One #2
Madeline managed to keep a stiff smile on her face despite her son’s tone. “We’ll talk about it later,” she said, refusing to meet his furious gaze.
“No, we’ll talk about it now.” Sully was dressed in black slacks, a white button-down, and a tie. It was not his preferred outfit. He was a jeans and T-shirt guy when he was off duty. Heck, sometimes when he was on duty, he wore the same outfit. The clothes weren’t helping his mood.
“I know that you promised Ofelia a bunch of different things for this party and didn’t come through on any of them,” he growled.
“Are you suggesting I lied to your fiancée?” Madeline had the gall to look offended. “How dare you?”
Sully had been in the game long enough to know his mother was playing him. “Don’t even,” he said, making a face. “I’m not falling for it.”
“You mean you’re taking Ofelia’s side over your own mother.” Madeline made a sniffing noise. “Really, Zacharias, how can you not love your own mother?”
Sully was officially at the end of his rope. “Where is her carving station? She spent all day telling me about how great it was going to be. She was really looking forward to it.”
For a moment, just a split-second really, something akin to guilt flashed over Madeline’s face. She shuttered it quickly. “The carving station wasn’t practical. Carved meat, however delicious, is messy.”
“So what?” Sully snapped. “You promised it to her. That’s how you sold her on this party in the first place.”
“If you ask me, she’s being ungrateful. Your father and I spent a fortune on this party.”
Sully didn’t care about the money. He’d never cared about the money.
“You promised her. She was so happy thinking she would have a party for the people she cares about most. A small, intimate party with a carving station and a DJ. Heck, you promised her cupcakes, and there’s some sort of weird glass thing being passed around.
It looks as if there’s whipped turds in it. ”
Madeline’s eyebrows practically flew off her forehead. “Lower your voice,” she warned.
Sully was familiar with his mother’s tone, but he’d long ago stopped caring.
Back when he was a teenager expected to take over the family business, he’d figured out that the only thing he knew for certain was that he didn’t want his parents’ lives.
He’d gone a different route. He’d eschewed the money and pomp and made his way to detective in the New Orleans Police Department completely on his own merits.
He wasn’t sorry. He’d met Ofelia thanks to his job. She was his whole life now. Sure, he still loved and appreciated the work he did with the police department. Ofelia was the one who made him happy, however.
He had never been this angry with his mother. Yes, it was just a party. She’d suckered Ofelia into believing that her future mother-in-law was on her side, however. Now, Ofelia felt betrayed.
“I’m really disappointed in you,” Sully said finally, his voice low. His shoulders slumped in defeat. “You promised her this wasn’t going to be a big thing and that you would listen to what she wanted. You lied to her face.”
Madeline made a protesting sound. “Marie said —”
“Don’t!” Sully whipped out a finger. He didn’t care who was looking but knew his mother would care.
He didn’t look out at the crowd of socialites he knew was watching him right now.
“I’m familiar with Marie’s work. I know she had something to do with this.
I’m not an idiot. You two did it together. ”
“It’s just a party, Zach,” Madeline whined. “Why are you so worked up?”
“Because Ofelia deserves whatever her heart desires.” That was the part that bothered him most. “She doesn’t ask for anything.
She was willing to forego a party because she didn’t want to be the center of attention.
Then you promised her the party of her dreams even though you had no intention of following through. ”
Madeline’s expression started to slip. “You’re being dramatic.”
“Whatever.” Sully took a step away from her.
He could have left it there; he knew he’d given his mother something to think about, and she would be treading lightly around him until the wedding.
He decided to be mean, though, just like his mother.
“Don’t think this won’t factor into how much time we let you spend with our children. ”
With that, he turned on his heel and stormed away, leaving his mother gaping in his wake. He didn’t have to search for Ofelia. He knew where she was. She’d been huddled in the same corner with Angelique since she arrived and realized nothing was how it was supposed to be.
“Hey, baby.” He tried to smile at his fiancée, but it fell flat. “So, I talked to my mother.”
Ofelia snorted. “Yes, I talked to my mother, too.”
“You need to start calling me Angelique Yomama,” the siren interjected quickly. “I’m not done gaslighting Marie, no matter what she thinks. Remember that, Angelique Yomama.”
Sully couldn’t be certain that Angelique wasn’t drunk, so he ignored her and focused on his fiancée. “We don’t have to stay here.”
Surprised registered on Ofelia’s face, then suspicion. “What do you mean? It’s our party.”
The bitterness lacing her words wasn’t lost on Sully. “No, this isn’t our party. It’s their party.”
“They’ll be mad.”
“I don’t care. Do you?”
Ofelia glanced around. The few friends — real friends — who had made the guest list had already snuck away when they realized what sort of party they’d been invited to. The only people left were friends of Madeline and Marie.
“Nope.” Ofelia was grim as she shook her head.
Across the way, she saw her brother Felix dancing with Amelia, Sully’s sister.
They were having a baby together and trying to figure out the whole dating thing, even though they were already bonded for life.
“Just let me tell Felix. They can leave if they don’t want to stay, too. ”
“Yes, that will really kill our mothers,” Sully agreed. “Let’s do it.”
Ofelia sent him an amused look. “You’re worked up.” It wasn’t a question.
“I dislike, very much, being gaslit in real time by my mother.”
“Yeah, I get that.” Ofelia sent a glare in Marie’s direction, but her mother was focused on her friends. “I totally get that.”
Sully followed her gaze. “I told my mother that the amount of time she’s allowed to spend with future grandchildren will be affected by this,” he supplied. “You should do the same to your mother.”
Ofelia pressed her lips together and raised her eyebrows as she searched his face for signs of truth. She found them. “Are you being serious?” she sputtered when she could no longer maintain her composure.
“Yup.” Sully had never been more serious in his life. “They need to learn their lessons. At the very least, they’ll be on their best behavior until the wedding.”
Now Ofelia was outright laughing. “I love how diabolical you are.” She threw her arms around him.
Sully held her tight, meeting Angelique’s approving stare over her shoulder. “I love you,” he replied, rubbing his hands up and down her back. “Now, let’s get out of here.”
“Where are we going to go?” Ofelia was honestly curious when she pulled back.
Sully shrugged. “Does it matter? We’ll pick a bar and get drunk with our people.”
That was all Ofelia needed to hear. “Should we tell them?”
“No. They’ll guilt us.” He fervently shook his head. “Let them figure it out themselves.”
Ofelia was game for that. She immediately slipped her hand into Sully’s and grinned. “Lead the way.”
Sully was relieved she was up for his plan — he really did want to make his mother pay — and he managed to make it two full steps before a scream ripped through the night air. It was not a normal scream.
Ofelia pulled up short and looked around, her eyes wide. “Banshees,” she said in a low voice.
Sully nodded. He’d recognized the scream, too. “I think they’re coming this way.”
Ofelia didn’t want to hear that, but she’d already come to the same conclusion. “Yeah. It’s going to be a bloodbath.”