Reagan

"My feet are killing me," I groaned to myself as I kicked my shoes off right in the middle of the living room. I carelessly tossed my bag on the coffee table and collapsed onto the couch.

Today had been the day from hell. One of the girls at work called in sick, so I had to step in and do a fourteen-hour shift at the upmarket day spa that I co-owned with my business partner, Violet. We met at beauty school and became fast friends, landing a job at the same salon to get some experience before setting out on our own. And although it might sound glamorous to own a salon, it was far from it. I used half of my inheritance from when my mom died to start my own business. I used the other half as a sizeable deposit towards paying for my apartment within an upscale zip code.

We'd started the day spa from scratch two years ago, and the first couple of months were tough. We'd initially operated at a loss while having a lot of expenditure to pay for top-of-the-range machines and to fit out the space with luxurious fittings and amenities, in line with our wealthy clientele's expectations. We were turning a tidy profit now, but we were by no means rich, as the rent inside a five-star hotel was astronomical. It meant that we had to be careful with extras, and we didn't have it in the budget to have extra staff on hand for unforeseen contingencies. Which was why, today, I'd been run off my feet, working a fourteen-hour shift giving facials, hot stone massages, and no less than six eyebrow shape and wax treatments.

I frowned as my phone started ringing, and I fished it out of my purse. My face lit up into a smile as I saw Serena's name on the caller ID.

"Hey, stranger," I sighed, closing my eyes with exhaustion.

"Hi, Reagz. How is Lucky doing?" She sounded cheerful and happy - right on top of the world. Which clued me in that Ben and Serena must have sorted out their differences, because she hadn't sounded like this in weeks.

"He's great." I opened one eye to stare at him. The little furball was sitting on the rug in front of me, looking at me accusingly, clearly wanting food.

"Good to hear. And you, how are you?" Her voice had a sympathetic lilt to it, and I knew exactly why – it had been that way since I'd broken up with Tom two weeks ago.

"I'm fine. Just exhausted after a very, very long day at work." I exhaled, closing my eyes again.

"I won't keep you long. I can hear you're tired. Take a nice long bath, and get yourself to bed, okay?"

"Sure." I smiled. "You sound chirpy."

She laughed. "Yeah. Um... Ben showed up here unexpectedly yesterday for a surprise visit."

My eyebrows shot up, and I sat upright.

"Really? He flew all the way to Europe to see you?" My eyes were now wide open. "That's kind of romantic," I teased, ignoring that pang inside my heart.

"It was. Unfortunately, he could only stay for one night because of his football commitments. But the good news is that I'm coming home for a few days to watch his big game next weekend."

I smiled broadly. "Sounds like the two of you have made up, then."

"We're great, Reagan," she gushed. "So great. And he's so great, and everything is just... great." She sighed dreamily, and we both laughed.

"Okay, then. I can read between the lines. The guy made a big, romantic gesture and swept you off your feet; I take it?" I couldn't help but smile, hearing her so happy, imagining the look on her face. And if there was anyone who deserved that kind of happiness, it was Serena, because she was an absolute saint, and she'd been through so much pain and heartbreak to get to where she was right now.

"It was so romantic," she sighed. "But the reason I'm calling is actually to let you know that I've figured out a way for you to come to Eva and Curtis's wedding, if you're interested."

I jumped in before she could even finish her sentence.

"How?"

I was now right the hell awake because the Chandler wedding in Italy was primed to be the celebrity wedding of the year. Curtis Chandler was a superstar, and scoring an invitation to that wedding was more sought-after than getting invited to the damn Oscars. The tabloids had been running rife with wedding gossip, spying on the poor bride as she entered an exclusive boutique for wedding-dress fittings and speculating on everything from the flowers to the brand of champagne that would be on offer to the star-studded guest list. Curtis Chandler and Eva Johnson were both media darlings, and it seemed the world could not get enough of their fairytale romance.

"It's kind of a long story, and it comes with a caveat. I think it will be better to explain in person when I'm back next week. But I just needed to know if you were interested or not, and if you could get time off work...."

"Yes, shouldn't be a problem," I reassured her quickly, mentally already rearranging things at work. I hadn't taken any time off in the two years that we'd started the business, and I was both exhausted and overdue for some vacation time. Just last month, Violet took two weeks off to go to Hawaii with her boyfriend, and she guiltily encouraged me to take some time off, too.

"Great! I'll lock it in, then."

"You're the best, Ser! I don't care if I have to do the entire bridal party's manicures and pedicures. I'll be there, ready to help out wherever I'm needed."

I realized that was probably why I'd been asked – in case their beauticians didn't show or messed up. It was always good to have a backup plan.

"No, no, it's nothing like that," Serena quickly countered. "A friend needs a date to the wedding – it's as simple as that."

My eyebrow rose. "Okay... he's not ancient, married, weird, or crazy or anything?" I asked carefully, even though I trusted my best friend and her judgment.

"No!" Serena laughed. There is a bit of a backstory, but I'll explain when I'm back next week. He's young and not in a relationship."

I shrugged. I could handle being someone who was desperate and dateless' wedding date, if that meant, I got to attend the wedding of the year. How hard could it be? Make a little small talk, smile, and drink copious amounts of top-shelf champagne, while rubbing shoulders with rock stars and other celebrities. What wasn't to like?

"Excellent. I'll set things in motion from this end, then. And Reagz, I'm so looking forward to having you here for it. We're going to have the best time!"

"I have high expectations, Ser," I teased. Knowing already that I'll be treated like royalty because from what Serena had told me, Curtis Chandler wasn't shy about throwing money at this wedding.

"They'll be exceeded," she assured me promptly. "Oh, and he um... he'll pay for your ticket. The accommodation is taken care of, too. Curtis and Eva have invited the bridal party and close friends to stay with them for a few days leading up to the wedding in this huge villa, right on a lake."

My eyebrow rose a little, but then I shrugged. The desperate and dateless guy must be rich. And as long as his expectations were in check about keeping a friendly distance, and not expecting sexual favors in return for a trip to Italy, then I was on board with it.

"Just tell him I'm not sleeping with him, to be clear." I got the elephant in the room out of the way, and Serena gasped.

"Of course! It's not like that. There's no expectation; I've told him outright that you're not that type of girl. He gets it, I promise. I'd never...."

"I know, Ser." I smiled. "I trust your judgment, and if you know this guy personally, I'm happy to trust that he's not some deranged old guy who is looking to be a sugar daddy to a younger girl."

She giggled uncontrollably for some reason. "He's not. But we'll talk about this – in person."

"Great, I look forward to it. Try to take a picture, if you can. Just so I can rest assured, I'm not being set up with some fossil from the stone age."

She laughed at my joke. "Damn, Reagz, I nearly dropped the phone. No fossils, I promise."

"He speaks English?" I enquired, frowning a little. Because it would be pretty hard to keep a conversation going if we didn't speak the same language. I could already picture the painful hand-gesturing, and the last thing I'd want to do at that wedding was spend half the night miming.

"Yeah. He lives in L.A., too, but he's not home that often; he's over here right now."

"I trust you, and I don't trust just anyone to set me up on a blind date," I said dryly, and Serena laughed again.

"You wouldn't believe me, but he said the exact same thing to me when I suggested this little arrangement."

"I like him already," I quipped.

"I'll let you get some rest; I know it's getting late over there. Say hi to Lucky, and I'll see you next week."

"Bye, Ser."

"Bye, Reagz. Miss you."

"Miss you too. I'm glad you're happy again. I'm glad Ben stepped up." I exhaled deeply, feeling a bolt of sorrow slamming into me, even though I was so damn happy for my best friend.

"I see my forever with him," she sighed dreamily, and unexpectedly, tears welled inside my eyes.

"I'm happy for you both," I choked the words out.

"Now we just need to find you someone great, too," Serena said solemnly, and I just couldn't find the words to respond to that.

"I'm happy with my life," I said with resignation. It was a defense mechanism, really, because deep down inside, I didn't believe in fairy tales. I was too much of a realist for that, even though I wore a tiny little tattoo of a fairy on my hipbone.

"And with the right person, it can be even better," she insisted.

"I'm not looking for anything permanent right now; I'm not in the right headspace," I deflected, and there was a stunned silence on the other end before she responded.

"He kind of said the same thing. It's crazy how similar the two of you are." Serena sounded strange, and I frowned.

"Did Ben say he didn't want something permanent with you?"

I swear, I was ready to shoot him at point-blank range if he said that to Serena, no matter how painful that would be for me to do on a personal note.

"No, no, no. Not him. I meant... your wedding date."

"Thank heavens, I can scrap killing Ben Ellis off my to-do list then," I teased, and we both laughed.

"It would mean the world to me if the two of you got along, Reagz," Serena said pleadingly, and I swallowed down that lump in my throat.

"Okay," I said softly, closing my eyes again, needing more strength than I had right now to keep up this charade. "As long as he makes you happy and treats you well, he's forgiven."

"You're the best friend a girl can ever ask for. Love you. Sweet dreams over there."

But despite being so damn tired that I could barely put one foot in front of the other, I had trouble sleeping that night. I knew that I had to do something about this ridiculous crush of mine. I had to drown it out. I had to re-focus it elsewhere. I simply had no choice but to keep looking Ben in the face, and the sooner I was able to do that without having inappropriate feelings, the better for everyone involved.