Chapter 21
21
“Lainey, there’s a valet in front of your house.” Mateo laughed.
“Yeah, well, you’re the one who somehow had a Mercedes coupe waiting for us at the airport to rent.”
Mateo smirked. He thought that had been a pretty smooth move. “You told me I needed to make a good impression. I figured that was a good way to start.”
“You’re right,” Lainey mumbled as she shrank down in her seat. “I can’t believe Mother has people arriving so early. She told me they weren’t coming in until tomorrow.”
“Guess she lied.” Mateo got the feeling that Lainey was going to be in for a lot of surprises this weekend, and none of them good. He really didn’t like any damn thing he’d heard about her family so far.
They didn’t have to wait for anyone in front of them, they just drove up to the valet. He opened Lainey’s door and helped her out of the Mercedes, and it rubbed Mateo wrong. That was his job. He got out and popped the trunk. Before he had a chance to get his hand on any of their luggage, somebody appeared.
“I’ve got that, sir.”
Mateo took out his wallet and grabbed two ten-dollar bills. As he got to where Lainey and the valet were standing, he slid his keys into the man’s hand as well as one of the bills. The man took the keys and the bill and smiled. “What name should I put with this?” he asked.
“Agular.”
“I’ll take good care of your baby,” he promised.
“Miss Simpson, your mother has put the two of you in your old room,” the man with their bags said.
“Thank you, Fortnum.” Lainey smiled. It wasn’t one of her genuine smiles, it was a resigned smile. The man preceded them into the house, where a young woman stood beside the open door. Fortnum set their luggage down on a massive marble floor that covered the foyer. Obviously, someone at a lower level was going to take their luggage upstairs. Mateo shoved his other ten-dollar bill back in his pocket. He figured Fortnum would turn his nose up at a tip.
“Let’s go upstairs, Matt,” Lainey said as she turned to him.
Fortnum cleared his throat. “Your mother expects you in the blue room as soon as you arrive.”
“I want to freshen up first,” Lainey said, with hardly any trace of an accent.
“She was sitting near the window facing the drive,” the old guy told her.
“Fortnum,” Lainey said through gritted teeth, “I want to go to my room first.”
“You know your mother likes things done a certain way.”
Mateo watched the exchange, and he was done. He picked up their bags before the crypt keeper could say another word. “Come on Corazón, show me the way to your room.”
She gave him a grateful smile. “Follow me.” She started up the grand staircase and at the top, she went to the right, down a long hall past five doors, before taking a left. Her bedroom was at the end of the hall. At least they were going to have some privacy.
When she opened the door to a room that looked like it had been designed by Pepto Bismol, he laughed.
“You sure have laughed a lot since I first told you about this trip,” Lainey noted.
“That’s because there’s been a lot to laugh about.” He placed her two bags on the light-pink upholstered bench at the end of her bed, and she snagged her cosmetics bag from him.
“I have to freshen up before seeing Mom. I don’t need to hear any of her guff.”
“Lainey, you look great.” Mateo looked her up and down. He’d been surprised when he’d picked her up this morning and she’d been wearing white slacks, an orange linen top, and orange sandals. He figured that when you flew somewhere, you wore something comfortable, like jeans and a t-shirt. It’d been hot, and he knew it was going to be even hotter in Charleston, so he’d been wearing his cargo shorts and a white t-shirt, but taking a cue from her, he realized he’d better change. He’d grabbed his suitcase from his car and brought it into Lainey’s place, then put on slacks and a button-down shirt with a pair of loafers.
Now, from the open door of the bedroom’s connected bathroom, he watched as Lainey looked over her make-up and hair, and then turned around to check the back of her hair. In all the time he’d known her, he’d never seen her this worked up about her appearance.
“How are the back of my slacks? Are they very wrinkled from the plane? Should I change?”
“You look fine,” he assured her. “As a matter of fact, you look great.”
She bit her bottom lip.
He took three steps into the bathroom and pulled her into his arms and nibbled her bottom lip into his mouth.
“What?—”
“I told you, the next time you bite your lip like that, I’m going to do it for you. Those are my lips to torture.”
She melted into his arms, and he kissed her properly. He stroked his hand up and down her back until he felt all the tension flow out of her body. He pulled away, and she looked up at him.
“Hiya, sugar.” She smiled, her eyes hazy.
“Hi.” He smiled back. “Are you doing better?”
“Much.” She reached up and wiped her thumb over his lip. Must have been lipstick she was wiping off. He didn’t really give a shit. She could have asked him to put on scarlet lipstick to meet her mom, and he would have gladly done it.
“We’ve been summoned to the blue room, and I have my head on straight again. Thank you.”
“It was definitely my pleasure.”
Mateo was pleased that Lainey was still relaxed when they entered a room that was most definitely blue. Were those actual peacock feathers in that vase?
He turned his attention to the only person in the room, and she looked just like Lainey would in forty years, if Lainey decided to eat a constant diet of lemons.
“MacLaine, you were told to greet me as soon as you arrived.”
Lainey’s Southern accent was like warm honey that dripped over Mateo, all sweet and warm. Mrs. Simpson’s accent had an almost fake feel. It was as if she was stretching out every syllable, forcing people to listen to her longer. Bottom line, it was grating.
“I wanted to freshen up before seeing you, Mother.” Lainey went over to the blue armchair where her mother was sitting and gave her an air kiss on both cheeks. Mateo had seen air kisses before, but certainly not between a mother and daughter.
Lainey moved back toward Mateo and waved toward a couch that was diagonal to her mother’s chair and they sat down.
“MacLaine, persimmon is not a pleasant shade for you. It makes you look sallow. Please tell me you are not wearing other clothes this color while you are here. And really, what were you thinking wearing white slacks? A dark color would be so much more slimming.”
Is this woman for real? She has all the motherly instincts of a black widow, and they eat their young!
“Mother, I’d like to introduce you to my boyfriend, Matt Agular.”
“Hello, Matthew. My daughter has not told me much about you, other than that you are a scientist. That sounds promising. Tell me more about yourself.”
Mateo stuck to his cover story, which was an amalgamation of his brother and mother. “I was born in Argentina. My mother got her PhD in chemistry and authored a white paper that got her recruited by the DuPont Corporation when I was four years old and my brother was eight years old. We moved here. I followed in her footsteps.”
“So, you work for DuPont?”
“No, I work for a pharmaceutical company in Baltimore.”
“Hmmm.” She looked up at the entry to the room and, as if by magic, the crypt keeper appeared. “We’re ready for our refreshments.”
“It will be just a moment, ma’am.”
Mrs. Simpson turned her attention back to Lainey. “MacLaine, the first of our guests will arrive at four o’clock this afternoon. I expect you to be wearing your great aunt’s pearls, your hair up, and the navy blue dress I have hanging in your closet.”
Her mother leaned forward. “Wait a moment. Are you wearing your grandmother Simpson’s earrings?”
Mateo watched Lainey touch the pretty garnet flower-shaped earrings with the good-sized cubic zirconia in the middle.
“Yes, they are,” Lainey said with a big smile.
Mrs. Simpson gasped. “Where did you get them? They were never found after her death.”
“Gran left me the contents of her safe deposit box.” Lainey grinned wider.
Mrs. Simpson gripped the arms of her chair.
“That wasn’t in the will.”
“No, she made me the co-signer when I was eighteen. It didn’t have to be declared in the will. After she died, I opened it up. She left me a beautiful letter.”
“I don’t care about the letter, what else did it have?” Her mother’s voice was harsh.
“Just some gold coins and bracelets and stuff,” Lainey said casually.
Gold coins! Not a payment from the Kraken! She’s innocent.
“The Simpson jewels! You know your father has been trying to track those down since his mother passed. Why haven’t you told him that you had them? They belong to him.”
“Actually, they don’t. They belong to me.”
Her mother’s face was almost purple. It went with the color of the room. “I’ll have to talk to your father about this. As an attorney, he’ll know the correct course of action.”
Lainey smiled. “I look forward to it.”
Mateo was positive his girl had her ducks in a row.
“Back to the matter at hand. As I said, there is a navy-blue dress hanging in your closet. since you declined to tell me about your weight, I was forced to assume the worst, so I had it fitted for a size fourteen. You must really get your eating habits under control.”
Mateo grabbed Lainey’s hand and let her try to crush his bones.
“Fortnum, put the tea service here,” Lainey’s mother indicated the table in front of her. “MacLaine will serve. Take away the scones. They’re not needed.”
“Actually, I’d like the scones, Mrs. Simpson,” Mateo said.
“Very well,” she grimaced. “Mr. Agular, I would assume that my daughter told you how important this weekend is? Her father, Mr. Simpson, will run for the state senate next year, and he is gathering his supporters now. After he wins and serves a couple of years, he will then run for a national seat. It is important that the Simpson family be seen in the best light. Do you understand?”
“Your daughter explained a lot of things in great detail. So far, I see she was quite accurate.”
“Is that supposed to mean something to me?”
“Take it however you want to,” Mateo invited.
Lainey’s mother sniffed and turned her attention back to Lainey.
“Today is informal. However, besides family and close friends, there will be a couple of key potential donors who are staying here with us. We’ll be having cocktails and hors d’oeuvres out on the back lawn. Your father wanted a barbeque. Can you imagine?”
Lainey shrugged, which seemed to be enough of a response for her mother to continue. “I’ll need you to ensure that you’ve talked to every single person at this gathering. Don’t tell them what you’re currently doing up in Virginia. That’s just gauche. Say you’re taking a gap year or some such thing and considering opening your own interior design firm. Dottie’s daughter has been considering opening her art studio for fifteen years now. She’s in every magazine and seen with everybody who’s anybody. Maybe you should say you’re considering opening up an art studio.”
“Don’t you mean gallery, Mom? A studio would show I’m an artist.” Lainey reached down to pour tea.
“God forbid, not an artist. Yes, you must say gallery. I guess all that schooling was good for something. Please say you’re not putting all that sugar in your cup of tea.”
Mateo watched as Lainey’s hand tightened on the silver sugar spoon until her knuckles turned white.
“Now, you.” Lainey’s mother turned to look at Mateo. “Did you rent a tuxedo? If you did, we need to get Lainey’s father’s tailor in here immediately to fit you for a proper tuxedo. You must look your best. I suppose you do have that tall, dark, and handsome thing going for you, so that’s good.”
“No, I didn’t rent my tuxedo. It’s already been fitted, so I won’t need your husband’s tailor.”
The old witch raised an eyebrow. “And you’re a scientist?”
Mateo shrugged. There was no way he could tell her about the whirlwind shopping trip that Jada Harlow had taken him on. He was amazed how fast clothes and shoes could add up to thousands of dollars just for a few days’ worth of outfits.
“What brand? Who’s the designer?”
“Mom, we’re done.” Lainey stood up and pulled Mateo with her.
“Sit back down, MacLaine. You’re embarrassing yourself in front of your young man.”
“No, you are being rude to me and to Matt. We’re leaving.”
“Fine. Be down here at three-thirty so we can go over who will arrive first. I want you to know their names.” She turned to Mateo. “If you do not feel comfortable talking to someone, then don’t. The last thing we need is for you making others uncomfortable. Do you understand?”
“Mother, you didn’t understand me. We’re leaving, leaving. You’ve just attempted to ravage my self-esteem in front of a man I care deeply about, and now you are going to start picking him apart. I won’t have it. We’re getting a hotel, and then we’re flying back to Maryland tomorrow.”
‘Atta girl!
Mrs. Simpson came halfway out of her chair. “You can’t do that. I need you. I can’t do this without you. What would people think if I didn’t have one of my daughters in attendance? If I had Bennett I could, but I don’t, so I need you.”
“Get Bart’s wife, get Lee’s wife. They might not be blood relatives but they married into this menagerie. They’re Simpsons. They can take their turn at bat.”
“They’ve refused. No matter what I’ve said to Bart and Lee, they will not command their wives to assist me with any more of my functions.”
“Well, good for them. Maybe now Lee won’t get a divorce.”
“Bite your tongue. Simpsons don’t get divorces.”
“It’s amazing they got married after?—”
Mateo gave Lainey’s hand a gentle squeeze and she shot him a grateful smile. He was pretty sure she didn’t want to burn the bridge too far.
“You can’t leave me in my hour of need, MacLaine. This is my fortieth wedding anniversary. Does that mean nothing to you? If you won’t do it for me, think of your father.”
“You mean his campaign.”
“Yes. His campaign. This is something he wants. Are you going to deny him this? He’s already extremely successful, now he wants to be even more. What’s wrong with that?”
“I thought going into politics was to serve the people you represent,” Lainey countered.
“I’m sure he’s going to do that, too. But how will he be able to do that without you assisting us?”
He watched as Lainey blew her bangs off her forehead.
“Mother, if I do this, promise me you will not pick on Matt. Not one word. I’m used to the putdowns. This is our little love language, but Matt is off limits.”
“Actually, Mrs. Simpson, if you pick on Lainey, I will take Lainey home. I care about her too much to see her belittled.”
“Belittled?” Lainey’s mother was now standing on her tall pointy shoes in her dusty blue sweater set, looking like a puffed-up robin. “I do not belittle my daughter, and how dare you try to interfere in our relationship.”
“Let me make this clearer. I adore your daughter. I cannot believe how lucky I am to have found a woman like her. I will protect her from any kind of threat, be it physical, mental, or emotional. You, ma’am, are an emotional threat, and that stops now, or we’re leaving.”
Mrs. Simpson opened and shut her mouth three times, reminding Mateo of a guppie fish. It took everything he had not to laugh.
She whipped her head around to glare at her daughter. “Are you going to let him talk to me like this?”
“Heck, Mom, I’m thinking about making out with him, right here in front of you.”
Mateo started laughing. The older woman whirled around at him and burst out shrilly. “This is not funny!”
“Yes, it is, Mom. Now, are you going to play nice with me so I can help you and Dad with his campaign and celebrate your fortieth anniversary, or are you going to be mean and force Matt to whisk me away?”
“For the last time, I’m not mean to you. I only say things to help you improve yourself. But if these things hurt your feelings, I will desist.”
Lainey rolled her eyes and looked over at Mateo. “Will that do?”
“Again, as long as you’re not hurting, I’m good. Let’s take some of these scones, butter, and jam up with us to our room.” Mateo bent down and grabbed a plate. He winked at Lainey’s mom as he led Lainey out of the room.