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Tori snorted. “Sure. What the hell. You already heard about my parents’ parties so why not? Everything I told you about them was nothing compared to New Year’s Eve. That was the ultimate party, the big one that always topped the rest.”

“I’m sorry, Tori.”

“Why?” her voice sounded hard. “You weren’t there. You didn’t do the things that made me sick. You didn’t think it was hilarious when I covered my eyes so I couldn’t see anything after they refused to let me go to my room.”

“You’re right. But I’m still sorry. I wish I could erase those memories for you.”

“Really? I don’t. I don’t ever want to forget what people are really like underneath their phony smiles and fake concerns.”

“Not all people are fakes. Some of us are exactly as we seem.”

“Yeah, right,” she laughed without humor. “I’m really happy for you that you can still believe that but I know better. Hey, thanks for calling but I’m tired so I’m going to say goodnight now.”

“All right, I’ll let you get some rest. Please call me if you need anything, okay?”

“Yeah, whatever.”

“Goodnight, Tori tiger. I love you.”

Tori hung up before she burst into tears. She had done it again. She’d turned into a raving bitch and all Guy had done was be nice to her. Some friend she was. If she kept this up, he’d decide trying to talk to her wasn’t worth putting up with her abuse and she’d never see him again. That thought made her cry even harder. When Harry nudged her cheek with his head, Tori gathered him in her arms and buried her face against his soft fur. She was grateful that he was there and wanted to comfort her. Animals could be trusted. If they acted like they loved you, they did. Too bad the same things didn’t apply to people.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Six days later, Tori was rinsing her cocoa mug when someone pounded on her door. For an instant she considered ignoring it but decided it had to be Guy and he’d break down the door and search the house if she didn’t open it. Primed for an argument, her mind went blank when someone she never expected to see again was standing on the other side.

“Hi, Tori,” Terese spoke when Tori didn’t. “I’m sorry to bother you but if you give me a few minutes you’ll understand. Can I come in?”

“Oh. Sure.” Tori shook herself. “Of course. Can I get you anything? Cocoa?”

“No, thank you.” Terese stayed so close that Tori had to look at her. “I can see you wish I were anyone but me and I can’t say that I blame you. I just found out that you heard part of what I said that night and that you left before Todd got me to understand that only you being there saved our Sarah.”

“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop…”

“Kind of hard not to when I was screaming like I was. Don’t look so shocked. I know I have a big mouth. I said a lot of awful things before I learned what really happened. I reacted to what I thought was going on and lashed out at you indirectly and my brother, directly. My baby girl was almost harmed and I let my imagination take over even though she was perfectly safe and untouched. On top of that, my hormones were on a rampage. Anyone can tell you how out of control I’ve been the entire seven-plus months I’ve been pregnant. I can be happy as a clam and still bite Todd’s head off just for saying good morning to me. My point is that I was as wrong as wrong can be about you and I’m more sorry than you will ever know.”

“That’s okay. I understand why you would think that way.”

“Thanks but I wasn’t done,” Terese snarled and then laughed. “See what I mean? I can’t even apologize without snapping at you. Anyway, I need to ask you something that is none of my business but I expect an honest answer from you in spite of my rudeness,” she paused for Tori to argue. “If I had thanked you for putting your own safety at risk for the sake of my Sarah as I should have, would you still be involved with my brother? The truth now, Tori, or you’ll set me off in a very bad way.”

Tori was shaking. “Yes.”

“I’m a horrible person. Much worse than I thought. All right, next question. After everyone went home and I calmed down enough to listen to what my husband wasn’t saying, I figured out he thinks you’re in love with Guy but are too afraid to let yourself give in to it. Is he right?” Tori nodded miserably. “Well, I’ll be damned,” Terese gasped in amazement. “I was all ready to dig in and badger you to get you to admit that.”

“So what? Nothing’s changed. It doesn’t matter.”

“Oh, honey, you have no idea.” Terese’s exuberance manifested as a hug. “It matters more than anything else you can think of and absolutely everything’s changed. Or it will once you tell Guy how you feel.”

“Me? But I thought…”

“That I’d tell him?” Terese chuckled. “That’s not for me to tell.”

“Then why…”

“Why did I insist on knowing? Simple. Contrary to how it seemed the other night, I do love my little brother. I don’t like to see him hurt and do what I can to protect him, not that he thinks he needs me to. Our other sisters will tell you the same thing. We’ve all been hoping he’d find someone special and settle down because he needs that to get rid of the restlessness he won’t admit he’s been feeling for some time now. I’m sure Guy and Todd warned you about our family and they probably gave you a watered-down version so we didn’t scare you off. We’re all loud and pushy whether we’re at each other’s throats or fawning all over each other. We’re bad enough when it’s just us. When we put aside our differences and gang up on someone else, well, let’s just say it’s not a pretty sight. I asked how you feel so I know what to do next.”

“You mean you have different plans for whether I or not I figured out how I feel?”

“Yep. And one for if you would have broken it off with Guy even if I’d been civilized and friendly to you.”

“Oh God,” Tori groaned. “Look, Terese, I’m sure you mean well and please don’t think I don’t appreciate your coming to talk to me but—”

“Un-un-un,” Terese cut her off. “Hormonal pregnant woman who has always butted in where she wasn’t wanted here, remember? You try to blow me off without hearing me out and I won’t be responsible for how I react.”

Tori sputtered. “That is so not fair!”

“I know.” Terese grinned. “Getting back to what I was saying, if you truly weren’t interested in Guy, I would have apologized and gone home. If you were interested but your feelings were undecided, I would have apologized and gotten you back to the point you were at before I tore you apart.”

“How?” Tori was curious in spite of telling herself she didn’t want to know.

“I would have arranged for the two of you to have dinner out somewhere with Todd and me. You would have come with us, to make you think you wouldn’t be alone with Guy and then our baby-sitter would have called, needing us to come home without delay shortly after we arrived at the restaurant but not before it was too late to cancel our order, leaving you and Guy on your own to work out the rest.”

“Next?”

“Hmm. Why don’t I save that one for last and give you the optimum now?”

Tori gave her an exaggerated smile. “Why don’t you just get this over with however the hell you want since that’s exactly what you’re going to do anyway?” She scowled. “You are as bad as he is.”

“Why thank you.” Terese beamed. “So nice of you to say so.”

“Um, Terese, I was being sarcastic.”

“Sure, Tori.” She patted her hand again. “If you say so. Personally, I think you want to believe you were insulting me to annoy me so I’d go away but I prefer to take it as a compliment. Now stop changing the subject and let me finish. It would be best all the way around if you accepted my apology, admitted how you felt and called Guy to come over as soon as possible and told him as soon as he walked in the door.”

Tori shook her head violently and backed away. “No. I could never… I mean…”

Terese stepped forward and grabbed Tori’s hand. “Hey, it was just a suggestion. I didn’t really think there was any chance of that happening so don’t go all weird on me.”

“I can’t handle this.” Tori was so overwhelmed at the thought of actually calling Guy that she felt as if her head were spinning wildly out of control. If Terese didn’t stop, she’d lose her mind and get hysterical.

“Oh, please.” Terese rolled her eyes. “Todd told me about some of your dreams and Ned showed me the sketches of our house and I listened to the recording of that night. You managed all that without any problems so this should be a piece of cake.”

“No chance you’ll leave if I asked you to?”

“As if,” Terese giggled. “You’re going to be fun to have around. I can’t wait to see what you do when Guy gives you an order. Anyway.” Her expression dared Tori to interrupt. “Here’s what we’re going to do.” Terese proceeded to outline the rest of Tori’s evening. She ignored Tori’s protests as if she hadn’t spoken and steamrolled her to go along with her plans.

* * * * *

Guy sat in front of his parents’ home and wished he could leave without going in. Correction. Leave without going in and without hurting his family. It was still early enough to call Tori. Once he went in, he knew he wouldn’t have an opportunity to sneak off for a few minutes of privacy until it was too late for her to still be awake. She already had bad memories of the night. The last thing he wanted to do was disturb her with his own selfish needs and have her add him to her reasons for disliking the holiday.

Pulling his mind from his depressing thoughts, Guy mentally prepared himself for the long evening ahead. He had cut short his visit on Christmas because he was anxious to spend as much time as he could with Tori at Barry’s. No way would they let him bail early tonight. No, he was stuck for the duration so he might as well just suck it up and get over it because no amount of self-pity was going to change a damn thing.

“Finally.” Guy’s mother latched on to him as soon as he opened the door. “It’s about time you got here.”

“Hey, Mom.” He kissed her check. “I’m not that late, am I? You always told us eight and it’s only ten after. Did you ask me to come earlier? I’m sorry but I don’t remember if you did.”

“No.” She tugged him through the living room without letting him greet anyone and briefly wondered why none of them seemed surprised. “Can’t a mother just want to see her baby boy without any specific reason?”

“Sure.” Guy’s instincts kicked his mind to high alert when he realized they were alone in the kitchen. There were always people spread all over the house on holidays. There had to be something wrong for everyone to gather in one room when it wasn’t time to eat. “Everything okay?”

“Why yes,” she assured him cheerfully. “Unless there’s something you haven’t told me.”

“No, I’m fine. Things seem a little off but I’m probably just imagining it.”

“Hmm.” She continued to watch him with her unreadable expression. “Why don’t you take a minute and say hi to your father. He’s out in the garage. Maybe things will seem better to you when you come back in.”

Guy frowned. It wasn’t like his dad to not be in the center of things when they all gathered. If he had isolated himself in the garage, there had to be trouble.

“Yo, Dad,” Guy called before he had the door completely open. “What are you doing out here all by yourself instead stirring things up inside?”

“I’m not alone,” his father replied from the partially enclosed area where he kept his tools.

“Oh. Sorry. Mom didn’t tell me when she sent me out to say hi. I didn’t mean to interrupt. I’ll see you inside.”

“Hustle your butt on in here,” his dad ordered playfully. “This isn’t a private conversation.”

“Hey, Todd. Terese.” Guy almost collided with the pair when he walked behind the wall. He was even more confused when their expressions matched his mother’s. “If you’re not talking about anything private, why are you standing around out here?”

“I said it wasn’t private in regards you.” His father stepped to the side. “I didn’t say it wasn’t private in regards to everyone.”

Guy was frozen to the spot as he stared at Tori. He was afraid to blink in case it would make her disappear.

“Hi,” Tori whispered, sounding as terrified as she looked.

“Stop gawking and say hello,” his father broke the expanding silence. He slid his arm protectively around Tori’s shoulders when he noticed she was trembling. “Mind your manners before you scare our guest of honor.”

“Tori? What… Why… I don’t understand. Dad?” His mind deserted him.

“Start over from the beginning, Todd. Maybe Guy will remember how to speak by the time his turn comes around.” The older man winked at Tori as he made his suggestion.

“I wouldn’t count on it,” Todd teased. “But we’ll give it a try anyway. I bumped into Lita in the hall today and found the missing piece of the puzzle. She asked when we’d be hearing wedding bells and was completely shocked to learn that you’d parted company. She had already gone before we realized that Tori was missing. Too bad too, since what she told me would have been a big help. Apparently, Tori was about to join us when Terese blasted you. She overheard all the horrible accusations and assumptions as well as her decision to exclude you from our lives. Unfortunately, Tori took off before I made Terese let me explain what really happened.”

“When Todd told me, I felt lower than pond scum,” Terese took over. “I owed Tori an apology that couldn’t wait. I was thinking of how to word it and began to suspect that my big mouth had done even more damage than just hurting her feelings. I realized that what I said could have played a very big part in Tori’s decision to end it between you.”

“Oh Christ.” Guy saw that Terese had been right by the expression on Tori’s face.

It was his father’s turn again. “Your sister, being your sister, barged in on Tori and interrogated her until she confirmed Terese’s theory, after which she used her overly hormonal pregnancy to trump up her standard refusal to take no as an answer to entice Tori to join us this evening.”

“I’m so sorry.” Guy kept his focus entirely on Tori.

“Hush, son. I’m almost finished and then you can take over. Terese, in her less than subtle way, fully intended to sit Tori in the middle of the living room so everyone could see the look on your face when you spotted her. Todd, on the other hand, exercised his rarely used veto power and, with a minimal delay to make a quick request that your mother and I join them, snatched Tori right out from under Terese’s nose and whisked her straight through the house and out here where he held back the flood of curiosity-seekers that followed in our wake. Once your mother got the gist of things, she raced back inside to wait for you and, if she’s still the same woman I married, spill her guts to the assembly. I, however, much preferred to stay put and have a moment with this spectacular woman.” He grinned down at Tori’s pink cheeks.