“You miserable, cheating, no-good prick! You better find a good attorney because I’m going to make you wish you were dead!” Catherine raised her chin and spun around and stomped off in the direction we’d come from.
I exhaled a heavy breath and realized I’d been holding it in. Tony looked like he’d been hit by a truck, a petrified glint to his eyes, but I didn’t have time to ask questions. I was afraid of what Catherine might do next or who she might physically assault on the way out of the bar. I turned and bumped into Lexie, who bumped into Richard, as we hurried after Catherine.
I barely cleared the door before Tony flew past me at a run.
“Cat, baby, wait!” Panic tipped his words and when Catherine walked around the bar, he cursed and ran after her.
I could hear her from where I stood frozen on the sidewalk. “Don’t you touch me, you bastard!”
I cringed and Lexie took my hand. We walked slowly to the side of the bar and peeked around the corner. Tony had her stopped a yard away, his hand on her forearm.
“Honey, it’s not what you think! I swear! Please. She’s not my girlfriend. I would never, ever cheat on you, I swear to God. Please.” Tony’s plea got Catherine to pause for only a second before she shook her head once in finality.
“Tell it to your attorney.”
A hand clasped my shoulder from behind and I turned. It was the woman who had been sitting with Tony. The sleeve of her shirt was wet from the soda Catherine had thrown.
“I’m just his partner,” the woman said.
“I know. I’m sorry. I hope we didn’t ruin anything.” I glanced at the door, fearful the two men inside might walk out and catch us.
“It’s okay. We’re supposed to look like a couple. I think she might have convinced everyone in the room we are, just not the way we’d been going for.” She smiled sheepishly and shook her head. “Tony said she was a tough one, but I had no idea. I hope he never pisses her off—again. But we better move to the side of the bar.”
We were all nervous to get any closer to Tony and Catherine, but when we rounded the corner, they were whispering, which was a good sign. Then Catherine’s shoulders began to shake. Tony pulled her into his arms to soothe her as best he could with her bulging belly between them.
“I hope we can do something like this next weekend.” Richard nodded at the woman cop and posed with his hand on his hip. “I’m the highest rank in my clan with covert operations.”
“Your clan? Are you in a gang?” she asked and narrowed her eyes at him.
“What? No!” he sputtered. He looked to me for help.
“Richard is going to be a professional video game player.” I patted him on the back. “He’s very good at it.”
“Right. Of course.” She stepped away and put a cell phone to her ear. “Excuse me. I need to call this in.”
Lexie tugged on my shirt. “Let’s get out of here. Those guys over there are freaking me out.”
Two thugged-out teenagers leaned against a building across the street, watching us.
“Head to the car,” I said. “I’ll get Cat and Tony.”
Tony left with us after a brief conversation with his partner. He and Catherine sat in the very back, and were all over each other kissing and vowing their eternal love the entire drive to Richard’s house. The atmosphere inside the vehicle could only be described as relief. Relief we hadn’t gotten shot, relief Tony was the guy we’d all known him to be, relief we hadn’t blown their cover and ruined what Tony said was a year-long investigation.
“I think I need a chick flick and a tub of popcorn,” I looked back at Lexie sitting alone in the second row of seats.
“And sweat pants and ice cream.” She smiled. “I could use a girl’s night.”
After the excitement of the afternoon, I’d need a gallon of ice cream to calm my nerves. “Maybe you can tell me what’s bothering you and why you’re not answering Jeremy’s phone calls.”
“You noticed?” She frowned.
“All afternoon.” I reached back and squeezed her hand. “You know I’m here for you whenever you need me.”
Richard pulled into his parents’ driveway. “Man, that was fun.”
I didn’t think there was any point in arguing with him so I handed him his binoculars and smiled. We all climbed out and Tony led Catherine away to their van parked at the curb in front of Richard’s house.
“I can’t wait to tell the guys I was in a strip bar spying on a cop,” Richard said. “Man, Britney’s gonna think I’m badass.”
“Let this be a lesson for you,” I told Richard. “Pregnancy hormones are dangerous. Use a condom.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“I just think you should talk to him about all this before it gets any worse,” Catherine insisted as she dabbed the bridge of her nose with makeup powder. “Do you guys think it’s hot in here? I swear, I’m sweating like a pig.”
We were holed up in the parlor on the opposite end of the banquet hall at Weeping Willow Country Club on the outskirts of Lincoln. The decorating was nearly completed after three intense hours of the Gorecki women facing off with the Buchanan women. Mom had wanted us to do it all ourselves, but that’s Mom; at her prime in the midst of chaos. A trait derived from years of reining in grade school kids.
Deborah Buchanan, however, was good at giving orders, too. She wasn’t backing down. She’d come in with her loud voice and a professional decorator and wedding planner at her side, while Mom sputtered, her face turning increasing shades of red. It was World War III out there and us girls were in hiding. Catherine had tried to drag Mom out with us, but she wouldn’t budge, not with Demon-in-Chanel out there trying to run the show.
I was happy to be out of the crossfire for a little bit.
Lexie was a nervous wreck, practicing the deep-breathing technique, even though it never seemed to help any of us. Her flushed complexion and tapping fingernails on the granite counter was proof Lexie needed a new technique, something with more structure.
I sat up tall in the plush rose chair and said, “Catherine, show Lexie how to do Lamaze breathing.”
Catherine glanced over at Lexie. “Lamaze really does help.”
“Lamaze helps push a baby out of your vagina, not with this!” Lexie snapped, her voice on the edge of a shriek.
“Okay then,” I said and slouched back into the chair. I took in Catherine’s annoyed expression and said, “Don’t even try to reason with her. She’s out of it.”
“I can’t handle this anymore. Jeremy is
out of control
. He told me to leave it
alone
.” She wrung her hands together. “Leave it alone? Do you
see
the way Deborah has been treating Mom? I am so
pissed
right now.”
The unspoken words were that Deborah also treated Lexie the same way. We’d all seen it. What I wanted to do was take my twin and run. Lexie needed to be with someone who protected her, not with a mamma’s boy who stood by while his fiancé was talked down-to. Deborah was from The Lifestyles of the Rich and Snobby; to her, my family was nothing more than mice ruining the upholstery in her new Bentley parked outside, sideways in two slots so no one would put a dent in it.
“I was hoping I was just being paranoid about that.” I frowned and checked my phone for a message from Matt. He was out at his dad’s farm, helping round up cattle that had escaped through a broken fence. The other day I’d made him put on a cowboy hat for me and I’d nearly been struck dumb by how insanely sexy he was in it. We hadn’t talked much for the next hour.
I pinched my lips together to keep from grinning like a fool.
“No, you weren’t,” Lexie huffed and then dropped into a chaise lounge. “She’s a snob; I’ve always known that, but I didn’t think she’d treat my parents the way she is. I’m seriously sick to my stomach.”
“I should punch her in the nose,” Catherine said, crossing her arms over her swollen belly.
“Tony would arrest me if I allowed you to punch anyone in the nose,” Lexie said, her face softening into a smile. I hadn’t seen her smile in days and no matter how much I pressed her to open up to me, she insisted she was fine. Lexie sighed. “Where’s Roxi at? She can punch Deborah and Tony wouldn’t arrest her for it.”
“No one is punching anybody,” I said. “And Rox won’t be here until tomorrow for the engagement party. She’s helping Leo out tonight.”
Lexie’s lips twitched at the mention of Leo, but I tactfully pretended I hadn’t noticed. She stood, her brow furrowed and her face strained with exhaustion. There were dark circles under her eyes. When was the last time she’d had a good night’s sleep?
Lexie sighed. “I better get back out there before someone gets hit with a hammer.”
Catherine stood up, not without difficulty, and went to push Lexie back into the lounge chair. “No. You need to rest a little bit. They will all be fine. And honestly, I can’t stand to hear Deborah’s shrill voice much longer. Let’s just stay here.”
Mom could handle herself—she was from a family of six girls. If she had to, she’d tackle Deborah and stuff a bouquet down her throat. I was more worried about Lexie having an anxiety attack. I went to sit next to her, taking a shaky hand in mine and began massaging. The stiffness in her shoulders eased. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the back of the chair.
“She’s back to insisting I change the wedding colors to match Gerard’s campaign advertising. I’ve already bought the invitations.
The wedding is in less than four months
. I can’t change everything now!”
“What?” I stopped massaging and Lexie tensed again. Catherine took her other hand and we made it a dual effort. I said, “I thought she was over that.”
She laughed, a bit on the hysterical side. “Yeah, well, she’s a control freak. I won’t have it. This is not Gerard’s senatorial campaign. It’s
my wedding
, damn it! For a woman who wears Chanel everything, she sure as hell has tacky ideas when it comes to weddings. I will
die
before I let her ruin my wedding.”
Catherine dropped her hand and wrapped Lexie in a hug. “She won’t ruin it. We won’t let her. I promise you. We’ll talk to Jeremy for you, Lex. It’ll be fine.”
Lexie gave a short laugh and screwed her face into a grimace of annoyance. “Forget him, he’s no help.” She looked at me. “You didn’t show up with Matt and now he and Brent are convinced you’re in some kind of relationship trouble and Brent’s going to sweep you off your feet. They’re both warped.”
“Aliens,” I insisted. But it explained all the weird creepy smiling Brent had been doing all day. The thought of replacing Matt with Brent was like exchanging a crème brûlée for instant chocolate pudding. It wasn’t going to happen. Ever. I shuddered and said, “
Ew
.”
“
Ew
is right,” Lexie said.
“Sick,” Catherine agreed.
I smiled despite the distasteful topic. “In Brent’s defense, he did me a favor. At least now I know what kind of guy he really is. And I found Matt.”
“I’m going to have a talk with Jeremy,” Catherine said. “He’s your fiancé—your opinion should matter.
You
should matter.”
Lexie bristled and jumped to her feet. “Of course I matter to him. We’re just both stressed out right now.”
“Hey, I’m sure Catherine didn’t mean you don’t matter to him. We’re just saying he should stick up for you, that’s all,” I said.
“Just butt out. I’ll take care of it,” Lexie said, back to her irrational shrill voice. “The wedding is making us both crazy. He loves me.”
I sighed. “Lexie, no one said he doesn’t love you.”
“That’s what you were implying,” she said, and her breathing had sped up. “Our relationship is
just fine
. I don’t need you sabotaging my wedding, Imogen Mae.”
“Hey, this is nothing like you butting into my personal life and conspiring with Catherine to set me up on bad dates,” I accused. “It made things worse. But me, I’m just trying to protect you. You aren’t
happy
. Jeremy needs to know it.”
“He does
not
need to know.” Lexie’s eyes were wild. “And this is nothing like us trying to help you get over Brent.”
Exasperated, I stood. “I
am
over Brent and I was months ago, even before you two decided to play matchmaker.”
“So why are you talking to Brent on the phone then?” Lexie demanded and Catherine smacked me in the chest.
“Ouch!” I slapped her hand away. “What the hell was that for?”
“Why are you talking to Brent on the phone?” Catherine asked and her eyes squinted in disapproval.
“I’m
not
,” I insisted but they didn’t look like they believed me. “I’m serious. He’s been calling me. I answered once and I told him I’m not interested.”
“Jeremy says you two are in love again.” Lexie studied my face. For what, I don’t know.
“First of all, I think Brent is delusional. And second of all, I’m wondering if maybe Jeremy is too. Why the hell would he listen to Brent, anyway?”