Page 20 of The Cost of a Bride

Yup. He did.

“No.” She shakes her head. “Barry and I are fine.”

“Uh huh.” I nod, chuckling. “I bet you are.”

I turn away and head back toward the door, but Cheryl isn’t about to let me leave without a fight. I feel her arms around my neck as she jumps onto me from behind, and her legs as she wraps them around my waist.

She tries her best to kiss me on the neck, but I twist away as she moans in my ear, “Come on, babe. Don’t you miss me? Don’t you remember the great old times we had?”

“Sure I remember,” I reply, grabbing her wrists and prying them off me. She slinks off me to the floor, and I turn around and look down at her. So many emotions flow through me. I never thought I’d see her again, yet here she is. “How could I forget, Cheryl?”

“Then why are you doing this to me!?”

“Doingwhatto you?” I blurt out. “Youleftme!Do you not remember that? And with my lawyer of all people!”

“I made a mistake! I’m sorry, Russell! Can’t you just forgive me? I’m a different person now!”

“A different person?” I scoff. “Where’s Nikki then?”

“Who?” she asks, but her eyes completely betray her. “Nikki who?”

“You know exactly who I’m talking about, Cheryl. Don’t try to make a fool of me.” I need to get out of here now. If I’m this upset, I can’t even imagine how Nikki is feeling, or what Cheryl said to her. “The girl who was here when you got here. The one who’s not here now.”

“Russell, I don’t know you mean–”

“Out.”I raise my arm and point in the direction of the front door. “Now. Don’t make me call the police on you.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Try me,” I reply, showing her with my eyes that I am deadly serious. We may not have been together in a while, but she still knows how to read my expressions, and I see hers change when she realizes that I’m not kidding around. “I want you out of my house now, Cheryl. And if you have any self-respect, you’ll give me that ring back too.”

We stare each other down like something out of an old Western for what feels like minutes but is probably only several seconds before Cheryl gets to her feet and walks back into my bedroom. She emerges a few moments later fully dressed, and walks past me without saying a word.

I follow her downstairs to the front door, waiting to see what she’ll do. She stops, her back to me, and reaches for the ring on her finger. But then she stops, whirls, and glares at me with tears in her eyes.

“Fuck you!” she screeches. “I’m fucking keeping it!”

And before I can respond, she tears the door open and sprints out.

I go after her, but I don’t chase her. I’m not going to make a scene for the entire neighborhood, especially one that makes it look like I’m running after a woman who is racing out of my house at full speed.

I just stand on my steps and watch as she races up to her car, which is parked up the street, gets in, and speeds away, giving me the finger as she passes.

I’m still raging inside, but I also breathe a deep sigh of relief as I watch her turn off my street. Right now, I couldn’t care less about the ring. All I want is for her to be gone and out of my life, and more importantly, Nikki’s.

I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone and immediately dial Nikki as I head for my car. It instantly goes to voicemail, which is a terrible sign. She and Cheryl definitely had a run-in at the house, and whatever Cheryl said to her was not good. I have to fix this, and fast, before things spiral out of control and ruin everything.

11

Russell

I’m speedinga whole lot faster than I should on my way to the bar where I last saw Eric. I went to Nikki’s apartment, but she wasn’t home, and she still isn’t answering her phone. Every time I call, it goes straight to voicemail, and every text I send is unanswered. The only idea I have now is to try and figure out where that friend of hers, Alyssa, lives, and just drop by unannounced and see if she’s there. And the only way I can even hope to think of doing that is through Eric.

Thankfully, Eric is tending bar when I arrive. His eyes light up when he sees me come over, and he immediately starts preparing me a drink, but I quickly signal him to stop. This seems to puzzle him. I lean over the bar and motion for him to come closer.

“How you doing, man?” he asks. “Missed you the other night. Figured your evening must have gone…well. Did it?”

“You could say that.” I nod. “Ended up taking one of the dancers home with me.”