Chapter 12 #2
Once the door’s closed behind us, the sales assistant asks if we’re looking for anything in particular but leaves us to our own devices when we assure her that we’re only browsing.
Not letting me off the hook, Abi digs her stubborn heels in. “The you and Kaede story. The one where you agreed to be the fiancée of the guy you’ve been gaga over for years and compare all potential Tinder dates to.”
“I am not on Tinder!” I sputter.
Abi’s brow arches. “Gotcha. So now that we’re beyond the ‘oh, no, I don’t like him like that’ lies you were already planning to tell us, we can get down to the nitty-gritty. So spill.”
Heat flushes me, and I know they both can see it. I’m terrible about blushing, especially when it comes to Kaede. “Nothing to talk about. Just a business deal.” I hold up a pretty red lace bra. “What do you think of this one?”
“I dunno, those babies need more support than that,” Violet says, pointing to my chest then looking down at her own boobs. “Me too, soon enough.”
“Ladies, we come to a store like this for peekaboo lingerie. Ones that say hello there when your shirt comes off and hits the floor two seconds later. No one’s thinking your boobs are saggy, and if they do, they can fuck off,” Abi hisses.
She puts an arm around Vi’s shoulders and the other around mine. “Now, can we please focus here?”
“On what?” Violet asks, making me think that pregnancy fog might be my new best friend.
“The baby!” I say. At the same time, Abi says, “Kaede.”
Abi wins when Violet looks my way. “Oh, yeah, tell us what’s up with that.”
They face me like a firing squad, shoulder to shoulder.
Abi softens first, surprisingly. “I get it, Court. Kaede’s six feet two of tall, dark, and handsome, a mysterious guy whose waters run deeper than the Pacific.
Ooh, but I bet he’s grunty and bossy in bed.
Like one of those Dom ‘yes, master’ types. ”
I flush, thinking of Kaede’s hands on my skin and that kiss, wondering if I’d like him spanking my ass while he took me from behind.
Violet sees the blush and elbows Abi. “Maybe we should get her some barely-there thong panties or something, leave those cheeks bare and target-worthy with the way she’s looking.”
Abi pinches my heated cheek, luckily my face and not my ass. She’s cheeky, but not that level of cheeky . . . I hope. “Did you torture Violet like this when she said she was marrying Ross?”
“Nope, but that’s because I knew Ross was a damn blind fool at the time who couldn’t pull his own head out of his ass over her,” Abi points out.
“You, on the other hand, are a planner. You said yes because you’ve got a strategy.
But don’t try to fool me, Little Miss Blushes a Lot.
Don’t try to scheme a schemer because I am better at it than you’ll ever be.
” She lays a heavy hand on each of my shoulders and forces me to look her straight in the eye.
“Spill it, spill it all. Tell Sister Abigail all about how you want that man. Or I’ll get you drunk and you’ll spill your guts then, both literally and figuratively.
Your choice. One way, you’ll feel fine tomorrow.
The other, you feel like shit and end up on YouTube. I find out everything either way.”
Desperate to distract myself, I trace the lace bra that’s more air than fabric and know I would give near anything to wear this for Kaede.
“Okay . . . okay. Yeah, I’ve been interested in him for a while, but he’s never shown any interest. And it’s not like I can game this, guys. It’s just for the Sanders deal.”
“Just for the Sanders deal,” Violet repeats, chuckling. “Yeah, and I just did it because Ross just happened to be the only man available for Papa to walk me down the aisle. Tell me another one.”
“Vi, it’s not like that!” I protest. “Sure, if the chips fall right, maybe, but . . .”
“But?”
“Okay, we kissed,” I admit. “You know, to make sure we were prepared. Like actors practicing for the big play. And it was hot. It was . . . everything.”
Abi hums happily, like a Pooh bear who just got her honey, as she dances around.
“Just be careful, Courtney,” Violet cautions, looking less woo-hoo than Abi and more nervous for me.
“It’s okay. I’m okay. I can handle this. I know what I’m doing and where my focus is and where Kaede’s is. It’ll all be okay.”
I know I’m reassuring them, but it feels like I’m reassuring myself too.
Because admitting that I woke up the other morning wishing I were at Kaede’s home instead of my apartment, and that I could have woken him up with a long kiss and maybe some long, slow, dawn breaking morning lovemaking is a risk.
A risk I won’t take. Those fantasies are just for me.
We finish our shopping at Interior Refreshments, each of us splurging on some sexy lingerie. I know I’ll only wear it privately, but I can pretend it’ll be for Kaede.
We head through the food court when suddenly, a familiar voice rings out, and we run into Archie.
That’s actually easier than you’d think because people are giving him a bit of a wide berth as he struts through the mall in plaid pants tucked into combat boots, a bright yellow shirt with carefully constructed rips hand-braided together, and an armful of studded leather and chain bracelets.
“Hey, babes, knew you’d be here,” he teases.
“Because you’re tracking me?” Violet says sarcastically.
“Duh, of course, I am. You pay me to track you, your schedule, your work, and your whole, entire life.” He raises a black eyebrow, daring her to disagree. Violet smartly stays quiet. “Which is why I’m here. And your orders will be ready any minute.”
As if on Archie’s cue—because aren’t we all just players in Archie’s play?—the Starbuck’s guy calls out, “Archibald?”
“Sit,” he directs Violet, obviously not caring if Abi and I sit but taking the utmost care of the pregnant Violet.
Well trained, we take a table as instructed, and Archie grabs our drinks from the counter.
Dispersing them, he nails all our preferences.
“Double skinny whip latte for Abi, triple ’spresso with cocoa sprinkles for you, Court, and Vi, sorry, babe, but you’re on a no-caf frap spree.
I ain’t hurting my little niece or nephew with that demon caffeine. ”
I take a sip, humming my appreciation. “Damn, you’re good, Archie. Almost as good as Jillian.”
Archie grins, taking a sip from his own drink, which is something pink and covered with double whipped cream. “Please, Courtney. I’m better than she is. Which is why I’m here. Vi, time to go. Work to do, chop-chop.”
Abi sets her cup down, laughing lightly. “Isn’t she supposed to be the boss?”
“Funny.” Archie gives Abi a dry look. “She’s only the boss because I don’t want to pay for the liability insurance.” To Violet, he snaps, “Now let’s go! You’ve got that appointment with Mrs. Montgomery in thirty minutes, and there’s a traffic jam on the way.”
Wow. Archie is on it. “So, Vi, what room in her mansion are you designing now?”
Violet picks up her bags, taking a deep drink of her cup and wincing. I’m sure the decaf version of her favorite is not the same. “The kitchen. Normally, I’d say heart of the home, but I’ve been working with the house manager and chef more than Bitchella.”
Archie tuts even as he grins. “Don’t call her that.”
“You started it!”
“And I am finishing it,” he sasses with a cutting motion to his neck.
“Anyway, Mrs. M. fixed me up with her nephew, and we bonded over the rich bitches of Monte Carlo, even if we’re not sparking.
” He makes a jack-off motion now, leaving nothing to misunderstand.
For us, or the full tables of people around us.
Archie doesn’t care a bit, above it all and filterless.
“No sparks?”
Archie shakes his head. “Nope. He’s Jack, I’m Will, and I need to get Grace here to the meeting. This kitchen needs to be on point for our monthly brunch Sundays because I like my eggs like I like my men . . . over easy. So hustle up! Lady with a baby coming through!”
Vi cringes as Archie starts herding traffic. “I’ve got to go, apparently. Love you both.”
Abi and I toast Violet, chuckling as the two of them disappear. Abi and I relax, enjoying our coffees, until Abi smacks her lips. “You really should be careful, you know.”
Ah, here it comes. Time for Abi to scheme again. Ross broods, I brain, and Abi schemes. It’s what life is like with my siblings. Thankfully, after this long, I don’t get drawn in easily. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. Honestly, when I hooked up Vi and Ross, I knew their deal and I played all the odds. Worst-case scenario, they walk away with a better relationship than they had in high school. Best-case, they finally ignited. You and Kaede? I don’t know.
I don’t know what to tell you and I don’t like that, not a bit. ”
“Oh? That might be the first time I’ve ever heard you not have advice.”
Abi shrugs softly. “Yeah, well, let’s face it, Court.
All three of us—you, me, and Ross—are peas of the same pod.
We like to set things up like dominoes and then watch them fall with a certain predetermined satisfaction.
Ross and you do it in business and I do it outside of business.
But Ross and Vi taught me something important.
People aren’t dominoes, and I can’t predict everything that happens. ”
“That’s remarkably . . . mature, Abi.”
Her lips twist. “Don’t sound so surprised. I am your older sister, after all.”
“So, what advice do you have?” I love my sister dearly, but I can’t remember the last time I asked her for advice, even though she is remarkably smart. It’s just in a different way than my brainiac tendencies.
She holds a finger up and closes her eyes. Her lids move as though she’s looking at something behind them. She’s silent for so long that I take a sip of my coffee, and then another.
“What are you doing?” I finally ask, interrupting her apparent spontaneous meditation session.
One eye peeks open. “I’m trying to decide if I should tell you to lock up shop and keep your legs crossed or tell you that as long as you’re faking, you might as well get some real dick out of the deal because it sounds like this is all for Kaede’s benefit.
Real dick, especially dick you’ve been lusting after for years, sounds like the least of what you should get. ”
“Abi,” I chastise, “it’s not like that.”
“You’re right, Miss Goody Two-Shoes. Do NOT, under any circumstances, get under, on top of, in front of, or in any other position with Kaede. It’s a bad idea, a really bad idea that could be catastrophic and lead to such awful things as orgasms and a happily ever after. I forbid it.”
God, my sister. All of that, with all of her deep, soulful words . . . all to tell me in a roundabout, reverse psychology way that she thinks I should try to turn this fake thing with Kaede into something real.
I shake my head, sipping my coffee. “Heard and noted. So, tell me. When’s it gonna be your turn to scheme your way in with a guy?”
“Fuck, I don’t know. Does the domino know when it’s being set up to fall? No, it doesn’t know a thing, and then . . . boom. I’m just a cute little domino, unaware whether I’m standing or in the box. Just know that my box and your box are very empty right now.”
I lean back, laughing.