Interestingly enough, once Wes and Mace started talking sports, I could see the tension ease out of Wes’s shoulders. He’d asked me before we were set to meet Mason if I’d had relations with him. When I told him no, he seemed relieved, but still wary. Something about this new jealous side didn’t sit right with me. I’d have to discuss it with Anita, Wes’s therapist, when we were back in Malibu. There were a lot of amazing traits about my soon-to-be husband, but this new jealousy was definitely not one of them.
I guess it could be because now we were “official,” and maybe he thought he had a right to claim me? Really, I didn’t know. All I did know was that with each and every overt gesture Mace made toward Rachel, my guy noticed it and relaxed infinitesimally further, as if every simple touch was an assurance that he had nothing to worry about. Nevertheless, what it really came down to was that he didn’t have anything to worry about because I had committed to him and only him. He needed to trust me.
That thought made me wonder why he wanted to get hitched so quickly. What was the rush? If his jealousy was the reason he wanted to get married so quickly, I was going to put a kibosh on that right quick.
“So when are you planning to get married?” I asked Rachel.
Her eyes brightened, and she leaned forward on the bar top. We’d found a pub within walking distance of the hotel that was warm, had alcoholic cider and a plethora of non-domestic beers on tap, which interested the guys, along with a decent menu.
“We’re thinking late next year. Baseball doesn’t usually end until early October, so probably right after that. Maybe the third or fourth week in October, right, honey?” She nudged Mace in the shoulder.
He crunched down on a fat onion ring the size of his palm. “Yep. Whatever you decide. I’ll be there wearing whatever you choose.”
Leave it to the man whose only plan was not to plan anything for his own wedding. Planning. Ugh. That was the last thing on Earth I wanted to do.
Rachel rolled her eyes. “It’s going to be huge. Together, we have so much family, and, of course, every member of the team and a ton of members form the other teams that he’s friends with. At last count, there were around four hundred and fifty.”
“Four hundred and fifty what?”
“People.”
“Jesus! I don’t think I even know that many people in my entire life.”
Rachel shrugged. “It’s part of the business we’re in. The more the merrier, I say. It’s going to be amazing. I’m planning it all myself. On that note, let me get my calendar up.” She plucked a few things into a handheld device she’d had in her purse. It wasn’t a phone, but smaller than a laptop. I was thinking iPad. “Okay, so what date are you looking at? We’ll cross our fingers that he won’t be at a game, but unfortunately, we can’t make any promises.” She pouted, looking genuinely sorry.
“Oh, well, we haven’t exactly decided.” I tried, but Wes would have none of that.
“I’m sorry, Rachel, did you just ask the date of our wedding?”
Her eyes went to his. “I did.”
“January first, New Year’s Day,” he said with absolute confidence.
Mace whistled. “Damn, that’s soon. You got everything ready, sweetness?”
At the endearment, Sweetness, Wes’s eyes narrowed at Mason.
I sighed. “Wes wants to do New Year’s Day, but I haven’t agreed.”
He shook his head. “Not true. You totally agreed.”
“And need I remind you that questions asked mid-orgasm should not count against me?”
Mason slapped the table a few times and laughed his ass off. Even Rachel chuckled behind her hand.
Wes grinned. “Sweetheart, you know I’m going to win this battle, yet you’re still going to come out a victor as well. We should probably start planning. My mother will want to go all out, and seven weeks is not a lot of time.”
“Seven weeks,” I gasped, just realizing how close it really was. “Go all out?” I shook my head. Going all out was not at all what I’d want. No way. No how.
“Oh, no. Mia looks like she’s gonna hurl. Sweetness, you okay?” Mace asked, but the alarms in my head continued blaring, “Danger…Danger…Danger.”
All of a sudden my body got really hot, and I tugged on the scarf at my neck. “Hot. Is it hot in here?” I asked the group, trying to suck in more air. My heart started thumping so hard I rubbed my chest. It felt squeezed as if a truck were sitting on my chest about to crack my ribs and stealing every ounce of air I managed to suck in. It felt as though I was breathing through a straw, only small bits of air filling my lungs.
“Mia, calm down. Honey, look at me. You’re having a panic attack. Look at me!” Wes’s voice broke through my daze, and I focused on his eyes. They were swirling with fear. “Breathe with me. In…now out slowly.”
I breathed with him a few times until the truck lifted off my chest and I could finally take full, deep breaths.
“Okay, there you are. Here, have some water.” He handed me a glass.
I sipped at the frosty liquid and let the calm that came with it settle in my belly.
“What happened, Mia?”
Mason was behind me. I could feel his hand smoothing up and down my spine. “Sweetness, you need to take a chill pill. This wedding stuff can get the best of you, but really, it’s only about you and my new buddy, Wes, here. Everything else is just details.”