Casanova(78)

“What?” I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “You knew? You knew and you never said anything?”

She blinked. “Why in the shit would I tell you? You never asked.”

“I asked a hundred times!”

“No. You bitched and whined. You never asked.”

I stared at her. “You’re impossible.”

The grin returned for a third time. “Thought you’d know that by now, boy.”

“Why didn’t you just tell me you knew?”

Aunt Bel shrugged. “Figured she’d come back one day and you’d find out. Besides, you needed to sample the cocktail sausages before you got a taste of the steak.”

“I have no idea what that means.”

“It means that even if I’d told you and you’d chased her, you wouldn’t have appreciated her.” She waggled a finger at me. Her nail paint matched her lips. “You needed to sample the shandy before the champagne.”

“Are you comparing Lani to champagne?”

“Yes. And you’re the shandy, you little shit.”

I shook my head and grabbed my laptop. “I have no idea how anybody can hold a conversation with you that actually makes sense.”

She cackled again. “I still think it’s funny.”

“Hilarious.”

“All the girls,” she mused, straightening up and stretching her arms out in front of her. “All the girls who dropped dead at your feet and you pick the one you have to chase.” Her laughter followed her down the hall, slowly getting quieter as she got further away.

I hated to admit it, but she had a point.





How long did it take to put on an evening dress?

Currently one hour, seventeen minutes, and twenty-nine seconds. But who was counting?

Certainly not me, and certainly not because we were running the risk of being late as it was.

For all my faults, it always surprised people that, for the most part, I was a bit of a stickler for time. Unless I wanted to piss somebody off—then I was almost always deliberately late.

Today, however, it wasn’t my fault. I was waiting. I was bored of fucking waiting. There was only so long I could wear a suit before I started to feel like a fancy pants lawyer or some shit.

“Mae.” Dad knocked on the door to Mom’s huge dressing area. “We’re going to be late.”

“Two more minutes!” she trilled back.

I groaned. “You said that twenty minutes ago.”

“If you aren’t ready, we’re going to leave without you,” Dad warned her.

“You said that thirty minutes ago!” Camille yelled.

“Smartass,” I muttered.

“Too close to the nipple!” Lani shrieked on the other side of the door.

I shared a confused look with Dad. “What the hell are you going in there?”

The door opened and my sister’s face appeared. “Tit tape,” she answered simply.

“Tit tape,” I said slowly.

“Yep. Otherwise the attendees are gonna get more for their money than they expected.” Cam shut the door before either of us could respond.

“This is ridiculous,” I muttered, sitting on the chair in the corner of my parents’ room. I rubbed my temples firmly.

“That’s women for you.” Dad perched on the edge of his bed and loosened his tie. He un-popped the first button of his shirt.

I did the same. Clearly we were going to be late, so we might as well be comfortable while we waited.

“I’m amazed you convinced Sali to come,” I said to break the silence.

Dad slid me a sly smile. “I have my ways.”

I raised my eyebrows questioningly.

“I promised to double the amount raised tonight if she attended.”

“Weren’t you going to do that anyway?”

“Of course, but she didn’t know that.” He tilted his head toward me. “Not to mention that I think she’ll be glad for the night off.”

He was right. She just worked and worked, rarely taking a break. It was only a dinner, but we wanted her to see firsthand the amount raised.

“Dad? Thanks for doing this.”

He smiled at me. “No.” He leaned over and grasped my shoulder. “Thank you for proving me wrong. What you do for Hope Building is incredible. I’m proud of you.”

I swallowed hard. It’d been a long time since I’d heard those words. “Thank you.”

He squeezed and released me as the door opened. Mom stepped out in a floor-length, white gown made her look a bit like an angel.

Seriously. Now I knew where I got my looks. It was all Mom.

I stared at the door. It was ajar, and now that I knew what my mom looked like, all I cared about was seeing Lani. I’d picked her dress, sure, but I’d just thrown it at her. It was pure luck. I had no idea what she looked like or how it would fit her.

I wanted to see it through. Fuck, I wanted to see it.

Camille slipped through the door with a giant, shit-eating grin on her face. Smugness glinted in her eyes, and as my parents left the room, she stopped in front of me. “I kinda wanna stay and see if you fall a bit further in love with her when you see her in that dress.”

“Is she coming out now?”