“What will you name it? The Wilde building?
“The entire development will be called One Park Street.”
I didn’t need to name the building after myself. I just wanted to erase its legacy. And at the same time, create a new one for myself. And Stella.
Twenty-Five
Stella
I had a hot, semi-naked man in my bedroom, but the itinerary specified that I had to be semi-naked with a bunch of women.
There was nothing better than a day at the spa.
Usually.
And as well as not being with Beck, I risked having to speak to Karen.
“Stella,” Karen called as soon as I stepped into the relaxation room—a darkened space, lit only by candles that reflected off the gold walls. Whale music played in the background and loungers were organized around a central display of stones and crystals. “There’s a free seat here.”
Typical that she’d be the first person I’d run into.
Before she’d run off with my boyfriend, I would have assumed she was being nice by offering me a seat, but now, I couldn’t imagine it was possible for her to do anything nice for anyone. Perhaps she wanted to put on a show for the other people, or maybe she just needed to feel better about herself. Either way, I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of making a scene by refusing her offer.
At least Florence was on the other side of me.
“I was just telling Florence that I hadn’t seen much of you,” she said, patting the chaise longue next to her. “I want to hear all about your new man.”
I had to dampen down a smile instead of the panic that usually came when I had to talk about my fake boyfriend. If nothing else, Beck was now my very real lover. “What is it that you want to know?” I asked.
“Is it serious? What’s he like?” she asked.
“It is from what I’ve seen,” Florence interrupted. “He’s charming, generous, funny, and crazy about Stella.”
Florence was quite possibly the best human being. She knew I was a useless liar. But for the first time in a long time, I didn’t feel the need for protection. “You’ve not seen anything until you’ve seen him naked,” I added.
Florence’s eyes widened, and I nodded.
“Good for fucking you,” she said, and I grinned. “You know what? With a man like that, I’m not sure I’d make it out of the bedroom.”
“I needed some recovery time,” I said and that was the truth. After our first night together, I needed some mental space to process the things he’d made me feel. But after last night, it was physical recovery I needed. Every muscle and bone ached. And I wasn’t sure if it was from the things we’d done or my desire to do each one again.
“So, it’s just casual sex?” Karen asked.
Nothing I’d said had suggested that. “I didn’t say it was casual.” I grabbed a magazine from the pile on the table between Florence and me.
“But it can’t be all that serious,” Karen said. “You’ve only been together a few months.”
There were lots of things that were unbelievable about me being at this wedding, but Beck was right, one of them was that I’d never confronted Karen and Matt. Maybe the reason they thought they could betray me so fundamentally and then expect everything to be hunky-dory was because I wasn’t the kind to confront people—that I was too focused on not making people uncomfortable, that I wanted everyone to be happy and get along.
I’d been trampled on for far too long.
“Who cares if it’s casual?” Florence interjected. “Beck’s so hot, I’d take whatever he was offering.”
“Yeah,” Karen said. “He doesn’t look the marrying kind.”
“Well, someone looking for marriage isn’t necessarily the best kind,” I replied, flicking through the pages of my magazine but not taking them in. I wanted Karen to stop commenting on my love life like she hadn’t stolen my boyfriend. Clearly Matt was available to be stolen but still—she should have some shame. “Just a few months ago, I was dating someone who I thought was the marrying kind and look how that ended up.” I put my magazine down and turned to Karen, my pulse thudding in my ears as I tried to gather my courage. “I spent seven years with Matt and he’s marrying you. Perhaps I don’t want someone who pretends to want to marry me and then ends up marrying my best friend.”
I could almost hear Florence’s jaw hit the floor behind me as I blew out a breath and my shoulders slid down from where they were up by my ears.