Stone Cold Fox (44)
“Here comes the bride,” she sang, a tinge of taunting in her voice. “Hello, I’m Calliope Case.” Calliope held out her hand for Wren to shake, her signature saucy grin growing even larger at the sight of a stranger. Who did I bring to the lion’s den?
“Nice to meet you. I’m Wren Daly.” Wren waited a beat, as if Calliope would recognize her from social media. It took everything I had not to laugh out loud.
“Okay, come on in. All the ladies are eager to hear what the bride has to say today. Especially Gale. Were you at the engagement party, Wren?”
“Oh, I was in Ibiza,” she said, exactly how you’re hearing it, with the lisp. “I had to go for work, but yes, I was invited.” She actually wasn’t, but I could blame the guest list on Haven if it came up later.
“Let’s get a look at that thing in the light of day,” Calliope said, snatching my hand to inspect my ring more closely.
“Isn’t it fabulous?” Wren stuck her nose in next to Calliope’s. “Did you post it on IG yet, Bea?”
Calliope scoffed at Wren, answering for me. “Not unless she wants to be robbed. Never post the family jewels online. Amateur hour.”
Calliope openly laughed at her and I could tell Wren was embarrassed. I nearly felt bad for the girl, but I had wanted the sharks to attack someone else in that house for a change. It was Wren’s whole reason for being as far as the wedding party was concerned.
Wren and I followed Calliope through the halls and out to the back terrace that overlooked the pool and the gardens. Wren could hardly form words at the sight of it all, which was probably for the best. The words would come eventually, I was banking on it. Haven, Chloe and Gale were seated outside with drinks. “There they are.” Chloe sighed, sporting dark sunnies, a big hat and a red lip.
“Hello, girls,” Haven chimed in, cracking only the smallest of smirks, alluding to being on her second G and diet T.
“Hi, everyone! I’m Wren Daly!” Wren felt the need to announce herself again and at a much higher decibel, digging her own grave even further in Calliope’s estimation, who snorted to herself.
“Come join us.” Haven motioned to empty seats.
“I was just admiring Bea’s ring in the sunlight,” Calliope said as I took an open seat next to Haven, asserting myself once again to my mother-in-law-to-be. I noticed she did a once-over on it and nodded in approval. A hard-fought acknowledgment considering they wouldn’t bequeath the family heirloom. Gale was in a floral sundress, shockingly appropriate for the event, and it made me wonder if Chloe had given her some guidance, and if so, why? Was Chloe in on whatever Gale was scheming? I was wary, but I greeted both of them with sweet smiles.
“Did Sylvia help him pick it out?” Gale asked, that venom in her voice again.
“Who’s Sylvia?” Chloe asked.
“Coll’s new assistant. Apparently she’s super hot. I heard Dad use the term leggy, so we know what that means.” Calliope grinned, but Haven didn’t look amused by that at all.
“You’ve met Syl?” I asked Gale, remembering that she hadn’t made much of an impression on Syl.
“Just on the phone.” Gale shrugged. “She’s sweet. So . . . what is everyone reading?” Gale asked the group, livening up the place as usual, but I knew she was trying to rile me up about the stolen file.
“God, nobody cares, Gale.” Calliope dismissed her with a flick of her wrist, flouncing down in a chair.
“Sit, sit,” Haven commanded Wren, who was completely out of her element. The staff handed us glasses of champagne, Wren grabbed one before anybody else, and the afternoon tea was in full swing with canapés and caviar and cunty behavior.
“This is a vibe,” Wren said out loud, taking snaps on her phone, mortifying everyone. I thought Haven might have asked her to stop taking unsolicited photos of the grounds, but she felt like playing with Wren instead.
“Wren, where do you hail from?” Haven asked.
“Oak Park, Illinois. Just outside of Chicago. But I’ve been in New York since college.”
“Columbia? NYU?” Haven’s nose turned up ever so slightly at the latter.
“FIT,” Wren replied. Haven would have furrowed her brow if she could, but her daughters were excellent at deciphering her frozen expressions by then. I was learning, too.
“The Fashion Institute, Mom. We’ve been to some of their events. It’s a good school for that type of thing,” Chloe explained.
“Ah,” Haven mused. “And how do you know our Bea?”
That was a first. It was odd to hear Haven claim me as one of their own for the first time. I felt strangely proud and wished Collin had been there to hear it, too. That said, Gale definitely heard it. I watched her openly shudder. Heavenly.
“We work out together.” Wren grinned.
“I see. How nice. You are both very fit. Toned. Not just naturally thin. It shows that you work at it. Kudos.”
Haven, petite with minimal effort, smiled slyly, taking another sip of her drink. Well, that was one way to burn a pretty girl. Impressive.
“Chloe got a little fat when she went to college,” Calliope declared, firming up her position as my favorite. Chloe was irate. “What?” Calliope asked her sister. “It all came off when we went to the Southampton house that summer. Mom saw to that.”