Gentlemen Prefer Curves: A Perfect Fit Novel (39 page)

“Was it important?” Carter asked.

“Of course it’s important!”

“Oh, boy,” Ruby said. “Everyone is confusing me again.”

“I know, sweetheart.” Bill picked her up and kissed her cheek. “Junior, Carmina, go outside and talk. We are going to have a nice dinner if it kills us. Carter, find us some damn drinks, and you, Princess Ruby, talk to me about your weekend.”

Everybody stared at him. Nobody moved.

“Hustle, people! I’m not going to tell you again.”

“I should have never married such a bossy man,” Carmina huffed. “I should have married that Italian male model who was so sweet to me and used to write me poetry. He would never tell me to hustle!”

“Woman,” he warned.

“Let’s go, Pudge. I mean Belinda. Let’s go before he starts barking at us like the players on his team again. I really have no idea how I put up with him for so many years. I should be granted sainthood or if not, they should at least name a school after me. The Carmina Del Torro Gordon School for Long-Suffering Wives or some such.”

Belinda followed her mother out of the restaurant, truly amazed that she was babbling on even now.

“It’s such a nice evening, no? It’s warm for May. I didn’t even have to wear a sweater tonight. I—”

“
Mamá!
Stop talking about nothing and talk to me. You said I kept everything from you. Maybe I did because you never stopped long enough to listen.”

“I never know what to say to you. I never know how to talk to you. I love you, Pud—Belinda. I love you so much but I never could connect to you as a child. You were always so much smarter than me. So much quicker than me. You were like this serious little human who was nothing like me. I always thought I was going to have a girl who was just like me, who was bubbly and tall and wanted to do the things I liked and be just like me but I didn’t have one. I got this little round red-haired being who was so different from me that at times I wondered if I had the wrong kid.”

“I knew I was a disappointment to you.”

“You aren’t! You are different. But you are not a disappointment.” She cupped her face in her slender hands. “You are so much smarter than me. All I had were my looks. If that photographer hadn’t found me in my village I would still be there. I would be married to a shop owner. I would have never gotten out, but you are so much more than I can be. You run a business. People depend on you. Ellis tells me she wouldn’t have Size Me Up without you. And then I see you with Ruby. I see you love her like she was your own. I see you connect with her like I could never connect with you, and that’s why I got so mad that day. I didn’t understand how after knowing her for only two months you could be more in tune with her than I ever was with you. I never knew that the kids were being horrible to you when you were a child. Your father was the one who picked up on that, and he was barely home. I didn’t know the boys in high school were saying such things to you. I didn’t know that my being around made your life worse and not better.”

“No,
Mamá
. That’s not what I meant.”

“I know, but that’s what happened. I was so mad when you didn’t tell me about Carter, but I wasn’t mad at you. I was mad at myself for failing you so much that you would want to keep him from me, too.”

“You didn’t fail me.” Her eyes filled with tears as the guilt attacked her heart again.

“You were twelve years old and hurting and I didn’t see that. I didn’t know. You are so beautiful and you don’t even know it and that’s my fault, too. There’s nothing wrong with your body. There’s nothing wrong with you. I just knew how hard it was for me when I was working. Everybody was always watching what I put in my mouth. They always were pressing me to be slimmer and I hated them for it. And I didn’t realize that I was doing that to you. I’m sorry, Belinda. I’m sorry I made you feel unbeautiful. That was the last thing I ever intended.”

“I’m sorry, too. I’m sorry I kept things from you. I should have tried harder. I’m going to try harder.”

They hugged for a long time. For the first time in her life Belinda had heard exactly what she needed to from her mother.

“Can I still call you Pudge sometimes?”

“Yeah, it sounds weird when you don’t.”

*   *   *

“Thank you for inviting my parents tonight, Carter,” Belinda said to him on their drive home. “It was good for everyone to finally meet.”

They had had a nice dinner, not one moment of awkwardness, no strained silences. His mother was at ease, joking with Bill, chatting with Carmina about clothes. It was unlike any family dinner he had before, and that surprised him. It made him regret the way he and Belinda got married. No family, no friends, just them in city hall with no celebration. He was going to have to do it again. The whole thing, right down to the proposal.

He was going to ask Belinda’s father for his blessing. “I’ve never seen my mother so happy.” He reached over to take Belinda’s hand. “It’s almost like she’s somebody else’s mother. I thought she would hate it here.”

“She asked me if she could stay in the guest room tonight. She wants to spend more time with Ruby before she goes back to school in the morning.”

“What did you tell her?”

“That it was okay with me, but then again it wasn’t my house and she could sleep in the driveway for all I cared.”

“Ouch.”

“She got me back good,” she said, smiling. “She said it was better sleeping in the gutter, which is where I clearly came from.”

“I’ll never understand you two.”

“You shouldn’t even try.”

He pulled onto his street, feeling the weekend starting to catch up with him. “We’re going to have to talk about where we are going to live soon. I want to have a home with you. No more your house–my house. Okay?”

“Okay. Let’s talk about it tomorrow. I’m exhausted,” she started then stopped. “Is that a Town Car in the driveway?”

Carter looked to see that there was a car in their driveway. Even though it was just getting dark, he could see that there was a uniformed chauffeur in the driver’s seat. His stomach dropped. He knew who was in the back of that car, and it was last person he wanted to see. Still, he parked in front of his house and opened the passenger door to let Belinda out. He needed her at his side for this.

“Come on, Bell.” He linked his fingers with hers, sealing their hands together.

The Town Car’s window rolled down and there sat John Lancaster. His father. The man had never come to visit him his entire life. And now he was here in Durant. That could only mean one thing.

“Hello, Father.”

“Son.” He nodded. “Belinda. You and your wife are going to have dinner with your mother and me tomorrow at eight
PM
. I’ve rented a suite at Mohonk Mountain House. I’ll see you then.”

He nodded again, at his driver this time, and the car pulled off before Carter could say a single word.

Bernadette’s car pulled up a moment later. She rushed out of the car to his side. “Please don’t tell me that was your father.”

“Grandpa was here?” Ruby asked. “He didn’t say hi to me.”

Carter scooped Ruby up and kissed her forehead. Unlike his mother, his father never tried to make a connection with Ruby. He wasn’t sure the man even recognized her existence. “That was Father and don’t worry, Rube. The man is a mean old bastard.”

CHAPTER 24

A change is going to come …

“We don’t have to do this,” Carter said to Belinda as they walked up to his father’s suite.

“I know,” she said, squeezing his hand. “But I’m here just to see this place. There are plenty of hotels in Durant and yet your father chooses to rent a two-story suite in a Victorian castle. That says something about a man.”

“That he likes to spend more on an overnight stay than most people make in six months?” He shook his head. “If you really want to see this place, I can bring you back and we can stay here for a couple of days. I don’t feel good about this. I don’t like to be summoned like some kind of child.”

“We’ll go if you want to, Carter. I’m here for you. Just tell me what you want.”

“Carter. Belinda.”

They looked up to see Bernadette coming toward them. Long gone was the relaxed look she had worn these last few days, but it wasn’t replaced by her normally icy exterior. Today his mother looked pinched. Anxious even.

“Hello, Mother.” They walked over to her and she surprised him by hugging him tightly. This open affection between them wasn’t the norm, but he was okay with it. It was a sign that things were changing between them. “How are you?”

“I don’t know what he wants. He won’t tell me.”

“Are you staying here with him?” Belinda asked.

“No. I got here about an hour ago. I’ve just been walking the grounds.”

“Well, let’s not wait any longer,” Carter said. “We’ll see what he has to say and get the hell out of here.”

They walked up to the suite, the door answered by a hotel servant before they could even knock. “Please come in. Dinner will be served shortly.”

Carter might have been blown away by the luxurious suite if he could’ve taken in his surroundings. The only thing he could focus on was his father descending the spiral staircase from the second floor. He was dressed down for him. No suit, just a pair of tailored khakis and a dress shirt. But Carter wasn’t fooled by his casual wear. The last time his father had summoned him was when he pushed him into proposing to Bethany. He’d been wearing a similar outfit then.

“Please, all of you sit.” He motioned to the table set up in the middle of the room. “I have chosen some excellent wine for this evening.”

“What’s the occasion, Father?” Carter took a seat across from him. “You want to toast our long and happy marriage?”

John Lancaster said nothing to that, but his eyes hardened. “Red or white, Belinda.” He nodded and out of nowhere came another servant with bottles in hand.

“I’m fine with just water.”

“Drink some wine,” Bernadette said. “Trust me, girl. You’re going to need it.”

Belinda looked at Bernadette, and the two women shared a quick smile. Neither Lancaster man missed this exchange and while Carter found it pleasing, he could tell his father found it distasteful.

The first course was brought out. Potato-and-leek soup, which was consumed in strained silence. No attempt at small talk was made. This was not the warm family dinner that they had shared the evening before. They were all just waiting to hear what John had to say.

When the soup bowls were taken away and the veal brought out, Carter knew he couldn’t be silent anymore. He hated veal and his father knew that. He probably ordered it just to put him off.

“Why are you here?”

“I sent your mother to talk some sense into you and bring you back where you belong, but obviously since she can’t do anything right, I have to do it myself.”

“John,” Bernadette gasped. She couldn’t hide the hurt on her face.

“You wasted your time. I’m not coming back. There’s nothing you can say that’s going to convince me.”

“You’ll be disinherited if you don’t.” He cut into his veal, while the rest of them stared at him.

“I’ve made plenty of money. I don’t need yours.”

“You say that now. You think you’re in love, but love doesn’t last even if it does exist. You’ll get tired of her.” He glanced at Belinda. “She won’t hold up much longer and you’ll be stuck. It was a blessing when she left. Even if things didn’t work out with Bethany there were other women, more appropriate women you could have aligned with.”

“Marriage is not a business venture.” His jaw clenched, the need to escape overwhelming but he felt just like he did when he was younger: pissed off and powerless.

“Maybe not, but I expected my child to have a better life than I had, not a worse one. You’ve always been a screwup, ever since you were a child, a disappointment really. Too stupid to take the path laid out for you. All of that rebellion and what did it get you? A job building houses? You were meant for more than that. You were meant to be great, but instead you’re just average. My average disappointment that I can barely tell my friends about. How pathetic. You can’t even keep your women satisfied. They keep leaving you.”

“You’re no freaking prize yourself,” Belinda said. All eyes turned to her. “What do you have? Money? So what? Nobody respects you. Nobody even likes you. From my perspective you’re the pathetic one. You come all the way across the country to tear your son down. Does it make you feel like a big man? Is your manhood that small that you have to compensate by making everybody else feel even smaller?”

“Belinda,” Carter warned. “This is not your fight.”

“It is my damn fight! How can you sit there and just let him degrade you like that? He’s shit, Carter. He’s the disappointment. He couldn’t even be bothered to say hello to Ruby. He has no purpose in our life. No power. And if you’re not going to tell him to take his money and his insults and shove them up his ass, I will.” She looked at his father. “Excuse me, Mr. Lancaster, for acting like the crass unsophisticated woman you always thought I was. But my father is from Texas and where he comes from there’s a saying they like to use: Go fuck yourself!”

She threw her napkin down and stormed out of the room. Carter sat there for a moment, still taking in what had just happened. He hated his father, he was annoyed with Belinda, but mostly he was mad at himself. There were so many times he wanted to tell his father to go fuck himself, but he couldn’t do it. Because whenever he was around him, he felt like that kid who was never good enough. Belinda fought his fight, and that made him feel like less of a man than ever before.

“I need some air.” He left the suite not sure what direction his wife went in and for a moment not caring. He just needed to get away.

*   *   *

Belinda had stormed off into a small bedroom. She had been so angry, she walked through the first door she saw. She could have kept her mouth shut. She should have controlled her temper but she couldn’t just sit there and watch that man tear down her husband. She had probably embarrassed him with her behavior and she was sorry for that, but she couldn’t be sorry for what she’d said.