Page 24 of The Surprise Wedding
“So, you’re Tamara,” Nate’s mother said when he introduced them. She was very attractive, with Nate’s dark hair, high cheekbones, and a kind smile. She kissed Tamara’s cheek and then said, “Nate’s spoken about you before, of course, but I never guessed the two of you were together. Nate, she’s beautiful.”
Wait, what? Nate had spoken about her before? When was that? She blushed but was surprised to find she liked the idea of Nate talking to his mom about her.
And he’d obviously mentioned her to more than just his mother; it seemed that half the people in the room already knew about Tamara and her coffee shop.
Nate’s brother, Tim, greeted her as though they were already related. “Tamara, it’s great to see you,” he said. “Honestly, when Nate told me that he was going to be bringing someone to the wedding, I thought my little brother was making it up. I was all ready to set him up with one of Florentine’s bridesmaids, but thankfully I got the memo in time.” He laughed. “Speaking of which, you should both come and meet my beautiful bride.”
Tamara tried not to raise her eyebrows. So Nate hadn’t been exaggerating about the possibility of his family trying to set him up with someone.
She and Nate followed Tim through the massive house until they finally found a petite woman who looked slightly overwhelmed. Tamara would have known she was the bride-to-be even without the introduction, simply because of the way she and Tim looked at each other. It was as though they filled each other’s worlds. Tamara wondered how that worked, especially when Tim had already been married.
It didn’t matter, though. What mattered was that they were totally happy. In fact, looking around the room, Tamara could see plenty of loving couples, including the exes. The house seemed to be filled with joyful, perfect relationships—with everyone holding hands and laughing as they shared stories. Tamara realized that if she and Nate were going to be a convincing couple, she was going to have to work harder. She moved closer to him, putting an arm around him the way a real girlfriend might.
“Florentine, this is my brother, Nate, and this is Tamara,” Tim said, making the introductions.
“Oh, you make a lovely pair,” the bride-to-be said. “How are you doing with sorting through all the relatives, Tamara?”
“There do seem to be a lot of them,” Tamara admitted, smiling. “I’m trying to remember everyone’s name, but I really have to pay attention.” The two women laughed and talked about the family, and then they moved on to the details of the wedding. Nate got dragged away by his brother to meet some of his friends. Tamara found she couldn’t stop herself from watching him across the room.
“Oh, you’ve got it bad,” Florentine said to her.
Tamara wasn’t sure what to say to that. She didn’t want to say no, because that would blow their cover. She didn’t want to say yes, because… well, actually, why not? She could say whatever she wanted this weekend, and everyone would assume it was true. And… maybe it was. Maybe she should be telling Florentine all about her feelings for Nate. Maybe, in some backward way, it would help her work through her overwhelming desire to kiss him again.
“I guess so,” Tamara finally said.
“No guessing about it,” Florentine said. “It’s perfectly obvious. You guys look at each other in that special way. When I first met Tim, I instantly knew he was the guy for me.”
“And it didn’t matter that he’d been married before? Or that most of his family is on a second marriage?” Tamara asked, genuinely wanting to know what she thought without considering how it might sound. She quickly added, “Florentine, I’m sorry, I don’t mean it like that. I mean…” She trailed off, at a loss for words.
“You mean why am I signing up in a family where no one can make a marriage last?” Florentine asked with a laugh. “Oh, trust me, I know all about it. My mother said more or less the same thing when I first told her about Tim. But it doesn’t matter to me. When you know, you know, and that’s all there is to it.”
“But aren’t you worried that he already thought he’d found the one person he’s supposed to be with? And since that didn’t work out, then maybe it won’t work again the second time round?” Tamara realized she was entering dangerous territory, but something about Florentine made her feel comfortable, and her instincts told her that the bride-to-be would respond thoughtfully to her question.
Florentine shrugged. “If he were truly meant to be with his first wife for the rest of his life, then he still would be, wouldn’t he? All I know is what I feel now and what Tim feels. The love between us is more than enough for me. I don’t think either of us need to feel bad about getting a second chance at love.” She looked at Tamara kindly and then lowered her voice. “Why are you asking? You’re not having second thoughts about Nate, are you?”
“Oh, no, no, nothing like that,” Tamara said quickly, not wanting to ruin things for Nate. “I was just curious to get your point of view.”
“You’re worried about the way things work in his family, aren’t you?” Florentine said. “Don’t be. Nate is his own person. If he’s the one you love, then that should be enough, shouldn’t it?”
Tamara tried to smile. What Florentine was saying made perfect sense. But it wasn’t what worried Tamara. Her question went deeper—what if you’d already found the person you loved and it didn’t work out? What then? Tamara’s response was to shut down and not look for anything serious ever again. But all around her, she saw evidence of how other people had handled the same situation differently.
The room was full of people who had thought they’d found their one special person, only to later decide that they were wrong. And it hadn’t destroyed them, because here they were today with new partners and new loves. What’s more, it was all very amicable. Tamara was sure she could never be in the same room as her ex-fiancé. She couldn’t be in the same room as her former best friend either. The hurt would be too great. The pain would be…
But the thought stopped there. Tamara had never really put the idea to the test. She’d moved away. She hadn’t kept in touch. It had hurt after the breakup, of course, and that hurt had stayed with her for a long time. But now she had her whole life in Malibu, her shop, and her friends. Did it really matter so much? If she was honest with herself, these days she barely thought about that terrible time. And that had to be a good sign.
So why couldn’t she move on? That was the real question—and Tamara didn’t know the answer.
“Are you okay?” Florentine asked, breaking her out of her reverie. “You seem lost in thought.”
Again, Tamara forced a smile. “I’m sorry. I’m fine. I was just thinking about what you said, and you’re right about not feeling bad at having a second chance at love. That’s beautiful.” Tamara smiled again, but this time she meant it. “I’m so excited for you and Tim, and I can’t wait for the wedding.” She squeezed Florentine’s hand and then glanced across the room. “I was also thinking that I’d better get back to Nate. Tim seems to be monopolizing him a little. Good luck tomorrow!”
Florentine thanked her and then said, “I’m so glad to have met you. I guess we should probably both get back to the men we love.”
The men we love. Tamara liked the sound of that, even though she was only playing along with it for Nate’s sake. Still, it was a wonderful thing to hear, and it touched a part of her she’d thought was long buried.
When she approached him, Nate was deep in conversation with his brother about the way things were going in the marketing business, especially the online side of things. It sounded as though his brother was angling for details about what Married in Malibu was working on right now, all the while talking about the big marketing deal he’d just pushed through.
“I mean, this deal was for a big, multinational client this time,” Tim said. “And business is booming. Maybe you should come and work with us and do some of the SEO. It would be a better use of your talents than managing wedding lists for minor celebrities.”
