“Oh, those old bats love it,” he teased. “Look what happens when they have creative freedom. They’re very talented!”
“As are you,” I winked.
He was gracious enough to accept with a nod and we were turned around by more guests. Martin and Rodrigo!
“Harper, you are sight! Aphrodite herself would cast you down in jealousy,” Martin said, hugging me tightly, then Callum. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you, Martin,” Callum said.
We heard the buzz of a microphone somewhere and Charlie’s complaining that no one could hear him.
“May I have your attention?” He said into the microphone. “I’m sure you’re all as hungry as I am but I’ve been told by that lovely red head over there,” he said, pointing at Cherry. She blushed and shook her head, “that I need to ‘suck it up’ because Callum and Harper’s first dance as a married couple must, and I quote, be while the sun completely sets.”
Everyone laughed and clapped as Callum drug me to the dance floor and swung me in a tight circle as Barcelona’s Please Don’t go began to play. He held me firmly and slowly guided me around the stone dance floor, my hand in the palm of his as he held it securely to his chest, my other hand around his neck. I leaned my face into the side of his neck as he sang softly into my ear the wonderfully delicious lyrics.
Suddenly, the strung lights Kelly had arranged for burst on over the dance floor. It was incredible and left us awestruck as we heard the ooh's of the guests around us.
Callum stopped and whispered in my ear, “I’ve never seen a woman look as beautiful as you do right now, Harper Tate.” My breath caught in my chest, striking me mute. “Shall we give them a little show?” He teased, a glint in his eye. I gulped, expecting him to kiss me but was disappointed only for a moment when he didn’t because my heart rate picked up as he lead me around the dance floor dramatically, like a professional dancer, making me forget all about my missed kiss.
“Kelly made me take lessons with her last year for a role she was trying to get. She didn’t, by the way,” he offered my dumbstruck expression as he effortlessly guided me around the stone.
At the last note, he dipped me dramatically and kissed my neck. The guests howled in elation. He picked me up and I felt dizzy, gripping tightly onto his forearms.
“Thank you, Mrs. Tate,” he winked and led me to our seats.
Cherry led us straight to a sweetly decorated table with the most gorgeous little cake I’d ever seen. It was fairly small, but enough to feed about fifty, two tiers, simple butter cream frosting but you can tell Cross’s girlfriend arranged to have Tom envelop it in flowers. Flowers seemed to be the theme for the evening. We cut into our cake hand in hand, completing yet another tradition, and fed each other lemon cake respectfully. Callum was taken back that I remembered his favorite was lemon and rubbed my hand in his with a wink of appreciation.
The food, the champagne, the flowers, the dress, the guests. Everything was more perfect than I could have ever imagined. I felt so undeserving of it all knowing Callum never planned on continuing on. I felt sick at the thought.
“Hey,” he said, noticing my face. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. It’s just, I feel very guilty for pretending.” For many reasons.
“Are you?”
“Am I what?”
“Pretending,” he said, glaring hard.
“Of..of...of course I am,” I lied.
“I’m not,” he said with conviction.
“You’re not?” I asked, hopeful for the first time in weeks. My heart beat in my throat.
“Not tonight, I’m not.” Not tonight? What does that mean?
“No, I...” He started to say, leaning into me, making me breathless again. I felt butterflies wrestle in my stomach.
“Excuse me,” we heard a voice from behind us, “but may I have this dance?” It was Cherry.
Callum stood and took her hand, squeezing my shoulder.
As Cherry and Callum danced, I studied the way he carried himself around her. It was the same way he carried himself around all girls. All girls except this girl. I felt a twinge more hope knowing he was way more intimate with me than he was with anyone I’d ever seen him with. He wasn’t a shameless flirt. He was genuine and wonderful and...my husband.
The food was plentiful, the champagne flowing, the night lasted for hours. At two a.m., we could still feel the bass bumping around us but Callum and I both felt tired and ready to leave. We’d planned on using some of our money from the week to rent a hotel room but Charlie surprised us with a room at The Chatwal as a wedding gift.
We thanked everyone profusely, hugging each of our friends five or six times a piece. I lingered a bit at Charlie and Cherry and we were on our way, escorted yet again by the humble and talented Tie-Dye Tom.
The Chatwal was unlike any place I had ever been. We stood in its opulent lobby, waiting for the elevator and felt more pampered than we ever had and we hadn’t even made the room yet.
Callum
Harper and I stood at the elevator, our key in hand. Charlie assured me everything was taken care of, our bags were already in our room, he had checked us in. All we had to do was enter the door. We entered the elevator in an amazing mood, riding all the way up to our floor in flirtatious smiles and teasing pokes. We stepped into our hall, passing an older couple. The woman gasped and briefly held her hand to her mouth.
“Congratulations!” She exclaimed passing us by, arm in arm with her husband. “You have a very beautiful bride, groom.”
“I know,” I said, “and thank you.”
We reached our room and I unlocked our door. Harper tried to step forward but I swung her back, scooping her up in my arms and carrying her across the threshold. The door clicked behind the us. The windows were open, bathing the room in moonlight.
“We’ve gone this far,” I teased. “Might as well finish this thing.” As soon as I said it, I turned beet red, setting Harper on the ground again.
I covered my face trying to hide my humiliation but her laughter brought me back out into the open and I peeked between my fingers.
“Please,” Harper said, grabbing my hands and pulling them down, “I knew what you meant.” I smirked and shrugged my shoulders. “It was funny, though,” she said and I couldn’t help but laugh with her.
“So,” I said, suddenly realizing we were alone in a very posh hotel room with absolutely nothing to do.
“So,” she copied.
“So,” I said again.
“Okay, let’s just get it out in the open.”
“Get what out in the open?” I asked.
“You know.” She hesitated.
“What?” I questioned, raising one brow. “Get what out in the open, Harper?”
She turned beet red.
“I’m beat,” she said, chickening out. “I’ll think I’ll take a bath. I haven’t had one of those since I was a little girl.”
This made my heart sink a little for her. She deserved daily bubble baths in giant porcelain claw tubs. I yanked her hand back as soon as she started to walk off. She crashed into my chest, breathing hard.
“Yes?” She said timidly.
“I meant what I said tonight when I said you were the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen,” I said, studying her face.
She looked at the ground for an answer before bringing her eyes back up to mine. “I know,” she simply said, pushing herself closer to me.
Suddenly the room felt smaller, too intimate, too dark.
“I can’t believe you can kiss like that,” I murmured before I lost my nerve, remembering the passion we had in our first kiss earlier that afternoon.
She swallowed hard. “I can’t believe we kiss like that.”
“We are very good at it,” I whispered in her ear, bringing her cheek to mine.
“You’re beard is coming in,” she whispered back, making me smile.
“It is late. Sometimes that happens,” I chuckled.
She openly smelled my neck, making me laugh yet again.
“Are you smelling me, Harper Tate?”
She laughed. I dug my nose through her hair and inhaled.
“Are you smelling me, Callum Tate?”
“Yes I am, Mrs. Tate.”
She brought her face from mine and looked at me.
“Do you like that I’m Mrs. Tate?”
“I do,” I confessed but she moved further away, turning from me, confusing and wounding me.
She leaned over the dresser mirror and undid her hair piece laying it gently on top of the dresser.
“I’ll run your bath,” I said, walking to the bathroom to hide my bruised ego.
I sat at the edge of the tub and turned on the water. On the countertop near the sink, sat a basket with a note that read, ‘To Mr. and Mrs. Tate’. I peeled the ribbon off the top and opened its lid. Inside, were candles, bubble bath, chocolate covered strawberries, a bottle of champagne and two glasses.
“Harper come here,” I said.
When she stood next to me, I showed her the basket. She picked up the card.
“‘To Mr. and Mrs. Tate’,” she repeated then turned the card over. “‘From Cherry, Kelly and Marty.’” Harper leaned against the counter top, facing me. “I love them,” she said simply. “They are extraordinary kind to me.”
“I think they love you too, Harper,” I said unexpectedly sad.
She walked over to the bath and felt the water.
“Perfect,” she murmured under her breath. She poured the bubble bath the girls had given us into the water and let the bubbles get ridiculously huge. She turned back my way. I picked up a chocolate covered strawberry and took a bite. “Turn around,” she said.
“What?”
“Turn around. I’m getting in.”
“But I’m in here.”
“You won’t look. I trust you,” she said, already slipping off the straps of her gown. I turned rapidly, finishing my strawberry. Did I hear tape?
“Is that...tape?”
“Don’t ask,” she laughed. “Okay, I’m in”.
I turned back around slowly and gawked at her, hidden beneath a sea of foam, she flirted with me by winking. I couldn't see a damn thing but it didn’t matter because I had never wanted to take a bath more in my life than I did in that moment and I didn’t even like baths. I had to get out of there.
“I’ll, uh, go put ice in the bucket to chill the champagne,” I said, grabbing the ice bucket as I left the bathroom.
I heard her giggle and shook my head at her cheekiness. Our entire marriage was going to be nothing but a painful flirtation, I could already tell. I filled the bucket with ice then sat in the little room with the ice maker for a second to cool off. It wasn’t working so I grabbed a few cubes and dragged them across the back of my neck. I’d been gone for awhile and decided to head back, hoping that I’d be able to just slip in and she wouldn’t notice but when I reached the door I realized, in my haste, I’d forgotten my key. DANG IT!
I didn’t want to but I had to knock. “Harper, I forgot my key!”