Mind Play (Bennett Sisters Book 3) (38 page)

Claire rolled her eyes. “Who said you were invited?”

Claire turned back to the store owner. “No, we haven’t set the date yet, but you’ll be the first to know when I start looking for dresses. You’ve alw
ays been so wonderful to me
;
I couldn’t imagine buying from anywhere else, especially for such an important occasion.
”

The shop owner
’
s eyes sparkled with what Claire could only assume was delight. Claire paid and left with
Thompson
by her side. Claire listened to the soft music through the car speakers
,
and she
glanced at
the couples walking hand
-in-hand
down Main Street
as she passed
. She could just imagine her
self
and Butch doing the same thing. Clair
e turned in her seat
.
“Thompson
, can I ask you a question about Butch?”

He reached for the stereo and turned it off. “What do you want to know? He’s like an open book.”

“Did you ever meet
Regina, his ex?”

“He told you about her?”
Thompson
asked.

“Yes, I know she wants him back and keeps calling him. Did he love her?”

Thompson
’s deep laughter resonated through
out
the car.
Claire’s heart sank. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer.

“That wasn’t meant to be funny.”

Thompson
cle
ared his throat. Claire glanced over
at him before turning her eyes back on the roa
d. He was trying to hold in a smile by biting his lower lip
. “No, I don’t think he did. She was just a needed distraction for him. A way to forget about the job
and release some tension, that’s all. Claire
,
you really shouldn’t worry about her
.
Y
ou’re the one marrying him.”

If only that were true.

“Thanks.” Claire leaned down and turned the radio back on. She drove on autopilot back to her house. She wasn’t as focused as she should have been
. H
er thoughts were scattered
,
thinking about the man she loved. She pulled her car into the drive, grabbed her dress from the backseat
,
and walked into her house.

Night had started to fall by the time she’d showered and changed. Claire yawned and stretched, crawling under the covers. She’d planned to close her eyes for a few minutes before going to find Butch, but a few minutes had turned into hours until it was morning time again.

Claire cracked her eyes open to the sun streaming through her window. She glanced to the other side of the bed that was empty and judging from the looks of it, had been that way since yesterday.
Butch never came to bed.

Claire showered and dressed and went in search of Butch and she’d found him with the phone pressed against his ear outside. Just as she’d found him before. Claire could feel the frown on her face. She reached over to the coffee pot and poured them both a cup and walked out onto her terrace.

She whispered, “Thought you could use this.”

He smiled and took a sip. “Thompson, I’ll call you back.”

He set the phone down after disconnecting the call and pulled out a chair for Claire on the terrace. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, birds were singing and trucks had started to arrive for the party. They’d sat there in co
m
fortable silence sipping their coffee for ten minutes before Claire spoke. “What time is it?”

Butch glanced at her wrist and shook his head. “You tell me.”

Claire glanced at her own wrist, ‘If I knew, I wouldn’t ask.”

“That’s just it baby. Why aren’t you wearing your watch?” Butch asked
as he grabbed her hand and planted a kiss on
the inside of
her wrist. “I took it off in the shower and forgot to put it back on. Don’t worry, I’ll wear it tonight.”

He leaned over and pressed his lips to hers. “Good. Why don’t you run upstairs and put it on now.”

Claire shook her head but pushed to her feet. “You’re incorrigible.”

“And you love me,” he quipped.

“And you love me back.” Claire smiled and leaned over kissing the top of his head as she walked by.

Claire was just reaching for the pot to refill her mug when Jenny walked in with her clipboard in hand. “Good morning Ms. Bennett.”

“Hi Jenny.” Claire lifted her mug, “Do you want a cup?”

Jenny shook head. “I hope that’s your second cup.”

“It is.” Claire tilted her head at the odd reply, “Why do you ask?”

“
We have a problem with the caterer that I’m going to need your help with.”

Claire’s heart started to race. She’d never had a problem with the caterer before today, and of all days to have issues, today wasn’t going to be a good one.

She took her coffee and followed Jenny into the office. “What’s the problem?”

“They didn’t bring all of our order. I o
rdered over five hundred
hors d’oeuvres
and they only brought one hundred.”

Claire let out a sigh and prayed this wasn’t a sign of things to come tonight. She’d pulled out her rolodex and picked up the phone and gave Jenny half of her phone list. They’d stayed in the office all afternoon trying to find someone that could help with their problem. As a last resort, she’d had to call Emma to see if her staff would work double time trying to accommodate the caterer’s shortage. She’d been an angel and agreed and said they’d get it done. Butch had walked in and checked on them when he’d grabbed his own guest list and his laptop, leaving them in peace to fix the error. He’d kissed her and walked out.

Claire glanced up at the clock and jumped up.
The time had gotten away from her
,
and she needed to get ready for the benefit. Guests would be arriving within the next two hours
,
and it was going to take her at least that long to get ready.

The house was bustling wi
th workers as she entered. Jenny had come up to her room to confirm Emma’s staff had arrived and
that everything
was
taken care of. She thanked her and went
about getting ready.
She needed the
time
alone
. S
he’d had so little of it over the last few weeks. Butch was somewhere in the h
ouse
,
and she knew that Thompson
was probably wondering around as well.
Claire took her shower, put curlers in her hair
,
and
had
started putting on her makeup when her phone rang.

Claire walked to her purse and pulled it out
,
checking the caller ID. She flipped it open. “Hey
,
Emma, is everything okay? Please don’t tell me that you’re having cramps or Momma Mae has a message. I’m not sure I could take much more.”

“Everyone here is fine, but
,
Claire,
but
I have a bad feeling about tonight. I don’t think you should stay. I think you should come back to the beach house.”

Claire sighed and sat on her bed. “I can’t just leave
,
Emma. This is
M
om’s benefit
,
and people are expecting me to be here. I can’t just not show
up
for heaven’s sake. It’s my party.”

Claire heard Lily cooing over the phone. “I know you can’t
leave,
but I needed to try.
My spidey senses are tingly, and I can’t shake this feeling.
Just stay in Butch
’s
or Jake’s sight
s
during the party.”

“I will
,
Emma. I
’ll
keep my eyes open for anything out of the ordinary. I’m hoping that we scared the guy off when we found his stuff. With the extra security Butch and Jake are bringing in, anyone would be a fool to try something here. I’ll call you when it’s over
.”

“I love you
,
Claire. You’ve been the best big sister I could have every hoped for
. I
f anything happens to you, I’m coming back to string both men up by their toes, not to mention
letting
Abby
shoot
the bastard that’s been doing all of this crap. Keep your phone on you in case I need to reach you.”

As close as they were as a family, they weren’t the lovey
-
dovey type of family. They each knew how the others felt about each other, but for Emma to feel compelled to say it
worried
Claire. “I will, and I love you too
,
Emma.”

Claire disconnected the call and placed her phone on her dresser. She went back to getting ready for the party. She
’d just reached for her watch when she heard the knock on her door, leaving it on the dresser she walked to the door, pulled it open and prayed that there wasn’t another problem.

Abby
walked through the open door
dressed in a
black
satin
dress
that hugged her curves in all the right places
.
Beautiful didn’t describe her sister
;
she was a knockout. They’d all been blessed in the gene pool.
She held a
gym
bag in one hand.

“Abby
,
you look great.”

“I do clean up pretty well, huh?” Abby walked over to Claire and hugged her. “I’m not so sure about this
,
Claire. I know
that
you know how to take care of yourself, but I don’t like it. There
are
going to be to
o
many people here, too many variables to
make sure nothing happens
.”