Page 27 of Theo
Crusoe held a bag of barbecue chips over the back of the seat.I waved it away."You're not going to go all Donnie Darko again, are you?You've been doing great and your sponsorships?—"
"Shut the fuck up, Cru.I'm fine."
Cormac dug his hand into the chip bag."Yep, like I said, Lacey will get this straightened out and then come back to you.I mean, hell, she walked out of that big mansion without looking back.She doesn't want to be there.Did you see all those oil paintings?Ugly as shit but I bet they'd fetch a nice price on the black market."
"Mac, knock it off," I said."Not in the mood to listen to your stupid shit right now, and that sounded especially stupid."My brother was always right on the edge of trouble, bad enough trouble that would land him in jail.My dad and his brothers had been the same or at least that was what Dad liked to remind my mom whenever she was worried about Cormac.She'd then remind Dad that their lifestyle was nothing to brag about.They'd all found their soulmates, and my mom and aunts had turned their asses around long ago.I was sure Lacey was my turn around girl.She was the one who was going to keep me out of trouble and heading toward a future.Now she'd gone back to that asshole, and I had no idea if I'd ever see her again.It seemed rich people weren't too high and mighty to resort to blackmail.Although I was sure they had a different name for it.
My phone rang and I practically fell off the seat in my attempt to answer it.It wasn't Lacey."Hey Jules, kind of trying to take a nap right now."I loved Jules, but I wasn't in the mood to talk to her or anyone.
"Oh, so the wedding rescue didn't work?"she asked.
"It worked until it didn't work."
"What do you mean?Wait, let me see what's happening on social media.I just got off work and haven't looked at my phone."
"Did you tell my mom about this?"Jules worked at my mom and Aunt Jade's realty office.
"What kind of a rat do you take me for?Oh my god, you are viral!"
"What do you mean?"
"Shh, I'm listening to the video."I could hear my own voice echoing back to me through her phone, then it stopped."Well, shit, I am proud to call you cousin.Now I've got to hang up and make sure all my friends see that video.Wait.If Lacey left with you—where is she now?"
"That's where the whole happy ending thing sort of went south.She went back."
"I'm going to have to hear every detail when you get home."
"Not going to be in the mood to talk about it, Jules."
"That's all right.Mac will tell me everything.Sorry she went back, Theo.Hugs and kisses through the phone."She hung up, and I put my phone away.I wasn't going to hear from Lacey.
The drive home took forever.It had started out as a great fucking day.Now I was more messed up than ever.I pulled out my phone and stared at it, hoping I could somehow conjure a text from Lacey, a text saying she was coming back to me, but aside from a dozen stupid, useless notifications and a text from Dad letting me know he needed some help with the boat next week, there was nothing.Lacey had gone back to that rich asshole, and that was the end of it.I needed to get back to my life, to working and racing and frankly, non-committal fucking, but it sure was going to be hard as hell now that I'd had Lacey in my arms again.
SIXTEEN
LACEY
Joan looked even harsher and more dragon-like if that was possible.My stomach churned with hunger and nerves as I sat in one of the rooms of the Plunkett Estate.I looked at the stylish mahogany desk where Joan sat to write what she called "correspondences."I had no idea what that meant, but I couldn't imagine the woman and her black soul sitting down to write a friendly, fun letter to a friend.She didn't have an ounce of friendly or fun in her, and now, it seemed, her black soul had turned to ice as well.I kept trying to avoid eye contact, but she had no problem staring at me as if her eyes were lasers and I was her target.George Senior, on the other hand, sat almost noncommittally in his big leather chair as if this whole meeting was a bore and a waste of his precious time.Harriet, one of the kitchen staff, a sweet woman who was always wearing a polite smile, carried in one of the many silver tea service trays.A few of the canapés from the pre-wedding reception sat next to the cream and sugar.The food was wilted and discolored and looked very unappetizing.I assumed that Joan instructed Harriet to bring them in on the tray so I could see what my "little stunt," words she'd used several times, had done to her expensive catering menu.
Joan huffed in irritation as she picked up her phone and tapped her finger hard against the screen.Her diamond earrings clacked against the phone screen as she pressed it hastily to her ear."George, we are waiting.Please join us in my study right away."
It would be me against the three of them.Joan wouldn't even allow my parents to join the meeting, orambush, which was probably a more accurate word for what was about to happen, hot honeyed tea and all.While we waited, an icy, awkward silence surrounded us.I fidgeted with the luxurious fabric of my dress.It looked far worse for wear, but it still felt soft, like cream, as it moved through my fingertips.
The door opened, and while I should have been relieved that the meeting could now move forward, I realized I didn't have the nerve to look at George.Out of the corner of my eye, I sensed that his usual perfect posture, almost military-like movements, were sloppier.
"My god, George, are you drunk?"his mother asked sharply.She shot a glare my direction to remind me that that was my fault."I hope none of the remaining guests saw you."Typical Joan.That would be her first concern.There had been enough expensive food and booze flowing freely to keep some of the guests around.Some had driven a good distance to be there, and others had planned to stay the weekend so stretching out their stay, wedding or not, wasn't a big ask.I'd assured my parents that I would be fine, so they drove to their rental house to await word from me.Mindy had gone with them.She looked properly shocked and anxious about the whole thing.I'd somehow managed to get rid of the surge of anxiety that I felt when I climbed into the SUV.I was sure it was a mix of things, but mostly, the ache in my chest overshadowed all my other emotions.I was an idiot for starting up something with Theo.I should never have texted him, but when I started having major, stress-inducing doubts about getting married, all I could think was that I wanted to talk to the one person who always knew how to make me feel better.Deep down I had a feeling that Theo might show up or maybe I was hoping he would, but when I saw him, standing on the stairs, looking as incredible and heartbreaking as ever, I knew I wasn't going to marry George.How do you get married to one person when you are madly in love with someone else?I'd been in love with Theo forever, and that had never changed.
"Sit there," Joan said to George.She rarely spoke to him so sternly, but then her big social event of the year, perhaps the decade, had been destroyed, and her son had met the disaster with a bottle of booze.I almost felt some admiration for George for doing exactly what us regular folk would do after getting left at the altar.
Sitting with the silent security crew for the ride back, I tried to picture all the unpleasant scenarios that waited for me at the house.I half expected Joan to tear my dress and shove me to the ground the second I walked in the door, but then I realized she'd never do something so uncouth.She'd pay someone to rip my dress and push me to the ground.Instead, I was led by one of the staff to the study where I waited alone for twenty minutes.A few times, I considered jumping out one of the windows and making a run for it, but Joan's threats about suing my parents and me for the wedding expenses had been all too real.
George dropped hard into a leather chair.He stretched his legs out lazily and then turned to look directly at me for as long as he could keep his head and gaze straight.He'd really guzzled something strong.I'd never seen him so drunk.It wouldn't be great PR for a highly-respected surgeon to be seen stumbling drunk in public.
"Nice friends you've got," George said.His words were stretched long, and his eyelids looked heavy."What kind of gutter did that guy crawl out of?"
I ignored him and took a deep breath.I'd been mentally readying my defense."Joan, you planned this wedding.I never wanted this elaborate, showy event.I wanted a simple ceremony."
"Yes, in a barn or meadow with butterflies floating around.Like all the other country bumpkins."Her sarcastic tone was so caustic it made her mouth twist as if she was sucking on a bitter lemon.
