Page 21 of The Cost of a Bride

Eric’s eyes light up. He reaches over and gives me a pat on the shoulder. “Hell yeah! Look at you, buddy! What company areyouCEO of?” He laughs.

I can’t help but smirk slightly. “In fact, she and I…we’ve got something going actually.”

“Seriously?”

I nod. “But there’s been a little…misunderstanding. She won’t answer my calls or texts, and she’s not at her apartment. I’m pretty sure she’s staying with a friend of hers – the girl who got her the job at the mansion. You know this girl, a girl named Alyssa?”

“Alyssa, Alyssa…” Eric mutters, as though shuffling a Rolodex of women through his mind. Then, something sparks and he snaps his fingers. “Yeah! Yeah, I think I do. If it’s the girl I’m thinking of, she dates a guy who works here…”

Eric pulls out his phone and starts scrolling through his photos until he finds the one he’s looking for. “Is this her?” He shows me a photo of Alyssa standing next to a tall guy with tattoos and his arm around her, both of them standing by a cliff at one of those touristy spots where people go to take pictures.

“That’s her.” I nod.

“And you need her address?” Eric asks, sounding like my co-conspirator in a secret government plot.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure my girl is over there right now,” I reply. “I’ve got to go see her and straighten this mess out.”

Eric nods knowingly, a smile on his lips. “Give me two minutes.”

Before I can respond, he vanishes through the doors into the kitchen, leaving me standing alone by the bar. It’s early in the evening, so there aren’t many people here yet, and without a drink in my hand, all I have are my thoughts to occupy my mind. And that’s great right now.

What must be running through Nikki’s mind right now? What could Cheryl have possibly said to her while they were alone together? Based on the way she was behaving on her way out, I can’t even imagine.

During our time together, Cheryl and I rarely ever fought, but when we did, they got pretty nasty. Cheryl knew just how to hit me where it hurt – how to get under my skin and poke me where I was vulnerable. To think that I wasn’t there to shield Nikki from her and any of her potential manipulation and games makes me sick.

My heart is aching – absolutely aching. Normally, after an incident with Cheryl like the one I just experienced, I would still be running things over and over in my mind, making myself angrier and angrier. But not today. Today, all I can think about is Nikki. All of my concern is on her, how she’s feeling and what I need to do to straighten things out with her.

And it’s that realization that makes me understand that I’ve completely fallen in love with her. And despite everything I’m feeling right now, I can’t help but smile.

I’m going to fix this.

Just then, the doors to the kitchen open, and Eric emerges with a torn slip of paper in his hand. He passes it to me. “There you go,” he says. “Alyssa’s address. You didn’t get it from me.”

“I didn’t?”

He leans close. “Pilfered it out of the bar’s computer system. The one where we keep addresses on file for recent deliveries. Boss finds out I did that and he’ll plant his foot up my ass.”

I glance down at the address, then grin up at Eric and return him a hearty slap on the shoulder, similar to the one he gave me earlier. “Don’t worry, buddy. Your secret’s safe with me.”

I can actually sayI’m nervous as I pull up to the address Eric gave me to Alyssa’s apartment, but I waste no time getting out of my car. There are two units, but it’s pretty clear which one is Alyssa’s – unless Unit 1 with the large framed Rambo picture on the door and the large set of steel balls on the knocker is somehow hers.

So, I go ahead and knock on the door to Unit 2, and after a few seconds, it opens to reveal Alyssa standing there, arms crossed, looking seriously angry.

“So, a fiancée, huh?”

My heart sinks. I brace myself against the wall and look down at my feet. “Oh my fucking God,” I mutter. “So that’s what she told her...”

“You know, I actually blame myself for this,” Alyssa says. “If I hadn’t gone to the bar that night and talked you into getting together with Nikki–”

“I’m not engaged, Alyssa,” I say firmly, raising my eyes and looking at her with every ounce of persuasion in me.

“Oh, bullshit!”

“It’s not,” I reply. “That was my ex-girlfriend. She came over to see me. I couldn’t tell you why, but I was at work, and she ran into Nikki and clearly made up some sort of bullshit about us.”

“Why would she do that?” Alyssa asks.

“To fuck with me?” I shrug. “I don’t know, but I need to talk to Nikki. I don’t want her hurting over this, Alyssa. Please.”