The Mischievous Mrs. Maxfield (20 page)

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"You look like a pocket-sized Venus."

"That's a little bit better than the pin-up girl compliment I got earlier so I'll take it," I told Tessa with a grin as I gave her a quick hug.  She had just shown up at the private rooftop bar lounge we rented for the night in the poshest hotel in town.

"You sure know how to sex it up," Anna said dryly, appearing behind her sister.

I laughed and stepped aside to let them through the door. "Yes, well, the girls seemed to have mixed up tonight as my honeymoon and forced me to wear this on the threat of tickling and spiders."

"The virgin needs to be initiated before her wedding night and the first step is to make her aware of just how hot and sexy she is!" Becca bellowed from the hot tub where she was already sprawled with a bunch of the girls from Marlow's, all clad in bikinis and clinking cocktail glasses with each other. Marlow's was well-known for its young, nubile waitresses besides the food and atmosphere. Sexist, I know, but such was the world and those who couldn't afford its luxuries such as female indignation sucked it up.

My cheeks burned with mortification as the sisters turned to me with identical looks of surprise.

"You're a virgin?"

"My brother restrained himself?"

Great. Just great. Now you're an even greater oddity than you were ten seconds ago.

I glowered at the girls in the hot tub and then rolled my eyes at the Maxfield sisters who were staring at me like I'd sprouted two horns and a third breast. "Yes, I'm a virgin. I decided to sell my virginity to the highest bidder—your brother—and offer it on my wedding night. Satisfied?"

Tessa smiled. "I'm actually not surprised at all."

Even Anna, who had arrived looking like she hated the world, gave a reluctant nod. "You're not at all what I expected, Charlotte."

I snorted. "I get that a lot. Now, go get changed into your swimsuits and join us at the pool. Aimee arranged for karaoke and we're doing it while half-submerged in water. Yes. Silly, I know, but I didn't plan this so don't look at me."

"I'll go change," Anna announced. "I hope you have something strong in your bar because I'm going to need it tonight."

Tessa eyed her in irritation. "We talked about this. You're not drinking, Anna."

"You said coming here was a good idea to distract myself and I'm doing just that." Anna glared at her sister. "Besides, I've gotten pretty good at breaking the rules. Why stop now?"

"Because you don't have to compound your mistakes," Tessa argued in exasperation. "Besides, we'll all get into trouble with Dad if he finds out any of us went drinking because we're not legally allowed yet."

Anna thrust her chin up stubbornly. "I'm already in trouble with him. I might as well earn all my colors and be the black sheep among his children. One of us has to do it. We're all too darn perfect."

I watched the sisters' exchange in silent interest.

Obviously, there was a lot of tension going on between the two. Tessa was being a lot more outspoken than usual and Anna was as cranky as a girl with a period on steroids. Reading between the lines, I figured it had something to do with Anna's illicit love affair but this wasn't the place to wash her linen in public.

"Hey, Tess. Felicity wanted your opinion on the thesis draft she outlined," I blurted out, putting an arm around the younger sister and steering her toward the food bar where Felicity was talking with Macy. Both girls were sporting bikinis—Macy in a blue and white striped number and Felicity in a yellow and pink bandeau set. 

Both girls looked up at our arrival and I beamed at my assistant. "Fel, tell Tessa about your thesis. She's majoring in sociology. You mentioned something about women's movement or something like that. I'm sure Tessa can talk to you about it."

And before any of them could protest, I turned on my heel and headed for Anna who was scowling at her cellphone. 

"Anna, come on. I'll show you the change room." I grabbed her by the elbow with no warning and dragged her to the small hall that led to the shower and change room. "I want to see what you're wearing. I need swimsuit ideas for my honeymoon trip with Brandon."

Anna eyed me warily. "I don't think you need help in that department. That set you have on will have his blood running hot."

I turned to the wall-sized mirror to check myself out. 

It was quite a sexy number.

The halter top was red with white polka dots and small ruffles outlining the inner edges of the triangles that covered my sizeable cups.

The tiny bottom was bright red and cut high enough to show a good lower half of my bum, only subtly made decent by the small, lightly ruffled skirt that wrapped around it from the waistband down.

The design definitely played up my curves and the cut of the waistband was kind to my not so flat abdomen that for a moment, I could actually believe I worked out quite a lot. I'd gotten into the routine of running and dancing but I wore down Felicity on her insistence that I go to the gym. Still, what work out I did paid off by the look of my toned legs and tight butt. They didn't look like they were made of steel but at least they didn't jiggle, probably more in thanks to being on my feet all day, waiting tables at Marlow's.

"I can't believe you're still a virgin." Anna's bemused comment drew my attention back to her. She was sitting on a plush armchair, unstrapping her high-heeled sandals. "Who comes out of high school nowadays without having lost it?"

I gave her a meaningful look. "Those who didn't feel like giving it away. Many of the guys in high school were selfish, immature jerks who would screw a post if it had the appropriate receptacle. I just couldn't deal with that."

Anna laughed although it sounded hollow and pained. "I have a feeling the restraint was all on your side now. I'm just amazed that brother is marrying a girl he couldn't sleep with first considering he's slept with dozens of women all these years without taking any of them to the altar."

Oh, we're a special case. You have no idea.

I made a face. "Do you really want to discuss your older brother's sex life with me?"

Anna wrinkled her nose. "Not really. I'm just... surprised, that's all, considering things looked hot and heavy between you two in the backseat of his car when you showed up at brunch."

I grinned although I could feel my cheeks warm up. "The hot part was just the summer heat. The heavy part was me crushing the life out of your brother by sitting on him."

Anna smiled and shook her head before rising to her now-bare feet and picking up her beach tote. "Hmm. Well, I hope you get to do more... sitting on him on your honeymoon. I'll go change. I'll see you outside in a few minutes."

The party was actually a real blast throughout the barbecue dinner, the pool-side karaoke and some of the games we played like Pin The Cherry On Top where we all took turns placing the paper cut-out of a cherry on certain body parts of a nearly-nude, life-sized Ryan Gosling covered up in printed swirls of whipped cream in strategic locations.

After the games, we all sat down around the pool ledge and unwrapped the presents the girls brought me. Since they were all decidedly naughty, I was slightly horrified especially when the girls started giving me tips on how to best use the toys and other kinky items which I decided not to name out loud.

The only not-so-fun part of our night was the obvious elephant sitting between the two Maxfield sisters who avoided looking or speaking at each other. Anna was getting wasted despite my attempts to water down her drinks when she wasn't looking and Tessa was starting to look like she was plotting an assassination.

Jake rang my phone so I stepped inside the lounge, trying to get away from the noise.

"I know I shouldn't call and ask but how's your bachelorette party so far?" he asked and I could hear the grin on his voice. "Have any of the girls made out? Will you take a video and send it to me?"

I laughed as I tiptoed toward the change room. I'd already gotten out of my wet swimsuit and was now wearing denim cut-offs, a halter top and flip-flops. "Whether they have or not, I'm not sending you a video. Don't be a cad. It's all innocent fun."

He snorted. "I doubt it. Otherwise, why would women ban men from their bachelorette party? It's because they all want to get freaky with each other and they don't want us to watch. It's a psychological form of torture."

"Then write a paper on it," I said with a smirk. "Meanwhile, you're just going to have to continue wondering about it because that's all—"

I stopped talking when I heard the raised voices coming out of the change room. They couldn't be by anyone else but the sisters.

"Hey, Jake. I'll call you later, okay? Bye." I turned off my phone and hurried to the change room, walking right into the progressing screaming match between Anna and Tessa.

"—if you want him to think you're so pathetic that you'll do—"

"—don't pretend to understand... I have to know! I can't just—"

"Hey, hey!" I loudly chimed in and put myself between them. 

Anna was swaying slightly and Tessa was already dressed and clutching her bag. 

"What's going on here, ladies?" I demanded. "And don't say nothing because you resemble a pair of kittens trying to scratch each other's eyes out. Spill."

Neither of them spoke—just kept glaring at each other.

I sighed loudly and held up my phone. "Let me just find Martin's number here—"

"Charlotte!" Anna lunged for my phone and snatched it away, staggering straight for the floor if I hadn't caught her and pushed her back so she found her footing, as wobbly as it was.

"Jason's celebrating his fifth wedding anniversary with his wife tonight and Anna lost it," Tessa finally said, shaking her head. "She keeps forgetting she's the other woman."

"That's enough, Tess!" Anna hissed at her sister. "Don't judge me and Jason because you, of all people, have no idea what it's like to be in love! You don't understand! He loves me! Not her."

"What does that matter? It's not your name on the marriage certificate," Tessa retorted. "Until he actually mans up and puts your name on it instead of hers, I won't believe that whole love-crap he's selling you."

Anna's expression contorted into a mask of anger and hurt and I did my best to hold her back so she didn't decapitate her sister. "Of course you won't because no man has ever loved you! You know why, Tess? It's because you're a freaking saint! No one's good enough for you! No one can do anything right! And you know what? You're going to become your own prediction because you will have no one! You're going to wake up one day and you'll find yourself old and lonely and when you do, remember that you did it to yourself!"

Whoa! Where's the third sister? Isn't this the Kardashians' reality show? No?

My humor fled though when I got a good look at Tessa and saw the pain flash in her eyes as her lips trembled with the effort not to burst into tears.

"Tessa..." I said slowly, wondering how I was going to get to her without letting go of Anna who would most likely make out with the floor without my support. 

"I'm fine, Charlotte," she said stiffly as she squared her shoulders and sniffed back her tears. "Don't worry about me. If there's anyone who needs worrying, it's my hot mess of a sister who can't even see that she deserves so much more than the scraps she's settling for with a guy who will never love her like she loves him."

I winced and glanced at Anna who was furiously dabbing the tears from her eyes. "Why don't we just maybe sit and—"

"I'm sorry but I have to go," Tessa said in a small voice hardened with finality. "I hope you enjoy the rest of your party."

"Tessa, wait!"

But she was gone in seconds, leaving me with a gasping and muttering Anna who didn't look a bit like her usual glamorous self with her hair matted on her forehead and her eyes glazed with a drunken look.

"What the hell is wrong witih you, Anna?" I said with a sigh as I settled her into the armchair where she'd sat earlier unstrapping her shoe. "Where is the cool and confident Anna Maxfield everyone in Worthington Prep knew?"

Her face crumpled into tears and I swore under my breath. Apparently it was the wrong thing to say to a woman having an emotional breakdown.

"Just leave me alone, Charlotte," she said, sniffling loudly. "You don't have to pretend you care about me. Whether I like you or not has no influence on Brandon's decision to marry you. He and Tessa are like that—as cold and unaffected as a statue."

I opened my mouth to say something but she let out a brittle and ironic laugh that grated at my ears. 

"And to think Tessa would preach to me about love, of all people!" Anna continued. "She won't know what it is if it hit her in the face."

"And you know better," I said simply.

It wasn't really a question but Anna frowned and regarded it as if it were one and I was impertinent to ask it.

"If you know better, then why are sitting here, crying your eyes out?" I asked. "If you know better, then why are you not happy? Or is it because you don't actually know better and you're just crossing your fingers, hoping that you are, so there's some justification to your suffering other than plain stupidity?"