Page 45 of Belle Amour

“That's incredible.” Lila's brown eyes were shining in delight as she sat beside them. “You two missed the tantrum Casey threw when Eddie told her he invited you and him to the Bachelor and Bachelorettes parties, so there may be some snarky comments.”

“I'm almost hoping for them,” Mirabelle admitted as she spotted Caroline coming toward them and stayed on her feet. “I have a few things I'd like to get off my chest.”

“Mirabelle!” Caroline reached them and hugged her tightly. “You look amazing!”

“Thank you, Caroline. So do you.” Mirabelle returned the hug happily. She always liked Caroline. The curly-haired blonde was lovely and had been about the only one in the extended family who hadn't held her mother against her when Eddie first introduced her, and what her mother did for a living came out. “Congratulations on the baby girl.”

“Thank you so much for the blanket you sent; it's her favourite.” Caroline smiled and pulled out her phone, showing Mirabelle a picture of a little blonde girl wrapped up in the blanket with a huge gummy smile. “Unfortunately, she's staying with my parents in New York, or I'd have brought her to meet you.” Mirabelle smiled politely. The little girl was cute, but her usual response when shown a picture of a baby was, “Yes, very baby.” Luckily, Francesca joined them right at that moment, and she was saved from answering as everyone greeted her.

Eleanor called a cab to bring them to the Avalon Café. They sat in the corner, and Eleanor downloaded the app to her phone and paid for their team. “What should our name be?” she asked as she went through the steps to register them.

“Since we're all from New York, how about Apple-ly Ever After?” Caroline suggested, making them giggle at her pun.

“The Manhattans, 'cause that's what I'll be drinking tonight,” Lila suggested, looking annoyed. “This is not my idea of a fun evening.”

“Oh, I like it, and I may join you with them.” Mirabelle agreed. “I don't mind the scavenger hunt, but I don't know anything about Ann Arbor, and unless we want to cheat, we’re at a huge disadvantage.”

“Of course, we're at a disadvantage,” Francesca muttered. Eleanor elbowed her without looking over, and she cleared her throat and smiled. “The Manhattans it is.” Her sudden change in attitude made the others giggle, and after a moment, Francesca joined in. “I'm sorry. I don't mean to be a pill. How many teams are there?”

“There's Bridal Party, Wolverines Dance and Cheer, Us and the Stepford Wives,” Eleanor reported. “So the Bridal party is obvious.”

“Casey was a cheerleader in university, so Wolverines Dance and Cheer are probably her friends from there.” Mirabelle ran her hands through her hair and pulled it up into a ponytail out of her face as she spoke.

“I think the Stepford Wives are the wives and girlfriends of Eddie's groomsmen who aren't part of the Dance and Cheer Squad.” Caroline pointed as a couple of them came in and lowered her voice. “Isn't that Zeke's wife, Jillian?”

“Yeah, it is.” Mirabelle felt her stomach tense as she spotted Mirabelle and came over to their table, looking like she was trying to stir up trouble.

“So you actually showed up,” Jillian smirked at Mirabelle without acknowledging anyone else. “I'm impressed.”

“Hey, Jillian.” Mirabelle smiled, matching her energy. If she wanted to start drama, Mirabelle was only too happy to one-up her. “Of course, I showed up. Who wouldn't come to watch their ex-husbands marry the woman she caught him balls deep in?”

Jillian’s eyebrows disappeared into her bangs, and she looked genuinely startled. “I'm sorry, what?”

Mirabelle and Eleanor exchanged glances. “Oh, I'm sorry. What story were you told?” Mirabelle asked politely as if she didn’t already know. “Because there's Eddie and Casey's version, which has me painted as vindictive about Eddie realizing he was in love with Casey and leaving me. And there's the one where I walked into my living room in the middle of the afternoon and saw him railing her doggy-style on my couch before he looked me dead in the eye and came inside her.” Mirabelle smirked as Jillian's mouth dropped open; Casey was going to wish she never heard of Eddie Shea by the time she was done with this wedding. ‘Then they both harassed me after I filed for divorce to the point my lawyer had to file for an emergency no-contact order. Guess which version has all the proof?”

“Whoa, whoa, wait. Are you serious?” Jillian held up her hands, looking delighted, which confused Mirabelle. She thought Jillian and Casey were friends. “Because Eddie told Zeke and me the first story.”

“Oh yeah.” Mirabelle nodded. “Very serious, and I've got all the proof on my Google Drive.”

Eleanor leaned forward, looking irritated by Jillian’s rudeness. “Do you think we would have spent the last several days with her and Bastian if what she said wasn't true?”

“And you really brought your divorce lawyer?” The look of pure joy on Jillian's face was a little off-putting. “Oh, this is beautiful.” She actually clapped. Seeing the confusion on their faces, she smiled; this time, it was warm and genuine. “I'm onyour side. Casey is a bitch that all the wives in the friend group have had to tolerate for years because she was “one of the guys.” She's incredibly smug about it and drives us all crazy. We've wanted to get rid of her for years, but then Eddie married her.”

“Don't worry; we won't cause a scene. We're just here to watch this whole thing unfold. Have a great time tonight.” Still grinning, Jillian turned and headed back to the table where five more women sat, and they all immediately put their heads together and surrounded Jillian. A few minutes later, they all looked up and gave Mirabelle huge smiles before turning and chatting among themselves.

“Well, you're not holding back at all, are you?” Caroline’s eyes were wide, and she shared a glance with Lila. “Did you really walk in on him like that?” Mirabelle nodded. “You’re a better person than me because I'd kill Peter.” She looked incensed on Mirabelle's behalf. “He’d be dead before he could pull out and get his pants back on.”

Mirabelle laughed. Caroline was one of the nicest, most mellow women she had the pleasure of knowing, so hearing her threaten so adamantly to kill her husband if she caught him in the same compromising position Mirabelle caught Eddie struck her funny. “I was going to be nice and keep my mouth shut, but since Eddie and Casey haven't, Bastian and I decided to set the story straight.” She glanced at Francesca and Eleanor and winced; they were both looking pale and sick, and she smiled ruefully. “Sorry, you probably didn’t want to hear the details about what happened when I walked in.”

They both shook their heads. “No, I could have definitely done without knowing that,” Eleanor said faintly, but Francesca’s expression hardened, and then she looked more at peace than Mirabelle had seen her since they arrived.

“No, Dear, don't apologize.” She reached out and patted Mirabelle’s hand. “It actually helped me realize Victor and I are doing the right thing.”

Chapter Thirty: The Party Bus

Bastian went to the hotel restaurant shortly after Mirabelle left to join Robert and Victor for dinner and meet Peter and Benji before going to the bachelor party. When he walked in, he found the four of them sitting in a large booth in the back corner. After introductions, they placed their orders and got to know one another.Benji Harkins, Lila's husband, was a Cyber Security Analyst for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. His job had recently gone remote, and he was able to relocate to the US with quarterly trips back home. He was a slender blonde man with a serious face and a quiet personality.Caroline's husband, Peter Johnson, was a burly man with a booming laugh. He was a Battalion Chief with the New York City Fire Department, and while he was Bastian's age, he was completely gray.

“So, what's the plan for this evening?” Benji leaned back with a frown. “Football, but not proper football?”

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