Be Good A New Adult Romance (RE12)(33)

When the day of my sister’s wedding arrived, I felt like an expert in the field. I arrived to her house Friday afternoon and she was in a state of panic. Things were falling apart quickly and she didn’t know what to do. I had never seen my control-freak surgeon sister in such as state of chaos.

“No problem,” I said as I grabbed her elbow and made he sit down. “I can fix everything.

She looked at me like I had just arrived in a space ship and had three heads.

“Watch,” I said confidently. I grabbed my cell phone from my pocket and excused myself. Four phone calls later, everything was fixed.

“How in the world did you manage that?” My sister was incredulous.

“Didn’t our brother mention I’ve been working as a party planner?”

She shook her head.

“For three weeks.”

“And you already know enough to fix everything that had gone wrong?”

I gave her a look that said what she had asked me to do was the simplest thing in the world. And truth be told, it wasn’t that difficult.

“I can’t believe I’m going to say this to you, little sister, but you actually saved my life. The party planner that I have been paying major money hasn’t been able to fix the problems and it’s been weeks. I was actually considering cancelling the wedding. I can’t believe you marched in here and solved everything in a matter of minutes.”

“What can I say? I’m just a natural.”

And for the first time in my life, my sister gave me a hug.

I was trying to keep my sister calm in the dressing area of the wedding chapel. My sister and brother-in-law were not religious and didn’t want a church ceremony, so they decided on a beautiful wedding hall that also had a chapel for more formal ceremonies.

My sister and I both jumped when there was a pounding on the door. I rose to answer and saw my father standing there, his face distorted with a strange expression.

“What’s wrong dad?” I asked as I studied his features. My dad had the rugged face of a person, who worked outdoors even though he was a surgeon and spent almost every waking moment in a surgical unit in the hospital.

“There’s someone here, who insists in seeing you?”

I furrowed my brow. “Is it my roommate?”

“It’s not the witch.” Even though I had called my roommate the witch many times in the past, hearing my dad say it with such contempt in his voice irritated me.

“Then who is it?” I snapped.

“A young man. He says he won’t leave until he talks to you. He’s actually caused a bit of a scene.”

I cringed at the thought of one of the many guys from my past causing a scene at my sister’s wedding. “Don’t worry, Dad. I’ll take care of it.”

“You’d better,” my dad yelled as he marched away.

“I’ll be right back,” I called to my sister as I headed toward the entrance to the chapel.

My face nearly fell to the floor when I saw Brett pacing nervously near the entrance.

When he saw me, and our eyes met, a jolt of heat surged through my body. “What are you doing here?” I managed to get out before my throat went completely dry.

“You invited me,” he said as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

“I know but that was before…” I didn’t know what to say. Before Becca came back into your life. Before you completely broke my heart. Before I never thought I’d see you again.

Brett was wearing a black tux with a vest and shirt that matched my bridesmaid’s dress perfectly. I wondered how he had done that or if it was just a coincidence.

“I need to talk to you,” Brett declared .

“I’m a little busy. My sister’s getting married in less than an hour.”

“This will only take a minute.”

When I saw the look of determination on Brett’s face I knew he wasn’t going to leave until I heard what he had to say.

“Fine,” I sighed.

Brett moved in close to me and placed a soft kiss on my lips. Any barrier I thought I’d erected to protect me from getting hurt again completely melted away.

“I never should have left you. I made a mistake and I’m sorry.”

Did he really think he could just march back into my life and I would take him back? Part of me was completely furious, another part of me was indignant but a small part of me was ready to throw my arms around him and take him back without hesitation.

But I was done being easy. If Brett wanted me back, he’d have to work for it.

I crossed my arms over my chest. “What about your fiancé?’

“I don’t have a fiancé.”

“What happened to Becca?”

He put his head down for a moment then looked back up at me with damp eyes. “She’s not you.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

He shook his head. “I couldn’t be with her again. Everything she did and said I compared her to you and she always fell short.”

I scoffed. “Yeah, right. Becca is perfect. I don’t think she is capable of falling short in any way.”

“She may be perfect but she’s not perfect for me.” He pulled me close, so our bodies were touching, and I completely melted into his arms. I breathed in the scent of him and thought about how much I had missed everything about him. “See how well we fit together,” Brett whispered. “You’re the one, who’s perfect for me.”

Being with him felt so familiar and so right. It felt right like being with the girls party planning felt right. But I was afraid. I was afraid that he’d so easily and carelessly break my heart again. I wasn’t sure I could trust him with something so fragile.

I looked into Brett’s eyes. “You really hurt me.”

“I know. And I know it’s going to take time for you to trust me again. All I want is a chance.”

I pulled away from Brett. “I’m not the same person I was when we met. I’m working as a party planner instead of wasting my time at an endless party. And I don’t drink anymore.”

Brett nodded but I could see his eyes sparkling with something, maybe pride.

“So you can’t just treat me like trash. I’m not disposable.”

A teardrop rolled down Brett’s cheek. “I know. I’m sorry I hurt you. You didn’t deserve to be treated that way.”

“How do I know you won’t hurt me like that again?”

He grabbed my hands in his. “I love you, Anna. I didn’t realize how much until you were gone.”

My head felt like it was swimming with thoughts and emotions. I wanted to believe Brett but I was scared to trust him again.

Before I knew what was happening, Brett was down on one knee in front of me. “Marry me,” he said. It wasn’t a question.

“Are you insane?”

“Not if it’s the only way I can prove my love.”

“First of all, we were only together a few months. Second, you left me for your ex-fiancé. And third, we’re not even back together again, so why are you asking me to marry you? And why am I suddenly the voice of reason?”

He rose and kissed me. “It wasn’t a question,” he whispered.

I gulped. There was Brett’s determined looked again.

“I’m willing to wait as long as it takes and when you’re ready, we’re getting married.”

“Shouldn’t we get engaged first,” I suggested.

He shook his head. “I no longer do engagements. They didn’t work out so well for me in the past.”

Brett grabbed me and pulled me close again. He crashed his mouth into mine and claimed me. This time, his kiss was filled with so much desire and need, it completely overwhelmed my senses.

“Okay,” I said nearly breathless.

Brett cocked an eyebrow, “Okay, what?”

“Okay to all of it.”

Brett finally looked hopeful. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, but I have some conditions.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“I think we should take things slow. Get to know each other a lot better before we march down the aisle. After all, we have our whole lives to figure things out.”

“You’re a wise woman.”

I smiled. “Maybe I just have a good teacher. And one more thing—you have to be good.”

“I’m always good,” he murmured.

When he kissed me again, I knew he was.