Page 61 of My Ex-Fiance's Best Men
“Okay, I’ve been a raging bitch,” she says with a small laugh. “Please forgive me. I’ll figure out a way to make it up to you. It’s just that you slipped through my fingers. I didn’t appreciate anything about us when we were together, and when I saw how happy you were with Phoebe, I guess I snapped. There are moments when I hardly recognize myself.”
“Jealousy will do that,” I reply.
“But can you find it in your heart to forgive me?”
“Sure.”
As long as it ends the conversation so I can move on.
“Oh, wonderful!” she says and throws her arms around me, giggling.
I don’t return her embrace. I stand there, stiff and uncomfortable, waiting for it to end. I could push her away, butby the time I consider it, Georgina pulls back, lighting up with what I can only describe as sheer joy.
“Good. I’m glad that’s out of the way. I feel like I can breathe a little easier now,” she says.
“Glad to hear it.”
She looks at some of the lingerie items on the rack beside us and picks out a lavender lace set. I’m not a fan of the color. Or of Georgina choosing lingerie around me.
“I think this would look great with my eyes,” she says, holding it up against her body.
I’m not buying what she’s trying to sell me. I’m almost insulted that she thinks this little ploy of hers will actually work. Avoiding any comment on the lingerie, I say, “I wish you happy shopping. I’ve got places to be. A trousseau to pay for.”
“An entire trousseau? Wait, you’re marrying Phoebe?” She sounds outraged.
“What business is it of yours?”
“I care about you, Theo. And I know the Coates twins are good guys, too. But trust me, you don’t want to get embroiled in this whole Baldwin mess. It’s about to get worse. She won’t have a penny to her name, and the court of public opinion has already cast their verdict. Soon enough, Phoebe won’t be able to set foot anywhere in New York.”
“Will that be yours and Crystal’s doing?”
She blinks a few times. “Excuse me?”
“You’ve been busy with a smear campaign against Phoebe, you and your adoring fans. Crystal has been along for the ride,ever her sister’s bully. Her mother is trying to take away her inheritance. I’m calling it as I see it—a calculated effort to destroy a good woman’s life and reputation.”
Georgina stares at me for a long second, a wicked grin slowly stretching across her face. “Don’t you think she’s fully responsible for her own reputation? I mean, screwing three men at the same time isn’t exactly a lifetime achievement. Polyamory may be more generally accepted these days, but we’re still in New York City. Manhattan. The Hamptons. The original families, including the Baldwins, will never accept that kind of lifestyle.”
“The only vocalizing I’ve heard on this matter has come from you, Crystal, and Helen. Oh, and of course, Matthew. But we all know what that’s about.”
“Please. Phoebe should’ve done herself a favor and lost the weight. If she had, he’d still be by her side. It was a simple thing to do.” She rolls her eyes. “We live in a shallow world, Theo. The sooner you accept that, the better.”
“I wonder if you actually believe this nonsense or if you’re just reciting it out of habit.”
“It’s the truth, whether you like it or not. The only reason the three of you got with her is because she… well, she’s able to take three cocks at the same time,” Georgina scoffs. “Nobody wants to marry Shamu. Honestly, I pity her.”
It takes a tremendous amount of strength to filter the profanities swirling through my head. After a moment’s worth of careful thought, I decide not to slide down the same wretched rabbit hole as before.
“Georgina, I will only say this once. I’m sorry you’re such a miserable woman. I’m sorry you were taught to shrink yourself in order to be accepted by the world around you, but that is not my problem.”
“Theo, come on. I’m an international supermodel,” she reminds me with a laugh. “Designers argue about who gets to feature me next.”
“Yet here you stand, talking shit about a woman who never did anything to you. You, on the other hand, have an extensive history of bullying Phoebe all the way back to middle school. You have an awful personality, Georgina, which is why so many people don’t like you.
“And the only reason designers fight over you is because you are slightly more aesthetically appealing than a clothes hanger. Phoebe, in the meantime, is twice the woman you’ll ever be, in every way that matters,” I add. “And I get it. It irks you. You’re mad, you’re jealous, you’re acting out. You’re emotionally immature and it bothers you that I don’t want to be with you. At least be truthful about it.”
“Fuck you, Theo,” she snaps.
“You wish,” I chuckle dryly and walk away.
