After a few bites, she asks, “What happened after that night was over?”
“Afterward, I could still picture it in my mind, and I didn’t like it at all, but I pushed it away and tried to move forward.” I take a sip of wine. “Leia went into full-fledged wedding planning mode. We barely saw each other because she was always going to some tasting or a meeting with the planner.”
As I add some horseradish to my au jus, I think about that time a little over a year ago. I was so confused.
“Leia started pulling away. We were no longer… intimate at all. I still stupidly thought things would get better once she had her perfect wedding. That she would be happy with just me.” The bitterness in my voice was unmistakable.
Juliette winces. “Sounds like she’s one of those women who cares more about the wedding than the marriage.”
“You’re not wrong. She started going nuts with the spending. Her parents are wealthy and have always given her pretty much anything she wanted, but even her father put a lid on it after she insisted on a pair of fifteen-thousand dollar shoes for the wedding.”
Juliette chokes on a bite of asparagus and pulls her napkin to her mouth while she coughs. “Did you say fifteen thousand for a pair of shoes? That she would wearonce?” she croaks. “You could buy a damn car for that.”
That makes me laugh. “Exactly, but I bought them for her anyway.” I bite into my bottom lip and shake my head at my stupidity. “I’m not sure what I was trying to prove by doing that.”
Juliette reaches across the table and drifts her fingers across the back of my hand. “You loved her and were trying to make her happy.”
I wince. “That’s the thing. I’m not sure I was in love with her anymore. And it wasn’t just the sex stuff,” I say quickly. “We barely even talked, and when we did, it was only for her to ask me for more money. I started to realize Leia wasn’t the person I thought I knew. For some reason, I still thought I should do my best to make itwork. I mean, the damn wedding was only a few months away at that point, and then all the craziness would settle, right?”
“But it didn’t?”
“Not really. Her dad had put a stop to all the frivolous spending, so I started footing the bill for whatever crazy thing she wanted. She commissioned ten ice sculptures for the reception.” I shake my head and give Juliette a wan smile. “You don’t even want to know how much those cost. It’s fucking frozen water, for Pete’s sake, but the artist apparently thought he was Michelangelo working with the finest Italian marble.”
My date swallows a bite of her meat and shakes her head, blonde hair swaying around her shoulders. “Don’t tell me. It will only spoil my appetite, and this prime rib is too good to waste.”
“No doubt. The chef here is amazing,” I say, taking another bite before continuing. “Anyway, I was looking forward to the big day finally arriving, and I’m a little ashamed to say I was more excited about it being over than actually being married to Leia.”
“That’s totally valid, Reno. Weddings can be stressful.”
I nod my agreement. “I’d finally managed to get past the whole threesome thing. Did my best to make it just a distant memory of a wild night. But about a month before the wedding, she brought up doing it again since she didn’t get thefull experiencethe first time.”
Juliette pauses with her fork halfway to her mouth. “But it was only supposed to be once. That’s what you had discussed beforehand.”
“I’m aware,” I say flatly. “But Leia wouldn’t let it go. She said she was really hoping there would be some sword crossing.” I let out a humorless chuckle. “I’ll be honest, I had to look that term up.”
My date waves her hand beside her shoulder like she’s answering a question in class. “Oh, I know that one. I may have been blissfully unaware of what upside down pineapples represent, but I know about crossed swords. It’s a thing in the book community.” Then her smile fades as the realization hits her. “She wanted you and Jeffrey to…”
“Yep,” I confirm.
“But you’re not bisexual. It’s not like you can just change your sexuality on a whim because someone else wants you to.”
“That’s exactly what I told her. The next week, she changed her tune a bit and asked if we could do the threesome thing again, just one more time. No crossing of the swords involved.”
“And you said no?”
I nod. “I said no. Actually, I said fuck no and stormed out of the apartment.”
“I don’t blame you,” Juliette says, crossing her arms over her chest and scowling, the picture of indignation.On my behalf.I find it incredibly endearing. “Is that when you broke up?”
Heaving out a sigh, I shake my head. “It probably should have been, but no. I called my two best friends, Lane and Marcus, and they met me for drinks. They both agreed with me that this was a fucked up situation and said I should call off the wedding.”
“But you didn’t?”
Pushing away my empty plate, I lean back in my leather chair and rub a hand over the top of my head. “I thought about it. But when I was on my way back home, my mom called.”
Juliette’s face is gentle with sympathy. “Let me guess. She was excited about the wedding?”
I blow out a breath through my nose and bob my head up and down a few times. “Yes, but she also said something else that made me pause.” Glancing out at the sun setting over the water, I focus on the beautiful scene for what I was about to say. “I didn’t have the best dad growing up. But my mom told me that night that she was proud of me and said she’d always worried that growing up like that had damaged me. She blamed herself because she thought I’d never get married.”
