18. Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Eighteen
Samantha
I now understood why Kelly had gotten her way all her life.
She did the puppy dog thing with her eyes and bottom lip that made it nearly impossible to tell her no.
That was how I’d ended up letting Kelly dress me in a pink sundress and agreeing to accompany her and our mother to our mother’s favorite restaurant for lunch.
She’d wound me right around her sad little finger.
There were only two table settings when we arrived.
Even if there hadn’t been, our mother’s face when she saw me would have revealed enough.
She hadn’t been expecting me. Fortunately, a waiter swooped in, adding another set of plates and silverware, and Marla Blackwell played off my presence like it was a lovely surprise.
“You both look nice,” Mom said.
“You too,” I replied. And she did. Marla always looked exquisite, no matter what.
Kelly shimmied her shoulders. “You should see Samantha’s closet. She let me dress her today. It was almost impossible to choose. Her collection of dresses rivals yours, Mom.”
Mom’s smile was faint, a ghost of a thing, as she picked up her iced tea. “So that’s where you’ve been. With Samantha.”
She nodded. “Yes. She saved me, and she’s been sweet enough to let me stay as long as I need.”
We hadn’t talked about how long this roommate situation would stretch.
I had quietly been hoping Kelly would be ready to move along any day now, but Josh hadn’t given up stalking my house yet, so that hope was crumbling.
When we’d gone back the first morning, he’d been gone but returned that night.
It was the same thing the next day. Obviously, Kelly couldn’t go back to the home they shared, but she wasn’t making any moves to resolve that problem either.
So, for now, she was my problem.
And Nate’s. Poor guy.
“Have you spoken with Josh?” Mom asked.
“There’s nothing to say,” Kelly replied.
“Surely he has an explanation. You can’t just end things without hearing him out.”
Kelly raised her chin. “I can, and I did.”
Mom huffed with annoyance. “You’re too old to be this immature.” Then her gaze swung to me. “I suppose this is your doing. Are you putting ideas into her head now? Dripping poison into her ear? Do you want her to be chronically single like you?”
“This has nothing to do with me,” I said sharply.
“Then why are you here?” she snapped.
Prick, prick. Why did it still hurt?
“My sister asked me to come.” I smoothed my napkin across my lap. “Kelly needs as much support as she can get right now.”
“What she needs is to figure out how to go back in time and not cause a dramatic scene over something so…trivial.” Red climbed up our mother’s throat—the only giveaway of how furious she was.
“Trivial?” Kelly breathed, gobsmacked.
“Yes. Do you have any idea the position your little exit put your father and me in? We had to explain to two hundred guests you had fallen ill. You’re lucky your father had thought so fast on his feet. He saved Josh and his family from complete humiliation.”
As soon as she was finished with her deranged rant, our waiter appeared to take our orders. My stomach was a wreck. Eating was out of the question, but I went through the motions of ordering anyway.
Kelly and Mom went back and forth for a while. I’d always thought of Kelly as Mom’s clone and couldn’t remember a time they’d been at odds like this, but my sister was standing her ground.
Between their bickering, several of my mother’s friends came by the table to greet her, but probably more to see what gossip there was to be had, if any.
They all cooed over Kelly, asking about her health, expressing their dismay at her wedding having to be postponed, and she didn’t correct anyone.
Even if she’d made up her mind about Josh, she wasn’t going to spread the way he’d disrespected her far and wide.
Lunch was served, and I did my best to pick at it in a way that looked like I was eating. I had tuned out their chatter until Kelly tapped my arm, bringing me back to the conversation.
“Nate is the sweetest man alive,” she said. “He’s putting up with me staying with him like it’s no skin off his back. All Sam had to do was ask, and he showed up to save us.”
Mom hmphed. “Well, that’s good. The Wells family is very respected in this town, despite what the youngest boy chooses to do with his money.”
“Adrian,” I said. “You know his name. And he’s hardly a boy.”
“Of course I know his name.” She speared a wedge of lettuce with her fork. “I’m still surprised Nate is okay with how close the two of you are.”
I wanted to ask what she knew about my relationship with Adrian. I should have said it was none of her business who I was close with. My throat itched to shout it was her fault I’d found family in my best friend when my own family had barely tolerated me.
Instead, I smiled serenely. “It’s really nice to have found a man who truly understands me.”
Kelly bobbed her head. “They’re so sweet together. Nate waits up for Sam to come home from work even though he gets up early for the office.”
I turned to her. “How did you know that? You’re asleep when I come home.”
She lifted a dainty shoulder and dabbed her lips with her napkin. “I’ve been having trouble sleeping and heard you two chatting. I wasn’t eavesdropping, I swear. I just thought it was nice.”
Before I could think of a response, Mom bit out an admonishment. “If you insist on keeping odd hours, Samantha, the least you could do is be quiet when you come home.”
I ignored her, turning toward Kelly. “I didn’t know you were having trouble sleeping.”
“I have a lot on my mind. I usually fall asleep when you come home, though. I feel better knowing you’re…you know, safe.” She focused on her plate, dragging her fork through the green sauce.
“I’m safe at work. You don’t have to worry about me.” I meant it, even though it was kind of nice to know someone was.
“I imagine the type of people who frequent your club are the opposite of safe,” Mom said.
“You have no idea the type of people who come to our club.”
She sniffed. “And I don’t want to know.”
I would never tell her, but she knew a few of our members very well.
Joining MHC wasn’t cheap. There were members who were part of my parents’ circle and others far above them in the social strata.
But I’d let her believe our clientele was made up of delinquents and miscreants.
The last thing I’d want was her showing any interest in my career.
Once Mom paid the bill, she took Kelly by the hand and leaned close. “You’ll speak to Josh this week. You will do everything you can to work this out. If you put in the effort and find you still can’t forgive him then we can discuss that.”
Kelly blinked at her several times. “You do know I’m thirty years old, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. I gave birth to you.”
She blinked again. “Then why would you think you have any say over my relationship?”
Mom shot me a jagged-edged look, the muscle above her lip ticcing. “You’re clearly not yourself right now. You sound far too much like Samantha for me to take you seriously.”
“Thank you,” Kelly said.
Mom was taken aback, her eyes darting between us. “You know very well that wasn’t a compliment.”
Kelly flipped her hair behind her shoulder. “I took it as one anyway.” Then she pushed back her chair and flung her napkin on the table. “Thank you for lunch, Mom. We’ll talk soon.”
She was on her feet with her bag tucked under her arm in one swift motion. I followed, murmuring a thanks to my mom on our way out.
It wasn’t until we were buckled in my car that Kelly spoke again.
“Well, that was a shit show.” She blew out a puff of breath, sending her hair flying off her face. “Let’s get ice cream.”
“Ice cream?”
She nodded, sinking into her seat.
My stomach, empty of the lunch I’d let go to waste, rumbled right on cue, and we both laughed.
“Yeah, okay. Ice cream is exactly what we need.”
Kelly was halfway through her scoop of mint chocolate chip when she jabbed her spoon into the paper cup and looked at me with a deep frown.
“She’s never spoken to me that way.”
I nodded, licking my soft-serve matcha. It was true. Kelly had always been on our mother’s good side. This situation was a first for her, and I couldn’t imagine it felt great.
She pressed her hands to the little wrought iron table we were sitting at and leaned forward. “No, I’m serious, Sam. She’s never spoken to me that way. It was like…” Her fingertips grazed her lips for a moment before something lit behind her eyes. “It was almost like she was talking to you.”
Chuffing, I stuffed my cone into my mouth, letting Kelly continue. She was almost there. She almost got it.
She picked up her spoon, stabbing it into her bowl again. “I think this is the first time I’ve ever done something she really didn’t agree with. I thought…well, I knew she wouldn’t be happy I ran away from the wedding, but I’d hoped, after a week, she’d at least understand.”
“She probably does understand,” I offered.
“And she doesn’t care,” Kelly finished, slumping in her chair. “My mother would rather save face and have me marry a cheater than see me happy. That’s what matters most, isn’t it? Her image? And…you know this. It’s always been this way for you.”
I nodded, and Kelly studied me through newly shrewd eyes.
“Hunh.” She brushed her fingertips over her mouth again. “I don’t think I like this, but I’m not going back to him. Is this how it’s going to be from now on?”
It was a rhetorical question. Kelly’s gears were turning as she worked it out for herself. She’d always been our mom’s favorite. They were just alike, and Kelly had never strayed from her footsteps. Until now.
This was the most self-awareness I’d ever seen my sister have. As much as I hated the reason it was happening, it was gratifying to witness.
She scooped up a spoonful of ice cream and brought it to her mouth. “I see why you run a sex club.”
I sputtered a laugh. “What do you mean?”
“Now that I’m out of her good graces, I kind of want to go wild. It can’t get any worse, right? I should…dye my hair.” She bounced up straight. “Yes! I’m going to go blond so you and I match! We’d be so cute.”
“I think they say not to do anything drastic with your hair after a breakup,” I tried.
She wasn’t listening. She started rambling out a list of all the ways she could rebel, including teen pregnancy—though she was over a decade too late for that one—getting a tattoo, piercing her tongue, and eloping in Vegas.
Then, just as suddenly, the wind left her sails and her eyes went glassy. She shook her head. “This doesn’t feel good.”
“I know,” I whispered.
“You do, don’t you? This has been your whole life.” Her lips rolled over her teeth.
“It’s okay.”
“I don’t think it is.” Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders. “But who cares, right? I’m thirty years old. I won’t let my mother dictate what I do. She can’t have my life just because hers is miserable.”
I agreed with everything Kelly was saying; I just hoped she believed it—for her sake. Being on Marla Blackwell’s bad side wasn’t easy. I had a lifetime of experience and wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Not even Kelly.