“Your Love Muffin?” He sounded pissed.
“Yeah. My Love Muffin. And he calls me his Cupcake…because I like cupcakes. A lot.” Well, at least that was true; I really did like cupcakes.
“Is it…serious?” he asked.
“Yeah. It is.” I tossed the remote onto the couch cushion next to me and stood. It didn’t matter that it was too early to crack open a beer—I needed one to toast the ingenious addition of pet names to corroborate my story. Walking to the kitchen, I said, “So you take care, Brent. And don’t worry. Absolutely no trouble at the engagement party. None. Matt and I usually just make out, like, everywhere.”
I’d gone a bit far, but I was on a roll, and if it got him off the phone and never to call me again, it was necessary. I added, “I’m sure we’ll probably not even really eat or anything because we’ll be too busy making out. And I actually don’t hate you anymore.”
I was pretty sure it was true, anyway. The last couple of months I hadn’t even really thought about him, not until Lexie told me I’d have to see him again at the engagement party. He was just a jerk from my past; it didn’t mean I had to give a damn. Now, Brent was just a nuisance, nothing more. Like a pesky mosquito hovering around my face, waiting for a good swat with a newspaper.
“Gen—”
“See you later, okay?”
“Wait, I—”
I hung up and had Lexie on speed dial within a few seconds. When she answered, I said, “Lexie, what the hell.”
“Nice to hear from you too, Gen,” Lexie said and I didn’t have to see my twin to picture the eye roll. “And where were you today?” Lexie asked, the irritation perfectly clear. “You were supposed to meet me and Mom for lunch.”
“You should have come to pick me up. I overslept. Sorry.” I clicked through the TV channels and ended up on a segment about dream vacation homes. “That’s not why I’m calling. Brent just called me.”
“No, he didn’t.”
“Yeah, he did. Jeremy gave him my number.”
“No, he didn’t.”
“Yes, he did.”
“Shit. I’m sorry. I don’t know why he’d do that.” She did sound sorry. Lexie didn’t like Brent at all. It was one of those sister things. Lexie said, “I am going to rip his ass for giving Brent your number.”
“Yeah, thanks. Anyway, why the hell did you tell him I haven’t dated anyone since him?”
“Because it’s true.”
“No, it
was
true. I’ve been going on shitty dates for weeks now. Thanks to our older sister who, by the way, has the shittiest matchmaking skills of anyone I know.” I sighed heavily. “Lexie, that’s not the point. I have Matt now, remember? A boyfriend.”
“Right. Matt.”
I narrowed my eyes at the laughter in Lexie’s voice. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“I’ll play along.”
Damn it. She knows.
I downed the rest of the beer in three big swallows.
Of course Lexie knew. Wouldn’t I have known if Lexie spewed the same lie?
“Lexie, the point is Brent doesn’t need to know anything about me, especially my dating life.”
“What’s the big deal? You don’t care about him, so who cares what he thinks?” Lexie sounded bored. “I think I’d like a solid red.”
“What?”
“I’m getting a pedicure. You’d be getting one with me if you would’ve shown up for lunch.”
“You should have picked me up,” I repeated, my eyes on my feet. The metallic pink toe nail polish was chipped. Maybe I’d paint them before going to my parents’ for supper later.
“You should have set your alarm.”
“See what happens when you marry my ex-boyfriend’s best friend?
Crap
, that’s what happens.” I flipped to the cooking channel. I was hungry. “I’m not okay with Brent calling me.”
“I specifically told him if he ever talked to you again I would hurt him. Physically.”
“I’d actually pay to see that.” My cell phone chimed with a new update. “Hold on for a sec,” I said and took the cell away from my face to put her on speaker phone. A new friend request flashed on the display. “What the hell?”
“Now what?” Lexie said, sounding distant now that she was on speaker. “Seriously, Gen, this pedicure is supposed to be relaxing.”
“That guy Cat set me up with, Richard, he just sent me a friend request. Can you believe that?” I clicked to ignore the request. If I responded, he’d get ideas. Apparently, he still thought he had a chance, which made no sense. What was up with the men in my life? Maybe they were all aliens.
“The guy who dumped you in public?”
“Ugh, I shouldn’t have told you the details. You are never to speak of it again, okay?” I turned up the speaker volume and set the cell phone beside me on the couch.
“Well he did, didn’t he?” Lexie laughed. “And all it took was for me to ask you a few questions about Matt and you spilled about Richard instead. That’s how I know you made up your
exclusive
relationship with this Matt guy. I asked Roxi about him, and she said you just met him last night. She also said that you threw yourself on him.”
I blushed. “Just don’t tell Cat. I don’t need her setting me up with another guy like Richard. Catherine’s turn at matchmaker is over. I’ll take one of Roxi’s friends to your engagement party. She knows lots of hot guys and I won’t need to go on a date with any of them in order to take them to the party. All he has to do is sit there and look pretty enough to impress everyone.”
“What is up with Cat, anyway? I looked that Richard guy up in the company directory last night. He is so not your type.”
“I know, right? He’s a nice guy and everything. Well, at least I thought he was a nice guy until he pulled that dump-n-dash on me.”
“Cat’s really out of it lately,” Lexie said. “You didn’t accept his friend request, did you?”
“No. Listen, next time you see Brent, make sure to talk about Matt a lot.”
“Matt, the fake boyfriend?” Lexie’s grin could be heard loud and clear through the phone. “Sure, Sis. I’ll do that.”
“Thanks,” I said. “I don’t need Brent thinking I’m still in love with him. And you better tell Jeremy he was way out of line giving Brent my number.”
“Oh, don’t worry. I’m going to let Jeremy have it. If he weren’t having supper with his parents, I’d make him come with me tonight and apologize to you.”
“I could use an in-person apology.” A commercial flicked on so I scrolled through status updates on my phone. “Do me a favor, come pick me up before you go to Mom and Dad’s. I’ve been drinking.”
“Oh,
jeez
. It’s only four in the afternoon.”
“It was that phone call from Brent. So you can blame the drinking on Jeremy.”
“I can’t believe he gave Brent your number without talking to me about it first. If he wants Brent in the wedding, he needs to keep that jackass in line.”
I smiled. No matter how much my sisters and I got on each other’s nerves, we were nothing if not fiercely loyal and protective.
Chapter Eight
If my appetite for pasta had been ruined because of the unfortunate scene in Mario’s Italy involving overcooked pasta and a public dumping, I might have hunted Richard down. Possibly, there would have been bruising involved. Lucky for him, bad memories and a couple of bites of gummy spaghetti hadn’t affected my ability to salivate over Mom’s lasagna. The casserole sat bubbling in the center of the table in a maroon dish and I hadn’t been able to take my eyes off it since I sat down.
All of my family, except for Mom, was gathered around my parents’ dining table. This was our Saturday ritual and us girls all made it, rain or shine. If Tony wasn’t working, he came, too. Jeremy’s presence was spottier, as there was always some sort of dinner party or social gathering where he was expected to make an appearance. Tonight, Tony was present and minus the gun, per Mom’s request; his Glock was in its holster in Dad’s gun cabinet in the office down the hall.
Lexie’s dog, a little Chihuahua named Mitzy, hopped around under Lexie’s chair; her high-pitched yapping made me wince with each yap. She barked at everything—someone moving their foot without her permission, a floating piece of lint, a noise in the other room—but the only person who didn’t seem to notice the barking was Lexie. She was immune. Already, Mitzy had been in the toilet paper and the evidence was a mess under the table, though Mom hadn’t seen it and I wouldn’t be the one to bring it to her attention. She’d make us all stop to clean up the mess before eating. Dad had his eyes on the lasagna, so I guessed he was as hungry as I was.
“I just don’t see why you can’t put her in the bedroom until we’re done eating,” Catherine said and passed Lexie the salad bowl across the table.
“Wait!” Mom cried out and I jerked, startled. She stood in the dining room doorway, looking at us all as if she were surprised to see us at the table. “It’s not time to eat yet.”
I looked at the table set with Mom’s good china and all the food dishes she’d asked us girls to carry out from the kitchen. There wasn’t any room for any more food, but I asked anyway, “Did you want me to grab the dessert off the counter?”
“No.” Mom walked around the table and sat in her chair. “We are waiting for our guest. He’ll be here in just a few minutes.”
“Guest?” Dread coursed its way through me, straight to my stomach, tying itself into knots. I grasped the table and glared over the bowl of garlic bread at Catherine. “You didn’t call Paul, did you? I swear to God, if you called Paul when I told you not to I’m going to
freak out
.”
“Gen has a boyfriend, Cat,” Lexie said, and I nodded at her gratefully.
“Yeah, I do,” I said.
Tony straightened up at the mention of his partner. “Paul? Why would you call Paul?”
Even Tony sounded worried about it.
“If your partner shows up and his psycho girlfriend follows him in and attacks me, you better mace her,” I told Tony.
“Nobody is getting maced,” Dad said. And then he looked at Catherine. “Right?”
“I didn’t call Paul,” Catherine said and reached for the basket of garlic bread. “Relax. Paranoid much?”
“Yeah, well, I have good reason to be.” There was more I could add to the argument, but I’d decided never to mention Richard’s name again. I was working on forgetting the existence of every male I’d ever dated in my past.
Dad sent Mom a questioning gaze. “Who’d you invite, Hon?”
With bright, excited eyes, Mom sing-songed, “It’s a surprise.”
Dad wasn’t keen on surprise. If he had to open a present for any reason, he had explicit instructions on what could be inside: socks and chocolates. Dad grunted and plucked a cherry tomato from the salad bowl and popped it into his mouth.
“Why didn’t you tell the guest to come fifteen minutes ago?” Lexie whined and Mom narrowed her eyes. Lexie said, “I’m sorry, but I’m hungry.”
“You’re hungry because you’re starving yourself,” I told her. Lexie had been eyeing the garlic bread with gaze something akin to a starved dog.
“I’m not starving myself. I’m on a low-carb diet.”
“That sounds like starvation to me,” I said, my own eyes taking in the garlic bread. I’d only had a BLT for lunch and was starved. Okay, really, it was two BLTs for lunch, but still.
“Lexie, honey, you are beautiful. You don’t need to diet,” Dad told her.
“Thanks, Daddy.” Lexie beamed.
The door bell rang and Mom squealed. She was out of her seat and out the dining room door before anyone could blink. “I’m so excited!” Mom called over her shoulder.
Catherine muttered something like, “I can’t believe it,” but I couldn’t be certain if those were her exact words since she’d covered her mouth with a napkin.
Lexie leaned close to me and whispered, “Who do you think she invited?”
I gave a small shrug of my shoulders. “I don’t know, but it better not be Paul.”
“Everyone, meet Gen’s boyfriend, Matt!” Mom announced.
Before I could stop myself, I muttered, “Holy shit,” and Lexie kicked my foot under the table.
Everyone else turned to the doorway except for me. I was frozen. The temperature of the room had risen ten degrees. I clutched the edge of the table, trying to keep it together, and pinched my eyelids closed. I had to remind myself to breathe. My chest grew heavy, as if someone had just dumped a wheelbarrow’s worth of dirt on top of me. If it weren’t for the death grip on the table, my hands would be shaking.
Dad cleared his throat and my eyes flew open. He peered back at me, his brow furrowed. I forced a smile, but Dad’s stare didn’t waiver. He held my gaze for another few seconds before he stood and disappeared from my sight. I didn’t have to turn to know he’d offered Matt his hand.
I felt a pinch on my leg and looked over at Lexie’s wide eyes. She mouthed, “
Oh. My. God
.”
There was no appropriate response. None. Harmless white lie? Really?
I wanted to throw up.
“Nice to meet you, Matt. I’m Jim, Gen’s dad.”