‘Good gracious, girl, you didn’t eat anything,” Gran said.
‘I’m a bit nervous,’ I admitted. As promised, I’d stopped by her house the evening of the charity event, not just for food but to get some cuddles from Rose. Gran and her husband, John, were babysitting her this weekend. Rose was sitting in my lap, playing with the belt on my dress. John wasn’t home right now. Pity, as I would have liked to say hello.
‘You’ve been to events like these hundreds of times,’ Gran exclaimed. ‘What’s there to be nervous about?’
Oh, right. I cleared my throat. ‘I don’t know.’ I hadn’t told a soul that Malcolm was attending as well. Knowing my big mouth, I was about to ruin it any second now. But I was determined to keep myself in check. Even if I asked Gran not to tell the rest of the family, she’d worry, and that wouldn’t do. And besides, I’d given myself several pep talks at home about this evening.
Spoiler alert: none of them worked.
I was a basket case.
Rose held up her hands, and I helped her to her feet. She was barefoot, pressing her little feet on my thighs. God, I loved kids. My heart ached every time I held one. She opened her arms wider and leaned forward. She knew what I needed.
Rose put her tiny arms on my shoulders and the side of her face straight over my boobs. Then she straightened up and pushed herself onto her toes even more. I lowered my cheek to her tiny mouth, and she placed a wet kiss there, probably also wiping away three layers of foundation. I immediately grabbed a napkin and tried to get it off her lips.
Gran tsked. ‘Oh, she made a mess of you.’
‘It doesn’t matter,’ I said. ‘I’ll just reapply if needed.’
‘Chop, chop, off you go, or you’ll be late. Unless you want to actually eat?’
I looked at Gran apologetically. She’d made her specialty—apple pie.
Wait a second.
Gran only made apple pie when she wanted to get information out of someone.
I looked up from my plate. Gran gave me her knowing smile. Oh shoot. She knew there was something off with me. But why was I surprised? Gran had practically raised Kimberly and me, after all.
‘I’m sorry I didn’t touch your apple pie.’ And good thing I didn’t, because one thing was for sure—if I had as much as a spoonful, I’d totally run my mouth. Kimberly and I were certain it had magic powers.
“Whatever it is, Reese, you’re strong enough to face it, my girl.”
I completely mellowed. Even more so when she opened her arms. I willingly stepped into her hug.
‘Thanks, Gran.’ She knew me better than anyone else—except perhaps Kimberly.
‘And I’m also here to talk if you need to.’
I winked at her, chuckling. ‘I don’t right now, but I’ll keep it in mind.’
I ordered an Uber and paced in front of Gran’s bungalow. While waiting, I was tempted to run back inside and spill my guts.
No, Reese, come on. Be strong. You don’t want to worry Gran. You’ll be fine.
I arrived at the venue twenty minutes later. As soon as I stepped out of my Uber, I tensed up. I was on high alert, looking for my ex and his wife. Thankfully there was no sign of them outside.
I was surprised by how efficient everyone was at the entrance. The friendly hostess informed me that I was assigned to table seven. As I took in the room, I noticed the modern decor with metal-and-wood light fixtures. There was a table with sweets but no buffet or chafing dishes, which meant dinner would be served at the table. I’d attended several charity events here over the years but had never been inside this particular room.
‘A glass of champagne for you, miss?’ the waiter asked. He had a tray of flutes and was making his way around the tables.
‘Yes, please.’ I needed some liquid courage. I accepted the glass, then walked quickly to my table.
My phone vibrated in my small evening bag. I made to remove it with my left hand, but then several things happened. I lost my footing and my right leg stumbled, and although I recovered quickly, I still managed to spill champagne everywhere—mostly on the only other guest sitting at table seven.
‘Oh my God, I’m so, so sorry,’ I exclaimed, dropping my purse on the chair, then salvaging the rest of the contents in the glass. That’s when I realized I’d poured half of it on the poor guy.
Holy shit!
When he looked up at me, the disgust was obvious in his dark green eyes. He was so handsome that I forgot where I was, what my name was, and even how to breathe. It was simply not possible for anyone to be so attractive. He looked vaguely familiar, but that wasn’t a surprise; everyone here was famous in one way or another.
‘I’m sorry. I’ll get some more napkins. I’m not even sure what to say. I’ll pay for dry cleaning. Or you can give your shirt to me, and I’ll take it to the cleaners,’ I babbled.
Why would I offer that? That was the most ridiculous thing that has ever come out of my mouth. What’s he supposed to do? Strip?
‘I can’t believe it. Can no one give it a rest tonight? This is really not the best way to get my attention.”
I straightened up at that. Hot guy is a douchebag.
‘I’m sorry, what? You think this was a ruse to get your attention? I’m sitting at this table. And I lost my balance.’
He glanced at my dress. ‘And yet you didn’t spill anything on yourself, just on me.’
‘Have you ever lost your balance before? You can’t plan which way you land.’
He snorted. ‘Right. I’m off to the bathroom to clean this mess.’
I took a step back as he lurched up from his seat.
Damn, he was tall and well-built. Pity he didn’t have his temper under control. Whatever. I had too much on my mind tonight to try and second-guess why my tablemate was such a grumpy ass. That was none of my business.
I sat down before my nerves got the better of me. I glanced around the room again. I still couldn’t see Malcolm and Francesca anywhere. Maybe they weren’t going to come tonight after all. That would be wonderful.
So much for not being a chicken.
As I sat here, I was sure that seeing them together wouldn’t help me heal. Quite the contrary—it would reopen an old wound.
But just in case, I needed reinforcements. I grabbed a plate and went directly to the table of sweets.
They had plenty of goodies, but what I yearned for was one of Liz’s brownies. My cousin Declan’s wife was a very talented baker.
As I pondered over which sweets to take, I thought this would be a good venue for her to expand her business—catering events. She’d gotten into weddings lately, but this could be another great revenue stream. I made a mental note to talk to the host later; maybe I could pull a string or two for Liz. She would definitely appreciate it.
‘I knew I’d find you here.’
I nearly dropped my plate when Malcolm’s voice came from behind me. I gripped the edges until my knuckles turned white and turned around. Francesca was right behind him. My vision faded at the corners. I swallowed hard and blinked three times, trying to clear my eyes.
Come on, Reese, don’t faint. It’s not so bad.
It was that bad. I felt as if I had a stone crushing my chest. I cleared my throat. ‘Malcolm?’
‘We saw your name on the guest list,’ Francesca said, ‘but didn’t know if you’d actually come.’
‘Why wouldn’t I?’ I asked.
Malcolm set his jaw.
‘Well,’ Francesca replied, ‘with the two of us attending.’
She’d been my best friend. Who did this to their best friend?
‘What are you two doing in Chicago, anyway?’
‘You Maxwells don’t rule Chicago,’ Malcolm said in a stern voice.
Dread prickled at me. ‘I think you know better. I thought Declan made it clear last time.’
He took a step closer.
‘Malc!’ Francesca exclaimed.
That sliced right into my heart. Malc. I used to call him that.
‘You and your family will stop intimidating me,’ he sneered. ‘Do you understand? Or you’ll be in serious legal trouble. You got away with it once. You won’t again.’
I breathed deeply, trying to calm myself. I didn’t want to cause a scene.
‘If you’ll excuse me, I have better things to do.’ I walked straight past him.
What was I thinking, coming here tonight? God, I hope they aren’t at my table.
I put the plate with sweets down and looked around the room. They were at the table in the opposite corner. Thank heavens for small miracles.
I took in another breath and then exhaled. I have to leave this room. Right now.
I went into the lobby, straight to the hostess. ‘Hey, are any parts of the premises off-limits?’
She frowned. ‘What do you mean?’
A light bulb went on in my mind. ‘I have to make a phone call, but I’d prefer some privacy.’ I hated lying, but I needed to be alone.
‘There’s a second coatroom in the back. We won’t need it tonight, so no one will bother you there, and it gets a good signal. It’s straight ahead.’ She pointed me toward it.
‘Thank you,’ I said. All I needed was a few minutes to myself. I’d always been a bit of a loner, except when it came to my family. I could be surrounded by them all day long and not get enough. But other than that, I liked to be on my own, especially when shit hit the fan.
I headed to the coatroom with determined steps, praying Malcolm or Francesca wouldn’t pop out and find me. I needed to get myself together before facing them again or I might end up causing a scene.
The nerve of Malcolm. He was the one who threatened us first. He tried to blackmail me. Why was he back in Chicago?
It didn’t matter. He wasn’t part of my life anymore. Even if our paths were bound to cross at some point again, I’d have to learn to deal with it.
I stepped into the coatroom, closing the door and taking a deep breath.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
I startled, then opened my eyes wide. My asshole of a tablemate was leaning against the wall, glaring at me.
“Here we go again.”
