Page 57 of You Complicate Me

Grace heard the regret in Lucille’s voice and felt a stab of empathy. If she’d been in the same situation, if she’d been forced into a parental role now, could she do any better than Lucille had done? Grace wasn’t sure.

Lucille cleared her throat. “Don’t get me wrong. I gave Sadie what she needed to stay alive, but Nicky’s the one who gave her what she needed. He raised her. Loved her. Taught her how to be a good person. I was a shitty, selfish excuse for a mother figure, but Nicky…he’d do anything to make her happy. Even somethin’ that wasn’t in her best interest.”

Grace frowned. “What do you mean by that?”

Lucille swiveled on her chair and looked down her nose at Grace. “I mean he’d let her marry your brother even though it’s the most fucked-up idea in the history of fucked-up ideas.”

Grace wasn’t sure who she should stand up for first: her brother, Nick, or Sadie. “Well, honestly, it’s not our business. This is between Sadie and Michael.”

The look Lucille pinned her with was entirely too knowing for Grace’s peace of mind. “That’s Nicky talking. I can tell you would’ve intervened by now if it’d been up to you. You’re following his lead, and I can respect that. But don’t pretend it’s the way you would’ve handled things.”

No, Grace thought, going with the flow was definitely not how she usually handled things. That was all thanks to Nick. But she couldn’t exactly say he was wrong. There was some obvious merit to letting Sadie and Michael work out their problems on their own.

“Look,” Lucille said, “I’m not one to beat around the bush, blondie…”

Understatement of the year.

“…and I think you would agree with me that this marriage is a shit idea. Not that I think there’s anything wrong with your brother. He’s a cute kid. Seems nice enough. But he’s young. Way too young to get married.”

“Well, yes, but—”

“And Sadie’s too young to make a commitment like that. If she wasn’t, she wouldn’t be making puppy-dog eyes at your cousin—who, by the way, is hot as the devil himself. I made a solid pass at him in the hotel bar the other night, and he turned me down cold. Guess he isn’t into cougars.” Lucille paused to hike up the top of her tank dress. “His loss. But anyhow, it’s up to you to be the voice of reason here, Grace. You’re going to have to talk Michael into walking away from Sadie tomorrow, because she won’t be strong enough to walk away on her own.”

Grace was at a loss. First of all, how did Lucille, who hadn’t spent one minute with the family so far since their arrival, know so much about what was going on with everyone? Did she have spies in the hotel or something? She must’ve.

Second, even though she sort of secretly agreed with Lucille, doing anything to interfere with the wedding would be breaking her word to Nick, and there was no way she could do that. She’d never be able to betray him like that. He meant way too much to her.

Third…Lucille made a pass at Gage? Ew!

She shook her head. “It’s not up to me, Lucille. If you have something to say to Sadie about her marriage, it’s up to you to say it, not me. I made a promise to Nick that I would stay out of this and let the kids work things out on their own. I’m not going back on my word to him.”

Grace didn’t actually stomp her foot to make her point, but in her head she did.

Lucille studied her with a steely-eyed stare that up until that point, Grace had only ever seen Detective Reagan give perps on Blue Bloods. It was like she was looking straight into Grace’s soul. It was terribly unnerving. But after a long moment, Lucille broke out a wide smile that somehow made Grace even more nervous.

“Thanks, blondie. That’s exactly what I wanted to hear. I guess you’ll do, after all.”

Grace considered herself to be an intelligent person. She was hardly ever at a loss for words. But still, she heard herself muttering, “Huh?”

Lucille pulled the lever on her slot machine with relish. “I was hopin’ you’d tell me to go to hell when I asked you to interfere in the wedding, and you did, in your own lawyerly kind of way. Kudos, doll.”

Grace was still confused. “You mean you didn’t really want me to talk Michael out of marrying Sadie?”

Lucille chuckled. “Fuck, no. That’d piss Nicky off something fierce. But I had to know if the girl he’s in love with had some integrity and loyalty. You bein’ a lawyer and all, you can see why I was concerned.”

The lawyer comment barely phased her. Nobody really liked lawyers. Until they needed one, that is. But the girl he’s in love with part really stuck with her. Was it possible? Could Nick really be in love with her? How would Lucille know if he was?

She quickly kneecapped that thought before it could take root. Speculation was less than worthless, in her professional (and personal) experience. “You played me,” Grace murmured.

“Like a harp from hell, doll.”

There wasn’t an ounce of guilt in her voice, either. Then something occurred to Grace. “Why would someone who is a shitty, selfish excuse for a mother figure care about what kind of person Nick may or may not be in love with?”

One of Lucille’s perfectly painted-on eyebrows raised incredulously. “You really are a lawyer, aren’t ya?”

Grace raised a brow at her in return.

Lucille smiled again. “Just because I’m not cut out to be a mother doesn’t mean I don’t love those kids like they were my own.”

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