A Wedding Affair (The Wedding Affair) (6 page)

“You know
... You um…yeah.” Ok now I can’t form a sentence jeez I’m in more trouble that I thought.

Tristan is breathing anxiously
, he fumbles with his watch as I take a deep breath, let’s try this again shall I, he is rather sure of himself the cocky arrogant bastard that he is. Could he tell that he rattled me? Come on Macy pull yourself together I scold myself.

“I thought that
was you at the bar this afternoon” I manage to get it out in a very calm manner.
“Aria I was surprised to see you today as well, I saw you leave when your car pulled away, I grabbed the check from your table and saw the name of the company on the credit card you used, so I Google
Business as Usual
and here I am”

He
walks around and looks from one end of the store to the other then his eyes are back on me.

“
Wow so this is you, you’re finally doing what you wanted to do with your life?”

I push my sleeves up
and try to articulate what to say next and decide that he needs to leave.

“Well Mr. Bach you’ve always been
very resourceful in locating me, so now that you have why don’t you just walk back out that door and act like this never happened?”  I am proud of myself I enunciated every word perfectly clear, and deliver my sentiment with a dead stare.

He i
s mulling over my statement, I can tell he is ready with a comeback, did I mention he is a prick, an arrogant bastard that manipulates women? Just thought you might want to know what I’m dealing with here.

“I don’t mean you any harm, or any disrespect, I just wanted to see you, it’s been a long time since we’ve bee
n in the same room together.”

“
It’s not been long enough for me!” I am stern and bitchy to him his proximity requires me to be.

He
has his hands in his pants pockets and he is rocking on his Gucci loafers, yes I notice he is well dressed indeed he fills out a suit like a no one else can and he uses everything he’s got to get what he wants.

“I guess I deserve that, I’m not proud of the way we left things.”
Ok now my bitch is personified as I go from zero to sixty faster than my Cadillac, the audacious beast shows up in my store he is damn well going to hear what I have to say.

“Correction Mr. Bach the way you left things, I never abandoned you the way you left me that summer day…and what did you leave me for
?…to go back to that whore who abused you since you were a teenager I was done, it was over for me, you walked out, but I decided to end it right then and there!”

Tristan does not make a move he is frozen as I remind him of his behavior
and his tumultuous past. I let him have a few choice words of my own, he is motionless as he watches me let go and speak my mind, he looks amazing in a well-tailored suit, a lovely black silk tie but the killer is the humble small collar on his crepe shirt that fits him perfectly, he is as breath taking as ever, the stubble on his face still eludes to the bad boy persona, maddening as he is, he is still the whole package and as ever, intoxicating.

I mentally chastise myself I
mustn’t think how handsome he is, his sexual innuendo and his erotic looks have always been my downfall they have always gotten me in too deep with this very troubled man before me. I tell myself this, I am a much stronger person now as I stand my ground and own my statement, he has always been quick with the sexual banter as he wiles his masculine charms with no gallantry, hell he came in here kissing me and we are both
barely breathing
what the hell is this fool thinking?

I see him getting nervous
, actually the arrogant son of a bitch is quite fidgety if I am seeing this correctly, and not as confident as he was when he walked in and stole a kiss.

Tristan
although he looks impeccable, I mean he is five eleven, built, with shoulders that are broad and have sharp corners and I should know as I have many scars from him brushing me aside and turning his back on me. He is your basic nightmare with a rock hard body the pecks and abs the whole package is a head turner and all he keep me was spinning until I was so out of control I was a wreck. Then to top off the whole package he has this jet black hair that feels like think spun silk and I always felt that once I ran my hands through it he had me in his clutches as I couldn’t get my hands out of it, it was like I got so entangled in him I couldn’t find a way to let him go. I try not to look into his hazel eyes they are a sea of confusion, he hypnotizes me with them and I can’t think straight or function in my own capacity. I would really have to say his only attribute that I find a safe comfort is his endearing smile, it is the first thing I noticed about him when we met and it is the last image I have in my mind of him until today, looking over him he is sharp, stubborn, head strong and my weakness.

The funny thing
is he is becoming as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs, as I gage his body language I am puzzled, but I know the way he thinks, we’ve worked together for years I’ve seen him tear apart companies, devour CEO’s before noon and torture the innocent to protect the important, he was the king of merges and acquisitions, he was shrewd and domineering and we made a hell of a lot of money together, so part of me knows what he is capable of if I don’t keep my guard up.

He feels for his tie and his eyes gaze at
me from my bare feet to my eyes, and the dead giveaway is the nervous fumble with his watch, his tousled hair that flops over his forehead and the pulling of his left ear. Tristan is eyeing me to see if I am affected by him being here, the way he use to affect me, he would lace me with sexual desire and leave me wanting him, but the eyes I am looking at now are more than a dead giveaway, he looks very pleased to see me or pleased with himself, the self-centered bastard that he is, oh I know him all too well as I narrow my eyes at him.

“Aria you have every right to be mad at me
, I just don’t want this to be the way this ends…us mad at each other and not speaking again” oh does he think we are going to mend our broken fences and rekindle something that is too shattered to save, like my tortured tattered broken heart,
what is this fool thinking?

I cross m
y arms and I am mad at his statement he has no right to salvage anything between us, so I think I will let him know.

“
All things end bad or they wouldn’t end! There is nothing more to say, I have a great life no thanks to you! I am very busy so if you would kindly walk your ass out of my store and back out of my life again I will pretend like this never happened!” no smile just a direct stern look that stops him in his tracks as he was moving towards me.

“Aria if it didn’t work out in the end then
we didn’t see it through to the end we abandoned it don’t you see that it is not the end yet…” no this arrogant son of a bitch is not going to stand here and get philosophical on me and dictate anything, he is trying to make excuses and justify his adolescence behavior, it’s too late I don’t give a damn anymore, its two years too late and I’m too good for him I have always been.

“Look Bach, I’m a good enough person to forgive you but
I’m sure as hell not stupid enough to forget and take any of your despondent rhetoric again”

“Aria please let me…” I cut the asshole off
with a swift move of my French manicured fingernail

“Tristan the time and place for all of this
was two years ago, there is no use to try and salvage anything good day”

“
I deserve your harsh backlash I am not proud of how I mistreated you, I have hurt you and I’m sorry for that” his tone is deep and soft just as I remember him to be, always calming and ready to strike, he is the killer, the annihilator when it came to tear down and destroy, and I was by his side through all the destruction we were the killing team back then and I am not going to let him tear down what I have built up.

“Mr. Bach the d
ay you walked out on me was all the proof I needed to finally believe how dreadful and truly awful you were to me.”

Gosh just looking at the son of a bitch what
did he expect, that I was going to jump into his arms and tell him everything is ok? He just stands there looking at me, funny if he would have looked like this years ago maybe things would have been different, stop thinking how handsome he is Aria shit! I’m my own worst enemy sometimes!

I turn my back to him and continue
cleaning up the straight pins from my sewing, the tension and energy between us is here I feel bad for yelling at him…like always …but now I am fuming I’m not the little naïve girl he can walk all over anymore.

He grabs my arm and turns me around to face him
, my heart is pounding as he touches me, the electricity runs right to my happy spot. Shit why is
he
the one who gets me hot and bothered?

So
the best defense is always fury and deny, deny, deny. What to do? Should I call security? Should I scream? No if he wants to stand in my presents and confront me, he damn well better take it like a man. I pull out of his grasp and nervously push up the sleeves to my silk and lace blouse and hold nothing back.

“
Look Bach what makes you think that you can just walk into my store and talk to me as if nothing ever happened? My innocence was putty to your ignorance; your obtuse manor hindered me from ever speaking to you again! You have used me, abused my trust, taken me for granted and I don’t want any of it! I’m done! It’s over!” ok so now I am screaming at him and I have never ever been this forceful with my words or my behavior.

Wow
that felt good to get that out, even if it is from anger, I feel the conviction of my words, shit where was I hiding all of this to show up at a moment’s notice?

“Aria, I saw you today and I just wanted to apologize, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry, b
ut you were gone so quickly that I never got a chance to even say hello. That guy you were with…”

“Do you mean…
?  Oh wow you never met him that was Ian, he and I are engaged!”

I say it with a smirk and a smile. It feels so
good to say those words to him, a push it in his face, and watch him wither before me.

He is now pacing around my store then stops and looks at the counter with th
e cologne bottles and he eyes the sign that reads
TRISTAN collection
. Ok so I named my high end suits after him so what, it just means that is what I wanted him to look like and hell holy beast he sure as hell does.

He goes to s
ay something but stills when I flashed him my ring, the look on his face is priceless, shock, anger, denial oh wow this ring works magic.

“I don’t think
it’s a good idea that we do this, so why don’t you please just go.” I speak very stern but not loud. He walks over to me slowly and stands in front of me.

“Your right I deserve your vehemence, your evacuating remarks confirm the hurt I have caused you”

“Don’t try and be the injured party Bach your misogynistic reputation precludes you”

“Does it pain you that much to see me?” oh he is arrogance personified

“Bach you show up here like a rose but I must remind myself that you have nasty prickly thorns and I’m done getting pricked” he runs his hands through is hair and he challenges my words

“For some reason I pictured seeing you again differently than this”
oh great he had this all played out in his feeble mind.

“That’s just like you Bach no empathy
or lack thereof”

“
For whatever it’s worth Aria I’m sorry” he says it in a quiet tone. Tristan walks over to my dress and just looks at it…

”Y
ou made this?”

I motioned yes,

“I always knew you’d make a beautiful bride.”

I was going to be cruel and give him
some harsh come back but I just couldn’t, it’s over I don’t need to play the game with him anymore.

“So tell me Aria how have you been?”
so he wants to chit chat, ok he is really in for it now I won’t be cruel but truthful and that hurts more as he should know.

“
Well let’s see it was a cold summer day when you walked out on me, it was a beautiful glorious day when we opened this store, and my day will be a lot brighter if you would just leave!”

I’m cocky
, arrogant, and rude, I’m him circa two years ago. I don’t care. I am not going to fall prey to his empty promises or his hidden agenda, as I clearly still see evidence of his arrogance, and his promiscuity. The hair at the base of my neck tingles, he is still here and he will pull something I can feel it.

“Aria, have I made you this cold and distant?” Oh wow he is so sexy and cool as he goes for the humble look, well he is asking for it
again.

“Yes,
I’m done wasting my time and energy on you! Now good-bye!” short and not so sweet but to the point is the best way to handle sexy stares from old exes.

“Aria this harsh abrasive exterior really doesn’t become you”