Destiny

Part 24

Stevie spotted Mick as soon as she entered the restaurant they had agreed on to meet at. He was by far the tallest person there and the bright colors he wore naturally attracted attention. Taking off her shades, she put them on the top of her head as she quickly approached the table set for two. Karen was left waiting in the parking lot.

"Hey." Stevie spoke up, placing a hand on Mick's shoulder.

"Hello!" Mick announced her arrival to the whole restaurant as he stood up to pull her into a tight hug. "It's so good to see you, we haven't talked in months."

"I know, I'm sorry." She gave him a sheepish smile and sat down. "I've been busy."

"Oh." Mick rolled his eyes. "The wedding."

"Well..." Stevie paused to clear her throat, she picked up the menu too. "Not just that." She knew, she'd piqued his interest. "Why don't we order first?"

After reading the items on the menu out loud, suggesting things to each other and deciding what sounded good, they placed their order and Mick clasped his hands, he leaned in closer, waiting for Stevie to start talking.

"I'm all ears." Mick said.

"I reached out to Lindsey after you came to visit me." Stevie began, taking a sip of water with a slice of lemon in it. "And we, uh... reconnected."

Mick had known the pair for long enough and well enough to know exactly what she meant by that. "What is it with you two?"

"I hold you accountable." Stevie pointed at Mick with a light chuckle. "If you hadn't insisted on me calling him, none of this would have happened."

Mick creased his eyebrows and sat back in his chair, almost looking afraid. "Do you really?"

"No." Stevie sighed. "I'm just..." She shrugged. "I absolutely cannot stay away from that man. He's changed so much, he's so sweet and I don't think he's ever cared this much about me, you know, about how all of this makes me feel and he's putting my feelings first. I-" She shook her head slightly, shifting her gaze to look around before her eyes landed on Mick again. "I love him. I'm so in love with him it's not even funny."

Mick couldn't fight back a smile, he reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I'm so happy to hear that."

"Yeah, well..." Stevie let out a heavy breath and Mick frowned.

"Things have already gone wrong, huh?" Mick assumed, shaking his head. 

"Not exactly. I mean-" Stevie took another sip of her water, which was driving Mick crazy. He wanted to know, what the situation was. "Lindsey has forbidden me from seeing him until the wedding."

"Excuse me?" The volume of Mick's voice turned several heads their way. "Why?"

"Last time we were together, which was about a week ago, I told him that if he asked me not to get married, I wouldn't." Mick threw his arms up in the air in frustration, ready to say something, but Stevie continued. "He said, he can't do that."

"Oh, God." Mick sighed, putting his hand on his forehead as if he could rub the upcoming headache away. "I hope, you told him that he's nuts."

"I tried." Stevie shrugged. "He wouldn't listen. He wants me to be sure that whatever I choose to do is in fact what I want to do."

"Stevie, listen to me." Mick took both of her hands in his, his eyes on hers. "You cannot go through with the wedding. You don't love Michael. At least, not the same way you love Lindsey. If you become Mrs. whatever Michael's last name is, you're going to regret it for the rest of your life. And you know that it's going to hurt Lindsey. No matter what happens in the future, he might not want you back. You can't do this to him or yourself."

Stevie swallowed uneasily and opened her mouth to speak, Lindsey's words echoing in her head. "He told me, it was time he let me try being happy with someone else as I did the same for him."

"Oh, that's bullshit." Mick shook his head. "You belong together. How many times have you tried before? Neither of you have ever been happy with anyone else."

"So, what? What am I supposed to do, Mick?" Stevie withdrew her hands from his and leaned back against her chair. "I should go home and just tell Michael, we're done? Two weeks before the wedding?"

"Yes, that's exactly what you're supposed to do." Mick nodded, not really understanding, why this was such a difficult decision to make.

"I don't know." Stevie sighed, eyeing the waiter, coming back with their food. "Let's just... let's eat. I'm starving."

Mick cursed under his breath and agreed to let it go for now. Until they cleared their plates, he thought.