"That I am," Will slurs as he walks to her and very deliberately looks her up and down, then smiles back at her. "What"s your name, sweetheart?"
He f.u.c.king called her sweetheart!
"Amanda," Barbie responds and holds her hand out for a shake. I look over at the brothers, all of whom are shifting uncomfortably. "Can I give you a hug?"
"Hey, I always welcome hugs." He opens his arms wide and she steps up to him, presses her perky little body against him and hugs him around the neck.
"Seriously?" I ask the room at large.
"Can I give you my number?" Amanda asks as she pulls out of his arms.
"f.u.c.k, no, you can"t." I stomp over to my way-too-drunk boyfriend and slip my arm around his waist. He smiles down at me happily.
"Hey, babe. This is Amanda."
"Fantastic," I sneer.
"Amanda, this is Megan, my beautiful girlfriend."
Amanda blinks at me, then up at Will. "Uh, sorry."
"Always happy to meet the fans," Will slurs and waves goodbye to her as I turn him toward the door.
"f.u.c.king moron," Caleb mutters.
When we get outside, Sam has pulled the van up, and all the guys climb in, Will last.
"I"m an idiot when I"m drunk," Will slurs, serious now. "You know I wouldn"t have taken her number, right?"
"Right," I sigh and motion for him to get in the car.
""Cause I love you, babe."
"I know. Get in the car so we can take everyone home."
This ride home is amazingly more calm that the one last week. Most of the guys pa.s.s out cold, snoring away. Matt sits quietly behind me and to my left, typing on his phone. At each stop, the girls come out to gather their men, and when we get to Caleb"s, Matt helps him inside, then takes his own car from Caleb"s home.
Sam drops us off last.
"See you at the wedding on Sat.u.r.day." I smile at her and help Will inside, get him up the stairs, stripped down, and in bed.
"I need to get you something for that headache you"re sure to have tomorrow."
He pulls me down with him into the bed and loops a heavy arm around my waist. "You"re so pretty."
I smile and cup his face in my palm. "So are you."
"I wasn"t really flirting with that girl, Meg." His eyes are droopy, falling shut, but then he fights then open again.
"Are you worried that I"m mad about that?"
"Yeah," he sighs, his breath smelling of horrible cigars and beer.
"I"m not." I sigh back. Amazingly, I"m not. Even if I hadn"t been there I trust that he would have told her no.
"M"kay." And he"s asleep.
I slide out from under him and take a shower, dry my hair, and pull on one of the jerseys that I"ve come to claim as mine when I"m here. I pull on his underwear and wander downstairs, leaving the lights off.
I sit in one of the plush armchairs that faces the water and pull my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them, and take a deep breath.
I didn"t lie when I said I wasn"t mad about Will flirting with that woman tonight. I"m not mad. But it did reiterate to me that Will can literally have any woman he wants. All he"d have to do is crook his finger, and they"d come running.
I know he loves me, but what happens when he gets tired of me, and that tall, beautiful blonde starts to look more appealing?
I want to trust him when he says that he loves me. I believe he means it. And I love him so much it hurts.
I should go up and go to bed, but I"m not sleepy, so I reach over for my guitar. I left it here last night with the intention of practicing for Jules" wedding, and there"s no time like now.
I don"t think anything could wake Will up right now.
So I strum and sing, playing the song over and over, tweaking the arrangement here and there to fit my voice. It"s a beautiful song. I wonder how it came to be Jules and Nate"s special song?
And it occurs to me, that Will and I don"t have a special song yet. Well, there was the song that the kid played on the sax while we danced in New Orleans, when Will first told me he loves me, but I don"t know what the song was.
I smile and start playing a song I learned recently that I just can"t ever get out of my head. It"s by Christina Perri, called A Thousand Years, and it fits my voice perfectly.
The intro is supposed to be on the piano, but I"ve changed it for my guitar, and start to sing about a love that I"ve waited for for a thousand years, about being brave to love. The lyrics are sweet, and the song itself is soft and romantic.
I have died everyday Waiting for you Darlin" don"t be afraid, I have loved you for a Thousand years I"ll love you for a Thousand more When I finish, I set my guitar aside, finally sleepy and stand to go upstairs, but when I turn around, Will is sitting on the couch and startles me.
"Holy c.r.a.p!"
"Sorry, I didn"t want to interrupt you. That was beautiful."
"Thank you. How long have you been down here?"
"Just a little while. I woke up and you weren"t there, so I drank some water and took something and sat down to listen. I hope that"s okay."
He looks unsure of himself, and I hate that.
"Of course it"s okay." I cross to him and climb in his lap. "Did you have fun tonight?"
"Yeah, it was fun. Lost some money, razzed the guys." He shrugs and I smile against his chest.
"Let"s go up to bed." I climb off him and hold a hand out, helping him to his feet. "How do you feel?"
"Still a little drunk," he answers with a half-smile.
A hung-over Will is not a fun Will. He"s been surly and grouchy all day, so I left him when he finally lay down to take a nap and decided to return Jules" dress to her.
I hate to give it back. It"s so d.a.m.n pretty.
I walk into Jules and Nate"s downtown office and whistle softly. Wow. Nice digs. Very high cla.s.s.
There"s a kind-looking older woman manning the reception desk. Her name plaque reads Jenny Glover.
"Hi, I"m Meg. I"d like to see Jules if she"s free."
"Do you have an appointment?" she asks.
"Uh, no. I"m sorry, I"m a friend. I didn"t realize I should make an appointment."
"Please have a seat and I"ll see if she"s free."
Jenny calls Jules" office, and less than fifteen seconds later, Jules opens her office door with a wide smile on her pretty face.
"Hi! Come in."
I follow her into her office and am stunned by the view of the s.p.a.ce Needle and the Sound.
"Wow, that"s some view."
"I know. We lucked out on this s.p.a.ce." She grins and leads me to a couch. "What"s up?"
"I just wanted to return your dress, and honestly get the h.e.l.l out of Will"s house for a while. That man is grumpy as h.e.l.l when he"s hung over."
Jules laughs and nods. "Yeah, he"s not a good patient. If he"s ever sick, just steer clear."
"I could have used that warning yesterday." I try to hand Jules her freshly dry-cleaned dress, but she frowns at me.
"Why are you returning the dress?"
"Because it"s yours." What the h.e.l.l?
"No, it"s not."
"What are you talking about?"
Jules sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. "Will didn"t tell you?"
"Tell me what?"
"Meg, Will bought the dress for you. He just had Natalie and I call the designer and make the arrangements. This was never my dress." She smiles softly.
I"m stunned. My mouth drops, and I look at the beautiful dress in my hands.
"How much was this dress?" I ask her.
"It doesn"t matter; it was a gift, Meg."
G.o.d, she sounds just like her brother.
"What about the spa? The shoes? The underwear?"
"Those were all Nat and me. Will just bought you the dress."
"And the diamond earrings," I murmur.
"He got you diamond earrings?" she asks with a wide smile.
"Yeah, they"re gorgeous." I sigh happily. "I should be mad, but honestly, I love this f.u.c.king dress. I want to wear it every day."
Jules laughs. "It"s so perfect for you. Will picked it out himself, you know."
"He did?"
"He did," she confirms. "I heard about what he did last night when you guys were leaving. Wanna talk about it?"
I squirm uncomfortably in my seat. "I"m not mad about it."
"But you"re not happy."
I shrug. "He was drunk."
"Spill it, McBride." Her voice is firm, and I know I"m not leaving here without talking to her, and frankly, I need to talk to her.
I need to talk to someone.
"Jules, what the h.e.l.l does he see in me?" I frown and look down at my hands. "I guess that"s what it comes down to. He can have anyone he wants."
"Why is it so hard for you to believe that he wants you? Meg, you"re fantastic."
"But..." I shake my head, but she interrupts me.
"No buts. Will adores you, Megan. I"ve never seen him like this."
"He"ll get tired of me."
"Stop it. Now you"re just being a p.u.s.s.y, and I don"t have time for this s.h.i.t." My eyes go wide and I raise my eyebrows.
"How do you really feel?" I ask dryly.
"Will is famous, Meg. None of us can change that, and I don"t think he wants to change that. He"s good at what he does."
"Yes, he is," I agree.