Second Thoughts
Second Thoughts
If anyone had told Presley she’d be planning a fake wedding to Cruz Hawley after turning his life upside down she would have laughed. She would have laughed hysterically. Yet here she was sitting across from him in a little office in the resort while he told the lady behind the desk how he wanted them to pledge their love to one another before going back to Canada.
It felt surreal.
Sloane texted her a short while ago to tell her she was at the airport in Vancouver and unsurprisingly her parents and Odin’s mom were all booked in the same flight. She was baffled by it because it took months to get her tickets sorted.
While half of her heart rejoiced at her family rising up to defend her, the other half was dreading the chaos about to unfold. It was starting to feel out of control and everything was moving at a breakneck pace. All she wanted was a nice vacation to recharge her batteries, get her creative juices flowing and to feel some inner peace. The notion of traveling three countries and visiting multiple little European towns and cities and exploring the culture interspersed with days laying on the beach doing nothing but reading a good book, now felt like a thing of the past. A compulsion to cut and run was rising up in her and she let herself contemplate the ramifications if she simply disappeared off the face of the earth. Where could she go though where Anderson and Sloane couldn’t find her? The thought made her purse her lips contemplatively.
Cruz’s words snapped her from her daydream.
“I’m sorry what?”
“She was explaining how legally the wedding can’t be legit unless one of us has held a French residence for more than thirty days. I was asking her if it’s a municipality thing or country thing.”
“Why?” Did it matter?
He shrugged, “my mother was a French national. I actually own a lot of property here, I have a house in Saint Tropez, a pied–a–terre in Paris and my mother’s family held a country home near Avignon.”
“Your mother was French from France, French? Why she’d thought maybe the woman w New Brunswick or something she had no idea but this felt like details she should have known.
“Yes.”
She opened and closed her mouth. Is this why you speak the language so well?”
m Quebec or
He nodded, “it felt important to me that I kept my connection to her. I was actually born in Paris. I have dual citizenship.”
“Wait, how did I not know this?”
“Dad brought us home to Vancouver but we made a few trips while Mom was alive. Once she passed, he didn’t feel it necessary to come. When I turned eighteen the first thing I did was book a flight here, took the urn of her ashes, since Dad cremated her, despite it not being her wishes, and I had her buried next to her parents in a cemetery in Avignon, I come back every year, even if its only for a day or two to pay my respects and to check on the properties. The last two years, I only was able to stop in for a weekend because of the planned move back to Vancouver.”
Second Thoughts
“As you are a national,” the woman shrugged at Cruz, “your wedding can be more than a simple vow exchange. You can do the full civil ceremony.”
“No,” she rushed the words out and noted the surprise on the woman’s face. Reminding herself they were supposed to be playing a part she shook her head at the woman apologetically, “seriously, our parents really want to do the legal thing back home. Cruz’s father isn’t even going to be here. All of our friends and family and extended family won’t be here. We simply are caught up in the love we’ve rekindled here in Nice and wanted to make it an extra special memory. I don’t want to cancel all we’ve done back home, Cruz.” She batted her lashes and pouted at him.
“Fine, baby,” he played along. “We’ll keep it simple here and just do a vow exchange on the beach. We’ll do the
big church wedding and civil ceremony back home in Vancouver.”
Her phone buzzed and she giggled at the photo Halima sent of Anderson. “Halima making fun of Anderson’s skinny jeans,” She grinned at him. “Why are they so tight?”
“Who knows,” Cruz snorted, if he’s hoping to put a baby in her to trap her though, he better start wearing looser pants or his sperm count is going to plummet.”
She stared at him mouth agape at his comment. “You did not just say that?”
“It’s his plan, not mine. Personally, I hope she makes him work for it.”
“Personally I hope she makes him think she’s going down on him and bites off his little micro dick.” Presley grimaced and then sent her suggestion to Halima who responded with a thumbs up emoji.
“Maybe we should focus on this.” Cruz shifted uncomfortably.
“Hard to focus on this,” she grumbled, “when the entire planet is coming to screw with my vacation. How the hell did they even all get tickets on the same flight?”
“It’s meant to be.” Cruz was smug when he looked at the woman behind the desk, it needs to happen perfectly. Now you mentioned you know of a couple of shops who could get us dressed up for a beach wedding. I picture my bride wearing a floating, dress which blows in the breeze, you know? I could wear like linen pants and a nice shirt. Where can we find such things?”
Why the hell was he carrying on like it was the real deal? Surely a few fake flowers, a phony officiant and their family and it would take care of all four of his expectations for this sham.
“Look, I don’t mean to be rude but it’s getting late. I need to go back to my room and get ready for the fact my entire family is descending on me tomorrow and we’re going dress shopping. Cruz, I’m going to leave you here to iron out the details.”
He frowned at her. “Ladybird, I need your opinion.”
“I trust you, love of my life,” she said mockingly. “As you said the other evening, you’ve watched me plan my wedding since I was a little girl when I lined up my dollies. You know what I want.”
With that she turned on her heel, ignoring the way he called after her. All of her life she’d dreamed of her perfect wedding and now play acting in one with the guy she used to crush on until she was in college felt like she was pissing on her own dreams. While heading to the elevator the bar at the edge of the lobby beckoned and she decided she was going to have a glass of wine before heading to bed.
She sidled up to the bar where the same bartender who more than once since her arrival hit on her, gave her a broad smile and leaned on the bar top.
Second Thoughts
“Where is your glant?”
“Planning my wedding,” she drawled out sarcastically. “Can you pour me a very big glass of your best red wine and charge it to my room because he’s footing the bill?”
“It would be my absolute pleasure.”
“You!” a whining voice called from behind her. “It’s you. You man–stealing hussy.”
“Ramona, you have ten seconds to f**k off before I signal the security agent Cruz hired for me to drag you out of here again.”
“Why are you doing this to me?”
Presley sighed, “I am not doing anything to you. I am sitting here, having a glass of wine, trying to relax before bed because once Cruz gets back to the room, I won’t be sleeping soundly so please, do me a grant
favor and go away.
“Miss,” one of the security people Cruz hired didn’t even wait for Presley to wave him over. “You need to move along now or as the hotel manager said if she caught you harassing the guests again, you’ll be removed from the resort entirely.”
Ramona stomped, her eye twitching with rage as she made her way to a small table in the corner of the room and watched Presley closely.
“Who is she?” Paris asked hopping up on a stool next to her.
Presley almost groaned, “Cruz’s ex–fiancée and current stalker. He has restraining orders against her back in Canada but they can’t be enforced here in France so we’re dealing
“She’s kind of pretty in a freaky way.” Paris looked over her shoulder, “I bet she’s wild in the sack.” Paris grinned at her wickedly.
“Have at it, Paris. I’m not bothered.”
“Not for me, silly. I like pretty redheads with great racks.” She giggled as Presley shook her head blushing, “1 love how you blush. However, I’m desperately trying to get rid of our regular partners New, fresh blood would do them wonders.”
“I don’t think she’d go for it,” Presley shot a look at Ramona whose tongue was valiantly trying to wrap around a stray before sucking hard on it and glowering at her. “I’m telling you she’s insane.”
“Which to me translates to down for anything.” Paris was already texting on her phone. “I’m going to set them up. I bet this time tomorrow, Miss Thing over there is on her back getting plowed and eating pus-”
Presley put her hand over Paris’s mouth, “do not put an image in my head I never can get rid of.” She shook her head as Paris kissed her palm.
“If I can get her and them taken care of, you might have time for us.”
“Not likely, Paris. I’m getting married this week,” she made a face, “and then I’m supposed to be going to Spain the day after.” She sighed, “I kind of just want to go home, hide in my little apartment on the waterfront and pretend the world doesn’t exist.”
“How come?”
“Have you ever done something which backfired so spectacularly you know you’re going to be taking it up
Second Thoughts:
the ass for years to come?” Presley sighed, “Took up the latest release by Perris Brooks.”
Paris frowned and started typing it in and then it dawned on Presley that her pen name matched Paris’s real
name.
“It’s not spelled like your name but I guess it does sound the same. I thought I was clever when I came up with it when I was eighteen.” She smiled tightly as she sipped her wine and then spelled it out.
“What am I looking at?”
“I wrote that book. Perris Brooks is my pen name.”
“Aw, see it’s meant to be. Paris and Perris.” Paris bumped her shoulder playfully.
She laughed in spite of herself. “if you say so. What do you notice about the cover?”
“Holy
s**t is that Cruz?”
“Yes. He’s a big shot back home. He agreed to do the cover but I didn’t tell him what exactly I was doing with it. I bailed and came here before the book was released back home. Everyone is pissed off at me from his family and friends and my brother and honestly, it’s all blowing out of proportion and I’m really tired.” She took a long drink of her wine.
“It’s a pretty cool cover.”
“Thanks. I was proud of it but I guess I should have told him the book is about a space detective with two c***s looking for a fugitive human woman. It might have did some damage to his medical equipment company and his father’s telecommunications company. Their stocks have taken a plunge.”
“No way!” Paris threw her head back and laughed. “Tim going to order this and read it. It sounds amazing.” “Thanks. I hope you enjoy it. In the meantime, I’m going to go to bed and try to figure out how to extricat myself from this insane mess I’ve created all on my own.”
“Good luck,” Paris gave her a sideways hug. “If you need a place to crash, if only for perspective, no strings attached, we have an extra room in the villa. We can put you up.”
“Thanks Paris.”
With that she rose from the stool and made her way to the room and prayed Cruz was still not in because she really wanted to be alone.
12
