Page 17 of The Surprise Wedding
“So I’ll be climbing a lighting rig, then,” Travis said.
Nate smiled. “Better you than me.”
He paused for a moment, enjoying the fact that his friends were here, and they were prepared to help him out. Just the fact that they’d come out to check on him said a lot about them, and Married in Malibu too. Even so, it took him a minute before he could build up the courage to ask the next question.
“I’ve got a question for both of you. Jenn didn’t want to date at first, did she? Or Amy? I mean, when you guys were first starting out with them, they weren’t exactly jumping at the opportunity, right?”
Travis shrugged. “Amy had plenty of reasons not to, after I’d walked away the first time. Her life had changed. I didn’t believe I was good enough for her. Why would she give me a free pass when I couldn’t even let myself think it might be possible?”
Nate hadn’t thought of it like that. Who would be good enough for Tamara?
“For me and Jenn,” Daniel said, “I was stuck thinking that the mother of my children was the only love I would ever have and that I’d never meet anyone else again. And Jenn had that horrible ex of hers. And there were all the complications with the kids. In the past, I’d met women who’d run a mile as soon as they found out I had children.”
“But Jenn wasn’t like that,” Nate said.
“No,” Daniel said with a smile. “No, she wasn’t. But it still took a while for us both to realize that our lives could fit together if we both worked at it.”
Nate had to admit that their stories were encouraging, so he knew he had to ask the next question as well, even if it was difficult for him.
“So, if they weren’t certain at first,” he said, “how did you go about changing their minds?”
He knew this was a dangerous question. It gave away too much of what he was feeling and thinking, and it could make things more complicated. Still, he needed the advice.
“Changing their minds?” Travis echoed. He looked over at Daniel, who shared a look with him that Nate suspected he would understand only when he was deep in a relationship himself. And if that were to happen, he wouldn’t need to ask the question in the first place.
“It doesn’t work like that, man,” Daniel said with a laugh that Travis joined in on.
“It doesn’t work like that at all,” Travis agreed. “Do you really think I could have changed Amy’s mind if she didn’t want to?”
“The same with Jenn,” Daniel said. “She’d just come out of a relationship with a guy who was always telling her what to do. And I wouldn’t have wanted to be with her if the only reason it happened was because I’d somehow talked her into it. I’d have been worried that it wasn’t real, when in reality…”
“It’s real,” Travis said, although he was obviously thinking about Amy.
Daniel nodded. “It is.”
“The truth is, Amy came round on her own,” Travis said. “I just had to show her the kind of man I’d become. I had to show her I wasn’t the same guy who’d walked out on her before.”
“And I had to show Jenn that I wasn’t the same as her ex,” Daniel said, “and that I would be there for her no matter what happened. I had to show her that I could commit to her.”
“But it was also about being patient,” Travis said. “I mean, it wasn’t easy. Easy would have been giving up.”
“But you didn’t,” Nate said.
“No,” Daniel agreed. “We didn’t. Although I guess we came pretty close before Jenn and I realized that we both needed each other more than anything. Sometimes, I guess you have to trust that things will work out.”
Nate nodded. Both he and Tamara came from families who approached relationships differently, but that didn’t mean they had to follow those same paths. Although it had been so difficult for Tamara, Nate was grateful that she hadn’t ended up with the guy she’d known all her life. If that had happened, the two of them never would have met.
Listening to Travis’s and Daniel’s stories made everything seem clearer somehow. Hearing them talk about the importance of not giving up made Nate want to go back inside and hang out with Tamara. Maybe he couldn’t kiss her the way he wanted to. Maybe he couldn’t convince her that they should be more than friends, but if he could be there for her and show her that he was genuine and that he believed in her, then maybe, just maybe, she might give him a shot.
“Thanks, guys,” Nate said. “That really helps.”
Back inside the café, everyone was still enjoying themselves, but the party was obviously winding down. Daniel and Jenn were the first to go, having to get back to relieve their sitter. Kate and Meg left together since Meg was giving Kate a ride home. Kate thanked everyone again, and then, as they left, Nate heard Meg making a call to Lucas, telling him she’d meet up with him once Kate was home safe and sound. Liz helped Tamara tidy up, and then she and Jason said their good-byes.
On their way out, Liz stopped and said, “Nate, would you mind checking across the street before you go home? I locked up before I came over here, but it would be great if you could double check.”
Nate didn’t mind, of course, but teasingly he said, “You don’t know I’ll be the last one here.”
Liz gave him a long look and said, “Yes, I do.”
