The Engagement Embargo: A Meet Me at the Altar Novel Read online

  “You said that didn’t matter.”

  “Well, that day it really didn’t. I wasn’t talking with you as a therapist. We were talking as friends and…I don’t know…this just seems like something you really need a professional for.”

  He studied her for a long moment before leaning forward in his chair. “Here’s the thing, Skylar, I don’t want to sit and talk to a professional. It’s embarrassing enough sitting and talking to you about this.”

  “You’re embarrassed?”

  He nodded.

  “Why? We’ve known each other for years! If anything, talking to a stranger would probably be a lot easier.”

  “I disagree. I don’t want to have to explain my entire family dynamic to a stranger and waste time. You know all the players involved and it will make this whole therapy thing–for lack of a better word–go much faster.”

  “Elliott, therapy isn’t about getting things done faster. It takes time to delve into the human psyche. You need to be willing to put in the work and peel back the layers and…”

  “My family put an embargo on me!” he blurted out.

  “Um…yeah,” she replied quietly. “I heard.”

  In that moment, he looked utterly defeated. He leaned back and then slouched slightly in his seat, raking a hand through his hair. And when he looked up at her, she saw so much pain there. “I’m a joke to my family and friends, Skye. Hell, just thinking about it pisses me off. I have a year to figure some things out and…please. I just need someone to cut me a break and help me.”

  She knew she was going to regret this.

  And she knew she was going to end up needing to see a therapist herself.

  But even if she didn’t factor in her feelings for Elliott, she couldn’t stand to see someone hurting and not try to help. So…

  “I’ll do it,” she said quietly.

  He straightened. “You will?”

  “I will.”

  Elliott jumped to his feet, a genuine smile on his face. “Skye…I…you have no idea how much this means to me! When can we start? Are you busy now? Can I take you to dinner?” He glanced around. “Or we can get takeout and go to my place or…”

  He was rambling at this point and Skye knew she was going to have to reel him in and take control of the situation.

  It was the only way she was going to survive it.

  Holding up her hand, she cut him off. “How about this–we meet up on Saturday morning for coffee? Someplace neutral. And we’ll do this once a week.”

  His shoulders sagged and he was back to looking dejected. “But…that’s several days away.”

  “Elliott, you just sprung this on me and I think if we’re going to do this, we need to keep it on at least a slightly professional basis.”

  “Okay, but weekends are your busy time. I just thought…”

  Crap. She hadn’t even taken that into consideration. “You’re right.” She pulled up her calendar and glanced at it. “Are there any mornings where you’re free?”

  “I need to be in the office by eight and I’m not sure either of us is up for a sunrise therapy session.”

  “Hmm, good point.” This was way more difficult than she would have thought. “I don’t always have a set schedule, but…”

  “How about tomorrow night then? We can meet every Thursday night and I know you want to keep this professional but…I think meeting at my place would be best. I’ll take care of dinner. It’s the least I can do since you’re helping me out.”

  Again, he had a point.

  “Fine. Tomorrow night. Seven o’clock. Your house.”

  His face lit up as he smiled at her. “Thanks, Skye. You’re a lifesaver.”

  “Don’t say that yet. We don’t even know if this is going to help.”

  “It will,” he said confidently. “I have every faith in you.”

  At least one of us does…

  Elliott looked at his watch for the tenth time in as many minutes and frowned.

  How fitting would it be if his therapist stood him up too?

  Groaning, he walked around his house and wondered what he was supposed to do. He picked up Chinese food on the way home, all the pillows on his sofa were fluffed, and every surface had been dusted.

  All that was missing was Skylar.

  It wasn’t like she was overly late, but…it was 7:05 so technically, still late.

  He paced some more and wondered–not for the first time–if he was doing the right thing. Therapy was not something he was comfortable with, but talking with someone he knew seemed a little more palatable.

  Was it going to help? He had no idea. But he had to try, and he had nothing but time on his hands thanks to his family.

  Although…he was a grown man. It wasn’t like anyone could really enforce it if he did happen to meet someone and…

  The doorbell rang and Elliott practically sagged with relief. When he opened the door, Skylar looked more than a little uncomfortable.

  Not a good sign for their first meeting.

  She was dressed casually–faded jeans, an oversized sweatshirt, and her hair in the ever-present ponytail–and for some reason she looked more like the girl he remembered from when they were growing up than the woman running a successful business with his sister.

  “Hey,” she said, a little breathless. “Sorry I’m late.”

  Elliott motioned for her to come in. “Everything okay?”

  Skye stepped into the house, stood to the side, and waited for him to lead her–which seemed a little odd too. Was she really this uncomfortable with the whole thing?

  “Um…we’re dealing with a bit of a bridezilla and her parents are equally aggressive. Basically, it’s a nightmare. They came in this afternoon for a cake tasting and made poor Leanna cry.” They walked into the living room and she sat down on the sofa and let out a weary sigh. “Josie was ready to snap so I sent her to check on Leanna and I had to play peacekeeper to the clients and…ugh, it was awful. Like, I don’t understand why people are so hateful.”

  “Wow, that had to suck. I’m sorry.” He sat down beside her and wasn’t sure what to do or say to make her feel better.

  “For the most part, we’re used to clients being extremely particular in what they want and they should be. A wedding is a big deal and it’s supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime event so it’s only natural to want everything to be perfect. And we can give them that perfect day without anyone getting mean.” She leaned back and let her head fall against the cushions. “Mean people just suck.”

  “Yes, they do,” he agreed, mimicking her pose. They sat like that for several minutes before Elliott turned his head to look at her. “Would Chinese food help?”

  Her eyes were closed as she asked, “Are there dumplings?”

  “There are.”

  “Any chance you also got some lo mein?”

  “The house kind so everything’s in it.”

  Smiling, she turned her head to face him. “I can’t say it will make everything all better, but it’s certainly a good place to start.”

  Standing, he held out his hand to her and watched as she looked mildly horrified before standing on her own.

  Okay, that was definitely weird…

  Conversation was fairly basic as they sat down to eat. Elliott wanted to make sure Skye was relaxed and comfortable with him before they jumped into discussing why his life was such a mess. So they talked about how Leanna was after the bridezilla incident and some of their upcoming events and then they discussed his job and what it entailed and by the time they were done eating, it seemed like everything was okay and Skye looked and sounded much more at ease.

  They worked together to clean up and Skye was telling him about a trip she took last year to the beach with a couple of her cousins. He wasn’t sure how they got on that topic, but he enjoyed listening to her talk about how she learned to surf, fish, and how much she simply enjoyed sitting on the sand and meditating in her own way.

  “What does that mean–in your o
wn way?”

  She shrugged as she picked up her glass and walked toward the living room. “It’s really just me sitting peacefully and clearing my mind while taking in the sounds and scents around me. It’s so freeing and I try to replicate it at home with a sound machine, but it’s not the same. Hopefully I’ll get to go back in the fall and experience it again.”

  “I hope you do too.” Elliott looked at where she was sitting on the sofa and decided to sit in the oversized matching chair opposite her. After all, if he were in a therapist’s office, they wouldn’t be sitting together, so… “So,” he began.

  “So.” That apprehensive look was back on her face and that’s when he knew this wasn’t going to work.

  “Okay, let’s call this a failed experiment,” he said flatly.

  “Already? Why?”

  “Skye, if you could see what I’m seeing, then you’d know why. You’re clearly uncomfortable with this and I’m sorry that I put you in this position. I just…” He sighed. “Talking with you really did help and I just thought that it would again. I apologize. Really. This was very selfish of me.”

  And now he felt awful. Skye was a good friend and practically family and he didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize that relationship. She’d been a part of his life for so long and if she wasn’t his sister’s best friend, he probably would be looking at her differently.

  And would have acted on it long ago.

  But no. They’d known each other for too long for him to ruin things like this.

  “For what it’s worth, I don’t think you’re being selfish, Elliott,” she said, her voice soft and sweet. “I think you’re genuinely trying to work through something difficult and no one likes to do that. It’s painful and it makes us take a hard look at ourselves and sometimes we end up not liking what we see.”

  With a nod, he sat back. “So…what do you think I should do?”

  She studied him for several moments. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Of course.”

  “How are you doing? In general.”

  He shrugged. “For the most part, I’m okay. I’m working and doing all my normal stuff.”

  “Have you heard from Tracy?”

  Another nod. “A week after…you know…she called and came over to get her stuff. She hadn’t really moved in yet. It was just a lot of boxes we planned on dealing with after the honeymoon.”

  “Did the two of you talk?”

  “We did. She showed up alone and we spent an hour together before her father and brothers showed up to help move everything.” He paused. “And before you ask, Daniel wasn’t with her.”

  This time Skye nodded. “Did you feel it was helpful to talk to her? Did the two of you settle things?”

  “I don’t think there was really anything to settle. She apologized multiple times and the thing is, I understood. Was I disappointed in how it all went down? Yes. Was I humiliated? Definitely. But…I realized it was better for it to happen before we got married than after. That would have been a huge betrayal.”

  She went silent again and seemed to consider his words. “Okay, I think that’s a very healthy way of looking at it, but…maybe you should realize that this is a blessing in disguise.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Elliott, if you had truly been in love with Tracy, you wouldn’t be this chill about it. You’d be angry and hurt and brokenhearted. It seems to me you’re more upset about how everyone is looking at you than about Tracy leaving you.”

  “I wouldn’t say…” But then he stopped and thought about it and…she was right. He was more upset about the way his family talked to him afterwards than he was about the relationship ending. “Oh, shit.”

  And when he looked at Skye, she was nodding. “And that’s just the first step. How do you feel?”

  “Honestly? Even more foolish,” he gruffly admitted. “How did everyone see it but me?”

  “I don’t know, but that’s really just the tip of the iceberg. It would be doing you a great disservice for me to meet with you as a pseudo therapist. You need someone who really knows what they’re doing. Trust me.”

  He wanted to be offended or at least upset, but…she was right. It didn’t matter how much he wanted to fast-track all of this and figure out what he was doing wrong, this wasn’t going to be a quick fix.

  Dammit.

  They sat in silence for several minutes before he spoke again. “I appreciate your honesty and your willingness to do this even though you didn’t want to.”

  “We’re friends, Elliott, and I hate to see you hurting. And as your friend, it’s my place to tell you the truth about what I think you need. If this had been Josie or Leanna, I would have suggested the same thing. It’s one thing to hang out and have a bit of a bitch session over a couple of glasses of wine, maybe a little kickboxing or something to get out some aggression…but for something deeper, I would only recommend seeing a professional.”

  “Wait…say that again.”

  “What? How I would recommend seeing a professional?”

  “No, before that. The whole getting out the aggression.”

  A small smile played at her lips. “I can’t speak for everyone, but I happen to find some aggression therapy very helpful.”

  Elliott stood and said, “Follow me,” before leading her down to his basement where he had a small home gym set up. He had an elliptical, some free weights, and a punching bag. “Would this work?”

  Her eyes lit up. “Oh, my goodness! I wish we had a setup like this at the office for days like today! This is amazing!”

  While she looked around, Elliott pulled out two pairs of gloves. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of this before. I could have been feeling a lot less rage by now.”

  Skye turned and looked at him with surprise when he held out the second pair of gloves to her. “Um…I’m not really dressed for this.”

  “Then go grab your bag out of your car. I know you always carry a comfy outfit to change into.”

  “Oh, really? How do you know that?”

  “Because you told me about it the last time you were here,” he said with a grin. “You go do that and I’m going to go change and we’ll meet back down here in five.” When he turned to go, Skye called out and stopped him. “What?”

  “This is crazy! You don’t need me here to do this. If anything, you’ll probably feel a lot better if you’re alone.”

  “I disagree. I need someone to talk to me and force me to deal with this anger I’ve got and keep me focused. That would be you.”

  “Great,” she murmured.

  “C’mon! This is better than sitting upstairs and doing the whole psychology thing, isn’t it?” When she didn’t respond, he pushed a little more. “Plus, you’ll get a chance at the bag and get out some of your aggression from the mean clients today.”

  “Ugh…I hate how appealing that is,” she grumbled. “Fine. We’ll punch things and get angry and hopefully feel better.”

  When they were back upstairs and she was heading out to her car, he yelled out, “Eye of the Tiger, Skye! Eye of the Tiger!” And when he heard her laugh, he knew this was probably the first time he was looking forward to any form of therapy.

  Ten minutes later, they were back downstairs and he was helping her lace up her gloves.

  “You know,” she began, “I said kickboxing. We never wear gloves in kickboxing.”

  “Yeah, well…I’m not big on kicking. I’d rather punch so…here we are.” Once they were ready, he took a step back. “You want to throw the first punch?”

  Her eyes went wide and she laughed. “At you or the bag?”

  “Ha, ha. Very funny. The bag.”

  “Well, considering this night was about your therapy, I think I’ll just go stand over against the wall and let you get things going.”

  Nodding, he waited until she was a safe distance away and…punched.

  And felt…nothing.

  He stared at the bag and hit it again.

&n
bsp; Still nothing.

  “Um…I know I’m no authority on boxing or punching things but shouldn’t you be hitting it harder and…you know…more?”

  “I get what you’re saying, but…I’m not feeling it.”

  “Okay, I was hoping not to have to do this, but…” She paused and let out a long breath before speaking again. “Elliott Sullivan! What is wrong with you?” she yelled, and he was a little taken aback by how loud and fierce she sounded. “Quit sitting around feeling sorry for yourself and being a baby! Stop letting your exes walk all over you and making your family step in to ban you from dating! Is this the life you want?”

  And oddly enough, that worked.

  Rearing back, he threw one punch. And then another. And another until he was pounding on the bag. His body got warm and then hot; sweat began to pour off of him as he continued one punch after another and beside him, Skylar was egging him on about his family and the embargo. After a while, he wasn’t so much paying attention to what she was saying as he was to her tone.

  His arms began to ache and he was starting to get breathless when…

  “You must be a really crappy boyfriend or bad in bed for this to keep happening to you!” she was yelling when he stopped punching.

  “Hey!” he snapped, and the bag hit him hard enough to make him stumble. “That was a cheap shot!”

  “Oh, right. Sorry,” she said as she blushed. “I guess I got carried away.”

  “Yeah, just a little,” he murmured and stepped aside. “You’re up.”

  “Oh, I don’t think so. All that yelling really seemed to help me a lot. I’m good.”

  “Nuh-uh. That wasn’t the deal.” Walking over, he took her by the shoulders and gave her a playful shove toward the bag. “Go on. Give it a good punch.”

  She did punch, but somehow missed the bag.

  “Wow.”

  “Like we didn’t already know that I’m not athletic or coordinated? Really?”

  Actually, he did know that and felt a little bad about making her do this.

  “No, you can do this, Skye. Trust me.” Then he stood behind the bag and held it steady. “Go ahead. Try again.”