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  I couldn’t wait to find out.

  My thoughts were interrupted by a high-pitched voice singing her name.

  “Kate Stone.” We both turned toward the voice. It belonged to a short tiny blond woman, half her faced covered in sunglasses. She wore a fur trimmed leather jacket, black leggings and Uggs.

  “Brenda.” Kate stood up and hugged her friend. “You made it.”

  “I only have about twenty minutes.” Brenda hugged Kate again. “Not all brides are as amazing as you.”

  Recognition hit me. She looked different without her headset buried in her blond hair. She was the woman running round all over the place at Kate and Preston’s wedding. I never had the chance to meet her.

  “Oh please. I was a nightmare,” Kate said.

  “Not at all.” Brenda turned to me. “You must be Callie.”

  I nodded.

  “Yes. This is Callie Blake,” Kate said. “She’s Noah Patrick’s soon to be bride.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Noah is gorgeous. You snagged you a good one.” Brenda leaned in and gave me an awkward hug.

  I patted her back and tried not to sneeze from the smell of fur and pineapple shampoo.

  “It’s nice to meet you.”

  Brenda pulled up a chair and motioned for the waiter who stood near by. “Can I have a glass of rosé, please?”

  The waiter nodded and left.

  “So. I only have a few minutes, but when Kate said you would be in Aspen this week, too. I figured its fate. I’d love to work with you.”

  “On what?” I scrunched my nose.

  “On your wedding of course.” She grabbed my hand.

  “Surprise.” Kate said with her hands wide open.

  “My wedding,” I said.

  “Yes. I know you haven’t much time to work out what you want, but Brenda is amazing and she can pull anything off. She is the anti bride wedding magician.” Kate clapped her hands.

  “Anti-bride?” Who said I was anti-bride?

  “That’s how I was. I didn’t have a clue about how to plan a wedding. Had no clue what I wanted. Brenda took care of everything. And it was beautiful, right?”

  I stared at the two of them.

  “It was beautiful, right?” Kate said her eyes wide.

  “Oh. Yes. Yourvwedding was amazing.” I reached for more bread. “This is just premature. I mean. I’ve been engaged for days. I haven’t even told my family yet.”

  “You haven’t told your family.” Brenda said, the judgment thick in her voice.

  “No. I haven’t it.”

  “Well, that’s okay.” She patted my hand.

  “Thank you.”

  “Hey, Callie. I’m sorry. I just thought since Brenda was here you’d want to meet her. It’s no big deal. You’re not ready, yet. That’s okay.”

  Again with the okay’s. I shut my eyes and counted to three. My whole body prickled with anger and anxiety. I tried to remain calm.

  “Brenda. How’s LA?” Kate asked. A not so obvious change of subject.

  I opened my eyes and ignored the concerned looks on their faces as they tried to talk about anything else besides my upcoming wedding.

  Nine

  Callie

  I was noticeably quiet on the ride back to the cabin. They guys hadn’t returned yet.

  “Let’s open a bottle and sit by the fire.” She held up her phone. “Guys will be here in a minute.”

  I spotted Nip and Valentine in one of their great debates in an enclosure in the back yard.

  Katie’s puppy sat in the grass watching them as if contemplating on whose side she should be on.

  I shook my head.

  “I’m going to grab Nip and take him for a walk.” I pointed outside. “It looks like he could use some time away from the girls.”

  I grabbed his leash off the table near the back door. I pulled my hat down over my head.

  “Call—”

  “I’ll be back soon.” I interrupted and slipped out the door. The sun had set below the mountain range and the temperature had dropped. I was fueled by anger, but at who and at what, I wasn’t sure.

  “Hey Valentine.” I knelt down and picked her up and kissed her little noise. She yelped and wiggled in my hand. I couldn’t feel angry when I held her.

  I sat her down, reached in and placed the collar on Nip. He yelped and wiggled himself when he saw that he was going to have some uninterrupted alone time with mommy.

  I heard him laugh in his barks.

  I rubbed his head and sat him down on the ground.

  “I’m sorry, Val. I don’t want you to get eaten by a mountain lion or something.”

  She gave me one of her patented whimpers.

  I blew her a kiss and headed in the direction of the driveway with Nip at my heels.

  I wasn’t sure why I was feeling so out of it about the wedding. I wanted to marry Noah and spend my life with him, but his expectations of what that looked like and how I pictured my life didn’t jell, yet.

  I shuffled down the driveway and noticed a trail opening near the road.

  “What do you think, Nip. Feel like a hike.”

  He answered me with a yelp.

  I peeked down the road, hoping not to step out as the guys pulled up. I ran across the street and up a few steps that marked the head of the trail. I heard a SUV rumble by behind me, but soon I heard no noise. It was peaceful and quiet and cold, but the raging noise in my head made it hard to enjoy it. I walked up a few more feet up the steps and the trail flattened out. I looked back to make sure I could find my way back. I walked for another ten minutes, but hadn’t made it much distance from the house. I came through a clearing and found a small man made wooden deck sticking out over the side of the mountain.

  Nip jumped up on the deck and I followed. He inched towards the edge and thought better of it and came running back.

  “Don’t worry Nip.” I scooped him up. “I won’t let you fall.

  I sat down, my legs dangling over the edge. I leaned over the edge a little and blinked.

  The drop wasn’t far, but it would hurt.

  “Why don’t you stay back here?” I scooted back and tied Nip's leash to the edge of the back of the deck.

  He came as far as the leash would allow, and laid down. A leaf blew off a nearby tree and he was occupied.

  I took out my phone and snapped a few photos of him. @Lifewith89 Instagram followers would love the view.

  I made a note to make sure I got a selfie with Noah and I in this spot.

  I flipped through a few other photos. Selfies of us from last year traveling the world. A few from the wedding of the century a few months ago.

  We looked happy. We were happy when he or I weren’t overthinking our relationship. When we enjoyed each other.

  The quiet moments were few and far between. Noah wasn’t to blame. I wasn’t to blame either. It was football, school, work, having celebrities as best friends, all of it.

  I missed … us.

  The tranquility seeped in my bones and forced the negative feelings out. The world was so huge and my problems so minuscule compared to the majesty of the place.

  Noah loved it here and he wanted me to love it, too.

  It was a good place to start. Discovering what we had in common again. I could love this place.

  And, as a spot to get married. Sure, why not. I looked back at the narrow trail. It would solve a few of my celebrity wedding phobias. Not too many people could fit in this spot and I imagined half the guests wouldn’t want to trek a half mile in the woods to watch Noah and I say, I do.

  I grinned and stood, wiping the dirt off my pants. Nip had moved on from the leaf and found a stick for entertainment. The stick was way too big, but he tried to pick it up. He would get it in his mouth and lift it and it would fall out. He growl at it and did it all over again.

  It reminded me of Noah. He’d work at something to the point of hurting himself until he got it.

  I videotaped it as Nip placed
the stick on the first step the deck. He looking up in triumph as the stick slipped off the back of the step and down the mountain.

  I cracked up.

  Nip barked at the stick until he couldn’t see it any longer. He barked at me and then stared down again. His left front paw swiped out as if testing that the world fell away and whimpered.

  I laughed. I couldn’t help it. Here I was in my own head about issues that could easily be resolved by talking to Noah.

  Nip was ready to defy the laws of physics to retrieve his prized possession that was all around him.

  We both turned to the most complicated of answers to simple questions.

  For me, the answer was simple. Marry Noah and my life would be what you made of it.

  When we thought it was going smooth, it will all change again.

  That was life.

  For Nip, his stick was gone, he picked another one.

  I continued to crack up. I reached for the side of the deck to steady myself.

  “Oh shit.” In doing so, I dropped my phone and it bounced off the front of the deck made it's way down the hill to settle next to Nip’s stick.

  My laughter stopped. So did Nip's whimpering barks. He looked at me, down at my phone and back at me again.

  “I have to get it.” I said to no one. I shrugged my shoulders.

  Nip's head tilted.

  I walked over to the side of the deck and held on as I shuffled my feet down the steep incline.

  “Yip, Yip.” Nip stated what I already knew. This was a bad idea. I gripped a beam and scooted further under the deck.

  When I reached the edge of the beam, my fingers hurt. A small ledge two feet down would allow me to rest a minute.

  I could scoot down the rest of the way on my butt.

  My eyes followed the edge of the deck and Nip's little paw came out and disappeared.

  “Nip, I’m fine,” I said. A few more inches and I could leap to the edge.

  “One, two, th—” My fingers lost their grip.

  I cried out as I flung myself toward the ledge at the last minute.

  I misjudged the distance and the width of the ledge. The dirt gave way, a blessing to my ankle. I scrambled to grab onto something. It turned to dust in my fingers and I flipped and dropped a few more feet and landed smack on a small protrusion on the mountain. My head and face throbbed in pain.

  I smacked against the side of the mountain so hard my teeth rattled. A cold shiver ran through me. I groaned. I inhaled and tasted dirt.

  I grabbed my head. The world swirled into indescribable images. I thought I had reached out towards the earth, but I grabbed at air. I ran my hand through my hair. My hand came away wet and slimy. A familiar sound made me look up, but I wasn’t sure where it came from for who or what it belonged to.

  I blinked. Tried to focus. I picked up on an image above me, brown hair, scrunched thick brows, beautiful full sexy lips. The thought made me giggle. The lips moved, but couldn’t tell what they were saying. I reached out for it, but it was far away and I was tired, so tired.

  “I’m fine. I’ll be there in a minute.” I heard myself say, but it was like the sound came from outside of myself. “I need a little nap.”

  Yeah, that’s it. I need to rest for a minute.

  I heard screams and growls.

  A few minutes and I will be fine.

  Just a few minutes and … the world felt warm against my cheek. My body ached, but the warmth drew me in.

  I closed my eyes and the world faded to black.

  Ten

  Noah

  “You’re rotation is terrible.” Preston stood in front of me. His arms crossed over his chest and a look of disgust on his face.

  I stopped in my back swing and brought the club back down.

  I took a practice swing.

  “Better, Coach?” I didn’t wait for him to answer. I took the club back, rotated around my right leg, made a brief pause in my back swing for emphasis and swung down and through the ball. I didn’t bother watching it.

  The elevated tee box made the shot appear longer. The fairway consisted of overgrown vines. You hit your ball in there it was gone forever.

  Given no other options, you had to put your ball on the green.

  I’d hit it solid. I knew where it landed, exactly where I aimed. I wished my aim with Callie was better, more predictable. She had been on edge, up and down in her emotions since we arrived.

  Last night was great. I finally got her to relax. Orgasms in front of postcard type views would make anyone relax.

  “Nice shot.” Preston said. The disgust turned to admiration.

  “Thanks.” I hopped in the driver seat and waited for him to join me.

  “Lucky shot.” He mumbled under his breath.

  I shook my head. He couldn’t stop.

  “That’s skill my friend.” I said and took off before he could climb in. I skidded to a stop a few feet away.

  I looked back and laughed.

  Preston stood with his hands out shaking his head.

  “Come on.” I waved him forward.

  He jogged up to the cart and slid in next to me.

  We’d played through the course first thing this morning. We had the course to ourselves for the morning round. With the two of us and our golf games improving over the years, we would finish a round of eighteen in under three hours, have some lunch and play another eighteen before heading back to the cabin to meet the girls for dinner.

  We were on the seventeenth hole of the second round.

  “Always with the jokes.” Preston took a swig from the bottle and placed it back in the cup rest between us. This was how we did it, eighteen holes of golf and a pint of expensive whiskey. As twenty one year olds with million dollar contracts, we thought it made us gangsta. Now, we drank it because it made our old, tired, worn out bones warm in the crisp Aspen air.

  Preston handed me the bottle and I took a sip.

  “We must be getting old.” I handed it back to him. “It doesn’t even burn anymore.”

  “Yeah. We had too much of this shit at my wedding.” Preston nodded and took another sip.

  “What was the final bill on the wedding anyway?” I asked. Wondering what it would set me back in a few months.

  “Oh, somewhere close to three mill.” Preston stared out into the view.

  “Oh shit.” I blinked. Is that what weddings really cost?

  “Yeah, well,” he shrugged his shoulders. “The studio paid half.”

  None of us where aware that when we attended the wedding, we would become part of the cast of a reality special for E Television. The photos were exclusively sold to some fashion magazine for charity. When the super bowl MVP marries America’s sweetheart, that’s expected.

  “Helps to have a dual millionaire income, too. ” I said. I stopped at the next putting green. I got out of the golf cart and checked out the view. It was amazing from every angle, from every vantage point. The par three green sat nestled in a small valley between two mountains. The course was sculpted out of the mountain, the undulations of the course worked over the peaks and valleys of the terrain. It became disorienting at times. The whiskey helped that, too.

  “Your girl has money.” Preston handed me my putter.

  “She doesn’t have full access to it until she turns twenty-five.” We walked on the green step for step. I reminded me of when we played together in college. We always stepped on the field at the same time, left first and then right first to follow. It was our ritual. Even seven seasons in, every time I step on a football field, I missed it.

  “Yeah, I forgot, you like em young.”

  “Dude. It’s only a four-year difference. Although …” I rubbed my face.

  Preston crouched down to line up his putt.

  “What?”

  “I don’t know.” I walked over to my ball, marked it, picked it up, and cleaned it. “Ever since we got engaged, she’s been off. Maybe she’s too young to get married.”

  “
What do you mean…” Preston stopped in mid sentence to make his putt. He stayed in his putting stance until the ball dropped into center of the hole with a plop. “Off.”

  “I don’t know. I thought she’d be more excited. More enthusiastic about it.”

  “She sounded enthusiastic last night.” Preston leaned over, picked up his ball, and smirked. “And I'm not talking about dinner.”

  “Dude.” My face scrunched up. “You listened to us have sex?” I closed my eyes and opened them.

  “I may have walked by your door,” he chuckled. "When I took the dogs out. It sounded like you didn't want to be interrupted.” Preston howled.

  “You pervert.”

  “I’m just proud I taught you right.” He nodded.

  “You taught me what, exactly?” I asked.

  “How to please a woman?” Preston looked around. “Wait. That didn’t sound right.”

  “Yeah it didn’t.” I leaned down to place my ball and line up my putt.

  Preston squatted down.

  “You remember Brittany.” Preston chuckled.

  “Yeah, I remember Brittany.” I could feel my ears getting warm. It was mine and Preston's one and only sexual exploit together.

  Not with each other, we made damn sure our swords didn’t cross, but Brittany had a fantasy and she was hot and we were in college and did stupid shit back then.

  “I’ll give Brittany some credit, but I learned nothing from you.” I nudged him.

  “Okay,” Preston held his hands up. “ I’ll let you keep your fantasy in order to preserve your precious ego.”

  “Can we get back to Callie and I?” I held a hand out.

  Preston laughed as he walked to the side of the green and waited for me to putt.

  I took a practice swing, then sunk my putt for a birdie.

  “Nice.” Preston said. “Do you think she doesn’t want to do the forever thing with you.”

  “No. I really don’t think that’s it.” I rubbed my face. “We were made for each other.”