[12]

That was it.

No 'I love you' speech or proclamation of love. Yet, it was enough to make Simone burst into tears and nod her head vigorously. It'd been a long while since I saw Simone so happy. It made me want to cry.

The second Marcus had stood up and slipped the ring onto her finger, whispering something in her ear as he did, she pulled him to her and kissed him fiercely. We, the audience, burst into another round of applause. Due to the amount of alcohol-and probably love-in the air, I felt my eyes being stung by tears.

The newly engaged couple held on to each other with bright smiles as people approached them, delivering congratulations and short-termed hugs. Even Mrs. Wellington went on to congratulate them. I, however, did not miss the look she gave me as she kissed my best friend's cheek.

With gritted teeth and not-so-calming breaths, I walked to them, a little surprised to notice Parker following behind me. Simone's wide and contagious smile caused a smile to blossom on my lips as I approached her. She closed the gap between us and threw her hands around me in a hug. I felt myself relax, the scent of her coconut shampoo filling my nostrils.

"I'm so happy for you," I told her as we pulled away and held each other at arm's length. She grinned.

"I'm happy for me. I hadn't expected that," she replied, a little out of breath. Her hands let go of mine, going to fan her face instead. "Marcus almost gave me a heart attack."

"Now you're the bride to be."

She stopped fanning herself at my words, facing me with a new horror on her face. "Mida won't let me live this down."

"Well, it's only going to be until you guys go to the altar," I shrugged. "Besides, you should have known better than to tease her for so long."

"She gets riled up so easily," Simone snorted. "It's a breeze."

"Yeah. And she'll surely have her revenge."

"But-"

Simone was cut off mid-sentence by Parker, who spoke up for the first time since meeting Simone.

"Congratulations," he smiled at her.

Simone cast me a sideways look before letting her gaze settle on him. She grinned. "Thanks."

"Now there's another wedding for you to attend, Camsy," he said to me

I huffed. "You mean plan. Simone's going to be just as demanding as Mida is."

While Parker laughed and shook his head at me, Simone glared.

"You're probably going to be the maid-of-honor as well, Cam," we heard Marcus say as he materialized from behind Simone. He wrapped an arm around her. "For all I know, Sim's not going to let Mida into the wedding hall, talk more of stand as maid of honor."

My eyes went wide as the picture of me, a few months from now, running across the place, doing the job of both the wedding planner and the maid of honor, crossed my mind-the utter horror.

Before I could even react to what he said, we heard someone squeal, and Mida came barreling into Marcus from behind. She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed, successfully knocking out all the air from his lungs. Shawn laughed as he came up behind her and detached her from her best friend.

She escaped Shawn's hold just as Marcus regained himself and turned to face her. She wrapped her hands around him and put her chin on his shoulder, shutting her eyes tightly.

"Told you she was deranged," Simone whispered to me.

"She probably heard that," Parker whispered back to her.

"I did," Mida announced, finally letting go of Marcus. She glared at Simone before facing Marcus and squealing again. "But I'm so happy for you! Though I'm not completely happy with your choice, she'll have to do." Her expression turned serious towards the end, causing Marcus to laugh and ruffle her hair.

Mida and Marcus had known each other even before I'd met Simone. Before the cruise that brought Simone and Marcus together. They had been so close that Meda lost her shit when Marcus and Simone had decided to go into a relationship without her knowing. It was probably why Mida and Simone couldn't go a day without insulting each other. I think a part of Mida believed Simone would rip Marcus away from her. But considering that never happened, she was just being paranoid.

Thinking about it, it seemed like we were all connected through each other.

"You've got to teach me how you did that," Parker told him.

My heart clenched painfully at the thought of Parker kneeling before another woman and asking for her hand in marriage. Two seconds later, I cursed myself for being a terrible partner and a jealous friend. That's all we were: friends.

Right.

He raised a brow. "I didn't do anything. I just asked her to marry me. I've been meaning to ask it for a while now, and winning the game felt like a sign for me to finally do it."

"Yeah, and it was effing romantic," Mida cooed.

"More romantic than my proposal?" Shawn pouted beside her, feigning hurt.

Mida turned to him, placing a fragile hand against his suit-clad chest. "You did it on the deck of your yacht. Nothing could be more romantic than that."

I lifted a brow and pointed an accusing finger at Mida, who was still grinning at her husband-to-be. "You better watch her. She's only out for your money."

"And your yacht too," Simone added.

Without removing his gaze from Mida, he replied. "It's no biggie, as long as she stays."

A coo left my lips before I could think otherwise. "Though you sound like a suffering husband, that was pretty sweet."

"Yeah," Marcus pouted, drawing his brows together. "I think I should've added that to my proposal."

We broke into mild laughter seconds after, Simone slapping Marcus's back lightly as she laughed.

"Okay, my bride-to-be and I have to be somewhere now," Marcus announced, collecting Simone's hand.

Looking genuinely confused, Simone questioned, "we do?"

Marcus didn't answer. He just whisked her away. Not until they left did I notice that we had the entire room's attention.

"That's it for tonight, everyone," Mida declared, waving her hands to dismiss the party. "My best friend's gone with his fiancé now, and I think we need some rest before tomorrow. Thank you for coming, and goodnight."

The crowd erupted in distinct chatter as they dispatched.

"It's getting late, Cam. Tomorrow's going to be quite hectic, so I suggest you get some rest tonight," Shawn told me.

The tone of his voice told me his statement had more meaning to it. I felt like he was worried about me, with all the love and engagements in the air.

I offered a smile. "It's nothing I can't handle." The wedding and the idea of my two closest people getting married.

Although I might've wanted to rush to the bathroom and reproduce the contents of my stomach due to how lightheaded I was feeling, I was happy for them. I just needed time to think some things through, you know, find my single lady mojo again.

"You sure?" he asked, eyes still filled with worry.

I pinned my lips together and nodded. Shawn relaxed, taking Mida's hand.

"Okay then, we'll be in our room-rooms," he quickly corrected face flushing red. I squinted my eyes at them. Mida was grinning nervously now.

"We should get going." And with that, she whisked him away.

I sighed, cursing my love life one more time.

"Is it just me," Parker interrupted my thoughts by saying. "Or was Shawn actually lying about them having different rooms?"

I inhaled sharply at his voice. Now we were alone in the room. The only sounds wafting around us were those of our breaths. After Simone's engagement, being alone with Parker was the last thing I wanted. It was making me feel drunk.

"I don't trust Mida, so that you might be right." I turned to him.

Parker considered me for a moment, then surprised me by taking my hand and squeezing it. "Are you okay?" He asked with furrowed brows.

"I'm fine," I sighed.

"Is it because your best friend's engaged now?" His gaze leveled further. Tingles were beginning to spread up my arm and through my body, jolting every cell in me to life with electricity.

My gaze flickered down to my hand in his for the briefest of seconds and then flickered back up. I allowed a smile on my face.

"It's not. I'm happy for her."

"I'm not asking if you're happy for Simone, Camsy. I'm asking if you're happy."

I knew the answer to that question, and judging from how he looked at me, he did too. His green eyes sparkled with emotion. I was sure if I stared longer, I would figure out what it was, but I couldn't.

I was scared.

There was no denying that after that night we'd spent together five years ago, something in me had changed. I still wanted Parker. Maybe it was the reason why I turned down men when they asked for a serious relationship. Maybe it was the reason why I couldn't stop seeing brilliant green wherever I went. Maybe it was the reason why I wanted to kiss him so bad.

And maybe it wasn't.

After all, I did confess love to thirteen males before him. Who said he wasn't just another one?

And who said he felt the same way?

I removed my hand from his, taking a step back and watching his lips part in shock.

"Cam-"

"I'm fine." I stopped him before he could say something else, turning my face away from brilliant green. "I just need to rest."

Silence settled upon us before Parker broke it.

"Okay," he sighed. "I'm going into town to grab coffee tomorrow. I was wondering if you would like to join me."

Now I was forced to look at him. Despite the fact that there was emotional tension between us, he seemed calm, save for the fact that his eyes showed conflicted emotions that I couldn't decipher.

Nevertheless, I agreed to have coffee with Parker.

"I would love to. A break from work wouldn't hurt."

His eyes widened and sparkled like he hadn't expected a yes from me. "Okay then," he almost sputtered out. "I'll wait outside for you by ten."

I let a smile bloom on my face. Even when Mida's maid-of-honor wandered into the room and engaged Parker in some "talk", I didn't let the smile slip. However, I left the two of them to it after sharing a farewell with Parker. As I walked down the halls and up the stairs to my room, I assured myself that the pang in my chest wasn't because of seeing Parker with another woman. He wasn't mine.

Besides, coffee would straighten things out.