Chapter 4: My Little Sister's Wedding

Reno walked up the aisle toward the groom and the best man. Most men would be nervous about signing away their freedom but Allan looked completely relaxed. In fact, he looked like the ceremony of thirty of their friends, family, and Allan’s business associates was nothing but a formal party. He had no fears of the bride bolting or the nervousness that came with signing away a man’s bachelorhood for the responsibilities of a family. He looked quite ready to get the entire thing over with, without the least bit hurry to say the ‘I dos’ so that he could start breathing again.

Reno remembered feeling that same way on his wedding day. It had been a small affair with a pastor and two of his resort managers standing in as witnesses. Neither of them had family in New Providence nor could he afford the plane ticket out for Riana. He’d felt like his life was about to take the next step to a wonderful journey. Like finally things were starting to go right in his life.

How wrong he’d been. The only thing that step had brought was misery. Georgia had been the worst mistake of his life and four years after she abandoned him, she was still the worst mistake. Now, just a mistake he’d found impossible to divorce. But that would soon be resolved once the court appointed time lapsed.

Two more months and I will be a free man.

The court had granted his petition of dissolution of marriage under the suit of abandonment but he’d had to wait a full year before his farce of a marriage was annulled.

He chortled. His petition had lasted longer than his marriage.

Three months into their wedded bliss she’d ran away with one of his guests at the resort. Reno hadn’t even seen it coming. No word, no sign whatsoever. Hell, they never ever fought bad enough to warrant a separation. They’d barely had their hands off each other long enough to even have a meaningful conversation, let alone a quarrel bad enough to warrant abandonment. And to think of the reason he’d married her in the first place…but thinking of it now, he was sure he’d taken on the load of another man, which he was glad to be rid of. Let some other unsuspecting man play sucker to her Jezebel charms.

But his pride had taken quite a beating. Just remembering the snickering behind his back and the pity looks from his employees made him cringe. It was hard to face the guests at the resort when the employees’ gossips of the owner’s sad and embarrassing heartbreak reached them. It had taken some time to get over and with it came a new resolution. He was going to embrace his bachelorhood and enjoy it extremely, especially if she was blonde and blue eyed. Was it petty and jaded to casually screw women who looked like his wife? Hell yes, but it did help his bruised ego some.

“What are you smiling at?”

Reno turned to Ruiz. He was still nervous but much better than he was before they entered L’Archeologia in Rome. Riana had wanted to hold the wedding in their open grounds full of archeological remains. She was an art nut, and the reception was to be held inside the restaurant. Ruiz was more nervous than when he was introducing himself to Reno. But who could blame him? He’d thought Riana was dead until Reno had told him otherwise.

It was uncanny how much they resembled each other. They were both tall and broad and from the pictures Ruiz had brought with him as proof, they took after their father. Aside from the obvious difference, and the two year age gap, they could be twins. And who would have thought he would be walking next to the reason for his mother’s heartache at his sister’s wedding? Life could be strange sometimes.

“Would you calm down? She’s the sweetest person alive and she doesn’t know how to hold a grudge.”

“Like you?”

Reno narrowed his eyes at him. “Watch it little brother.”

Ruiz flashed him a smile. “Hey, I’ll be your wing man tonight big brother. I heard the bridesmaids are usually very slutty and willing at the reception.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Are you looking forward to some slutty wedding sex?”

Reno shook his head. “Don’t even think about it. One of those bride’s maids is spoken for by the best man.” He pointed Matthew out. He’d met Allan and Matthew the night before and they’d become quick friends, to his astonishment. Reno wasn’t like the two of them—rich and without a sordid background—but they’d hit it off.

“And the other is Allan’s sister so if you want to end up dead and washed up on the beach bloated, half eaten by fish until you’re unrecognizable and the obvious amputation in your nether regions, go for it.”

Ruiz frowned with a wince. “What about the maid of honor?”

Reno whistled shaking his head. “That is a blonde, blue eyed can of trouble. I’m not going anywhere near that and neither should you.”

Ruiz sighed and pouted. “When I finally get the opportunity to behave like a juvenile, no one is available to play with.”

Ruiz hadn’t told him the full story but Reno got the impression he’d had a hard life after his mother moved both of them back to Argentina just months after his own mother took them to the States. All those years he’d spent cursing his brother out for having the life he and Riana were denied were wasted. Unlike him, Ruiz was all alone.

Reno Senior, their father, had tried to have his cake and eat it too but it all back fired on him. Good, the bastard deserved to suffer some for what he did to us, to all of us.

But he wasn’t what was important now. Reno had to think about how he was going to break this news to Riana. He knew she wasn’t going to take it well, but with Allan’s help, it might all go well.