Undoubtedly Yours

Chapter 8

Dean

As soon as we get to Dani's setup area, I ask, "You knew? You knew all this time that Kira and Hope were friends? And you didn't bother to say anything?" Dani looks at me and says, "Look, Kira and I don't have many friends. It's just the two of you really and until Hope moved here a month ago, Kira never mentioned her name. Hope was having a hard time with her family for a bit so she went off the radar, but when she came to Toronto, Kira told me. I didn't tell you because I knew you were going to meet her at NEXT ON's meeting. I was not sure how you would react if I told you but I knew if you didn't have time to think about your reaction, you will know how you truly feel. And my friend, when I say you are undateable, I really mean only dateable with Hope."

"And you couldn't have told me after the meeting?", I ask. "I saw you going over everything in your head. You needed time to process. I know you will never let her go again but you needed to come to this decision on your own for this to actually work.", she says crossing her arms. I contemplate what she just said and quickly realize she is right, I mean, who am I kidding? She knows how my brain works better than I do anyway. "Fine. But you owe me two favors now." I grumble. She laughs and nods her head. Then she turns to the lady who is going to be helping her and we go over the dresses she is going to try.

Two hours later....

I need to get out of here. I am so done with this. I was okay when it started and I thought I will be helping my best friend on her big day. After looking at five different dresses and the waiting in between, I am just about f*****g done. Of course, I don't say anything out loud because I would like to keep my balls intact. "What do you think of this? I think this is the one.", I hear Dani and I look at her. She looks stunning and she is standing there teary-eyed looking at me with so much emotion that I forget about everything else and concentrate on my best friend.

"Dani, you look..", I get up and go to her and continue, "You look absolutely gorgeous. If you feel this is the one, then there is no question, this is the one. Are you sure or you want to look at some more dresses?" Dani looks down at her dress and shakes her head. I take her in my arms to calm her down. Making sure she is okay, I wait till she calls the lady who was helping us to sort out her measurements and everything else that I don't understand. I wait till the ladies are gone, then walk out of our little corner.

Right as I walk out, I see Hope standing on the other side looking at some dresses. I am a man on mission when it comes to this woman, so naturally, I go to her. As I approach her, I say, "Hey! You guys done?" She jumps a little and turns around with her hand to her chest and I see her eyes are red. My mind immediately goes on alert and I ask, "What happened? Why are you crying?" She doesn't say anything and just shakes her head, looking down. I lift her chin with my finger and wait till her eyes meet mine and ask again, "Hope, what's going on? Why are you crying?"

She takes a deep breath and just shrugs and says, "It's nothing, I just got overwhelmed with Kira's dress trials is all. I am good." I relax a little but I can see there is something else bothering her. I wait for her to continue because she knows I won't say anything until she tells me everything. "It's just, my mom would never be able to see me like that, you know. She lost her eyesight two years ago and I just got sad thinking about that. It's silly, really." She tries to downplay it, but I can understand how big of a deal it is. Not waiting another second, my arms go around her, one holding her waist and one holding her head to my chest.

She stiffens a little but slowly she relaxes and her arms go around my waist as she starts sobbing quietly. "I am so sorry, Hope. I wish I could do something to make it better, I really do. Please don't cry.", I say as I stroke her head on my chest. Her sobbing stops and she calms down but I am not ready to let her go yet. She seems to be making no effort to move either. I also know she didn't want to cry here. Here, where we are helping our friends get ready for their wedding day. I pull away and look at her as she wipes her eyes and looking at me she says, "Thank you Dean! You are still great at hugging. I think I am just going to use the restroom." "Anytime, sweetheart, anytime.", I smile as I rub her arms up and down a couple times before she walks away.

Dani and Kira come out at that moment and ask me if everything was fine. I tell them Hope is in the restroom not telling them that she was crying. They both nod and then Dani says, "Hey Dean! Thank you for today. I mean it. Let's go and celebrate a little, my treat." I chuckle and, at the same time, Hope walks in. "Hey Hope! We are going out for a little celebration and you are coming with us. You can't say no." Kira says as Hope walks towards us.

Hope shakes her head with a smile and says flatly, "Gee! How will I ever survive?" Her smile tells me she is okay and I settle. She looks at the three of us and says, "Alright, where are we off to?" Dani says the name of the restaurant adjoining the mall and we all start walking towards it. As we walk Kira says, "Hope, now that the dress is final, we are going to get all the accessories sorted next week. I will text you when and where next week, okay?" "Yes, of course, there is nowhere else I would rather be.", Hope says looking fondly at Kira.

Dani looks at me and I shake my head immediately, "Don't even think about it. I will ask Sara to go with you. Please Dani, I can't do this. The dress shopping was more than enough." Dani starts laughing and then squeezing my arm she says, "I am just f*****g with you. I won't put you through that. Besides, I think Kira and I will do it together. Maybe we can make it a girls' evening with the four of us. What do you say ladies?" Dani is looking at Kira and Hope and they both smile and nod their heads and what do you know, suddenly I wish I hadn't said no.

We reach the restaurant and take a booth. We are all looking at our menus deciding what to eat when suddenly Kira says, "Wait! I did not put it together before. Hope, did you study with Dani and Dean? I just remembered you told me you moved to Vancouver after studying in Toronto." The three of us are not expecting this question and look at each other when Hope takes one for the team and answers her. "Yes! We actually did. I had to move away for some personal reasons but we all used to hang out, even Mark and Sara." Kira hums then asks the dreaded question, "Why did you leave?"

Hope stiffens and before she can say anything Dani says, "Babe, why don't we leave the interrogation for today. Let us just enjoy a nice dinner and then get going. We have to go to your parents' house tomorrow too." Kira looks uncertain, but then she looks at Hope, and says, "Fine, fine, let's order." Hope looks at me and I give her a small smile letting her know that it is okay, which she thankfully returns. I am such a wuss when it comes to this woman, I am not even kidding.

We all order and chitchat, catching up and finish our meals. When it's time to pay, Dani takes care of the bill because she said it was her treat and I learned a long time ago not to argue with her about that. Dani and Kira hug us goodbye, leaving the two of us alone. I am thinking about what to say to her when she surprises me and says, "Look Daniel.. I mean Dean. Sorry! I know... I know there is a lot that is left unsaid and undiscussed, but can you promise me something?" What she doesn't know is I will promise her the world if she asks me like this. I nod at her to continue and she says, "I will tell you everything that happened. I really want to but I just need some time to just gather my wits. There is a lot that happened. A lot. Will you please wait for me to come talk to you, please?"

I look in her eyes and see the same pain that I have felt in the last four years, she is shaking with nerves and nothing can stop me from doing what I am about to do. I take her in my arms and rubbing her back I say as softly as I can, "Hey, hey, hey! It's okay, it's all good, I am right here. You can take all the time in the world. I am not going anywhere. I will be right here by your side when you are ready." She relaxes slowly as I relish the feel of her in my arms. When I let her go, the storm in her eyes has calmed down a bit and in that moment, I promise myself to keep it the storm as far away as possible.