Chapter Forty-Five
Ailee
Every muscle in my body stiffens. Katt?
My sister looks as glamorous as ever, outfitted in a red dress with a plunging neckline that reaches her navel. Her hair lies sleekly around her expertly made-up face, and a fortune in diamonds glitters from her ears and neck. She glares at me, her mouth twisted into an ugly line.
Coco appears as well, coming to stop next to her like a backup. She’s in a mermaid dress that’s an unfortunate shade of yellow and makes her look like a jaundiced tuna. She’s also wearing the exact same sneer as Katt.
I press my lips to avoid laughing, because that’d only upset Katt. But it’s almost comical, like those two rehearsed the sneer together so that they would look identical. They look more like sisters than Katt and I do.
Her eyes rake me up and down, and the tips of her mouth curve downward.
Irritation and jealousy flash in her eyes.
What does she find annoying now? It can’t possibly be that I’m too embarrassing for her.
I know I look awesome tonight. Maybe she’s envious that I’m here with Josh.
After all, she had the audacity to claim that she was engaged to him.
Her expression turns soft, her eyes shimmery with sugary affection as she looks at Josh before it becomes sullen as she glowers at me again.
Not sure why she’s upset. It isn’t like I stole Josh from her—they were never in a relationship in the first place.
She gazes at my hair critically for a bit, then her frown deepens.
Finally, she eyes the plate of canapé in my hand, then at my belly, then smirks.
She doesn’t have to say it: You sure you can afford to eat that? With your belly?
Embarrassment and shame surge. It’s a reflex.
I start to lower the plate, looking around for a place to deposit the food, then catch myself.
Why am I reacting this way? Why allow her to destroy my good mood?
I look down at the plate. I’ve been wanting to eat this since I got here, and Josh got it for me.
It still looks delicious, and I deserve to enjoy good things.
Josh steps forward, his jaw tight, but I put a hand on his rigid forearm. As much as I appreciate his protectiveness, I need to do this on my own. I want to show Katt that she can’t put me down like she used to anymore.
Holding her eyes, I lift the plate, pick up the canapé and bite into it. An intense beef flavor mixed with savory mustard and shallots explodes in my mouth. The crunchy crust adds to the texture. Yum. Can’t believe I almost gave it up to please Katt. I start chewing deliberately.
“Have some dignity,” Katt says between clenched teeth, unable to bear it anymore. “You eat like a pig.”
“A very happy pig,” I say with a smile, then inhale. “You should try this. It’s really tasty. Might improve your disposition. And you should quit frowning so much. You aren’t as young as you used to be, and you don’t want to develop any more wrinkles.”
Katt turns crimson. My heart pounds with rebellious exhilaration. I’ve never spoken back to her like this, but it feels amazingly good to assert myself, rather than letting her walk all over me like before.
“How dare you talk to me like that?” she spits.
“Easy.” I take another bite and make sure to chew ostentatiously. “I’m your sister, not your doormat.”
Coco takes a half step forward, as though she’s just tag-teamed off Katt. “You might be a happy pig, but I guess you aren’t hot enough for Josh to fuck yet.” She glances at the way Josh stands close to me and sneers. “So why are you still hanging on?”
I blink. She said some nasty things in her email, but I never expected her to say anything like that to my face. But at least she’s consistent.
“Who the hell are you to talk to my fiancée that way?” Josh demands. “And how would you even know?”
Coco flinches at his cold tone. “You’re still with her. And you don’t sleep with the same woman twice.”
Katt nods, like a trusty yes-woman.
“Oh,” Josh says. “I understand now. Well, allow me to set you straight, since you seem to be speaking from your own general experience. See, men don’t go for a second helping when the first was subpar.
Barely even mediocre. Why waste the time and energy and effort—and money—on something so unsatisfactory? ”
Coco looks like she’s about to faint.
He continues, “Now, apparently, we dated once? I really don’t remember. But you really should quit before you humiliate yourself any further. I never slept with you. I’m never going to sleep with you. I think we might’ve had a dinner together—and that’s all there’s ever going to be between us.”
She turns deathly pale. Katt glares at me like this public evisceration is all my fault.
“Look, Coco,” I begin, keeping my voice gentle.
I actually feel a little bit sorry for her, even though she was nasty.
“You don’t have to waste your energy cutting me down, hoping that it’ll make Josh choose you.
He’s a human being with his own feelings and agency, and if he wanted to be with you, he would’ve committed already.
There are other men out there. And some are for you, the kind of men who will cherish you and love you just the way you are. ”
Coco’s face crumples. Her eyes flash with something like fury and hurt, but she doesn’t lash out. Katt is positively seething, monumentally angry that I’m not folding like she expected me to.
“And for my part…” I tighten my arm around his waist. “I have no desire to let this man go without a fight. No matter what anyone might say, as long as we both want each other, he’s mine, and I’m keeping him.”