Chapter 37
The wedding day, the honeymoon cottage
The next day, Gabby woke alone in her large honeymoon bed and walked out to the patio to enjoy a special wedding day breakfast. She had slept for approximately an hour. Markus was seated, already dressed and clutching a half-empty coffee.
She glared at him for leaving her alone and sad all night.
Rationally, she knew it wasn’t his responsibility to comfort her after breaking up with her, but normal rules didn’t apply when you were in the middle of a mission going sideways.
She wanted a hug, and she wanted this whole nightmare to be over.
They ate in an unhappy silence.
When Justin finally showed up on the patio, she dissolved into a pile of raw emotion. Here was the person she could lean on through thick and thin, and especially when she had man trouble.
“Hello!” he trilled. “I’m here to make you beautiful.”
Gabby’d never been so happy to see her best friend, except for maybe the last mission when he helped her haul mobsters into a supply room, no questions asked.
“Gabby’s already…” Markus cut himself off. “It’s just that I don’t think any woman needs makeup to be beautiful.”
Gabby guffawed. If he thought she was that beautiful, he wouldn’t have broken up with her.
Markus looked up in surprise. “Why are you laughing?”
“Why do you think?” she asked.
Okay. Apparently, she’d gone from sadness to anger about the breakup in the space of a minute.
Anger fit like a glove. A boxing glove. Sadness, no thank you.
Also, she was mad at herself for even thinking about her breakup when she had more important things to consider, like keeping her job and health insurance.
“You’re misinterpreting what I said,” Markus shot back.
She raised an eyebrow. She wasn’t.
“Don’t question me at work.”
“Grow a pair, Markus,” Gabby snapped back. “And check your ego.”
Justin looked between them. “What is going on here? Is this how you two are together because…” He looked down his nose in judgment.
“I can’t tell if I like it. I mean, is this your kink or are you just like old married people who should have gotten a divorce thirty years ago but didn’t ‘for the kids’ and now everyone has to suffer through you? ”
They turned to shoot identical laser eyes at Justin.
“Fine, be strong and silent with me. I can be into that. Just take me to your fancy honeymoon bathroom.”
Markus said, “I’ll see you later. I’m going over to get ready with G.”
Good riddance. Gabby couldn’t handle the breakup.
A relationship should provide a solid foundation to stand on, a base.
All week, their relationship had been like the ground during an active earthquake, shifting and cracking beneath her feet.
It was making everything else harder. How could she do her job when she was always bracing for the next seismic shift?
Justin oohed and aahed over the splendor of the bathroom. “Ohmygod. Look at all these full-size products.” He held up a bottle of something like he was from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
“This is probably a thousand dollars of makeup and skincare products,” he said.
“It makes me turn red and rashy. I don’t think Inner Beauty is for me.
” Now that she had read Jasmine’s emails, she realized it was probably the red dye number six.
Gabby wasn’t a dermatologist, but she knew that if it was an ingredient in Flaming Hot Cheetos, it probably wasn’t also an ingredient in inner beauty or outer beauty.
It might actually be an ingredient in cancer.
He sounded disappointed and squirted a bunch onto his palm and started rubbing it into his own face. “This is too expensive not to use.”
Despite everything, she couldn’t help but relax as Justin started to do her makeup.
“What’s with you and Mr. Sad-Sack Spy out there?”
Gabby shook her head. “He broke up with me.”
Justin gasped. “Shut. Up. On your wedding day?”
“Technically, last night, right before the bachelorette party.”
“Do you want me to fight him? Because I will. I might be good with makeup, but I have a right hook like Tyson, and I will bite his ear off.”
“Not yet. Keep that move in the queue, though. We might need it later.”
“I hope so.”
“Don’t you think those eyebrows are a little strong?” Gabby asked.
“No, you want people to be able to see them from the audience.”
“I don’t think there’s going to be an audience. We’re all going to be on the deck of the boat. It’s supposed to be intimate.”
Justin leaned back to get a look at his handiwork. “Well, the person in the back of the boat. Maybe the captain. You want them all to see how great you look.”
This was the danger in Justin doing makeup. She was going to look like a drag queen. And Markus would just be Markus.
Next, Lana Hunt arrived with the dress. When she unzipped the garment bag, she revealed Gabby’s dream gown. The timing of this was cruel.
After one look at the makeup, Lana said, “Pretty, but let’s tone it down. This is an outdoor ceremony, not Broadway.”
Thank you, Lana.
Justin huffed. “What about pictures?”
“Take it down a couple of notches. She’s wearing one of my gowns.”
When Gabby was ready, she looked like her dream as a little girl. Her hair was curled so prettily that it almost looked natural. Justin had pinned it up in a chignon that would go viral on TikTok if he’d recorded it.
Justin was pissed. “Look at this!” He pointed at her. “She’s magnificent, and I can’t even take a picture. What is it with the no phones policy? Did anyone really feel more centered and connected in 1988? Connected to what?”
Lana answered seriously. “Yourself, the world around you, your creativity.”
“Do you see this updo?” Justin said. If he’d had a mic, he would have dropped it.
The dress had a full skirt with a train that was supposed to be pinned up, making it even fuller.
At the moment, it was unfurled. The plan was for two people to walk Gabby to the boat.
It was the kind of gown they shut the red carpet down for at the Met Gala, not a tactical outfit for a mission, but there was no getting in the way of Lana.
She explained how to pin it up after the ceremony.
As long as no fighting broke out on the boat, it’d be fine. And that was the plan. No espionage until Valentina arrived. Gabby wasn’t causing any problems.
Justin asked, “I don’t know, is it too much?”
“That’s what I wanted. Do you not see the belting details in the corset?”
“It’s giving Dom at Prom—is that what you were going for?”
Lana ignored him.
“Has anyone thought about a sailor hat?” Justin said. “I know it’s on the nose, but…”
Lana inhaled sharply like she’d been slapped.
Well, there wouldn’t be any fighting about national security issues, at least.
Ignoring her shock and horror, Justin said, “Because I brought one.”
Before he could answer, Jasmine herself arrived, poised and polished. She was dressed in another flowing robe, or maybe it was a cover-up? It was hard to say. Either way, you could see her bikini. Or maybe it was her underwear.
Justin waved hello and called to Gabby. “Come try on this sailor hat.”
Lana shot back. “It’s going to ruin my dress. Justin, why don’t you wear it?”
He said, “I have one too. I’m the maid of honor.”
Jesus.
Jasmine put it on. “I’m in charge. I’ll wear the hat.”
She looked calm, happy, and focused on the matter at hand. She gave Gabby a wink, like she was excited to leave it all behind shortly.
“Why don’t you all head to the boat?” Jasmine said. “I want to meditate with the bride for a moment before she takes the plunge.”
Still bickering about accessories, Lana and Justin left the honeymoon cottage and headed to the yacht. “I’ll see you there,” Justin said.
As soon as they left, Jasmine collapsed in a chair. She reached for a bottle of lotion and screwed and unscrewed the cap, like it was a fidget toy.
Gabby filled with warmth, flattered that Jasmine trusted her enough to let her guard down.
After she was sure everyone had left, Jasmine asked, “Did you secure an immunity deal for Naomi and me?”
“I’m working on it,” Gabby said.
“Working on it?” Jasmine set the lotion down and came to attention in a way that made Gabby want to excuse herself.
Gabby nodded. “If everything goes to plan—”
“If what goes to plan?” Jasmine cut her off.
“I’m sorry. I misspoke. I’m waiting on approval from higher-ups, which should come through any minute.” Gabby smiled serenely and tried to project calmness.
“This is not a comfortable position for me or Naomi. What are we supposed to do in the meantime?”
“Act normal.”
She let loose with a peal of laughter. “Normal, huh?” She gestured to Gabby’s princess dress. “This is a fake wedding, I assume?”
Gabby nodded.
“That’s good because there’s nothing worse than being in an unhappy marriage.”
Gabby’s heart went out to Jasmine. If your life was built on a partnership with a person who didn’t respect or love you, the rest of it was bound to crumble. “You’re going to feel so much better once we get you out from under Genesis’s thumb.”
Jasmine seemed to relax. “Thank you, Gia.”