Chapter 29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
L ucky decided that she would stick with her sister-in-law and that would mostly keep her out of trouble.
Vivian was a whole different person in socialite mode.
Her smile was gracious as she introduced her new daughter-in-law around.
Lucky met the governor, a couple of senators, and even celebrities.
For the most part, outside of curious glances, she didn’t have any issues.
The once small crowd had ballooned, but she recognized the woman ambling toward them, a determined look on her face.
Her panther moved in interest, but neither of them worried.
Tall and lithe, Collette wore a simple blue and white sundress, her hair up in a topknot, makeup flawless.
A gorgeous woman walked beside her, confident in her all-white jumper.
Lucky narrowed her eyes because she had seen the woman before, but she couldn’t place where.
“Mrs. Kaine,” Collette greeted as she joined them. “The event came out fantastic.”
“Thank you,” Vivian acknowledged. She smiled at the woman with Collette. “Sidney, you’re back in town?”
Sidney reached over and bussed a kiss across Vivian’s cheek. “Dad has called me home.”
“I’m sure he missed you while you were traveling. Lucinda, this is Sidney Perretti. Her father is a business associate of Ezra’s.”
Lucky smiled and held out a hand. Sidney shook it, her smile warm and inviting. “A pleasure to meet you. I’ve seen you at hot yoga.”
She snapped her fingers. “Yes, I was trying to place your face. We’ll have to do smoothies next time we have class together.”
“If I survive the next one,” Sidney joked. “I thought I could dive right back in as though I hadn’t left. I was clearly mistaken.”
They shared a laugh.
“Is your father here?” Vivian asked.
“I’m his representative today. Mother and I,” Sidney told them.
Collette cleared her throat, pasting on a brittle smile. “Is Kaine in attendance?” she asked Vivian.
“My son sent his mate in his stead. Lucinda, this is Collette Saunders. Her marketing firm has been very helpful with getting the word out about this year’s regatta.” Vivian didn’t seem as enthused at the introduction.
Collette’s eyes narrowed, skimming past Ezra’s mark on Lucky’s neck down to the pendant on the end of her gold chain. A hard flash of envy lit her gaze as she settled on the diamond earrings dangling from Lucky’s ears. Keeping her smirk hidden, she greeted the woman.
“I remember you from the auction a couple of months ago.” She was sure the other woman didn’t need the reminder of where they’d seen each other, but all the same.
“Of course. You’re mated to Kaine?”
Lucky didn’t want a problem with the woman, but from the calculated expression on Collette’s face, it couldn’t be avoided. She swallowed a sigh.
“We’re newly mated.”
“I didn’t see anything about it in the society papers,” Collette commented smugly. “Last the world heard, he was an eligible bachelor.”
Eve stiffened at her side, but Lucky smiled, telling herself that she would act according to the current setting.
“I couldn’t tell you what the world knows, only what goes on in our home. And there, the marks speak for themselves.”
Collette’s quick glance at her mating mark had her jaw tense. “Of course. Did you not want a wedding? I would think the Kaines would want to adhere to our customs. Unless…”
Vivian chuckled darkly, the sound its own cold warning. “You forget your place, Collette. My family built the customs in this city long before yours blew into town. Sidney, please tell Leesa that I’ll find her later.”
Vivian turned on her heel, gesturing for Lucky and Eve to follow suit. Her mother-in-law was clearly irritated, though there was not a wrinkle on her face to betray that.
“Watch for that one, Lucinda. She and her family are full of social climbers. Cheap personalities wrapped in loud designer,” Vivian warned.
Before she could comment, they were approached again, this time by two male shifters.
Lucky recognized them from the Kings Reception she’d attended with Ezra.
She shook her head because it seemed the circles in which Rah traveled were small.
On one hand, it would help her keep track of who was moving in and out of her new life, but on the other hand, how did they breathe, bumping into each other all the time?
She would have to check in with Keisha and Amber about that.
The Motsi had to be similar. She now understood why the two women hated going to society events.
“Vivian, Eve,” the older shifter greeted.
His power was just as dark and unmistakable as the other night. He was good-looking, there was no doubt about that, but there was an almost cruel tilt to the smile the tiger levied at her mother-in-law.
“Jacob, Samuel, thank you both for attending.” Vivian plastered on a polite smile. “This is my daughter-in-law, Lucinda.”
“We’ve met.” Jacob acknowledged and dismissed her all in the same breath. “Where is your mate? Was there a church event precluding him from attending his wife’s event?”
“My mate gives his time freely when it comes to those less fortunate. That often can’t be condensed into a check a couple of times a year.”
Lucky’s eyebrows winged high at the censure in Vivian’s tone. She shared a discreet look with Eve, who shook her head slightly. Both women were tense, their animals’ power thickening the air around them. There were undercurrents that spoke of old feuds and unsettled problems.
Knowing the business her mate was in had her wondering if it could all turn deadly at a moment’s notice. Deciding to break up the tension, Lucky smiled at both men.
“Mother Kaine, you were going to show me how the donations worked,” she prodded.
Vivian took a deep breath and pushed down on her tiger. “That’s right. Excuse us.”
She didn’t breathe easy until they were lost in the burgeoning crowd. Vivian excused herself, leaving her with Eve alone.
“What was that about?” she finally asked.
Eve pinched the bridge of her nose. “A long, sordid tale. Short version, Jacob Moore wanted Vivian. Our grandfather approved the arrangement almost to the point of forcing Mother into it. My father came along, ‘stole’ Vivian, and the rest is beef.”
“Oh, bitch. That’s messy.”
“And unstable, even forty years later. Jacob Moore is a venomous snake best avoided,” Eve confided.
“And Collette?” She hated to ask, but she liked to know about any potential trouble.
It was more curiosity than worry, though. Ezra had made it clear the woman was nothing to him, but Lucky could see the jealousy simmering beneath the surface and she wanted to know the source.
“As mother said, Collette doesn’t know her place. She’s been chasing my brother since we were in high school. Rah has always waited for his mate, and no matter that woman’s attempts, he paid her dust.”
“Her place?”
“Her family are low members of the Aces and new money, which…” Eve sighed. “The shifters here are narrow-minded and very mindful of the social hierarchy that has existed in this city for close to a century.”
She understood what Eve was saying but she didn’t care for the undertones. “And where does that leave me? I’m an outsider as well.”
“You’re not Collette. Nothing about you gives desperate.
As she rudely pointed out, there are rules and expectations that come with this life.
Vivian didn’t follow those rules when she mated our father.
Collette’s dig was aimed directly at my mother, which is why she will never fit in here.
She doesn’t understand the subtleties of Oakridge, and while that may be the same for you, you move different.
You don’t push, allowing your energy to attract the right attention.
It makes you mysterious, interesting. Plus, you have us.
” She winked, taking her ringing phone from her purse.
Eve excused herself and Lucky was left alone to wander. She was an introvert by no means, so she mingled, smiling and returning greetings when they were offered. She was pulled into more than one conversation as the nosier shifters worked to get to know her.
The more she relaxed, the more her bubbly personality emerged as she exchanged numbers with some of the women, making tentative plans with others.
She looked around for Eve and Vivian as she wandered over to the charity displays.
Lucky was ready to eat, so she would find the women once she was done here.
But first, she wanted to see if these people actually put their money where their mouths were.
She saw a booth for a women’s shelter and headed there. It made her think of Deena and all the work she did for the women in Eastfield to escape domestic violence.
The young shifter smiled at her. “Would you like information on our organization?”
Lucky shook her head. “My friend does this kind of work, but in Eastfield.”
The shifter’s smile widened. “How wonderful.”
“How do the pledges work?”
The woman pulled out her tablet and started explaining.
Lucky set her wine glass down and took the tablet from her, filling out the information for Ezra.
With the way her mate spent money on her, he wouldn’t be mad if she donated.
Lucky could only assume he knew what type of event she was going to and since he hadn’t given her any restrictions, she put down what she considered a generous donation.
As she was finishing, his mother came over, her lips pursed.
“How much did my son say you could pledge on his behalf?”
Not liking the woman’s tone, Lucky added another zero on the end and gave back the tablet.
The shifter’s eyes widened at the one-hundred-thousand-dollar donation. “Thank you so much. The committee will be contacting Mr. Kaine.”
Lucky gave Vivian a smug smile. “My mate didn’t give me a budget. Isn’t he magnanimous?”
She didn’t imagine the First Lady could complain in front of an audience and she was right.
Vivian studied Lucky and from her expression, she didn’t quite know what to do about her new daughter-in-law.
After a tense moment, the mask was put back into place and Vivian sighed, stepping away to speak to another friend of hers.
Eve grabbed Lucky’s arm, done with her phone call.
“I see you’re getting the hang of Vivian,” Eve teased.
“I don’t think your mother likes me.”
Based on the stories Ezra told her about his upbringing, that shouldn’t bother Lucky. But she wanted to fit into her new lifestyle, and she had a feeling that appealing to Vivian would make her entrée into society a lot more successful.
“Mother will come around. Just be yourself.”
Lucky gave her a skeptical look. “Even if ‘myself’ is petty with a slick mouth?”
Eve laughed, hugging her. “My brother chose right.”
She sighed. Her lifestyle with Ezra would be very different, but she was confident that she would be able to navigate it. Like Eve said, she was familiar with navigating the streets. She just needed to get accustomed to this zip code.