Page 23 of The Wrong One

“What?” she asked with her eyes wide.

“I’m going to call your dad in here. When I say potatoes, you jump out and scare him.”

She giggled. “Okay!”

“Ramsey!” I called out.

Izzy happened to walk into the kitchen. She smiled when she saw me. “Hi,” she greeted.

I couldn’t resist. “Potatoes!”

Izzy looked confused. Lily burst out of the cabinet, just about a foot from where Izzy was standing. Izzy screamed and jumped a good three feet.

“Lily!” Izzy shouted.

I couldn’t stop laughing. It was the funniest shit I’d seen in a long while. Izzy burst into laughter and crossed her legs. “You almost made me pee my pants!” she exclaimed between her laughter.

Lily was absolutely hysterical. Izzy acted like she was going to strangle Lily. The three of us were all laughing when Patrick came into the kitchen. Izzy immediately stopped laughing. Patrick draped an arm around her while shooting me a dirty look.

“What’s going on in here?” Patrick asked.

Izzy looked up lovingly at him. “My niece scared me,” she answered.

Patrick smiled but it didn’t look authentic. The guy was not a good man. I couldn’t explain how I knew it, but I did. Something was off about him. He just had a smarmy look about him. He was too slick.

Ramsey came into the kitchen. “What’s going on?”

“Your daughter thought she would scare me,” Lily said.

“The cabinet.” Ramsey nodded.

“Yes,” Lily said.

“Let’s get a drink, baby,” Patrick said and steered Izzy out of the kitchen.

Ramsey gave me a look and shook his head. Lily and I went outside with her showing me her new swing set that rivaled anything I’d seen in a playground. The property was why Ramsey bought the place. It was almost five acres. His backyard was a giant park with trees and grass and of course, a pool with a big-ass fence.

We wound up in the living room with drinks and appetizers being served.

Ramsey moved up to the front of the room and waved his hand in the air. “Everyone, can I have your attention please?”

People stopped talking and looked his way. “Thank you all for coming,” he said. “Lily and I appreciate you all coming out and helping warm our new home. We are looking forward to hosting dinners and parties here. We hope—”

Patrick dragged Izzy to stand next to Ramsey. “Sorry everyone,” Patrick said. “Ramsey, this is something you’re going to want to hear.”

I thought the guy was an asshole before, but now I knew for sure he was. What a piece of shit.

Ramsey stepped to the side. “Please, by all means,” he said in a growl.

Patrick didn’t seem to notice Ramsey’s irritation. That didn’t surprise me even a little. The guy was just one of those people who only cared about his own needs. He was the only one that mattered in his world.

“Izzy and I have an announcement,” Patrick said. He reached down and held up Izzy’s left hand.

Izzy beamed. “We’re engaged!” she exclaimed.

What should have been a moment of celebration was delayed. Everyone at the party had spent the last two hours with Patrick. I didn’t think anyone liked him. Someone started clapping. Then others did. Everyone congratulated the happy couple.

I couldn’t shake the feeling of wrongness. It felt wrong. I looked at Ramsey. The look on his face said it all. He downed his glass of champagne and then walked to the bar in the corner. I joined him at the bar. He said nothing as he grabbed a bottle of whiskey. He poured two drinks, handing one glass to me. He threw his head back and swallowed it down before pouring another drink.

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