Page 15 of Dump and Chase

“Mmmm, vegan food,” Leah said sarcastically.

“Cut it out. First of all, Wolseley is a vegetarian. Secondly, she cooks with meat, she just has her sous chefs taste it. And this isn’t a vegan event, not that it would matter if it were.”

Wolseley had been catering for almost two years, and the reception had been great. She’d gotten tons of clients, but this Richardson’s event was going to put her on the map, especially when her restaurant opened in the fall, and I was going to be there to support her. And to stuff myself with her great cooking. Her new restaurant would specialize in her delicious vegan and vegetarian cuisine. If she could make an impression tonight, maybe this would get her over the top with the last of the investment money she was looking for.

I drove there because I knew I wouldn’t be drinking. I had to be at work early the next morning. I supposed Richardson’s didn’t care that they’d scheduled an event in the middle of the week. They knew that anyone who was invited would show up. And of course almost everyone was there when I got there. Jill was busy schmoozing donors for the fundraiser and Wolseley was busy in the kitchen, but Ava and Matt were there, and I beelined over to them. I needed someone to talk to.

Matt’s eyes opened wide when he saw me, and that was when he gave Ava a nudge and motioned to me. Was something wrong with my dress? Was it too much? I didn’t think so, based on the other fashion on display. As I approached them, Ava pasted on a pained smile.

“Hey! I should have known you were coming.”

What an odd thing to say. “Yeah. Jill invited me.”

“Right. Yeah. So, I think you should know something. I feel stupid that I didn’t tell you sooner, but Ethan’s here. Richardson’s invited him because they knew he was in town. They’re trying to land an endorsement deal with him.”

Matt nudged Ava again, but this time I turned to follow his gaze. And then I realized why she was doing all the blustering. There was Ethan, and he had a gorgeous blonde on his arm. His fiancée. I was pretty sure my blood pressure spiked.

“Damn. Okay, he’s here with Brandi. Tang, I’m sorry,” she said.

I put on the fakest of smiles and turned back to her. “No problem. We sorted it all out. He’s engaged. It’s fine.”

So why did my insides feel as if they were being torn up inside by a million tiny razor blades? I was certain that at any moment, my legs would give out. How embarrassing would that be, meeting Brandi for the first time while flat on my ass?

“You don’t have to meet her if you don’t want to. I can make sure he stays away.”

I shook my head. “Really, it’s not a big deal. I’m fine.”

I wasn’t fine. My face was suddenly hot and my hands were clammy. I wanted to run away, but before I could make an escape to the bar, they were walking our way. I know I groaned out loud, but there was no way they could have heard it over the chatter of other guests. I turned and smiled at them as best I could. I took a quick glance at Ethan, and he looked about as uncomfortable as I felt.

“Hi,” Brandi said with a little wave. “I’m Brandi. Nice to meet you.”

I really hated my life at that moment. Where were Jill and Wolseley to save me from this misery? How did Jill not know that Ethan would be here? And then I found myself staring at Brandi. She was shorter than me, maybe five foot five. Her blonde hair was swept up in perfect waves, and while she was slim, she had more of an hourglass shape rather than an athletic one like mine. Her blue eyes were trained on me, waiting for me to speak. Fuck.

“I’m Tangi,” I managed to get out.

Her face illuminated with faux surprise. It was obvious that she knew who I was. “So you’re Tangi! Now I can finally put a face to the name.”

Nothing she said was passing the sniff test for me. If she wanted to know who I was, she could check Instagram. I didn’t hide my profile, plus there were tons of pictures of me on Ava’s page. I was pretty sure she’d sashayed over to rub my nose in their relationship.

“Nice to meet you. And congratulations on the engagement,” I said, matching her faux friendliness. Why not play along with this stupid game?

“Oh, thanks. I had no idea Ethan was going to propose. It all happened so fast.”

She casually flashed the ring, and the blow to my heart hurt even more. I stole a quick glance at Ethan and he looked more pained than I felt. Served him right. “I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful life together.” I made the point not to ask any questions, hoping the two of them would shove off, but Brandi didn’t seem to be going anywhere.

“It so nice to finally visit Minneapolis and meet the rest of Ethan’s family. I’m sorry I missed Rick’s funeral, but Ethan insisted I continue my mission in Central America.”

Was she some sort of religious missionary? What had Ethan landed in? When I didn’t ask her a question, she continued.

“I’m a dentist. We visit developing countries and offer dental care and guidance about oral hygiene.”

“Oh, sort of like Doctors Without Borders?” I wanted to kick myself. Why had I asked a damn question? And why wasn’t Ethan saving me from this instead of sulking and shuffling his feet a million times. I was happy he was uncomfortable.

Her face lit up. “Exactly like that. My latest mission took me to Guatemala and Honduras. Some days I was working sixteen hours. We take what we do—”

“There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you,” Jill said. “I’m so sorry to interrupt,” she said to everyone else, “but I need Tangi for something special. Please excuse us.”

She pulled me away before Brandi could do any more bragging. Once we were out of earshot, I heaved a sigh of relief. “That was awful.”

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