After The One (The One Series Duet) (23 page)

“They’re well. Cousins got in this afternoon so we all hung out and caught up with my brother and his girlfriend. My dad, brother and I called Nana and Pop since they couldn’t fly. Grandma baked a cake. It was good.” I smiled at the memory. “By the way, you guys look nice.” I eyed my best friends with a nod of approval.

“Between your grandma and Julian’s grandma, I’m ready for old age,” Lenny declared with her hands on her hips. “They are both so cute and so stubborn! I wanted to take them shopping with us.”

After the big brunch on the veranda, my best friends had left the safety of the hill to explore the rest of the Riviera Villa Resort property. I’d slept and spent time with my family instead.

“Did you have fun?” I sat back in my chair and waited.

They all seemed to start talking at once as they described the beauty of the reservoir that separated the golf course from the ballroom. Three restaurants were grouped together near the spa, two small wineries operated in two separate corners of the expansive land, and the recreation center was located somewhere between the two. The hiking trails were closer to where we were on the hill and on the other side, opposite the hill, there was access to a private beach. The Riviera Villa Resort had a little something for everyone.

“And people are pouring in,” Lenny commented. “I’ve never seen so many B-list TV celebrities and models at one place, at one time.”

I shook my head with a dry laugh. “People from the show’s guest list, of course.”

Koko plopped down beside me on the loveseat. “I’m trying to rebound with a hot rock star or sexy rapper or even a former boyband member turned solo pop star. I know Julian keeps his circle of friends small, but I know he’s friends with some A-listers. I need a hot A-list hookup to clear my mind.”

I bumped her with my shoulder, knowing Koko’s sudden interest in a high-profile hookup was directly related to the fact that Bryce Wilson was likely somewhere on the resort. As much as she tried to seem unaffected by the fact that she would see him this weekend, she was clearly bothered.

“Did you see him?” I asked, analyzing her movements.

“See who?” Koko asked, running her hands through her hair as she avoided eye contact.

“Yes,” Keisha and Lenny answered in unison as soon as I looked at them.

Koko rolled her eyes. “Fine! He may have been walking toward the pocket of villas right at the bottom of the hill.”

“Hmm…so he’s close?” I tapped my chin. “Interesting…”

“Ugh!” She shoved my shoulder playfully and stood up. “Don’t we need to get ready for that meet-and-greet cocktail party?”

I pulled out my cell phone and looked at the time. “We still have a couple hours before we need to be there.”

“Nope.” Koko jumped to her feet. “It’s definitely time to start getting ready. They were done setting up at the golf course club house. And—”

“And it looked great, by the way,” Lenny interjected, leaning against the wall.

“Really great,” Koko agreed. “But we saw something and we didn’t know what to make of it.”

I felt my eyebrows come together in confusion. “What do you mean? What did you see?” My stomach turned as I looked at each of their faces. “Does it have something to do with Julian?”

“Not necessarily,” Lenny answered slowly, looking at Keisha.

Keisha sighed. “So, we’re almost positive we saw Lillian.”

I blinked. “Lillian who?” I snapped.

As soon as the question was out of my mouth, I heard the attitude in my own voice. My friends looked worried, but calm.

“Lillian Pierce,” Koko responded. “But—”

“It couldn’t be her.” Frowning, I shook my head. “She wasn’t invited. Maybe you saw Leah and thought it was Lillian. They look a lot alike.”

Even though I didn’t want Leah to be at the wedding, Robert Brady refused to budge on her invitation. As a former contestant and finalist, he felt as though her presence was essential—especially because Julian had picked me over her. Although he assured me Leah would be on her best behavior, the only compromise he’d made was that Leah wouldn’t be at the ceremony.

Koko rolled her eyes. “I know that bitch when I see her.”

I tried not to laugh, but as soon as the gasping screech of Koko’s giggle burst out of her, I couldn’t help it.

“Listen,” Keisha started, amusement still in her voice. “Maybe it was Leah, but either way, we just wanted you to know that Lillian…or Leah is walking around. And also…” She looked between the two of us. “Don’t forget that at the end of the day, your men want you and not Leah.”

“She’s right,” Lenny added, walking over to me and extending her hand. “Now let’s get up and get dressed. You’re fucking hot and you need to remind everybody who the real star of this weekend is.”

I grabbed her hand and she pulled me up. “I love you guys so much.” I hugged them all. “You’re right. I was pissed about Robert inviting Leah, but like you said, it doesn’t really matter. I’m marrying Julian. She’s only here because Robert wants drama.” I turned to look at Koko specifically. “And if Robert invited Leah to my wedding, we both know it’s likely he invited her to that dinner meeting. You need to talk to him.”

Koko sighed dramatically. “I’m not making any guarantees, but since I’m going to have to see him at some point this weekend, I promise to try to behave. I love you too much to make a scene.”

I laughed as we started to part ways to get dressed. I’d just put my foot on the first step when I heard my name being called.

“Oh! Zoe!” Lenny yelled.

I walked down the hall and around the corner to find all three of them standing there.

“So…we may have gotten you a gift.” She crinkled her nose as she handed me big box. “It’s from all of us.”

“Aww thank you so much! You guys didn’t have to do this!” I took the box and opened it right there in the hallway. “Wow…this is beautiful.”

The white dress had a sheer lace top with a corset styled bodice and a short satin skirt. It was elegantly beautiful—formal yet informally short.

The lace pattern looks similar to my wedding dress, but where am I going to wear this?

“Thank you.” I hugged it to my body before gently putting it back in the box. “What’s this for guys? This is so sweet of you.”

Koko spoke up quickly. “We just wanted you to feel like a bride all weekend long, so when we saw how much this dress looks like your wedding dress, we knew we had to get it for you.” She smiled excitedly. “Now go try it on so we can see if it fits!”

“Do we have time? We need to get ready,” I pointed out.

“This is true,” Keisha agreed. “But as soon as we get back, you have to try it on for us.”

“Deal!” I embraced each of them, hugging them a little tighter than I had before. “Thanks again.”

I grabbed the box and bounded upstairs. I stripped and before I could pull out my wardrobe options for the meet-and-greet, I received a text message from Julian.

I’m sorry these meetings have taken so long. I’m about to meet the tailor to pick up the tuxes and then I’m heading back up the hill. Do you need anything?

I
stood naked in front of the mirror. Turning to the side, I slid my hand over the slight bump.

“Do we need anything from Daddy?” I whispered. I thought for a moment and then uttered the words as I typed them. “The only thing I need is you. I’m glad your custom silk suit arrived on time. Starting to get ready for the meet-and-greet. Call when you can. I love you.”

I tossed the phone onto the bed and walked to the closet with the white dress in my hand. I had a few different dress options to wear for the weekend. My eyes kept gravitating to the white one, but for some reason, it didn’t feel appropriate. My eyes flitted around until landing on the clear winner for the night.

Pulling out a fitted white top and my black leather skirt, I knew it was the outfit I wanted to wear. Picking out the kind of heels that I’d have to soon retire for the rest of the pregnancy, I dressed and spun around in the mirror.

Nice.

Putting my thickly coiled hair in a ponytail, I twisted and pinned it into a giant bun. I put in my large diamond hoop earrings and turned my head from side to side with a smile. Even though I loved the earrings, I only wore them on special occasions.

My phone had vibrated off and on the entire time I was getting dressed. After slipping on a red and black blazer, I went to my phone. Just as I picked it up, it started ringing again.

“Hello?” I answered, slipping the villa keycard into my blazer pocket.

“Hey, come downstairs so I can do your makeup,” Koko directed, slightly out of breath.

“Why are you breathing like that?” I asked, taking one last look at myself before heading out the door.

“Just finished Keisha’s makeup and I may have told her that she should have a threesome with Omar and Scott since they are clearly into her.”

I grabbed onto the railing as I walked down the steps, laughing hysterically. “What?”

“Yeah, she started trying to splash water on me so I had to run.”

By the time I made it to her room, I had calmed my laughter down a little, but the moment I opened the door and we made eye contact, I started laughing all over again.

“I can hear you!” Keisha yelled through the wall, leaving us in a fit of giggles.

“Okay, okay, okay,” Koko said once we finally let the joke die. “Let me get you TV ready.”

Ten minutes later, I looked like I was in high definition. Between the smokiness of my eyeshadow and the heavy liner, my light brown eyes were striking—even I couldn’t stop looking at them!—and the red lipstick on my full lips gave my pout added sex appeal.

I leaned close to the mirror. “You are talented, my friend.”

Koko changed from her oversized t-shirt with makeup smudges on it to a sexy black dress with blue pumps. Her makeup was flawless and her hair was pulled back, away from her face. When she turned around, the blue portion of her hair contrasted beautifully with her black dress.

When we walked into the living room, I let out some catcalls. Keisha had on an emerald green dress that covered her body completely, but fit like a second skin. Her shoulder-length hair was curled prettily, framing her face. Lenny had on a navy blue, 1950s style pinup halter dress that fit her body like a glove; she looked hot.

We openly admired each other’s style choices and threw around sincere compliments. We didn’t just praise each other physically as we sat around the living room. We reminisced about old times, sharing stories and memories as we appreciated what each of us brought to the table as individuals.

“Well damn…” Lenny gushed as three spectacularly handsome men walked out of the house next door.

We all silently gaped at Omar, Scott, and James as they made their way over to our villa. They looked good. All of them wore black pants, but their styles were so different.

“If you don’t want that threesome, I’ll take whichever one you don’t want,” Koko muttered to Keisha just before the patio door opened. “Hey guys!” Koko’s cheery tone didn’t even slightly indicate the sexual comment she’d just made.

“Hey,” I added, trying to contain my amusement. “You guys look nice.”

“Thanks,” Scott said with a grin. “You four will be the most beautiful women at the meet-and-greet.”

“You can say that again,” James uttered in a low tone. His eyes were glued to Lenny.

“Is Julian still getting ready?” I questioned as I rose to my feet.

“Oh, I thought he got in touch with you,” Omar replied, his forehead crinkling. “Right after he finished getting dressed, Beverly banged on the door, saying it was urgent. He didn’t call you?”

I checked my pocket for my phone and didn’t feel anything except for the keycard. “I can’t find my phone.” I looked around the room. “Can someone call it?” Focusing back on Omar, I lifted my eyebrows. “What else happened?”

“He said he was calling you. I don’t know what she told him because by the time I came into the room, he told me to tell the fellas he’d meet us at the meet-and-greet, and then he said he was calling you and ran out of the villa.”

My mouth went dry. “He ran?”

“Fast as hell, too.” He pulled out his phone. “Now that I think about it…” He put his phone to his ear and we all waited.

When he hung up without reaching Julian, my stomach knotted.

Where the hell is my phone?

“It probably had something to do with filming,” Koko guessed, calling my phone again.

No one seemed worried or panicked, but I knew Julian and he wouldn’t just take off running or abort our plans to ride together for just anything.

I glanced over at Omar and I could see the wheels turning in his head.

I’m not crazy. Something is clearly up.

I started to rush upstairs, but as soon as I got up three steps, I realized I’d had my phone in Koko’s room. I turned quickly and headed that way. When I entered, I could hear my phone vibrating.

My eyes swept the room, but I couldn’t find it. It wasn’t until the subdued vibrating noise stopped and then revved up again that I spotted it.

“Got it,” I yelled out to the others as I yanked it from the bed.

Nine missed calls. Three text messages.

I read the messages first.

I love you too, Beautiful. Can’t wait to see you.

I’m back. I’m going to hop in the shower and then get dressed. See you soon.

Call me as soon as you get this. I need to take care of something and we are going to have to ride separately. I’m going to find Robert at the meet-and-greet. Call me when you get this and I’ll see you when you get here. I love you.

My hand trembled as I called him. It didn’t ring. It went straight to voicemail.

“Hi Julian,” I greeted him, my voice shaking with nerves. “I’m so sorry I missed your calls and texts. I left my phone in Koko’s room so I’ve been without it for the last forty-five minutes. Call me as soon as you get this. I don’t really, um… I’m worried. I know it could be nothing, but Omar said you ran out…” I let out a breath as I walked out of Koko’s room. “I’m about to leave the villa now and head to the meet-and-greet. Call me. I love you.”

I squared my shoulders and entered the living room.