Page 88 of Broken Hero
She sighs. “Jesus, Soph, give yourself a break. It’s fine to be excited about seeing him. You're in love with him, for fuck’s sake. You think that disappears? It doesn't. And I know you will probably hate me for saying this, and I was the first on to jump on the ‘I hate Dec’ bandwagon but maybe give him a break too?”
My eyes widen. “You've changed your tune.”
She shrugs. “I think he was out of order. So out of order and I know how much he hurt you, not being there for you when you needed him. He freaked and he shouldn't have, but the guy is living with serious shit, you've said that yourself. So he made the wrong move, and don't get me wrong, I know it was a big one, but he came to tell you he was sorry and that he loved you. I think if you feel for him what I think you do, I would seriously reconsider this ‘living a recluse’ thing you have going on and give him another chance.”
“I want to. God, I want to so much, but I'm terrified he’ll do the same to me again.”
“So, the alternative is live on your own, pine for the guy that, in your words, was the love of your life, but never do anything about it?”
I look down. She’s right, that doesn't sound like much fun.
“Yeah, you're scared, Soph, but how you two were together, that’s worth fighting for, worth a little fear. Let him prove to you that you have nothing to be scared about.”
I nod. “You’re right, I know you are. Let’s see what happens this weekend, yeah?”
She gives me a smug grin. “Yeah, let’s see.”
We hired a fun bus between us girls – a surprise for Robyn - to take us to the airport; the guys are making their own way there. It’s going to be a memorable week for Robyn, and I'm sure the guys have organised plenty of things for Jack. Denny and I are on lead for the girls and guys and have communicated our plans so that they don't clash. We’re good, we have plenty of time together, and plenty of time apart, a good balance. Robyn is going to be blown away. I'm so happy for them both.
Robyn screams when she sees the bus and cringes in embarrassment – just the reaction I was going for. We drink Prosecco on the way to the airport – it’s ten am, but who cares? We only get to go to Vegas on a hen party once in our lives. Robyn is so generous, wanting to pay for us all to go and all-inclusive too - the only thing we need is spending money. I will probably never get how rich she is, but still, she didn't have to do this - it’s so sweet of her.
When we get to the airport, we check in our bags, go through security, and make our way to a bar to meet the guys. We’re all noisy and giddy; there’s me, Robyn, Mia, Maddie, Vickie and Harmony. I think there are more of the guys, Jack, Denny and the guys on their team, Dec of course and Jack’s friend from when he was younger. Excitement builds even more when I get a message from Denny that they're all here - waiting for us at the pub.
We hear them before we see them. Oh dear, it's going to be a messy weekend. Dec stands out straight away. How can he not? His height makes him taller than the other guys, and he’s built, and there’s the man bun and the beard. Christ, he’s so hot. Jack cheers when he sees us all walking towards them, which makes everyone turn around. It's not busy at the airport yet, but it's getting there and he is embarrassing.
“Here she is, my gorgeous wife to be and her beautiful friends. Come on. We got Champagne.”
We’re not going to get on the plane at this rate. My eyes go to Dec. They're on me and they're warm, smiling. He’s happy to see me.
I slowly exhale as I relax my shoulders - a part of me was scared that he would have moved on, that he was over the drama, but the way he’s looking at me now, it's good. Warmth flows through my body - it's all going to be okay.
He walks over to me and grins. “Hey, Blue.” He frowns and looks down at my hair. It’s all dark brown for the moment so that it doesn't clash with the colour of my bridesmaid dress, it will go back to blue after the wedding because I like it like that. Our dresses are salmon colour - I'm toying with the idea of going that colour ombre - but I'm worried that the colour won't be exactly right. How fab would that be, though? I may have a play around with it, or my hairdresser will at least.
“Where’s the Blue?” He asks.
“My bridesmaid dress doesn't go with it – it’ll be back after the wedding.”
He nods. “It's so fucking good to see you, Soph.”
“Yeah, you too. I’ve missed you.” My voice is hoarse. I didn't realise I’d get such an overwhelming feeling of emotion when I saw him again, still as raw as it was two weeks ago.
“I want to kiss you.”
His request startles me. I thought we were going to cruise through this weekend and see how we go. But I feel happy that he wants to kiss me because I really want him to.
“Do you? And are you going to?” I tilt my head to the side and smile to make him realise that I'm teasing and that his lips would be more than welcome on mine.
A slight growl noise escapes him, and he leans his head down until his mouth is on mine. His tongue gently nudges at my lips to help him gain access. I part my lips, and his tongue brushes against mine. I lose it...I’ve missed him so much. I drop my luggage and wind my arms around his neck, sinking into his kiss, falling deeper and deeper into his spell. He’s intoxicating. His hands grip my waist and a whimper escapes me. The crowd, our crowd, all start whooping and cheering as we kiss, and we break off laughing but not taking our eyes off each other for a second.
Mine. He is mine. And I am most definitely his.
****
WHEN WE ARRIVE IN VEGAS, we check in our bags at The Castle Hotel - it is out of this world. I have never been anywhere as awesome as this place before - I don't believe that this is my life right now. It has a row of shopsinsidethe hotel and a view of the strip. We caved and let Jack and Robyn have a room - a suite actually - they live with a little kid, a cool one, but still, their privacy is limited, so we decided to let them have their privacy, a benefit of having a joint hen and stag party.
I'm sharing with Mia. We dump our bags and look around the room.
“Can you believe this room, Mia? Jesus, I've never been anywhere like it. Shall we unpack?”
