The Journey

Chapter 27

Nick

This had been the worst three weeks of my life.

After I left New York, I buried myself into my work to avoid thinking too much about Elisha and dwelling on what could have been if only I had a chance with her. Trying to forget her was like asking me to stop breathing. Everything reminded me of her...the blue decor of my apartment reminded me of her gorgeous eyes, the silky texture of my tie when I put it on reminded me of her honey-blond hair, and it was a burden for me to go to sleep without remembering the warmth of her body next to mine. It was only two days, for heaven's sake, but the woman had ingrained herself into my very being!

I had to stop myself from calling her every day. I wanted to hear her voice so much, yet I knew she probably didn't want to hear from me at all. To keep my sanity intact, I resorted to working overtime every moment, and even mother was astonished at the progress I was making in our branch.

I never realized how terribly lonely I was without female companionship. Valerie was always there for me, with me, and now that I didn't want to be with her anymore, her absence was noticeable. But I didn't want to be with anybody else. Only Elisha. I was addicted, and she was my drug.

The days dragged on with no word or contact from her. I sighed and slouched lower on my seat as our company jet began to descend. I was on my way back to attend my brother's wedding, which would be two days from now. Since I had been working like a madman the past few weeks, I managed to leave a lot of time off for myself, so I figured I could attend some of the rehearsal dinners and prenuptial picture taking shoots. Maybe even clear the air between Newton and I. We hadn't spoken at all since that night in mother's apartment. We didn't exactly part on the best of terms. And here I was, coming back to be his best man. What a hoot.

It didn't help matters any when I saw from the invitation that Elisha was going to be the maid of honor. The nerve of Meredith to ask her to do that. How on earth would she be able to bear the pain of watching the man she loved marry someone else? It was going to tear her apart. I was determined to be there for her if she needed a crying shoulder. She was going to need all the help she could get.

Her strength reminded me of my mother, but without any of the cold ruthlessness. She was warmth and love personified.

Snapping myself out of my lovesick thoughts once more, I looked out the window and saw we were on land. Time to get this show on the road. I gathered my suitcase and took the company town car to mother's apartment, where I would be staying while I was here. There was a scheduled photo shoot in a couple of hours and I had enough time to shower and change into my suit. Quickly doing both, I grabbed mother's car keys and went down to the basement parking garage to where her Mercedes was parked. Driving to the garden location, I made it with only minutes to spare.

Looking around the park, I was impressed with how the decorations turned out. Flowers bloomed in a multitude of colors in every corner, and there was a gazebo with white curtains flapping gently in the breeze. A pair of lovebirds perched in a white cage twittered happily in the center table made of flawless white marble. A fountain sprouted clear blue water nearby, with floating lilies and swans gracefully gliding on its surface. Perfect backdrop for a wedding pictorial.

When I arrived, the entourage was already there, dressed in their attire for the wedding, except Meredith. She was saving her wedding gown for the big day, so she had on a plain white dress that reached down to her feet. A girl was with her, helping her with her bouquet, and I knew by heart that it was Elisha.

"There you are, Nicholas," mother twined her arm through mine. "Let's start now. Everybody is here."

Elisha turned around, and I was struck by her elegant beauty once more. I'd seen her when she was all dolled up before during school functions, but that was when we were younger. She was pretty then. Now, she was more than beautiful. Her long honey-blond hair was curled slightly into soft waves and held up on one side by silver jeweled combs, cascading down one side of her face and back. Her face was carefully made up, not too much but only with slight emphasis on her features, although I'd seen her without any makeup on and I still thought of her as the most exquisite creature in the planet. Her gown was the same royal blue as her eyes, with one strap and embroidered with silver threads and diamonds. It tapered down to her very slim waist then flared neatly in soft flowing folds midway down her thighs, exposing the delicate smoothness of her legs and ankles. Her feet were encased in silver strappy sandals with high heels. She hadn't seen me yet, to which I was grateful. I was seriously whipped, and I knew it probably showed with the way I was practically drooling at the sight of her.

"Hey," Newton's voice suddenly broke into my lovestruck state.

With considerable effort, I tore my gaze from Elisha and looked at him. He appeared tired, and almost lifeless in his black tuxedo. A pang of sympathy went through me at his predicament. "Hey. How you holding up?"

He shrugged, his hands in his pockets, "I've been better, to tell you the truth. This isn't really how I imagined I would get married." His glance flickered to Elisha.

I knew just how he felt. We were both in love with the same woman after all, and neither one of us was marrying her. I placed a hand on his slumped shoulder, "don't worry. Maybe things will work out for the best."

"I doubt it," he shook his head. "Man, what I would give for a joint right now."

"Dude, you don't want to get stoned on your prenup shoot," I scolded.

He grinned sadly, "hey, no time like the present to get stoned." He shifted his foot awkwardly, "seriously, man, I owe you an apology for the things I said before. I was totally out of line."

I relaxed, "no harm done. You were under a lot of stress."

Newton stared at Elisha again. It was hard not to, with the way she looked, "man, how did I fuck up everything so bad?"

I didn't answer. We knew it was all his fault. But there was nothing we could do about it. We couldn't change anything.

The photographer began calling names and we moved to stand where he directed us. I noticed he kept touching Elisha whenever he positioned her, and my temper flared. Who was this idiot? He was so not going to work anywhere for McAllister Enterprises after this. Elisha innocently followed and seemed not to notice the added attention from the photographer, but my blood was boiling with every second. I didn't have a clue as to how my expression looked on the shots, but I was certain they weren't my best angles.

Newton and Meredith posed stiffly for their couple shots. I didn't know if anyone noticed the awkward way they touched each other but it was enough for me to know that they hadn't completely worked things out between them. It was funny how they were so into their relationship when Newton was still dating Elisha and now that they were free to be with each other, their relationship became tense. I supposed the saying that forbidden fruit always tasted sweeter held true in their case.

Elisha and I also had several shots together. I relished the moments when I was required to hold her in my arms. It was so easy to pretend that this was our own prenup pictures. She felt so good, so right, and so warm. I could hold her all day. The electric tingles running through me with every touch was pure bliss. I wanted to talk to her and ask how she was doing, but the photographer wouldn't allow any conversation. I had to satisfy myself with having her close to me. To her credit, she looked very calm and poised, not like her heart was breaking because her man was marrying someone else.

After an hour of posing for pictures, we were finally dismissed. Tomorrow we had a scheduled rehearsal at the church, with dinner after. I tugged at my tie to loosen it and looked for Elisha. To my surprise and extreme happiness, she seemed to be heading my way, and my heart warmed at the sight of her familiar dazzling smile aimed my way. Before she could reach me, Newton grabbed her arm and said something to her. I watched as her face turned into a look of disbelief before she shook her head, freed her arm, and resumed in my direction. I wondered what that was all about.