All She Wanted (2) (6 page)

Briggs

I knew I was scowling, but I couldn’t
help it.

How can
she be so heartless? A secret wedding while her parents are away in Greece?

Not
while I’m her manny.

That last thought might have been a bit
too much—but still.

This was not going to happen—not on my
watch.

There she was, chatting away with Tori
as if everything in the world was hunky-dory. As if she was a perfect little
angel. Well, she may have been an angel—but not the heavenly kind. I was
certain her little red horns probably came out to play as soon as the clock
struck midnight.

Wow…she
even took her ring off! I knew she was a con.

I could
smell it on her.

“Dude…what is the issue, here?” Kai asked
me quietly.

“I’m just a little distracted is all,”
I said, heat fuming into my face.

“Uh, no kidding.” Kai looked from me to
the she-devil and back again.

“Lover’s quarrel so soon? You’ve known
her what—all of 4 days?” Kai asked, still keeping his voice low.

“Oh, there’s gonna be a quarrel
alright, but not of the lover’s variety,” I said.

Kai put his hand on my shoulder as if
he knew what I was about to do, but I pushed him off.

“Charlotte, I need a word with you…
now
!”

Charlie

I froze.

Everyone froze—except for Briggs who
was marching toward the back deck.

I hadn’t been called that name since…since
a lifetime ago. I was so shocked by his outburst I could do nothing but follow
after him.

I felt sick to my stomach as I closed
the door behind me, watching him pace like a mad man on the deck—the same deck
we had been on only moments ago.
What had
happened?

My mind raced to make sense of what
this could be about. Had he heard something from my parents in the last ten
minutes? Did he miss a dose of anti-psychotic meds? Fear started to rise inside
me, but I reminded myself that I had two witnesses just on the other side of
that door.

He turned to me—finally, his face like
granite.

“Who
is
he, Charlotte?”
 

He was
seething
. I had never seen the living definition of that word until
this moment. I opened my mouth, but sound refused to come out. I had no clue
what he was asking, or why in the world he was using that name?

“Or maybe, I should start by reminding
you to call the Tux shop and confirm the fittings!”

Still I had nothing, confusion holding
onto me with a tight grasp.

My heart started to race.
So, this must be what it looks like to watch
someone lose his mind.

“You have nothing to say for yourself?”
He threw his arms toward the sky, “Now that’s the biggest surprise of the night,
right there! I’m onto you now, Charlie. Call it off—call the whole thing off! Ya
know, it’s one thing to let you go out at night when I’m with you, but I’m not
going to let you have some
secret wedding
while your parents are in Greece!”

I felt like someone had just thrown me
to the ground and kicked me, repeatedly. I was literally stumbling in shock. I
grabbed onto the chair near me and gripped it with every fiber of strength I
had.

I took three deep breaths before
looking up at him again, “It’s already off, you moron.”

Silence.

“Come, again?”

“There is no wedding. I. Am. Not. Engaged.”

I pushed my left hand out as if the
evidence—or lack thereof—could prove my truth. It shook with an unanticipated surge
of adrenaline.

His eyes narrowed further as he took
several steps closer to me. “I saw it, Charlotte. I
saw
the reminder on your phone…don’t lie to me.”

That did it.

That stupid name did it. I snapped.

“Don’t call me that! Don’t you ever
call me
that!
”

I put my hands out in front of me and
pushed him—hard.

His body barely budged, as if he had
anticipated the force of my shove more than I had. But as he watched me, his
face changed—it softened.

“Charlie, I-”

“No! You had your turn, Mr. Drama
Queen. It’s my turn now. I
was
engaged, okay? Last December—not that it’s any of
your
business, but it’s over now.
All of it.
The relationship, the engagement, the wedding! It’s all over!”

Tears poured from my eyes faster than I
could wipe them away. I was mortified. I hadn’t seen this coming—heck, hot lava
pouring out of the kitchen faucet would have been less shocking than this
conversation had been.

I covered my face with my hands.

Briggs

My bad.

Charlie

My back was turned away from him, but even
still, I knew he was there.

A heavy hand pressed down on my
shoulder after a few quiet seconds, and I didn’t shrug it off. Even though his
stupid tirade had brought this on, he was not the reason for my pain; he was
not the reason for my tears.

“Shortcake, I’m…I’m so sorry.” Though
his voice sounded gruff, his words were heartfelt.

I nodded, my face still buried in my
hands. I sniffled.

“Hang on-”

He left, coming back a minute later to
hand me some Kleenex.

“Thanks,” I whispered, lifting my head
so I could wipe my eyes and nose.

He moved to stand directly in front of
me, looking visibly distressed. Although, I was pretty sure I looked worse in
this moment. He raked both hands through his hair, before shoving them deep into
his pockets. It was definitely the first time I had seen the all-too-confident
Briggs look unsure.

“You were just trying to protect my
parents,” I said, softly.

“Yeah…but I didn’t do a very good job
of protecting you in the process.”

I looked at him, holding onto his gaze
steadily, “I don’t need your protection, Manny.” The words lacked the sarcasm
that I had intended, instead, they sounded painfully fragile.

He nodded. “Well, do you think we can
start over? I’d like to be your friend, Charlie.” He put his hand over his
heart as if he were in a courtroom, “From this day forward, I will do my very
best to restrain from all outbursts and accusations unless I have obtained physical
proof first.” The right side of his mouth lifted in a smile. “Truce?”

He reached out his hand for me to
shake. I took it, biting back a smile of my own.

The tiny spark which had started in my
palm as our hands met, traveled quickly to my chest, warming it instantly. “Truce.
But Briggs, if you ever call me that name again, it will be with your last
breath.”

Briggs

I believed her.

Not only was I certain that she had
told me the truth about her broken engagement, I also knew she would cause me
physical harm if I ever called her
Charlotte
again. I don’t know where exactly that had come from, but I would banish it
from my vocabulary forever.

Don’t
have to threaten me twice.

“Did I totally ruin the mood for game
night?” I asked her.

She laughed—at least a little bit.

“Hell hath no fury like a woman
scorned, Manny. You’re on.”

If she hadn’t been smiling when she said
it, I would have feared for the evening ahead.

I followed her inside the house. Much
to my satisfaction, Kai and Tori played it cool. There was no mention of the
drama that had just occurred.

I knew they were my friends for a
reason.

“You two ready? I have us all dealt,”
Kai said.

“Absolutely,” Charlie said, pulling out
a chair.

I couldn’t help but smile at her. She
wasn’t anything if not resilient.

Charlie

Briggs and Tori seemed to have it out
for each other during poker. Of the six rounds of Texas
Hold’em
played, they had each lost as many as they had won. Apparently, Tori’s brother-in-law
had taught her well, much to the dissatisfaction of Briggs.

When they finally noticed that Kai and
I were growing restless with boredom, they agreed to switch gears. We were
grateful.
 

“So, I think Charlie should pick the
next game—since she’s our guest,” Briggs said.

“I don’t really think that courtesy
applies when you’re sitting inside
my
house,” I said smiling at him.

“Ooh…touché!” Kai said.

Briggs and Tori laughed.

After a brief mental debate, I chose
Uno, but not just regular old Uno—
Spaz-attack
Uno
. The game was a chaotic mix of speed and randomness. The quick plays
and bogus rules were sure to cause a lot of groaning, especially when the
players had to switch hands with the person on their right when a certain
sequence was discarded. For the player who had dwindled themselves down to just
a few cards, that particular play was brutal. I didn’t mind it so much as Briggs
was the player to my right.

“I see what you’re doing Shortcake.”

I laughed as I purposely increased the
number of cards in my hand. Tori and Kai busted in hysterics.

“Could it be that Briggs has finally met
his match in twisted game plays?” Tori asked.

I looked at Briggs and stuck my tongue
out—childish yes, but oh-so-satisfying.

“I should ground you to your room,”
Briggs said.

“Hmmm…take a number, pal. I can only
serve one punishment at a time.”

That got a laugh from everyone.

Kai and Briggs declared it was time for
a snack break, leaving Tori and I sitting at the card table waiting for their
return.

“I’d love to hear more about your music,
Charlie,” Tori said.

Tori exuded kindness when she spoke. I
could see why Kai loved her, aside from the obvious beauty she possessed. It
wasn’t just that she was
nice,
it was that she was
genuinely interested. There was something about her that put me at ease—made me
want to share my every secret with her. I had no doubt that she was an
excellent nurse.

“Sure, what would you like to know?” I
asked.

“How long you’ve played the piano—what made
you choose it as your major?”

I smiled. “Since I was five. Sometimes
I feel as if it chose me, actually. It just fits who I am—the same way nursing
fits you, I’m sure. There was never any competition for what I wanted to do
with my life. I wanted to write music and share it with whoever would listen.
There are not many things in life that can reach a person’s soul the way that music
can,” I said getting lost in my thoughts.

“That’s beautiful, Charlie.”

I shook my head—slightly embarrassed by
my honesty.

“Thanks.”

“So, you write music,” Tori repeated,
looking at a point somewhere beyond me as she spoke.

“Uh-huh.”

“Have you ever written music for say…a
wedding processional?” Tori asked smiling.

My stomach dipped a bit, but I worked
hard not to show it on my face.

I
dreamed of writing my own wedding processional once…

“Not really,” I said.

“Well, I’d love to hire you, Charlie. I
would really like something original for the processional—for my walk down the
aisle specifically. Do you think you’d be willing to write something for me?”

How does
Kai ever say no to that face?

“Uh sure, I will just need to know a
few details—like how long you need it to be and such.”

“Oh wow! That’s fantastic Charlie,
thank you!”
 
Tori squealed.

Briggs

While grabbing the last slice of pizza,
Kai leaned back against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. He was
staring at me.

“What?” I asked defensively, my mouth
full of pizza.

“Are you seriously asking me that?” His
voice was flat as he shook his head like a father does to a child.

“Uh, yeah. What’s the issue…Did you
want this last piece or something?” I took an exaggerated bite.
 

“No. Try again, Romeo.”

I furrowed my brows at him.
What?

“You really don’t see it?” Kai asked.

“See what?” I asked, gesturing with my
arms as three pepperoni circles fell to the floor with a splat.
 

Kai shook his head again. “Be careful
with her, Briggs. She’s the Chief’s daughter. You don’t want to screw that up.”
Kai’s eyes were intense as he spoke.

“Screw
what
up, exactly? I’m just her security guard for the month, Kai.
Relax.”

“Don’t be a moron…you’re way more than
a security guard to her. Have you ever seen the way a girl looks at a mall cop?
It ain’t like that,” he said pointing to the room where Charlie and Tori sat, “She
likes
you, and I can see that you
like
her—just don’t do anything stupid.”

Why does
everyone keep calling me a moron tonight?

Tori squealed in the other room,
breaking up the big brother drill.

I was grateful.