A Wedding Affair (The Wedding Affair) (51 page)

“Wow you are quite
the accomplished entrepreneur”

“
Why a compliment from one so head strong I am touched.” I warm to Mr. Waterford, he has opened up to me because I resemble his late wife, Ian, is so not going to like this at all. 

We
are all sitting at a long table with bottles of wine and vodka and everyone is wishing me well on my up and coming marriage, we all joked around, and I hear everyone’s one liner about marriage. Mr. Waterford makes a toast.

“To all you lovely ladies it has been a
real pleasure to meet you all and Aria I wish you all the happiness in the world.”

We all applaud and cheer. I get up tipsy and feeling no pain as I grab my glass of vodka

“To friends who have known me forever I thank you for tonight and for all my new friends who have come to celebrate my last days as the single girl I invite you all to my wedding” everyone laughs we drink up.

Ian walks through the doors with
Christopher, they see us all drinking with all these people and I catch his eye and smile.

“Ian!
”

“ S
hh, hey everyone this is Ian Bollinger my fiancé” a lot of ooh’s and ah’s as he walks over to me and snakes his arms around me.

“Looks like everyone is celebrating with you my dear”

“Ian you do remember Mr. Waterford from the fashion show last night he is the gaming commissioner here in Ohio and this is his club.” Ian eyes him cautiously as they shake hands.

“Congratulations to you both I wish you all the best.”

“Why thank you Mr. Waterford” Ian looks at me cautiously and I hug him and whisper in his ear “Everything is fine” the night was fun and stress free I think Mr. Waterford and I are going to be fine we all said our goodbyes and I assured them they are all invited to our wedding.

One last dance they played
SAVE THE LAST DANCE
Ian pulls me to the dance floor, Christopher and Erika followed us, Ian held me tight and we looked at one another I am buzzed, drunk and dancing with my fiancé I think I finally got it right.

I am happy and at ease, no more drama and no more antics Ian and I are
going to marry as scheduled…that sentiment
it’s growing on me
. The song ended and we are ready to call it a night.

Ian is
cute and attentive he holds me and dances and he kisses me fondly I think this is all going to work out fine.

Ian hands me my Chanel
bag as he holds my hand and ushers us all into the elevator and suddenly out of nowhere I feel a tingle against my left arm and I get a chill down my spine immediately my heart is racing as I look over to my left and Tristan is next to me, I smile as the chatter in the elevator is going back and forth I block it out I look at him as his knuckles graze my arm and send delicious thrills through me, I am on fire in seconds, my face flushes, Ian is on the other side of me and looking forward talking to Christopher, I look down at Tristan’s hand as he caresses my arm and then I look up into his hazel eyes as they darken with want and desire, he reaches for my left hand and squeezes it so and I am on fire as his knowing fingers play with mine he just got me wet as I lick my lips he smiles at me and then

PING
, PING, PING

I am pulled from our moment as the loud pinging sound signals that
we are on the ground floor, I am pulled by Ian out of the elevator as I look back at Tristan our eyes are dead on one another no words no comments just a touch that speaks volumes.

“Hey sweetheart looks like you had fun tonight?” Ian kisses my nose has he holds me close to him.

“Yeah sure we all did” my voice is low and smoldering

We are
all saying our good-byes at the curb as the valet brings our cars. One by one Christopher put Erika and the rest of my dunk girlfriends in his car and takes them home.

My drunk
-in state was diminishing fast, I touch my arm where Tristan’s hand was and I miss him.

“
Come let’s go, I think you’ve had quite an evening” Ian says in a joking way.

“
That I have”

Ian puts me in his car
, he takes the long way home and we listen to the rest of the 80’s hits from his iPod, cruel summer by Bananarama, the music fills the night air, he is flying in this car, it register to 260mph it’s a 12 cylinder, V-10, no wonder 007 drives this car.

We sit and listen to the song
as the lyrics fill the night air, ain’t it the truth, this summer just started and it has been so cruel to me. I don’t want to cry, my mind has made the decision, I just have to convince my heart that it was the right one.

Chapter 27

Day In, Day Out

June 23.2012

Saturday morning and I am hung-over, Ian has gone for a run, I am in the kitchen making
coffee, I sit at the kitchen table and remember how just a week ago Tristan made me stuffed French toast. My mind drifts back to our encounter in the elevator, I have not seen the man in over two years and in the past week he is everywhere, I just don’t get it, why am I plagued by him? Why is it now that I have made a choice in my life that it is challenged by my past?

Sabrina’s
words still haunt me; that I wanted to tell Ian so he would let me go, I guess it is somewhat true. Will this feeling of un-easiness subside? I sigh and return to my cup of coffee.

“
Hey sweetheart, you’re up I brought us breakfast!”

Ian comes
next to me with a box from the Le petite Triangle, it is literally down the street from our house here in Ohio city. We have so many great restaurants authentic Caribbean food, a French Crepery shop from France where I believe these are from but my favorite is of course Ohio City Pizza authentic pizza from Naples Italy and of course the West Side Market where you will meet people from all over the world to right out of your past.

“Hmm smells wonderful” he is in his shorts and black t-shirt drenched in sweat, he puts the box on the table
and I look at him fondly.

“I’m going to take a
shower, I’ll be right down”

I turn on the news and grab
some orange juice, plates, silver ware and set the table, this is I guess how our life will be, it’s not so bad,  ‘
Aria he needs you more then you need him’
Tristan’s accusation runs through my mind, was it just made out of rage or does it hold any truth?,’
he parked his boots under your bed and moved in on you’
Tristan’s words were from the heat of the moment, gosh I gotta stop remembering all this all it is doing is driving me crazy.

Ian comes down in his white bathrobe, he smells great, he sits down next
to me and I bring him coffee, he opens up the box from la petite triangle he brought us crepes with chocolate sauce and bananas and the other box is French toast! I see it, and tears just start flowing, I feel so sad and hurt.

Ian walks over to me and fol
ds me in his arms, I cry hard and loud, he is not used to seeing me come apart. He doesn’t know what to do. He walks me over to the living room and sits me on the couch. I cry, I can’t stop, he caresses my hair and suddenly I pull away and sit up.

“
I’m ok;” I whip my tears and grab a tissue from a nearby table.

“
What is this all about Aria?”

“
I don’t know what it is”

“
I’ll tell you what it is”

Oh
God he knows I am thinking about Tristan!”

“
Wedding jitters! It’s no wonder with all that you have been doing, with work, the fashion show and now it’s all catching up with you, you have been doing everything and now you are the bride-to-be”

I sniffle, and take some solace in what he is saying, I nod yes and he kisses me on the temple.

“Don’t worry Aria, by this time next week we will be man and wife” he stands up and pulls me into his arms.

“
Yes you are right Ian.”

We go bac
k into the kitchen and I eat half of the crepe, French toast for me is
forbidden fruit
. I don’t say a word to Ian he and I eat in silence.

It’
s Saturday so our ritual has been he and I go to the Westside market and do our Saturday shopping for the week, we run through menus and what we need and we spend a lazy summer day just the two of us picking produce, fruit and my favorite I love the pizza bagels as well as the killer lady locks filled with devilishly sweet filled goodness,
jeez am I that sex craved I am talking about food like a woman talks about a man?
Just then I hear my name over the produce stands

“Aria” I turn around and it is Reese
Marks from Tiffany’s the girl he is seeing.

“Reese how are you” she runs up to me and hugs me and Ian she is the sweetest little thing, jet black bob, big blue eyes her and Mark look great together.

“Aria I am so glad I ran into you, I was going to call you, this evening the girls and I are going to the Princess Diana show of dresses at The Art Museum and I wanted to see if you wanted to go?”

I looked at Ian as he has his arm around me.

Aria you should go”

You don’t mind?”

No go have a good time with your friends” I looked over at Reese and she is smiling and bouncing in place, she and I love Princess Diana.

Ok count me in Reese”

Cook I will text you all the info gotta go Mark was expecting me home an hour ago” she and Mark are so in love it is infectious, they are the cutest couple most likely to couple. We say our goodbyes and she is like a mad woman out of the market weaving in between the crowd.

Ian are you sure you are going to be ok?”

Aria go have fun with your friends, I have papers to grade and boxes to unpack, don’t worry I will be busy enough” I kiss him on the cheek

“Thanks Ian”

“For what?”

“For everything” Ian takes a bite of his pizza bagel as we walk back to the car I look up at him and he looks adorable as the sun kisses his olive skin and the w
ind sweeps through his dark hair I am enthralled in him, I want him, I just gotta have him.

Gotta do something about this and quick I think, I am needy for sex and I look at Ian next to me as he stuffs his face with a remainder of my pizza bagel and I whip
the sauce from his lips.

In that instance I just want him I d
on’t know what comes over me but I want him.

“Aria are you ok?”

“I think we need to go home”

“Really are you ok are you not feeling well?”

“Ian I need you to take me home now” my intentions are quite evident and he looks at me and he grabs my hand and we head to the car.

-------<>-------

We get back to the house and bring all the bags into the kitchen and put them on the table. I pull Ian’s hand and lead him upstairs to our bedroom.

“Aria wha
t has come over you?”

“I don’t know Ian I just want you”

“You have this look in your eyes I have never seen before”

“Ian do I have to ask you to make love to me?”

“Aria where is all this coming from?”

“What you don’t want to have sex?

“Will you stop answering my question with a question”

“Ian I’m fine look at me” I take off my white camisole and drop it to the floor in our bedroom I take off my shorts and drop them to the floor as well
. I am standing in a pale pink satin bra and panties.

“Aria I don’t know
what your game is but I’ll play”

“Game
Ian this is not a game I want you is that a game to you?” Ian takes his t shirt off and toss’s it to the floor he goes for his shorts and I get mad.

“Don’t bother Ian” I pick up my t shirt and shorts and head down st
airs putting on my shorts and my t shirt I go to the kitchen and start going through the grocery bags and I begin to put the fruits of our labor away.

Ian comes down he is dressed still he stands behin
d me and holds me to him.

“Aria I love you”

“I know I love you too”

“Are you mad at me?”

“Why because you don’t want to have sex with me?”

He turns me around and he looks at me as tears fall down my cheeks
.

“Aria what is wrong
? What is going on with you?”

“
I don’t know anymore” I drop everything and I walk outside and sit by the pool