The Scale (Martha's Way) (13 page)

“You look breathtaking, Keely.” The words were spot-on. Her
sister was indeed a vision of beauty.

Keely turned to stare at her friend and sister. Minka was
surprised to see tears trickling down her sister’s face. Her sister, the funny,
loving, beautiful twin was so moved and in love that she was crying.

The whole situation made her uncomfortable.

What was she supposed to do now?

Hug her sister?

Remind her how beautiful and lucky she was, had always been?

Before Minka could process any of her options, Claire
reached for her purse and pulled out a white silk handkerchief. Minka stepped
back and watched in silence as one beautiful woman gently brushed away the
tears of another.

“Minka,” Claire said, glancing at her direction.
 
“Would you like to try on your dress?”

“Yes. That would be great,” she answered in a shaken voice. She
knew she was coming across a bit distant.
Shit!
That wasn’t very MOH-like. She needed to snap out of it.

“I’ll be right back.” Claire picked up the third bag from
the door and disappeared.

As Claire walked past her, Minka noticed her shoulders were
a bit straighter; her eyes didn’t smile at her as they did when they first
walked into the inn. Shame overtook her. Somehow, she needed to masquerade her
pain.

“Can you unzip me, Minka?”

“Yes, of course.” Quickly she moved to where Keely was still
standing. With care, she unzipped the dress, not wanting to cause any damage to
the delicate ruffles. “The dress is you, Keely. Claire was right. It’s
everything you are.”

Keely smiled with appreciation.

Minka was glad to escape to the adjacent bathroom when
Claire returned with a misty rose-colored, one-shoulder, silk chiffon dress.
She tried her best not to examine the personal belongings of her sister and
Blake.

The dress was stunning and incredibly sophisticated with
careful pleating along the loose bodice and a single shoulder strap that
swooped up dramatically. It didn’t make her look fat. Not skinny, but not fat
either. For that she was grateful.

“I love it!” Keely screeched as soon as she entered the
bedroom.

What could she say?

There was no arguing when the bride instantly fell in love
with the dresses her best friend had designed. A knock came on the door and
their mother entered the room. Nervousness quickly settled inside her as her
mother’s eyes took in her appearance.

“What a pretty dress,” she exclaimed. “You look lovely,
Minka.”

A flower was lovely; someone could have a lovely character—which
was always when the guy lost interest, by the way. Yet, that was the adjective
for her. “Thank you,” she responded with what she hoped was a genuine smile.

“Jason had the innkeeper set up some trays for us on the
patio,” Bea continued.

“Go ahead. I’ll put everything back together,” she
volunteered when she noticed Claire hesitate. The other woman smiled
appreciatively at her; the smile this time was at least lukewarm.

Once alone in the room, she collapsed on the bed, dejected,
swollen with emotions and realization of the days that were quickly
approaching. Paralyzed by the tragic feeling of crushed hopelessness, she
closed her eyes and gazed into fields of nothingness. The tears crept out
nonetheless,
a sea of dark emotions churned inside
her with no outlet but the sobs.

Minka wasn’t sure how long she sat on the bed crying; at
some point she felt drained and dehydrated. Sniffling as she choked back the
last of her tears, she slowly came to her feet and attempted to put the gowns
back in their respective bags and came face to face with Jason standing in the
doorway. She froze. How long had he stood there?

“I knocked.”

She turned her back to him and brushed her cheeks as hard as
she could “I’ll be right down.”

But he was already standing behind her. His arms encircled
her body, bringing her against his chest. Minka closed her eyes. It felt good
to be held.

“I didn’t mean to intrude, but I wanted to see you. Keely
told me you were cleaning up,” he said, his voice dangerously low.

“Why?” she asked, her breath still short and shallow.

“I’m not sure why she told me.”

She shook her head. “No. Why did you want to see me?” She
spun around, no longer caring if her eyes were bloodshot red and leaked with
sadness.

His hands cupped her face. “One night wasn’t enough.”

The world was truly playing a cruel joke on her. “Jason,”
her hands came to rest on his wrists. “I can’t.”

“
I want to see you. I want to be
with you again,
ma chèrie
.” He
paused to smile at her then added, “Last night was fun.”

“We shouldn’t.” She had to talk some sense into him. Clearly
the man was running on one loose screw if he wanted to sleep with her again.

 
“Give me one
good reason why we shouldn’t, besides the fact you’re fighting the obvious
attraction.”

He was challenging her, tempting her, making her crave.

“I’m not that person from last night,” she said under her
breath because she was afraid to speak her true fear.

“Do you want to sleep with me again?” he asked again as if
her words were never uttered.

Deny. Deny. Deny.

That was the wise thing to do. Tell a lie in order to keep
her sanity. Only he stood too close. She inhaled his scent; fresh and citrusy
as it did last night. All Minka could think
of
was his
naked body on top of her. She couldn’t lie and once again unable to speak, she
nodded.

“You must say it.” He pushed. “To admit to
yourself
what’s between us.”

Her body flooded with warmth. “I do.” The admission came out
as a whisper; the words trembled from her lips.

 
“You do what,
darling? And look at me while you say it,” he challenged, his voice low and
gruff.

Minka lifted her head to look into his eyes. The desire she
read in them scared her, but just like last night, she wanted more of him.
 
Not just because she wanted to let go of
that achiness in her heart, but also because Jason had made her feel things she
never thought she could ever feel.

 
“I want to sleep
with you again, Jason, but…” Then of course that had to be it. No more Jason,
no more crazy orgasms.
She didn’t need to be a
genius to understand allowing herself to continue having mind-blowing sex with
a sexy, handsome man who happened to be out of her league, had disaster written
all over it.

He lowered his mouth to her forehead,
then
touched the corner of her lips. “No buts. Tonight you come home with me and you
spend the night again.”

It wasn’t a question. Men like Jason ordered. Minka nodded
again.

“I won’t ask about the tears. But, if you ever feel like
telling me what made you so sad, I promise to listen.”

She lowered her gaze to his chest, breaking their
connection. Could she really tell him the emotional turmoil she was going
through? Would he still want to sleep with her if he knew? The answers were
obvious. Jason was accustomed to getting what he wanted and when. She knew
enough about him to know he didn’t compete for a woman’s affection. She either
came to him or she didn’t. Either way, there was probably another waiting.

“It’s nothing. Wedding jitters.” She smiled.
“My sister, my close friend.”

Jason nodded. “I’m sure you’ll find the same kind of love
one day.”

Tightness settled in her chest and limbs, not because of
Keely and Blake. But because of the easy way Jason told her she would find love
and asked her to sleep with him again all in one breath. He didn’t ask her to
be in a relationship or hide his intent. He wanted sex, nothing more and
nothing less.

She tried to put on a brave face and nodded. A hook-up, she
thought. She wanted the same thing, a distraction. It would help her deal with
Keely and Blake. So why did his words make her feel sad?

“We should go back to everyone,” she said, breaking the
silence between them. She tried to step out of his arms, but Jason tightened
his hold.

“Not yet.” His blue eyes twinkled with mischief.

“Are you mad? My sister sleeps in this bed.” No way was she
going to have sex with him there, regardless of how much she wanted it. Jason
chuckled before he released her.

“I’ll help you clean up, but for the record, you and I can
have sex wherever we want in this inn.”

She focused her attention on the gown. She wasn’t going to
entertain the thought. The man was obviously insane. She moved quickly, putting
the gowns back in their bags, and walked past him toward the door. Jason caught
up with her and pulled her into his arms.

“One last kiss till tonight.”

Chapter Nine

“The scale can only
give you a numerical reflection of your relationship with gravity.”

Steve Maraboli

Minka sucked in her breath as she tried to zip the pencil
skirt. The zipper moved probably an inch upward before it stubbornly told her
it wasn’t going to go any further. Feeling let down, she swore under her
breath. When she bought this skirt earlier in the year, New Year’s Eve to be
more specific, her goal was to fit into it in three months. Of course that was
later stretched to four months because hey, everyone knew a diet wasn’t fool-proof
and who really exercised during the winter—cold months were for comfort food.

Only winter had morphed into spring and not a pound had been
shed. Minka removed the skirt and laid it on the bed. She looked down at it. She’d
purchased the skirt with Blake in mind, to witness lust in his eyes at her appearance.
Yet, here she was in her hotel room thinking about Jason pulling the material
away from her body. Her senses heightened with a mixture of emotions,
excitement, desire, and even guilt for lusting after Blake’s best friend. She
slipped into a pair of jeans, grabbed her purse, and walked out of the room.
Since the skirt refused to adjust to her curves, she might as well go buy
something to wear.

After peeping through the window of the small boutique,
Minka decided,
what the hell?
and
stepped inside. She was sure most of the dresses at the
store didn’t go higher than a size four, but she figured,
why not?
She had a couple of hours to kill before meeting Jason.

A pretty woman in her mid-forties dressed in a floor-length,
navy silk V-neck dress with strappy sandals walked over to greet her. “Welcome
to
La Jolie
,” she said with a warm
smile. Upon her words, the red velvet curtains were pushed aside and a debonair
man wearing a pale blue blazer with a matching ascot around the same age as the
woman appeared. Smiling, the man with the ascot walked over and placed a kiss
on the pretty woman’s cheek before clasping his hands together as his eyes
assessed Minka.

“Mademoiselle, what is the special occasion?

“Gerard,” the woman interjected, “it’s obvious she has a hot
date.”

“Ah, my darling wife, very perceptive.”
He reached for his wife’s hands and brought both of them to his lips. The act
made her think of Jason. Still holding his wife’s hand, he turned to face
Minka. “We have great dresses for a hot date. Come, let us show you.”

“Not a hot date,” she corrected. “I’m going out with a
couple of people to celebrate a friend’s birthday.” Not that she considered
Jason to be a friend.

The man named Gerard winked and led her by her shoulder.
“There is a man involved.”

“I…yes,” she stammered.

“I know of a particular blond, cranky but loveable young man
who lives on the island that just had a birthday yesterday. Are you going out
with him?”

Not able to deny or confirm, Minka remained silent. The
woman smiled at Minka as if she was aware of something. “My name is Louise.”

“I’m Minka,” she responded, somewhat amused by the couple.

Louise eyes scanned her, probably mentally taking her
measurements. To her surprise, Minka felt at ease.

“Give me a moment. I have the perfect dress for you,” she
exclaimed and quickly disappeared. Within seconds the woman reappeared with a
swingy, sequined, black motif dress embroidered with gold and silver flowers.

“Go try it on. We shall let you know how we like it. We
never lie.”

Strangely, she believed them. Minka pushed the velvet
curtain aside and stepped inside. She looked at the dress, not something she
would normally purchase. She tended to wear less intricate A-line dresses to
hide her curves. Her mind wandered to Jason. The life he brought into her. Slowly
she stepped out of her comfort and slipped into the dress.

The material was surprisingly light against her body, and
the cut was remarkable. Although fitted, the dress was forgiving around the
waist, complementing the form and curves of her body. As promised, she stepped
out of the dressing room to show Gerard and Louise. The couple whistled
together as Gerard dragged her to the floor-length mirror.

“
Parfait!
Merveilleux!
Don’t you
think
,
mon amour?”
Gerard exclaimed. Louise
leaned in and placed a kiss on his lips.

Minka had to agree. She didn’t recognize the person staring
back at her; this woman looked elegant and sexy. Everything she wasn’t. Louise
stood behind her and pulled her hair in a bun. “Wear your hair up. Let him take
it down later.” She winked.

Thirty minutes later, Minka walked out of the store with two
dresses, the black sequined dress and a silk maxi one.
A
little self-indulgence for her schoolteacher budget.
Before she left the
small boutique, Louise mentioned a nearby exclusive shop where she could get
some interesting undergarments. Embarrassed, Minka smiled shyly at the woman
and thanked both of them for their services. Minutes later, she entered the
shop appropriately named
Cheekies,
where she was greeted by a beautiful brunette with a perfect figure.