Page 98 of Bookworm and the Beast
Taking the bouquet from Bonnie, I accepted her offered hug and shook Jack’s hand.
“Alright, well thanks. I’ve gotta run. Still a ton of work to do today after I go see Mom. I’ll catch up with you guys next week.”
I turned to walk away, but Jack called out to me.
“Wait—you’re planning to go to the Charity Relief Foundation Gala tonight, aren’t you? I know you’re invited.”
“Oh, you mean that hoity-toity society party populated almost exclusively by the rich snobs who looked down on us our whole lives and pretend to be our ‘best buds’ now that we’ve made it big? Um, no thanks. Think I’ll pass on that one.”
“Hunter,” Jack said, his voice holding a patiently scolding note. “It’s a fundraiser for a good cause. And among those ‘hoity toity society people’ will be lots of potential investors.”
His tone indicated he thought he was dangling a tasty carrot. I’d sooner bite into a ghost pepper dipped in peanut butter and ants.
“I don’t need any more investors,” I told my older brother. “I landed the big fish, remember? What Idoneed is another ten to twelve hours in the day. I’ll beworkingtonight while you two lovebirds are dining and dancing under the stars.”
Jack frowned. “It’s not healthy to sit at a computer all day, every day, seven days a week. Believe me—I know—finishing the last Onyx book nearly killed me.”
Slapping my well-exercised abs, I said, “That’s why I reserve an hour every day for the home gym—and why I ran over here instead of driving. You’d better do the same with Monsieur LaPlume cooking for you. The food at your wedding was unbelievable. I think I might need to get myself a personal chef.”
“Too bad I can’t talk my sister into moving here,” Bonnie said. “She’s an incredible chef. But she works for this rich guy in Boulder who’ll do anything to keep her.”
“Don’t knock it,” Jack teased her. “Some of those rich guys can be pretty charming.”
Turning to me, he said, “You do know who’schairing the gala this year, don’t you?”
“Why the fuck would I know something like that?” I said, already beginning to hop from one foot to the other as I prepared to jog. “I’m about as far out of the society loop as you can get.”
“Margot Bianco.”
If Jack had been holding a microphone, he would have dropped it and walked off. He knew mefartoo well.
Bianco.Just hearing that last name sent my pulse into overdrive and woke my dick from hibernation.
I worked hard at sounding unaffected, though my lungs felt suddenly so deflated I wasn’t sure I’d be able to manage the short run home after all.
“Kristal’s step-mother?” I asked, knowing full well who Margot Bianco was. “Didn’t her husband just have a stroke?”
“Yeah, a couple of weeks ago. When it comes to society parties and high-ticket fundraisers, though, I guess the show must go on. Anyway, she’s never seemed all that attached to him. I think she enjoys being ‘Mrs. Richard Bianco’ a whole helluva lot more than she enjoys being an actual wife—at least based on the way she acts every time I see her.”
Bonnie squeezed Jack’s bicep. “What do you mean? How does she act?”
I snorted, familiar with Margot’s infamous escapades. “Ever see The Graduate? She makes Mrs. Robinson look like Mr. Rogers.”
Jack grinned at Bonnie’s horrified expression and pulled her in for a quick kiss.
“It doesn’t matter how often or how blatantly she throws herself at me. The only ‘Mrs.’ I’m interested in is my own gorgeous wife, from now until death do us part.”
“Good answer.” Bonnie grinned, kissing him back, “—especially if you don’t want that death part coming too soon.”
I groaned, feigning nausea. “Okay, you two. I’d say get a room, but you’ve got a mansion full of perfectly good ones right there behind you. I’ll see you later.”
After visiting the cemetery, I went home and got back to work. But as the evening wore on, I found myself glancing at the clock again and again. The gala would be in full swing at this point.
In fact, the windows were open, and I could hear faint jazz orchestra music on the breeze, no doubt from the quartet playing at the party just a few houses down the avenue at Bellevue Manor.
Ididhave a tux upstairs in my closet. I could throw it on, stroll down the street… see who was there.
Kristal might not even be there. If she is, she’ll be withhim.
