The Cruel and Beautiful Series Boxset

by A. M. Hargrove

  Normally, I would be amused at his Star Wars’ references, but I’m not in the mood today.

  “Use the force, Brandon.”

  “Are you trying to piss me off?”

  “Do. Or do not. There is no try.”

  “You’re Yoda now?” I ask.

  He holds up his hand. “Look, I know I’m the little brother, but a bit of advice.”

  “What’s that?” I say, resigned that he’s going to tell me to get laid again as if that’s the cure-all for everything.

  “Go get your girl.” My head jerks up, and I glare at him. “Don’t give me shit. I saw how she looked at you. It reminds me of how Kym looks at me. And damn, that better mean she loves you, otherwise Kym’s been lying to me.”

  My mind goes back to that night. I’ve tried not to hope that she still has strong feelings for me as I do her.

  “I thought you were against her.”

  “No. I thought she was playing you, but she looked as miserable as you do.”

  “Her wedding is today,” I mutter.

  I’ve tried to avoid reports of her impending wedding in the local newspaper that’s delivered to the shop for the customers to read. But a few times, I couldn’t help notice she made the headlines.

  “She’s probably getting married at Kenneth’s family’s estate. No way I’ll get past security. Besides, who will stay with Kym while you go for another run?”

  “Mom’s coming.”

  It’s my turn again to be shocked. “What?”

  “Yeah.”

  Mom’s tried her best to be friendly to Kym, and she’s come a long way. I guess being warned by Braedon she won’t see her grandchild caused her to change her mind about the harlot, her words, who tried to steal her baby boy.

  “You’re in luck. The wedding’s at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church. You know, the one on Church Street. It’s all Kym’s talked about this week. She’s been crying that we’re having a shotgun wedding and not her dream one.”

  “Is that why you guys haven’t tied the knot yet?”

  He shakes his head. “No, it’s really morning sickness that’s been hell on her, all day, every day.” He sighs. “She doesn’t even want me in the bathroom with her anymore. So go. There’s nothing you can do here.”

  “I have to go to the shop first,” I say.

  “No problem. You have a few hours yet until it starts. Just get there before it’s too late.”

  “Maybe I should call her?”

  He shakes his head. “Face-to-face, man. She needs to see how much you mean it. And you need to see her.”

  I exhale a breath. “I don’t know. Too much time has passed.”

  “Either way, do you think she should marry him?”

  Chewing on his words, I work on a car I have to finish by noon. It’s not my place to interfere, I tell myself. But sometime after lunch, I realize I have to try. She deserves to be with a man who loves her and her alone, even if it’s not me.

  Checking the time, I have to bike over to avoid potential traffic if I want to make it. When I find a spot on a side street close to the church, I don’t have much time. My jeans and button-down shirt aren’t exactly wedding clothes, but it’s now or never.

  I climb the steps two at a time and open the grand door. What I see stops my breath. She’s there, pacing the vestibule. Her pretty face carries a frown, and I know I’m right. She doesn’t want to do this.

  “Jenna, you can’t possibly go through with this,” I say, walking toward her.

  Everyone turns in my direction, and I mutter something about her hair because she looks…

  “Brandon, I—I”

  “Jenna, we have to go,” her dad says, taking ahold of her as she pivots in my direction.

  She’s so close I can almost touch her if I reach out. “Jenna, you don’t love him. You know you don’t, unless you were lying to me when you told me I held your heart. You can never be happy being married to him, and you know I speak the truth.”

  “Jenna?” Her dad’s tone begs for a response—from her.

  “Brandon, there’s more to it than that.” A sigh of frustration escapes from her.

  And that’s what’s bugged me the entire time we’ve been apart. She’d wanted to tell me something, but I’d shut her down. Still, I know she isn’t marrying Kenneth for the right reasons.

  “Then explain it to me,” I plead. “Even if I’m not the one for you, he isn’t. You know I’m right.”

  Her father’s confusion is clear. “What do you mean? Explain yourself.”

  “What I mean is, your daughter is marrying the wrong man.” Before I answer, my phone chimes. With Kym sick and my business in the hands of my employees, I have no choice to answer in case someone needs me. I dig it out of my pocket and check the screen. When I see who’s calling, I say, “What?”

  The next words change everything. For the second time in my life, I feel the sting of a gut punch when no one has hit me.

  “Brandon? What is it?” Jenna asks.

  I can’t think beyond what I must do. I back away, trying to form words, but can’t.

  “Brandon,” Jenna calls out again.

  “I… I gotta… I gotta go,” is all I can manage to choke out.

  Twenty-Five

  JENNA

  Brandon disappears through the doors he appeared through moments before. His footsteps so fast, I thought he might trip trying to get away from me. Desperately, I want to go to him and make sure he’s okay. However, Dad stops me with a hand on my arm. I turn to face him.

  “Jenna, it’s time,” Dad says.

  In his eyes, I see the fate that I’d been dealt. I’d made this decision not lightly. Kenneth is a good man. But Brandon is right. I’m not in love with him.

  “Oh, Dad. I wish it were that simple.”

  Dad puts his hands on my shoulders and spins me around so he can see me. “What’s this all about? What did that boy mean about me asking too much of you?”

  I don’t want Ms. Busybody Wedding Director to hear, so I drag Dad into one of the bathrooms and shut the door. She says to us as we’re walking away, “The people are waiting for you. You have to walk down the aisle now.”

  “Give us a minute.”

  When we’re inside the bathroom, I say to Dad, “He was talking about me marrying Kenneth to raise our status in society, but that’s not the real reason I’m doing it.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Sighing, I say, “You don’t have to cover it up. Mom told me all about it.”

  “Jenna, I’m not covering up a thing. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Then I’ll spell it out for you. Mom said if I didn’t marry Kenneth, the Balfours would pull their account, and the family would lose everything.”

  Dad takes two steps backward until he hits the wall. “Your mother told you that?” Shock can’t be hidden from his tone.

  “Well, yeah. I broke it off with Kenneth, and she tried to finagle a way to get us back together. When she told me that, I knew I didn’t have a choice.”

  “Jesus. Jenna, the Balfours could pull all their money out of Rhoades Investments, and we’d be fine. In fact, it wouldn’t affect our personal accounts one bit. Your mother told you one giant fib.”

  “Oh, my God. Why would she do that?” My knees buckle over this revelation, and I can’t stop my lower lip from trembling.

  Dad silently shakes his head. “Answer me something. Do you love Kenneth?”

  “Maybe as a friend.”

  “Do you love that boy that was here?”

  Now’s the time for honesty. “Yes. Yes, I do.”

  “Go after him. If that’s where your heart is, then you should be with him.”

  For a second, I’m stunned. If I’m honest, I thought Dad would take a little more convincing than this.

  “What about Mom and the Balfours? And Kenneth?”

  His hand cups my cheek as his eyes soften toward me.

  “I can’t speak for th
e Balfours and Kenneth, but I will handle your mother. Boy, will I handle her. What she did to you wasn’t right.”

  I throw myself at my father, hugging him to pieces, as much as this monstrosity of a dress will allow. “Thanks, Dad.”

  “Oh, and Jenna?”

  “Yeah, Dad?”

  “Don’t ever wear your hair like that again. It looks like Medusa.” He winks at me.

  “Help me get these pins out, will you?” We both start digging all the bobby pins out when halfway through, I say, “Never mind. This might take all day.” Then I ask my dad for his car keys.

  “Forget my car. There’s a limo right outside, and it’s yours for the day. Have the driver take you wherever you want.”

  “Really?”

  “Absolutely. It’s already been paid for. Why not?”

  “Oh, Dad. Thank you.”

  “One other thing. You might want to stop by your place and pick up some clothes. Did you pick out that dress?”

  “Hell no.” And suddenly, I laugh.

  “Thank God. I got a little worried when I saw you in it.”

  “I love you, Dad.”

  “I love you, too, my Jenna love. Now, go get ’em, tiger.”

  I grab his arm so I can take off my hideous shoes and then run out of the church to the horrified expression of Ms. Wedding Director.

  “Don’t worry. I’ve got this, baby girl,” Dad says and turns to speak to the wedding coordinator.

  The limo driver, who is standing next to the vehicle, sees me running down the steps. His perplexed look throws me into a fit of giggles. I eke out the directions where we need to go, but it’s not my home. It’s Brandon’s. I’m nearly giddy by the time we arrive. No one’s there, so I have him take me to the shop. When I enter in my dress, Dana is behind the counter.

  “Where’s Brandon?” My no-nonsense approach throws her for a second. Then her mask slips back into place, and she acts like it’s an everyday occurrence that someone rushes in the door wearing a hideous wedding gown. “He’s not here,” she says coolly.

  “I need to know. Where is he?”

  “Seriously, I don’t know.”

  “Look, I know we’ve had our differences, but he came to the church to stop the wedding … or at least to make me realize what a huge mistake I was making. Anyway, he took off like something happened. I need to know where he could be.”

  Dana stares, assessing me. I dig a few more bobby pins out of my hair and pull my awful tiara with the attached veil off as she does. And suddenly, she laughs. This is a girl, who in my estimation, never so much as even smiles, and here she is laughing.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “You look like a Disney cartoon.”

  “Yeah, thanks. So, will you help me?”

  “I’m not touching that hairpiece on your head.”

  “It’s not a hairpiece. It’s my own hair.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me. You let someone do that to you?”

  “Shut up, okay? It wasn’t pleasant, and there are probably five hundred bobby pins gouging my scalp right now. I would imagine you’re gaining a lot of pleasure from this.” I know, it’s a bobby pin exaggeration, but I needed to make a point.

  Dana is still laughing. “Yeah, I am. We should put you in the garage and get some grease on that dress.”

  “If I weren’t so worried about Brandon, I’d take you up on that. This stuff itches to high heaven.” I scratch between my boobs because they feel like a dozen ants got loose in there.

  Sighing, she says, “Braeden had a practice run today. He entered in a race that’s happening tomorrow. Some yacht thing.”

  “You mean the regatta that the yacht club is hosting?” I ask.

  She snaps her fingers and says, “Yeah, that’s it. He wanted to do it for the prize money or something.”

  “So?” I prod her.

  “I would try Brandon’s mom’s house.”

  “Oh, right. Do you know where that is?”

  “Not off the top of my head, but I can get her address. Hang on.” She gets on the computer and writes it down, then hands me the piece of paper. “I hope he’s there. And not to help you out. But so he can see how you look now.”

  “Oh, he’s already seen me.”

  “Yeah, but I’m sure your hair looked a little different.”

  My hands move to my locks, and half of it is hanging down and the other half is still pinned up. No doubt I could scare children looking like this. Holding up the paper, I say, “Thanks for this,” and stagger-run back out to the limo.

  This is my last hope as I hand the sticky note to the driver. “This is our next stop.”

  He opens the door for me, and I wedge through the opening, smushing down my dress in order to fit in. If I ever decide to marry again, I swear I’ll be wearing a little black dress. And I’m not kidding either.

  It takes about thirty minutes to get to Brandon’s mother’s house. She lives on James Island, but the traffic is horrible. I guess everyone is out today, either coming or going to the beach. When we finally arrive, I see his bike out front, along with several other cars. I’m unsure of what to do, now that I’m here. But I know one thing—I must see him.

  The driver opens my door, and I lurch up to the front porch and ring the doorbell. A couple of minutes later, the door opens and a small woman stands there, her eyes red from crying. They double in size when they take in my appearance.

  “Can I help you?” She sniffs.

  “I hope so. Is Brandon here?”

  “Yes, he is. Would you like to come in?” Then she calls out, “Brandon, someone is here to see you.” I turn to signal the driver that he can leave. No use in having him hang around here.

  She holds the door wide open, but I have to squish up my dress just to make it through. “I’m really sorry to be such a pain in the butt.”

  “No, it’s fine.”

  “Jenna. What are you doing here?” Brandon stands there, confused.

  Not caring the slightest who’s standing here, I say, “You’re right. I can’t marry Kenneth, especially when I’m in love with someone else. You. There’s so much I have to tell you. But why did you leave like that?”

  He steps up to me, well, as close as he can get because of the gown. His eyes—oh, those eyes—seem to pour everything out of his heart. “I left because Cole called.”

  “Cole?”

  “My father. There’s been an accident. Braeden is missing. His sailboat—He was preparing for the regatta tomorrow, and they’re still trying to piece it all together.” His voice cracks on the last word.

  I try to hug him, but can’t get close enough because of all the stupid tulle that’s acting like a damn barrier. I smash the front of my dress down and throw myself at him. “Oh, Brandon. I’m so sorry. What can I do? I have friends in the yacht club, you know because of my job. Do you need me to make some calls?”

  “No. The police are all over it. I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before he’s found.” Then he stares at me before finally saying, “Did you pick out this thing you’re wearing?”

  “God, no. It’s …”

  He shakes his head. “When I walked in the church, I didn’t quite know what to say. You look like you’re stuck in a snowdrift.”

  “I feel like I am. Try walking in this damn thing. Look.” I lift up my skirt to reveal the layers and layers and layers of tulle.

  “Christ, why would anyone create such a thing?”

  “So my mother and my almost mother-in-law could make a spectacle of me. It’s ghastly, isn’t it?”

  He glances down and asks, “Where the hell are your shoes?”

  “I left them at the church. I couldn’t walk in them. They were five inches high.”

  Suddenly, he laughs. A deep belly laugh. And so do I.

  “Don’t I look like a candle poking out of a cupcake covered in piles of whipped cream?”

  He stops, stares, and says, “Why yes, I think you do.” Then he starts chuckling.
It’s contagious, and soon we are both laughing. It’s inappropriate with his brother missing, but maybe the day is getting to both of us and laughing is the only thing we can do outside of crying. “And that hair. What the hell happened to it?”

  “Dad and I started taking it down, but we stopped because there must be a thousand bobby pins in here.”

  “Jesus Christ. Promise me you will never do this to yourself.”

  “Oh, I will never wear anything that closely resembles a wedding gown again.” But when I see his face fall, I add, “I mean, a tasteless wedding gown. And I’ll be wearing my hair down, thank you, with no tiara.”

  “Hey, Mom, can you help Jenna get all these bobby pin things out?”

  Brandon’s mom comes over and says, “Hi, I suppose we should be properly introduced.”

  “Oh, shit. Mom, this is Jenna. Jenna, this is Sherry, my mom. And that’s Kym, Braedon’s fiancée.”

  Kym can barely stand, much less speak. We shake hands, and Sherry says, “I have to say, I’m very happy to hear you didn’t pick this dress out. When I saw you on the front porch, I got really worried about your taste in clothing.”

  “I bet.” We both chuckle, and a man walks in the room who Brandon introduces as Brock, his mom’s boyfriend. She and I go to work on the bobby pin extraction while the men mumble between themselves. “Oh, you have no idea how great this feels.”

  “Why on Earth did you even allow them to do this?” she asks.

  “You don’t want to know. It’s a long and awful story. But it’s over now, and I’m glad to say it is.”

  Once my hair is free, I ask Brandon if he wouldn’t by any chance have some clothes I could borrow.

  “Let’s see if there’s anything in Braeden’s old room. Mom? Do you think there might be?”

  “I’m sure there is.”

  We head down the hall, and Brandon digs through a drawer until he comes up with a T-shirt and a pair of shorts that have a drawstring.

  “You’re going to have to undo the back of this gown.” I waddle-spin so he can see.

  “How many fucking buttons can they put on a dress? And haven’t they heard of zippers?”

  He starts on them, and the little satin loop buttons are tricky as can be. It took forever to get them buttoned.