelerated slightly. “What? Are you and Jace in fact dating?” I asked bracing myself.

“Of course not,” Monica said waving her hand.

“So what is it?”

“Well, I did start considering Jace,” Monica mumbled. She looked really embarrassed.

“So what happened?” I wondered why I was feeling pangs of jealousy. Jace had moved on. Duh! And I was married to Carl.

“Well, we got really close, and we started seeing each other every day, just to talk and go for dinner and stuff.

“Dinner? Lunch is one thing, but dinner?”

Monica screwed up her nose. “Dinner at burger joints and pizza places. Nothing special.”

“Aww,” I said sympathetically.

“Anyway, I just came to my senses and realized that ‘hey, this is Jace!’ I’ve known him for forever. We’re practically cousins. He’s like a brother, and eww, that is so gross!”

I giggled at Monica’s expression.

“So we’ve stopped hanging out so much, and I’ve stopped thinking about him in
that
way. It was only for about two weeks anyway. I’m glad I snapped out of it.” Monica grinned. “New York is pretty cool. I’m so glad I moved.”

I nodded thoughtfully. My friends were all having fun while I was stuck in a stupid marriage. “If I wasn’t married, I’d probably transfer to a New York College and continue my degree there. I really miss you guys.”

“We miss you too. There’s only one Lexi, and we love her to bits.”

“Don’t make me cry and ruin my makeup,” I warned, smiling.

Monica stood up. “Since you’re refusing to tell me what the deal is with you and Carl, let’s go see Michelle.”

Monica led the way back into the hotel, and we took the elevator to the penthouse suite.

“This hotel is out of this world!”

“Yeah, it’s the Glacier not the Holiday Inn.”

“Whatever.”

“Look who’s here,” Monica announced, leading me through automatic glass doors.

Michelle stood in front of an enormous mirror with dozens of people around her. She’d changed into a beautiful, slinky, white dress. I couldn’t tell the designer. Sandy was holding a tray of hair products and hair accessories for Michelle’s hairdresser.

My eyes met Michelle’s in the mirror, and she turned around. “Lexi! You didn’t RSVP. I thought you weren’t coming!” She held out her hands, and I went to hug her.

Michelle was truly gorgeous. She looked like the summer—radiant and happy. “You look amazing, Michelle.”

Michelle twirled around, and the skirt of her dress floated around her gracefully. “The other dress was too much hard work.”

“What label is it?”

Michelle grinned. “Ha ha. It’s just by a tailor in New York. She’s still quite low scale, but she’s fantastic.”

Michelle turned back to the mirror, and the hairdresser started fussing over her again. “Are you really married to Carl, or is Sandy just yanking my chain?”

“We’re really married.”

“What happened?”

I frowned slightly, and Michelle looked apologetic. “Sorry, that came out wrong.”

“No worries.”

“So you got any advice for me about marriage?”

I shrugged. “Every marriage is different.”

“C’mon,” Michelle prompted. “Tell me what to expect. Is Matt going to turn into a monster and make me cook and clean all hours?”

“Of course not. Matt’s a good guy. He’ll probably be a great husband.”

“How about our feelings for each other? Will they die down when we get used to each other?” Michelle looked at me in the mirror. “I don’t want our relationship to get boring and stale.”

“It won’t. The crazy feelings die down, but your actual love gets stronger with time.” I’d heard my mom say that once, and I was just quoting her, since I had no idea what to say.

“So, I’ll stop thinking about him every second we’re apart, and the butterflies I get in my stomach every time I see him are gonna go away?” Michelle asked, and I nodded. “But real, deep rooted love will set in? And I’ll love him more and more as the marriage goes on?”

“Yeah,” I confirmed.

“That’s so beautiful,” Michelle breathed. “That’s exactly what my mentor said.

“Who’s your mentor?”

“Some woman in my church.” Michelle held still while the hairdresser used a red hot curling tong to curl some locks of hair near the front of her face. When she finished, Michelle relaxed. “How is it being married while you’re in college? Matt and I were gonna wait until after college, but it’s a long time to wait.”

“It can be hard sometimes, I guess.”

“But coming home and seeing the man you love helps, right? You’d still rather be together than apart?”

I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. “Sure, especially when he’s got dinner ready before you get home.”

“Well, I found out that Matt’s been learning to cook. He said he wants to do me a special dinner every so often.”

I smiled. “You see. Marriage will be good.” I looked toward the door. I had to get away before Michelle asked me another question about marriage. “I’m just going to the bathroom.”

I took the elevator down to the ground floor and walked around looking for a bathroom. I found the men’s bathroom, and I expected the ladies to be next to it. It wasn’t.

I decided to go back to the reception hall. Jace was standing at the door when I got there. He smiled.

“Um, where’s the ladies bathroom?” I asked.

“Follow me,” Jace said. He led me down the corridor and through a set of double doors.

“You could’ve just given me directions, but thanks anyway,” I said.

“No problem. I’ll wait out here for you.”

“You don’t have to wait. I can find my way back.” I pushed into the bathroom. Since I didn’t really need it, I walked over to the huge mirrors to check my makeup.

Before I got to the wedding, I had wanted to see Jace, but now that I’d seen him, I wished I hadn’t. I didn’t want to talk to him either.

I touched up my makeup and perused the perfume counter and found the fragrance I was wearing today: Marc Jacobs’
Lola
. I sprayed myself and then walked over to the makeup counter to check it out. It was pretty impressive. The bathroom even had a skincare and a hair section. I guess you didn’t have to worry about packing your hair dryer and straighteners or anything if you were staying at the Glacier.

Jace was still in the hallway when I emerged, but he was talking to a bunch of people who looked like they’d just arrived. “Lexi, I’d like to talk to you before you leave,” he said.

“Okay.” I walked back to the reception hall.

***

I looked at Carl’s watch. “Wow, it’s late!” I exclaimed. It was almost midnight, but I didn’t want to go home. I let Carl steer me toward the exit of the Glacier hotel. He seemed in a hurry to leave.

“Not so fast, Lexi,” Monica said, coming after me and Carl. She had Jace and Tanya with her. “Give me your new address.” Monica handed me her phone.

“We’ve just moved into a new house. We don’t know our address by heart yet,” Carl said.