Page 47 of Love Without Demands

“Oooh, now that’s my jam,” she drawled, and I could practically see her rubbing her hands together in glee. “I’ll be right over.”

“Give us about an hour,” I requested. “I’m about to buy Lehra a triple scoop of ice cream.”

Chapter 13

“I brought wine andnachos. Let’s take a bitch down,” Gianna announced, marching into Lehra’s apartment with her hands full of bags.

“Well, alrighty then,” I deadpanned. “Thanks for coming over on such short notice.”

“You’re welcome,” she said, plopping the bags on the coffee table. “What’s going on?”

“She had a major meltdown earlier, and I didn’t know what else to do,” I told her quietly. “I took her to the gym and let her punch some shit, and it helped, but I think she’s going to need support.”

“So you decided to call in a professional?” she asked with a smirk, and I nodded.

Lehra came out from her room, rubbing her hair with a maroon towel. While she’d been in the shower, I’d cleaned up the invitations she’d tossed earlier and stacked them neatly on the table.

“Gia, you didn’t have to come over,” she protested.

“Of course I did. I have a master’s degree in dealing with bitchy mothers-in-law. Chloe Bouvier is the most evil woman on the planet, and since she’s no longer in our lives, I could use the practice. Don’t want my skills to get rusty.”

Lehra smiled, and the two women settled onto the blue-and-white striped couch while I sat in the matching chair.

I spoke as Gianna pulled wine glasses and a corkscrew from one of the bags and proceeded to open the bottle of white. “Lehra’s future mother-in-law and Dwight have been gaslighting her to get their way with the wedding,” I said in explanation. “She can give you the details.”

Gianna paused, her mouth agape, and then waved the skewered cork at Lehra. “Let me get this straight. Yourfiancéis allowing her to boss you around?”

“Yes, they team up and outnumber me.”

Gia’s head shook from side to side, making her raven ponytail bounce. “Oh hell to the naw. You don’t just have a mother-in-law problem, honey. You’ve also got a fiancé problem.”Damn right she does.She placed a comforting hand on Lehra’s knee. “The first time I ever went to Chloe’s house, she was a complete bitch. As soon as she disrespected me, Auburn told her off and dragged me from the house. We’ve never been back.”

Lehra’s eyes widened. “Wow, that’s amazing. I can’t see Dwight ever doing that.”

“Then you need to set his ass straight. Otherwise, you’ll be stuck forever with his mother running your lives. There’s a whole section on Reddit about atrocious mothers-in-law. Some of those stories will blow your wig off. Why don’t you tell me what’s been going on?”

For the next thirty minutes, Lehra explained the situation while we ate and drank. Flopping against the back of the couch, she groaned. “Dwight’s mother is one of those people who sayseverything so nicely, you’re not sure if she’s insulting you or not.”

“Ohh, the fake sweet. Yeah, I can go toe-to-toe with her on that shit,” Gianna replied with a confident nod.

“Like she keeps referring to my family as ‘your people.’Your people can stay at the hotel, Lehra. Do your people eat seafood?But she smiles when she says it, so I’m not sure if she’s being offensive or not.”

“Your people?” Gia asks. “Yeah, that definitely feels offensive. What else do I need to know?”

“Um, let’s see. Her first name is Bambi, and she hates cursing.”

“Bambi,” Gianna repeated with a roll of her eyes. “Social climber, I assume?”

“For sure. Their family has money, but she acts like they’re the Rockefellers or something.”

“Or the Bouviers,” Gianna replied, a sneaky grin crossing her full lips, and I could see her brain formulating a plan. Then her voice turned high-pitched and daringly sweet. “Golly, I hope I don’t accidentally curse while we’re there. I wouldn’t want to offendBambi.”

Lehra let out a laugh. “What are you up to, Gia?”

She waved a hand. “Let me take care of the mother-in-law. The only way to handle a haughty woman is to out-haughty her. I’ve learned a thing or two since I met Auburn. I have to put up with pretentious assholes all the time.”

“You’re awesome, Gianna. You too, Cruz. I feel so much better after bitch-punching the imaginary Bambi at the gym tonight.”

Gia ate her last chip and tilted her head to the side. “I’m just sorry I haven’t been around more to be there for you. I hate you’ve been going through this alone.”

---