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10
Dominic
Every Thursday, I meet my brothers at the Trading Post for lunch. Today they decided to bring along their girlfriends. Now I’m stuck at a table with all of them. There’s no fun in this, so I send Ash a message to call me with an emergency in twenty minutes. By then I should’ve already finished my lobster mac and cheese.
“I can’t believe you’re married.” Annie sits next to me, Enzo across from her. “I think it’s romantic.” She pats my shoulder.
“I love the spontaneity of it.” Bella looks just as dreamy-eyed as Annie.
Carm beams a smile toward Bella, and his hand disappears under the table.
“Don’t get too excited. We’re giving it five weeks. We’ll pretend until after Luca’s wedding, then we’ll break it to our parents that it’s not working.” I sip my drink.
“What?” The horrified expression on Annie’s face is like she just saw the ending of a romantic movie being stripped away. “Why?”
“Because we were drunk. We didn’t plan for it to happen. We’re both in agreement.”
“Are you sure about that?” Bella asks, straightening her napkin in her lap. “Because the woman I saw in Vegas was very interested in you.”
“Really? I wish I would’ve had more time with her that night.” Annie pouts at Enzo, who shrugs.
“I don’t,” he says, picking up a piece of his goat cheese pizza.
Now that I think about it, those two disappeared halfway through dinner.
“There was something between you. I can’t describe it. I don’t know… it reminded me of turbulence.”
“Turbulence?” Annie asks.
I check my phone. Five minutes until Ash calls me.
“That doesn’t make sense,” Enzo says over a muffled mouthful of pizza.
“Let her explain,” Carm says, protective over his girlfriend.
Bella smiles at him, but still holds an expression that says I’ve got it, but thanks. “It felt like there was a lot of unease between the two of you. Worry about when the next big dip will come that has you gripping the arms of the seat, but even though you’re scared, you enjoy the thrill at the same time.”
Annie snaps her fingers and points at Bella. “Makes total sense.”
Annie turns to Enzo, and he’s nodding. Seconds later, she pulls out her notebook and the two of them end up in a conversation about an idea for an ad pitch brought on by Bella’s little speech.
“We’ve lost those two.” Carm kisses Bella’s cheek. “Have I told you how much your brain turns me on?”
Bella giggles and slaps his chest. “What doesn’t turn you on?”
“True story.”
“Anyway, I think you should hold out until you’re through the turbulence, you know?” Bella says to me. “Putting a time limit on it seems like a horrible idea.”
“Believe me, there’s a lot between me and Val you don’t know.”
She holds up her hands. “I know it’s none of my business, I’m just telling you what I, as an outsider, saw. I mean, I never would have thought Carm would be the one.”
“There’s history.” I continue to make excuses when I should just shut up. It’s none of their business, but I kinda want to know more about what Bella saw in Vegas. Because when I look at Val, all I see is a woman who hates me but wants me in the same breath. I have no idea what goes on in her head, but one thing is certain—she started the annulment process. That means no matter how much she might want to fuck me, she doesn’t want to be married to me.
“History is the basis for the best relationships sometimes. I think that Mama is right. You can’t argue that there’s a reason why the two of you married. Drunk or not,” Carm says.
The waitress walks by our table, and I signal for my bill. Poor Katie, who was our waitress for years, decided not to take our table when Carm walked in with Bella. She liked him, we all knew it, but Carm never felt the same way. Which means that if the girls keep attending, we might need to find a new restaurant for our Thursday lunch dates.
