Chapter 62: Chapter 27: The Cheating Groom

Jamie

“I can’t believe the wedding is tomorrow,” I grinned as I grabbed the bags from the trunk of Mason’s fancy car. I couldn’t help but notice how unexcited he was to be here. “Aren’t you excited?”

“Well, it’s not as if I’m getting married, Jamie.”

~Well, no, because you’re not the marrying type, remember?~ I thought about saying but decided not to.

I thought it would cause more harm than good. As far as he was concerned, I didn’t have a problem with it.

“I’m excited! Carmen is my best friend, and she’s getting married tomorrow. If she’s happy, then so am I.” I picked up a bag and hung it from my shoulder.

Mason pulled out the last suitcase and closed the trunk.

“I’m excited that I get to spend the weekend with you.” He closed the distance between us and set his lips on mine. “Do you plan on behaving yourself this weekend?”

“Well, I don’t know. I guess that all depends on if you want me to.” I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth as I looked at him.

~This gorgeous specimen of a man wants to get naked with me. I don’t think I want to wait any longer.~

“No, I don’t want you to. I want you to be very, very naughty.” He smirked mischievously. “I’ll carry these bags. You can carry the baby.”

“All right.” I grabbed a sleeping Penelope from her car seat and followed behind him. I liked watching how strong he was, carrying all our luggage.

I was turned on just looking at his muscles bulging, his crisp white shirt hugging his frame.

I need to talk to him about the whole I’m-not-the-marrying-type-of-guy thing. I’m waiting for the right moment. Maybe after this weekend is over.

The thing is, I didn’t know how I felt about it yet. The choice had been taken away from me now that I knew that marriage wasn’t something he wanted in the future. It makes me want it a little bit more.

What about kids?

I didn’t even know if he would like another child. Let’s face it, if I hadn’t gotten pregnant with Penelope, he might not have wanted to have any.

~Should we have had this conversation sooner? Or is it too soon to be having this conversation? I guess that’s the ultimate question.~

Mason booked the suite for the three of us, just like I knew he would. I couldn’t imagine him staying here unless he had the best room. Luxury all the way!

I didn’t mind. It meant that Penelope had more room to run around.

Carmen and Brent were already there. Ethan had yet to check in alone, and my parents were following behind us in their car, so they would be there any minute.

I noticed the bouquet of flowers on the side table by the couch and walked that way.

I wondered if they were from Mason. Had he ordered them for me when we’d arrived? That would have been pretty sweet of him. Romantic.

I admired them before reading the little white card that was tucked between two roses.

~For my Maid of Honor.~

I smiled, but that quickly turned into a sigh. At least I could always rely on Carmen to get me flowers. It was sweet of her.

Mason walked out of the master suite holding Penelope. “Who are they from?”

“From a secret admirer. Are you jealous?” I joked.

“No, I’m not jealous. I have no reason to be.” He put Penelope down and picked up a suitcase. “Whoever they’re from, they clearly don’t know you.”

“Why do you say that?” I asked him as he walked toward the master bedroom. I started to play with Penelope on the floor.

“Because it’s lilies you like, not roses,” Mason shouted back, taking me completely by surprise.

He remembered! He remembered my favorite flower, and he had no idea how much that meant to me.

That was romantic enough for me.

Mason had left the room an hour after check-in to have drinks with Brent and the guys at the bar downstairs.

Penelope and I were in Carmen’s room getting ready before going down to join them for dinner.

“I can’t believe he said that. Did you talk to him about it?” she asked.

“Well, no, not yet. I wanted to wait until I had time to think about it first. I don’t want to make this into a big deal when it didn’t have to be.”

“But it is a big deal, Jamie,” Carmen replied. “If you want to get married someday and he doesn’t, then that’s something you need to talk about.

“Maybe he feels the same about kids as he does about marriage, and I know you want a dozen of those.”

I released a sigh. “Maybe it just takes the right woman to change his mind. Maybe I’m not the right woman for him.”

“Of course you are. You’re the only woman for that guy. I think it’s pretty obvious how much he’s in love with you.”

She looked in the mirror and applied her mascara. “He might need a little persuading when it comes to marriage.”

“I don’t plan on doing any persuading. If he wants to marry me, then he’ll marry me. If he doesn’t, he doesn’t. I’ll talk to him about it and see where we stand, and I guess we’ll just go from there.”

We were sitting in the hotel restaurant, a couple of tables of us having dinner and chatting about the wedding tomorrow.

Carmen and Brent were a little off, considering they were getting married in less than twenty-four hours. He was ignoring her, and she was vying for his attention.

“So, did you manage to get a date for tomorrow?” I leaned in and whispered to Ethan. He was sitting in the chair next to mine, minus a plus one. I felt bad for him.

“It’s a wedding. I’m keeping my options open.” He smirked.

He was happy! It was nice to see Ethan happy about being single after everything he’s been through with Steph.

I sometimes wondered if it was just a front he put on, hiding how he truly felt inside. He wouldn’t even talk about her.

“Can we get another round of drinks over here?” Brent shouted, and I could tell that Carmen was feeling a little embarrassed. He wasn’t drunk just yet, but he was getting there.

The waiter was quick to our table to take his endless drink order. “Can we get some champagne, some scotch for the guys…”

“Don’t you think you’ve had enough to drink?” Carmen said. “It’s still early, baby. You should pace yourself.”

He clicked his tongue off the roof of his mouth in disapproval. “I think I know when I’ve had enough. We’re getting married tomorrow. I want to celebrate.”

The two of them continued to bicker while the rest of the table pretended not to notice.

“They’re a little much,” Mason whispered. “Do you think we can sneak away without them noticing?”

“Probably.” I smiled and looked at him. “But I don’t think we’d get away with it for long. They’ll find us.” Penelope started to cry, so I took her out of her highchair and onto my lap.

“I have a surprise for you later. Do you think your mom can watch her?”

~A surprise. Now I’m intrigued. I wonder what he’s planning. He knows that I’m not a very patient woman.~

“Um, sure, I can ask. What kind of surprise?”

“Well, if I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise.”

He threw me a wink and drank the remainder of his scotch. It was the only drink Mason had the entire day because we had Penelope with us.

He was being a responsible parent, and I was digging that.

***

~Tonight is the night!~

My parents had taken Penelope, so Carmen and I were at the bar having a drink. The guys had disappeared not long after dinner to do their own thing, whatever that is.

I was pretty sure Carmen was livid about that. It was the day before their wedding, and he didn’t want to spend time with her at all.

It seemed to be all about having fun with the guys and nothing else.

“We’ve been ditched!” Carmen drank from her wine glass, not a care in the world about being hungover for her wedding day. “Men can be such assholes!”

“Well, going by tradition, you’re not supposed to see the groom before the wedding anyway.”

“Whose side are you on?” she asked.

“Yours, of course.” I didn’t actually intend to stick up for Brent. I was just making my point. “You don’t want to be arguing with him the night before your wedding. Maybe you should call him?”

“It’s a little hard not to argue with him when he’s not listening to a word I say. All I ask is that he paces himself tonight. I’d really like to go to bed with a sober man, not a drunk one.”

She released a sigh and opened her clutch bag. “I’m going to give him a call then.”

A couple of minutes later and there was still no answer. No replies to her texts either.

“His phone is probably on silent. He always does this. Whenever we get into it, he totally blocks me out of his life. I’m sure I wouldn’t even be able to find him right now if I tried.

“This is what married life is going to be like, Jamie. Maybe Mason is right about the whole marriage thing. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.”

~Ouch! Someone’s had a change of heart.~

“How about you stay here and have another drink?” I signaled the bartender our way. “And I’ll have a look around for him. I’ll call Mason. They’re probably together.”

“You’re the best, you know that?” She smiled.

“Anything for you. I’ll be back.” I left the bar area to look for Brent, but I had no idea where to start. He could’ve left the hotel for all we knew. I wouldn’t put it past him.

If there were any strip clubs in the area, I was sure he’d sniff them out.

I searched the entire bar area and the restaurant and eventually took the elevator up to their honeymoon suite. I knocked and waited at their door, but there was no answer.

I guessed he just didn’t want to be found. Maybe he wanted his space.

I received a text message on my phone from Mason, and I opened it.

~I’m waiting in our room.~

I grinned. ~I guess this means my surprise is ready. I’m finally going to have sex for the first time in like two years.~

I didn’t want to go straight to Mason without checking in with Carmen first. I’d have to go back and at least make sure she was okay.

I stepped out of the elevator and walked toward the bar. I heard a woman’s giggles and turned my head in that direction.

There in the hallway toward the bathroom, I found him with another woman.

He was whispering something in her ear, and she was loving it. Whatever it was, it must’ve been good.

The blonde waitress moved her hand down his body toward his crotch, and he started kissing her neck seductively.

My blood was boiling.

I’d just caught him in the act! I’d had a feeling he was a cheating scumbag all along, and now I was actually witnessing it. I didn’t know if I should be happy or sad.

Sad because my best friend didn’t deserve to be treated like this. She deserved to be loved—not cheated on the day before her wedding.

Happy because at least we’d found out before it was too late. This would’ve been worse if Carmen had married him and then found out.

“Jamie…” Brent’s eyes locked with mine.

I couldn’t tell how he was feeling by his facial expression at that moment. I didn’t wait long enough to find out.

“Asshole!” I mumbled and walked away toward the bar.

Brent followed after me. I tried to walk fast enough so he couldn’t catch up, but I was wearing heels from hell, so that didn’t go very well.

“Jamie…” he hissed in anger and grabbed hold of my arm. He practically dragged me to one side so no one would overhear us.

“Let go of me!” I pulled from his grasp. My arm was now red and sore.

It got me wondering if he ever did the same to Carmen when he didn’t like something she was doing or something that she said.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to stop you from blabbing your mouth off!” He glared at me.

“You mean telling Carmen the truth about what I just saw? She deserves to know what kind of man she’s marrying.”

I folded my arms across my chest. “How could you do that to her? It’s the night before your wedding, and you’re feeling up some waitress you don’t even know.”

“That was nothing. It didn’t mean anything.”

“It’s clear that Carmen doesn’t mean anything to you either since you’re so quick to forget about her when you’re thinking about your dick!”

I was impressed that I was expressing my anger toward him so well when usually I held it all in.

“Shut the fuck up, Jamie!” He pointed his finger in my face. “You know nothing about my life, about the stress that I’m under. So I had a little slip with the waitress. Carmen doesn’t need to know.”

~What an idiot! He really thinks he’s actually going to get away with this. I was just waiting for this day to come.~

Obviously, I would rather it had come sooner, but beggars can’t be choosers.

“I’m telling her, Brent. She needs to know.”

“Fine!” He sighed in agitation. “If she’s going to find out, then it should come from me. I’ll tell her.”

He walked past me and toward the double door to the bar. I stood with a horrible feeling in my stomach, dreading what was about to come.