His Change of Heart: Unexpected Pregnancy Romance (9 page)

“Think nothing of it. I’m sure you would have done the same thing for me.” Avery smiled at her.

  “So, how are you? We haven’t done this for a while.” Kat said to her, referring to the times they used to meet up for either dinner, a show, to watch a game of hockey and basketball, or to go clubbing. Avery hadn’t been up to doing any of those things lately, and Kat hadn’t pushed her the times when she had called and cancelled at the very last minute because she wasn’t in the mood to leave the house, her bed or the couch.

    “No, we haven’t, but we are here now,” Avery told her with a bright smile.”

   “Yes, we are. And you still haven’t answered my question, Ave.”

    “Oh, I’m getting there,” Avery told her. “I really am.”

  “Are you really, Ave? You know you can talk to me about anything, don’t you? You don’t have to hide anything on my account. I’m here if you need to talk. I will prefer if you say something to me than keep it buried inside. I’m your friend, Ave. I hope you know that.”

   “Oh, Kat, I do know that. You have been extraordinarily wonderful to me. I couldn’t have gotten this far without you and the other girls, especially you. You have supported me all the way, and for that I will be forever grateful.”

   Avery reached across the table and patted Kat’s hand.

   “Think nothing of it. I know you would have been there for me if Josh had broken up with me. I’m glad that you are feeling better. I told you eventually you would. Will is the big loser in all this. He has lost an amazing woman. He must be absolutely crazy to let you go. I have seen some of the shallow women he dated—you are way above their level. And having money doesn’t count for anything—money can not buy class or intelligence, which some of those bitchy socialites lack big time. He would come crawling back. I know he will.”

     Avery smiled at her friend and went through the menu in her hand.

    “You are always so kind.”

“I’m being honest, Ave. Will has given up on one of the best things that ever happened to him. Eventually he would realize that, if he hasn’t already. He will come to his senses one day. And speaking of, would you consider giving him another chance if he comes crawling back? Apart from having commitment issues, he’s an overall good guy. He loves you, Ave. I know he does.”

    “The pasta with lamb Ragu looks delicious. I‘m definitely going to try some,” Avery told Kat, tapping her finger impatiently on the menu in an attempt to avoid talking about Will.

    She didn’t want to talk about him, not tonight, not ever, if she could help it. She just wanted to enjoy her evening out, the first in weeks, and she wasn’t about to spoil it by bringing up her failed relationship.

   “I get it,” Kat said, making a show of zipping her lips shut. “That subject is off limit. I get it.” Kat giggled. “Let’s eat, then. I’m starving.”

     Avery looked at the menu in her hand and smiled. “Yes, let’s eat.”

   At that very minute, the waiter approached their table to take their orders, and they stopped talking to focus on what they were going to eat. Avery ordered the lamb salad with fregola and Kat decided on the shrimp and lobster dish with grilled vegetable and a bottle of dry red wine, which they shared between them.

Eleven

 
O
n the evening of the wedding, Avery arrived with Kat and the other eight bridesmaids in one of the large limousines Kat had rented to take them to the private country club in Long Island where Kat and Josh were getting married. Kat had decided to have both the wedding ceremony and lavish reception after at the club at the last minute.

    Originally, Kat had been adamant about getting married by a minister or priest in a church. But after weeks of searching and being unable to find a church that was available and big enough to seat the six hundred or so guests, Kat had eventually given up on the idea all together. In the end, she decided it was better to save both herself and the wedding planner the stress and time of rushing around the city looking for a bigger church.

    And although Kat was disappointed that she wouldn’t have a church wedding, she decided that exchanging vows in a church wasn’t all that important or exactly necessary anymore. Kat told her it was her marriage to Josh that counted more. Avery failed to see Kat’s point, since it was what she had wanted in the first place. She guessed it was Kat’s wedding day, and she was entitled to choose where she wanted to say her vows.

    Avery wasn’t exactly religious, but she was baptized in a Baptist church as a baby, and attended service regularly with her aunt and other relatives growing up. And when she got married and had children of her own she was definitely going to make certain she had those ceremonies in a church, and nowhere else.

     Will was already at the club with Josh and the other groomsmen. She saw him as soon as she entered the building with the other bridesmaids. He was standing in the spacious foyer talking and having a drink with the other groomsmen, including Josh. They were downing shots of whiskey. She could tell from the small glasses that the waiter was holding on a tray close by. Avery couldn’t believe they were drinking this close to the wedding, especially Josh. She hoped he wouldn’t be too drunk to walk down the aisle. He needed to be sober and standing to exchange his vows with Kat. She wondered if Kat knew what he was up to.

    Avery was surprised to see him there. He had missed the rehearsal dinner nights before, and Kat had said something to her about not being sure he would be able to make it on time for the wedding ceremony because of a case he was working on. The firm was handling a class action suit for one of the major airlines, and because of Will’s success record in that area, they had specifically asked that he be there to handle all the crucial negotiations. And since the firm had millions to gain, Will was needed every step of the way, well, until the ink was dried on the documents on both sides.

     And to make certain he didn’t renege on his best man duties to Josh, Kat said, Will had a chartered plane waiting on standby to fly him to New York for the wedding the minute the deal was done. Avery was happy that he had made it on time for Josh and Kat, especially Josh. Josh would have been devastated if Will couldn’t be there.

   Will was talking to Mandy, another one of the bridesmaid who had gone to college with Kat. Mandy was a pretty blonde, with a reputation for jumping into bed with any man who showed her the faintest interest, this according to Kat who had known Mandy forever. Mandy’s hand was resting on Will’s arm as she talked to him and he was smiling demurely at something Mandy had said to him. Then, he leaned in closer, and whispered something to Mandy, who immediately burst into a loud fit of laughter.

     A few of the guys turned in their direction and gave them a curious stare. It wasn’t hard to see that Mandy was flirting with Will, and he was enjoying every second of it. At that very second, he lifted his eyes and saw her, and the smile froze on his face. He waved at her and Avery looked away. She refused to acknowledge him. Mandy’s hand was still resting on his arm when he excused himself and made his way towards her.

  Avery hadn’t seen him in almost three months and she didn’t know what to expect. Her heart was thumping loudly in her chest, and her feet felt unusually weak. She hadn’t been feeling well lately and she prayed that she didn’t faint in his arms. She would die of embarrassment if she did, especially with everyone there watching.

  Kat and some of the bridesmaids had already made their way inside to the rooms that were reserved for them to get ready for the wedding. She should have gone with them, she thought as she watched Will getting closer to where she was standing. She didn’t know what possessed her to take the front entrance instead, but she didn’t know she would have run into Will.

    She had only seen him after she entered the foyer. And at that point it was too late for her to turn around and leave. It would have been silly of her to just bolt from the room because of him, especially when he had already seen her. She knew he would have definitely followed her outside if she had. She guessed it was better to encounter him in a room full of people, than outside with no one around. He wouldn’t dare think of touching and kissing her, not with a roomful of people watching them, and knowing they weren’t a couple anymore. He would have to be discreet and respect that they weren’t lovers anymore.

    “Hello, Avery,” Will said to her, coming up very close to her, his body inches away from touching hers. “You look amazingly beautiful as usual. The dress becomes you. It makes you more alluring. It doesn’t do the same for the other ladies.”

   There was an enticing look on his face as his roaming eyes passed temptingly over her entire body. He was clearly undressing her with his eyes, and Avery backed away from him. The dress he was talking about was an off the shoulder champagne satin gown with a low cut bodice that fitted her body like a second skin. Kat had insisted on the style, with a flowing tulle skirt that ended right below the knees, because she didn’t want her bridesmaids to look matronly. And Kat wanted them to wear the dress again, not toss it aside because it was hideous.

    Avery had acted as a bridesmaid in the past where she hadn’t been able to wear the dress a second time. The dresses had either ended up hanging at the back of her closet or she had donated them to charity, after spending a fortune on them.

    Kat had gone for the young sexy look, but at Avery’s expense. She wished the bust line wasn’t as revealing. For some reason she couldn’t quite explain, her bust seemed to have increased in size  since she had her last fitting for the dress. She was up by at least a cup size, and her breasts were squeezed into the bodice, leaving them partly exposed. And it was her ample bosom that Will was literally feasting his eyes on. She wished she had a shawl or something to conceal herself with.

   “Are you going to at least say, hello,” he said to her, when she refused to speak to him. “We are mature adults—there’s nothing wrong with being civil to each other. I thought you were passed the angry stage. How have you been? You look well.” He made an attempt to touch her arm, and then her cheek, but Avery stepped further away from him.

  At that very minute, Mandy appeared at her side and took her arm. “We should get inside,” she said, giving Will one of her sweetest smiles. “Kat is asking for us. She needs to see you, especially, like pronto. See you later Will.” Mandy grinned at Will again.

    Mandy grabbed her arm, and literally pushed her from the room. Avery had a feeling that the message from Kat wasn’t as urgent as Mandy was making it out to be. Mandy probably had her sights already set on Will and wanted her out of the way so that she could work her seductive wiles on him. But she was more than welcome to him. She wasn’t in the way, as Mandy seemed to think. Mandy managed to gave Will another one of her flirty smiles as they walked away, which he returned with ease before they disappeared to find Kat and the other bridesmaids.

     Avery found herself standing directly across from Will during the wedding ceremony, which was conducted by a Baptist minister. Kat’s parents had stepped in weeks before, and insisted that she be married by a minister instead of by a Justice of the Peace. They had found a minister who was willing to drive to Long Island and perform the ceremony for a fee, and Kat and Josh had been more than happy to go along with it. Kat was relieved that at least she would be married by a minister, if not in a church.

  Will spent the entire time during the brief ceremony looking at her, his eyes resting deliberately on her face. He didn’t take his eyes off her, except when it was time to perform his best man duties. Avery, herself had sneaked glances at him, too, but not the way his eyes had sought her out and lingered shamelessly on her face, locking eyes with her.

     And during the most intimate part of the ceremony, when Kat and Josh were exchanging their vows, personal words they had written to each other, Will had given her an intense look, until she had looked away to avoid his piercing gaze. Avery could have sworn that he was trying to tell her that he wished it was the two of them up there, standing together at the makeshift altar, professing their love for each other and exchanging their vows, instead of Kat and Josh.

    There was this solemn look on his face, more like a longing, when the minister pronounced Josh and Kat, husband and wife, and Josh had kissed Kat. Avery too, had become emotional, and had tried very hard not to cry. She had taken deep breaths and looked straight ahead at the lavish floral arrangements. Then she had joined in with everyone, clapping and smiling as Josh held Kat in his arms and kissed her.

    And during the reception in the spacious ball room that was extravagantly decorated for the occasion, Will had wasted no time finding her and asking her to dance with him. He had been bold about it, and Avery had quickly turned him down, telling him she didn’t feel like dancing, and especially with him. But Will had refused to accept her rejection. Instead, he had stood stubbornly at her side, telling her he wasn’t going anywhere until she agreed to dance with him.

    That was when Jason, another one of the groomsmen had stepped in and rescued her. Jason had taken her hand without asking and guided her quickly away from the table, and to the dance floor, leaving Will standing there, fuming in disbelief. He had tried to object when Jason had reached for her hand, but Jason had ignored the nasty scowl on Will’s face. And Avery had smiled sweetly at Jason, placed her hand in his and followed him to the dance floor.

  Jason was a colleague and friend of Josh. Avery had met him at Josh’s birthday party a month before, and again at the rehearsal dinner. She had found him easy to talk to, and witty, and they had hit it off from the beginning. Jason had described Will as a rich, entitled jerk, who felt the world owed him everything, until Kat had mentioned in passing that she had dated Will. Then Jason had tried to tone down his nasty opinion of Will, instead, calling him a heartless bastard who thought he was a gift to women.

    Surprised by Jason’s open animosity for Will, Avery had asked Kat later if there was a history between them, and she wasn’t surprised when Kat had confirmed that there was. According to Kat, Jason’s college sweetheart at the time had dumped him, thinking she had a change with Will. And when Will had failed to returned her affection, the girlfriend had become suicidal and tried to harm herself.

    And later, wanting to put the entire episode behind her, she had transferred to another college to put some distance between her and what had happened. Jason had blamed Will for the entire thing, including losing his girlfriend. Now she fully understood the reason for Jason’s animosity. No wondered he disliked Will as much as he did. She didn’t know if it was justified though. That was eight years ago. Maybe it was time for Jason to let go of a grudge. 

    Minutes after, Will found his way to the dance floor with the woman he had brought as a date. Avery had seen Will talking to her earlier. They weren’t seated at the same table, but he had gone over to where she was sitting several times. They seemed cozy. Will had draped his arm around the woman’s shoulders as he talked to her. Kat had mentioned in passing that he was bringing someone, a woman he was seeing in Chicago.

    She guessed Kat felt it was her duty to warn her. Kat had seemed sympathetic when she had told her about Will and the woman, and she had told Kat that it was okay with her if Will brought someone. In fact, it wouldn’t bother her one bit if he showed up with an entire cast of Victoria Secrets models. She was more than fine seeing him with another woman. But Avery knew she wasn’t being entirely truthful, especially with herself. It was bothering her. It was still too soon for her.

    The woman looked like the one she had seen with Will in the photo. They seemed comfortable with each other, though not entirely like a couple in love. She hadn’t seen them hugging and kissing each other, but she had seen the way the woman looked at Will—as if he was the only man in the room. She had eyes only for him. And Avery had seen Will smiling and holding onto her every word when she had seen them together. He was clearly attracted to her.

   Now, they were dancing steps away from her. But Will wasn’t gazing down at his partner’s face, like he should—he was looking at her instead, his eyes hardly leaving her face. And Avery decided to give the performance of her life.