Standing By: A Knight's Tale #2 (16 page)

When I called Mom to check if they needed help, she only said,
“I’ll see the two of you at the wedding. Emma is ordering a second cake for the two of you.”
In turn, Muffin girl said,
“I don’t want a cake, I can bake myself a cake if I wanted one and I’m not closing the shop for a second Saturday in a row because of you.”

“Get an annulment and tell your family that I have dirt on you and threatened you with it,” Hayley says. “Yes that’s perfect. Now get your extremities off my body so I can get out of the bed.”

I push her under me and her eyes open. I think they must glow in the dark.

“I need you.” Oh, that came out too strong, on second thought; I do think I need her more than to cover my drunken sham with Emma. Down boy, I tell my dick. “Plus, you need to learn how to live, Hayley Mae. Thirteen to fourteen hours inside a bakery isn’t living? Dating at four o’clock… that’s wrong. Give yourself a fighting chance. We’re hiring people to help you.”

“I won’t hire anyone yet.”

“We have to. Yesterday, I told you to up your production.” I can’t believe I’m in bed with a woman discussing business instead of making her come. She’s making me lose my touch. “I want to feature some of your pastries. The Mexican restaurants could use some frozen margarita cupcakes. You can make something up for the sushi bars and today we’re going to work at one of the steak houses and you can decide what to do for them.”

“Don’t you already have desserts there?” her voice holds a hint of annoyance.

I nod, nuzzling her neck.

“Keep your nose away from my personal space,” she demands but her body shivers. Interesting. “You shouldn’t add my desserts, don’t fix what’s not broken.”

“You’re not an easy woman to deal with, Hayley,” I kiss her forehead, then her nose and finally brush her lips. She sucks in her breath and freezes. It works every time. “But I’ll crack your secret code. I like challenges and yours is the best I’ve come across in a long time. Now let’s get ready for another day at work with Hayley Mae Welsh-Knight.”

“Roth-Welsh.”

“You’re a Knight for the time being,” I remind her. “Jake has people and offered to make the changes to your name when he does Emma’s.”

“Are you out of your mind?” She pushes me off her, recovering her bravado and gets out of the bed. “If I wanted to change my name I’ll go personally to the offices of the Social Security Administration. My name won’t be Hayley Mae Knight. I have a name already. Why is your brother meddling in my life?”

“That’s my brother and my mother.” I don’t think she’s going to like my family very much. “We like to help and take care of one another. So you want me to call him and explain that you like your name, and you won’t take the Knight last name?”

“Tell him I’m one of those independent women that like to keep their last name,” she heads to the bathroom and I follow. “Seriously, Mitch, you need to think of all the paperwork I’ll have to change back once you finalize the annulment.” She pauses and deliberately lowers her head and studies me. “Twelve weeks, right? For the annulment.”

“I’ll file it when Jake’s out of the country, then I’ll give you a tentative date.” My face remains steady because I haven’t even contacted a lawyer for a consultation. I have no idea about the procedure, other than what Hayley read from a website. “Then I have to come up with a reason why it didn’t work out.”

“The truth isn’t bad, you know.”

“It is for me, have you met my sister-in-law?”

She shrugs.

“Being her slave isn’t promising. I’d rather have them think I’m a scumbag, have Mom lecture me for a year and then move on from the issue.”

“I don’t want a divorce. The annulment is fine. We can say I couldn’t perform, no that’s for guys… well how about, I don’t like to have sex? Yes. My family will understand; I’m inadequate and all that stuff. Look at you. You’re way out of my league not that I care for your league.”

Her voice is barely a whisper when she finishes the last words.

“What’s my league?”

“Rich guy that doesn’t work for what he has, everything gets handed to you.”

“That’s a lie, Hayley. Rich parents doesn’t mean trust fund baby.” I hate to be labeled. “I’m a hard worker. I bussed tables, washed dishes and did everything in between before opening my own restaurant.” As my anger escalates from being called a spoiled rich boy, my voice ramps a couple of decibels. “Hell, I don’t like the perception you have of me. You don’t know me, so don’t judge me. Learn to know me and then I’ll give you permission to call me names and hate me. Let’s go to work, I’m leaving around ten. I have work at the office and need to check the restaurants.”

“You’re upset,” she says.

I groan.

“I’m sorry” My body tenses as she approaches me and her tiny hand caresses my jaw. “Can I make it up to you?”

“Yeah, you can take the sex ban away from that rule book of yours.”

“You’re a delusional brat.” Her eyes harden. “If you don’t file, I’ll do it. We’re getting the annulment.”

Shit.

Hayley

I
doubt we’re
going to make it to the wedding rehearsal. The flight arrived on time at the airport, however; we stayed on the runway for over an hour and by the time we got our baggage and picked up the rental car, it was six thirty-nine, cutting it close for a seven o’clock start time.

Now we’re on the highway rushing to the chapel, the GPS continuing to alert us of exceeding the speed limit.

“You’re going to get a ticket.” I chant.

“I won’t.” Mitch growls. “We sound and act like an old married couple. We don’t have sex and we fight about my driving. Life can’t get any better. I swear, I’m going to renew my flying license,” he says for the third time. “There’s no fucking way we’re taking a commercial flight ever again. Now stop complaining about the ticket and busy yourself with something else.”

“Like enjoying the landscape at a hundred miles per hour,” my remark gets a shushing sound.

Can anyone blame me? He’s been in a foul mood all day. If only he had listened. In the morning, I told him to stay in bed because he arrived home around midnight from work but he refused. He wanted to run by the crew he assigned from his restaurants that will work tomorrow at the bakery. The traffic to get to JKF didn’t help either… I told him to take the subway, but he refused—it’s against his principals. Damn we sound like an old married couple.

“You need to mellow down or that mood will ruin the event.”

Where’s my funny guy?

“I tried to get some sleep during the flight but instead what did I get?”

“The poor woman tried to soothe the baby,” I weakly try to defend the woman who kept giving the pacifier to her baby for five hours.
“Feed the child,”
I wanted to say. However, now I had to deal with my own man-child. “After we eat I promise we’ll go to bed.”

“Sex still off the table?” He asks with that seductive voice that makes my entire body vibrate, his new mantra is asking every time he feels the need.

Stay strong, Hayley.

“Always, Muffin boy.” I squeeze his hand. It hasn’t been that hard to deal with him after a week. For the most part, he’s been easy going and tries to lighten the atmosphere when things are tense. I appreciate this every time my parents show at the shop. “But I’ll let you cuddle with me, as long as you keep that thing tamed.”

“You’re a terrible wife, Hayley,” he says taking my hand and kissing it. “Any other wife would appreciate a morning boner and take the initiative to ravish her husband. Not you. In all seriousness, while we’re here, you must allow a little PDA. A few hugs, handholding, kisses and things like that. This has to look legit. Write that down on your
To-Do List
, to make it official.”

“Legit got it, no notebook required today,” I take a deep breath, claim my hand and pull my cosmetic bag from my satchel. I apply a little mascara, blush and lipstick, then brush my hair and ask him. “Hat or bun?”

“Hair down.” Mitch says. I make an
hmm
sound. “Keep your hair as it is, Hayley, nothing bad will happen, I promise. You can give me one of those things—scrunchies-I think you call them. I’ll put it in my pocket in case you really can’t handle the loose hair.”

“I have too many stupid quirks, don’t I?” Not many know about them, in fact, no one knows all of them, except, Mitch, He seems to have learned more than I care for and if I don’t keep my guard up I’m going to fall for him, then crash and burn. I take the black ribbon that matches my dress and hand it to Mitch. “Thank you for everything you do, I guess.”

“You guess? I don’t do anything, Hay, just hang out with you and I enjoy it.” He parks the car at the chapel. Then he puts the band inside his pocket and gives me that exasperated sigh I hate, but then smirks and bends to kiss my cheek. “Yes, you have a lot of obsessions, some I understand, and others you need to brush away, like your hair. It looks great when you wear it loose.”

“If you say so. We both know that I’ll go crazy within twenty minutes,” I twirl a strand and cover my face with it. “Why am I here, I should be in bed waiting for the alarm clock to beep at two in the morning so I can—”

“Two?” His voice is deafening, he jumps out of the car and slams the door. Then opens my door and helps me down from the tall rental truck. “Tomorrow is Saturday, not Monday… we need to rearrange your schedule. You need a life, Hayley. Hell I need a life and a wife that can at least go out with me sometimes as I continue my dry spell.”

From what he told me, ever since his parents met Emma, they have barely left New York. They sold their Penthouse to Jake and stay with Mitch. For him it doesn’t feel right to stay out all night and have to give some weird explanation to his parents the next day.

“Look who’s coming,” Mitch points at a tall woman wearing a yellow dress, slick auburn hair and wide smile. Emma. “My new master if you don’t help me this weekend.”

“There you are,” Emma hugs Mitch and then looks at me. “Please say yes, Hayley. Would you stand for me as my maid of honor?”

Whoa!
I mouth at Mitch who shrugs.

“See, I don’t have many friends.” Mitch clears his throat correctively. “You want me to tell her the truth, that I have no friends?” Mitch bobs his head in agreement. “That’s me; I’m a lonely soul and because of that, we decided not to have people standing for us but now that we have a sister, you can be my maid of honor. Liam can be Jake’s best man.”

“Excuse me,” Mitch says. “My wife, my best man duty.”

“You were Cade’s. May I remind you that you have a terrible track record, Mitch,” Emma waves her hand at him and looks back at me. “Would you?”

“Gabriela’s fault,” Mitch raises his voice.

Mitch told me about last year’s fiasco wedding. Cade the quiet, mellow cousin almost married until they caught the bride-to-be having sex with strangers while club hopping—during the bachelorette party.
Scandalous.
I wonder how they caught her.

Mitch’s eyes narrow. “Blame his psycho ex, not me.”

“You can’t do that to him.” I tell her. In a whisper, I add: “He had a bad day and a bad night for that matter. One of his restaurants had an emergency and so far, he slept only an hour. Can they be co-best men or something?”

“If I do, will you be my maid of honor?”

I tip my head back and stare at Mitch who winks at me.

“Yes, I’ll do it.”

“Perfect, I hope you brought something pretty for tomorrow because I don’t have time to choose a hideous dress for you to wear. I’ll say I would’ve chosen a bubblegum pink puffy dress. The sentiment counts, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, of course,” I pat her shoulder and I’m thankful the bubblegum pink puffy dress doesn’t exist. She then runs away calling out to Jake, “She is in, babe.”

Jake gives her two thumbs up.

“You got me in the wedding,” Mitch smiles, then bends down and gives me a quick kiss. “You’re not that bad, Muffet, sometimes I forget about those color coded quirks and how everything has to go according to your list and how—”

“Stop it before I back down.”

He pretends as if he’s zipping his lips, takes my hand, and we walk toward the chapel where everyone is waiting for us.

“I’m doing this for her, not for you.” Then I come to a halt and ask him. “Is this why you asked me if I had friends, since you haven’t seen any of them?”

“Yes.” He responds. “Other than Kendall, you don’t talk to anyone.”

“Text, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr… technology, best way to stay in touch.” Then I decide to give him a little of the medicine I’m about to swallow. “By the way, its wedding season, we’ll be going to all of those. Payback time, baby. I told you that I would make you pay for this with blood, if possible.”

Hayley

“D
o you have
anything to put over the shoulders?” Mitch asks as he stares at the strapless silk organza gown I wear. It’s navy blue with a delicate white flowery print and was a present from Mel. It has an A shape skirt that reaches all the way down to my ankles. Two-inch espadrilles match the dress perfectly—also a present from her. I look up at Mitch, who is wearing a double-breasted navy blue suit. “What’s wrong with my dress?” I suck in my lip afraid I look bad.

“People can see your shoulders.” He points at my bare shoulders.

“That’s the point of a dress like this,” I say touching my necklace, a rare light green emerald on a chain that Dad gave me for my sweet sixteenth. I always wear it but usually it’s hidden. “Please be honest, do I look bad? You think Emma won’t like it?”

“Never mind.”

“Mitchel, tell me the truth.”

“It’s perfect, you look too hot and as you reminded me earlier, sex is off the fucking table. I think I’m going to end up fucking the table.” After his outburst, he shakes his head and touches my necklace. “You need a set of earrings to match this or something darker to contrast your eyes. You know what goes great with those pale eyes? Your olive skin. Let’s go watch those crazy kids get married, muffin. Ready?”

We leave the hotel room. And as if we orchestrated it, Liam comes out from the door across the hall, with Jake following behind. Emma and her soon to be in-laws—and mine for legal purposes—stayed the night with her grandparents. She invited me over, to bond.
“Sorry,”
Mitch had told her,
“our honeymoon period is still going strong.”
He clutched me playfully to his side and kept nuzzling my neck.
“I can’t let her go for one night.”
I held back from pinching him after all that PDA but just barely.