Page 67 of River
“Your wedding to Jolene was wonderful,” I said.
“One of the happiest days of my life.” Atlas gave me a sideways glance and added, “Less colorful for sure, but Jolene and I wouldn’t have the imagination to come up with something like this. It’s quite extraordinary.”
Even the band was dressed in costumes that made them look like characters from Aladdin.
“It’s something other than their wedding in January.”
“Don’t remind me. I froze my ass off on that beach and couldn’t wait for the priest to finish his ceremony. Only Nathan would come up with the concept of a beach ceremony that time of year in Ireland.”
“At least it didn’t rain,” I pointed out.
“True, and the food was good too.”
With a smile I remembered Serena performing for us with a number from the Madonna musical that she was starring in back in London. “My favorite part was Serena’s show and all of us dancing all night with little Saffron doing the moonwalk. I love dancing with her.”
“What about your dance with me?”
“Did we dance?” I pretended I couldn’t remember and laughed at his mock offense.
“Don’t think I haven’t noticed you changing the subject,” Atlas said after a while. “What happened with the guy in Bali?”
My chest tightened just from thinking about Noah. “We didn’t end things in a good way. I guess you can say it went really well for a while, and then we crashed and burned.”
“So, it’s completely dead?”
“Yes. It’s been over three months with no contact between us. That ship sailed, so you can leave it.” The last part came out with a hint of annoyance.
“All right, if you say so, but just for the record, you wouldn’t be this defensive if you were over him.”
I rolled my eyes. “Jolene is rubbing off on you. You’re starting to sound like her.”
“Hmmm.” Atlas rocked back and forth on his feet. “You’d be surprised how freeing it’s been to live with someone like Jolene. It’s like she knows me better than I know myself, and little by little, she helps me untangle the emotional mess I have inside me.”
“Are you suggesting I should marry a psychologist?”
“No, but seeing one won’t harm you.”
I could feel Brendan Greenwell stare at me across the sea of people, and it made me turn my body to Atlas. Brendan might be a sex symbol and one of the greatest A-list Hollywood stars, but he wasn’t my type. Brendan had a long track record of beautiful women and had publicly joked that he was a sex addict. I did not want to be on his radar.
“I’ve seen enough therapists to last me a lifetime, but maybe I’m more broken than the rest of you.”
Atlas pushed his glasses in place and touched my shoulder. “I used to think that I was too broken for love, but I was wrong.”
“Is that supposed to give me hope?”
“Yes.”
I sighed. “Thank you for your concern, but I’m all right. I’ve taken a break from men altogether, so there’s that.”
“Did you? I thought I saw you in a magazine with a fella.”
“When?”
“It was an opening of one of those art exhibitions you always go to.”
“Oh, that’s Rashid. He’s a friend and quite gay.” I knew my family meant well with their concern for me, but I was tired of thinking about my failed love life, so I changed the subject. “What about you? What’s it like to be the CEO of Solver Industries these days?”
Atlas crossed his arms. “It’s not as bad as in the beginning. I’ve made some big changes, but they’re finally paying off, and I’m growing into the role.”
