by Sian Ceinwen
“Jerk.” Heather gave Ariana a playful shove, and they continued on to the section with maternity clothes.
Heather’s look of horror returned when she saw the selection. “You can’t be serious?!”
Lita wasn’t sure what was surprising to Heather. All of the clothes looked pretty much on par with the ones she’d bought back in Seattle. The selection was very similar: pants with a large, elasticated panel; big, stretchy dresses; and t-shirts that would fit over her bump.
“What?” Lita asked.
“These are all awful.” Heather shook her head.
“Yeah, you’re not a snob at all,” Ariana smirked at her.
“No, not that. Look over there.” Heather pointed at the mannequin she’d been looking at before. “That outfit is gorgeous. Stylish. Lovely. I like it a lot. These clothes”—Heather gestured to the maternity clothes—“are terrible. All drab colors, no shape.” She held up one of the dresses. “This thing is basically a tent. No one looks good in a fucking tent! Where are the clothes that will look good and make a woman feel good about the way she looks during her pregnancy?”
Heather stalked around the maternity section, all two racks of it.
“Is this it? This is your entire selection?” Heather’s voice was raised, and she was attracting the attention of other shoppers. “So, let me get this straight, at a time in your life when your body is changing rapidly, and you’re probably feeling a bit self-conscious about that, this is the best that Target has to offer? A fucking tent?”
Lita felt incredibly embarrassed as other customers started to come toward their group to listen to what Heather was saying.
Heather indicated once again toward the regular womenswear section and said, “Non-pregnant women, you can be stylish. You can feel good about the way you look in the clothes that you’re wearing. Oh, I’m sorry, you’re pregnant? Come here, let me get you a fucking tent to wear! This is unacceptable! Why should women not get to be stylish when they’re pregnant? It’s possible and, hell, we should be celebrating pregnant women. You look gorgeous, Lita. You deserve better than a fucking tent!”
Heather was breathing heavily as she ended her rant, and someone in the small crowd of other customers said, “Preach, sister. Maternity clothes are the fucking worst!”
“Um, thanks. Sorry, I got a bit carried away, but they really are,” Heather replied.
“I can’t take you anywhere, Heather Fletcher,” Ariana said, looking beet red as the other customers moved away. “You’re so embarrassing.”
“Blame Target,” Heather shrugged, “And their shitty maternity clothes selection.”
“I think I’d have been less embarrassed if I’d been here with Sebastian,” Lita told her.
“Sorry, guys, I didn’t mean to embarrass you. Clothes are just kind of my thing, you know. Okay, let’s pick some stuff for you to try on, I guess.”
Lita grabbed a few outfits to try on in her size, and they headed to the changing rooms with Heather grumbling about the clothes as they did. When Lita tried them on, she could see what Heather meant. The first outfit was a dress, and it was shapeless, and while it fit over her bump, it wasn’t very flattering at all. By the time that Lita had tried on all the clothes, none had met Heather’s approval, or even Ariana’s.
“This is why I usually just wear the pants and t-shirts,” Lita said.
“Those look okay, but the pants aren’t even cut well.” Heather frowned and chewed her bottom lip. “Lita, can I please buy you some maternity clothes from somewhere else? It’ll be my baby gift to you!”
Lita thought about it, she didn’t really care too much, and Heather obviously did. “Sure, if we can find somewhere else that sells maternity clothes and you’re happier with them, go ahead. Otherwise, I’ll come back here and get these.”
“Thank you!” Heather exclaimed. “Okay, let’s go.”
To Heather’s credit, she didn’t immediately head to some fancy boutique. She took her to Old Navy, where there was a much larger selection, but Heather still felt that the clothes were designed in a way that made Lita look unstylish.
By the time they’d visited what felt like every store that contained any kind of womenswear and had managed to find about four outfits that met Heather’s approval amidst the same variations of tents or drab clothing, Heather was in full steam with her rants.
“This is ridiculous! It’s insane that you look better in Sebastian’s t-shirt than you do in any of these clothes that have supposedly been designed for you to wear.”
They were standing in the maternity section of Macy’s, and Lita saw a nearby customer look up as Heather said Sebastian’s name, then take a photo of the three of them with their phone.
“Can you keep your voice down, Heather?” Ariana hissed at her, glancing meaningfully toward the people nearby. “Yelling Sebastian’s name isn’t exactly helping us to keep a low profile.”
Heather glanced over and cringed at the people openly staring at them. “Sorry, guys. I’m just so frustrated. I never thought that I would hate shopping for clothes this much.”
“It’s fine, Heather. I’m happy with what we’ve got. I might look online or something and see if I can find anything there.”
“You just looked so gorgeous and glowing at Ariana’s wedding. None of these clothes make you look as good as that.” Heather looked frustrated.
“Why don’t you just make Lita’s entire wardrobe for her?” Ariana said while laughing.
Heather’s expression cleared at once, and she gasped. “You’re a genius, Ariana.”
“I like to think so,” Ariana told her.
“Can I make clothes for you, Lita?” Heather asked.
“Um, sure, if you want to,” Lita shrugged.
Heather looked like all of her Christmases had come at once. “Okay, let’s get this top and then get to a fabric store.”
“Can we eat first?” Lita asked. “I’m starving.”
“Oh, of course.” Heather looked disappointed that she couldn’t start on her new project at once. “There are some really nice cafés here and basically none near the fabric store I want to go to.”
They purchased the red top that Heather had thought sat nicely over Lita’s bump, then made their way to a café where they had lunch. Lita was relieved to get to sit down; it had taken a lot out of her to visit as many stores as they had. As they were sitting and eating, several people passing by took pictures of them through the café’s window, and a small group of paparazzi had started to wait for them.
“I’m not even famous,” Lita moaned.
“I kind of am.” Heather wrinkled her nose.
“What I’m hearing is that I should pick my friends more wisely,” Lita said with a grin.
“Correct. Heather is never a wise choice for a friend; she’s nothing but trouble,” Ariana confirmed for her.
“I’m feeling so loved right now.” Heather rolled her eyes. “How about we blow this popsicle stand and get some fabrics?”
Lita finished off her orange juice. “Sure. We have to get through them sometime. Might as well go before there’s any more.”
Ben and Callum escorted them out of the café. As soon as they were outside, the reporters were calling out questions.
By the time the fourth question about Lita’s pregnancy had been asked, Heather turned and snapped at the reporter, “She’s not answering questions about it. Is it that hard to respect someone’s privacy?”
“You seem angry, Heather, is Harrison cheating on you again or something?”
Everyone went silent, even the other reporters, and the air was thick with tension. Heather didn’t reply; she just breathed heavily in and out while glaring at him.
Lita saw Ariana place a hand on Heather’s arm as the reporter asked his question again: “Is that it? Is Harrison cheating on you, Heather? Is that why you’re so angry today?”
“Fuck. You.” Heather spat at him.
It happened in an instant; before anyone could react
or stop her, Heather used the hand that Ariana wasn’t holding to slap the man across the face as hard as she seemed able. Cameras began flashing immediately, and Callum pulled Heather back, placing himself between her and the man she’d hit.
“Assault!” he yelled over Callum’s shoulder. “I’ll have you up on assault charges before midnight for that.”
There was a very obvious red mark on his cheek in the shape of Heather’s palm, and cameras were capturing their every move. Ben and Callum hurried them to the parking garage, taking the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator, with the reporters following them at least some of the way there, but Lita lost track of who was where as fear flooded through her body.
Once they were in the SUV, there was complete silence. Lita was sitting between Heather and Ariana this time. After a few moments, Heather started crying, and Lita didn’t know what to do.
“I’m sorry, Heather,” Ariana said quietly from next to her.
“I thought I was over it,” Heather said through her tears. “But the anniversary has only just passed. When he asked that, I was taken back to last year, and it hurt so much. Are you okay if we skip the fabric store, Lita? I just want to go home and see Harrison.”
“Of course.” Lita put her arm around Heather and gave her a hug.
It was less than two minutes later that their phones all started going off. Heather’s was first, with a call from Harrison.
“Hi, honey,” Heather answered. “Please tell me that you’re at home. I need to see you.”
Whatever Harrison’s reply was, Lita felt all of the tension leave Heather’s body when he said it.
“I’ll see you there. Yes, tell Cooper to come around.”
Lita’s phone buzzed with a text from Becky.
Heather slapped someone?!?!?
“Harrison’s at home, and Cooper is already on it,” Heather confirmed.
“I hope he’s as good at his job as everyone says he is.” Lita cringed.
She typed out a reply to Becky.
Yeah. A fucking reporter being a dick.
“He is that good. He’s already started spinning it, apparently. I fucked up badly, though.”
Ariana was on the phone to Gabriel, and Sebastian was ringing Lita.
“Are you okay, princess?” he asked as soon as their call was connected.
“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s Heather that you should be worried about.”
“Don’t worry about me, lover,” Heather called out. “I can handle myself.”
“Clearly, she can’t, but don’t tell her I said that. I can’t believe she assaulted someone,” Sebastian said.
“Do you know what he said?” Lita asked.
“Are you asking if I’ve seen the entire video of it that’s all over the internet already? Then, yes, I do.”
“There’s a video?” Lita gasped.
“Yes, that guy fucking deserved it, but Heather knows better. So, I’m worried about her even if she says not to be.”
“We’re going to their place; can you meet us there?” Lita asked.
“I’m already on my way. I’m just glad you’re all safe. I think Cooper will be able to get Heather out of an assault charge, but it’s not going to be pretty.”
“How not pretty?” Lita asked.
“Either lots of money, lots of apologizing, or both.”
Lita sighed. The reporter didn’t deserve either of those things, but Heather had assaulted him, so maybe he did.
“I’ll see you at their place,” Lita told him.
“See you, there, princess.”
He hung up, and Lita checked Becky’s reply to her text.
I saw the video. The dude deserved it, tell Heather I said she did good.
Lita shook her head; she was not passing that message on. Ariana’s call with Gabriel ended, and she told them that he was on his way there as well; then they all sat in silence as they drove toward Harrison and Heather’s apartment. Lita realized that this would be her first time visiting their place and darkly thought that if she could somehow see Hayden’s apartment today, she would hit Cruise Control apartment bingo.
They pulled past a group of reporters and into the parking garage. Lita noticed that Sebastian’s Ferrari was parked next to Harrison’s Tesla and Hayden’s Lamborghini. She wondered if Gabriel had been driven here by his bodyguard, was driving himself, or came with one of the other two, because she couldn’t see his Aston Martin.
Their group got out of the car and made their way up to Harrison and Heather’s floor. Heather opened the door to the apartment, looked around for a minute to take in the scene, then rushed over to Harrison. The men were sitting at the dining table, along with Cooper, and Harrison stood to hug Heather, and hold her tightly to him.
“Oh, angel, it’s okay,” he told her when Heather started crying again. Harrison looked up at the group and said, “We’re just going to take a few minutes to talk in private.”
“No, Harrison,” Cooper said sternly. “I need to talk to her.”
Sebastian glared at him. “Fuck off, Cooper. She clearly needs to talk to her husband in private. Since that’s not you, you can wait five goddamn minutes to talk to her. If you can’t, there’ll be another fucking assault charge for you to worry about.”
Harrison steered Heather away and toward another area of the apartment as Sebastian was talking.
“It wouldn’t be the first time you’ve threatened violence over Heather, Sebastian, but is there something you’d like to get off your chest?”
“You know what my problem is, Cooper. We don’t need to discuss it again,” Sebastian growled.
Ariana, Gabriel, and Hayden all looked confused, but Lita was pretty certain that she knew what they were referring to. Sebastian hadn’t given her any details about the conversation he’d had with Cooper after he’d offered to pay her off to end their pregnancy, but it had apparently been pretty nasty.
“Surely you understand that I was looking after your best interests, the same as I am looking after Heather’s when I say that I need to talk to her sooner rather than later.”
“If that’s how you look after our interests, don’t expect to be looking after mine as soon as our fucking contract is up, Cooper Powell.”
The look that Sebastian was giving him would make any grown man cower, and surprisingly, Cooper looked mildly concerned. Lita was worried that Sebastian would make good on his threat of assaulting him any minute now but had no idea how to defuse the conversation.
“Are you two going to enlighten the rest of us as to what Sebastian’s pissed about?” Gabriel asked.
“It’s between Sebastian and me,” Cooper told him.
Lita cringed and dared to look over at the other three people in the room. Ariana and Gabriel were still looking confused, but Hayden was now looking at Lita in a way that made her think he had some idea of what had happened. She remembered that he was there at the wedding when she’d mentioned not wanting to talk to Cooper.
“No, they should know,” Sebastian declared. “Cooper offered Lita fifty thousand dollars to abort the baby the first time he met her.”
All three of the others gasped in unison when Sebastian said this.
“Are you fucking shitting me?” Gabriel sounded horrified, and he whipped his head around to face Cooper. “Why the fuck would you think that was okay?”
“It’s what I do,” Cooper said calmly. “None of you mind when I clean up any and all of your messes, but now you want to have a problem with the way I do it. It would’ve been the simplest solution, and look how it’s turned out.”
The silence that fell was eerie, and Lita wanted out of there immediately. She didn’t want to play any part in this conversation or this day. It had all turned to complete shit, and she was worried about what the stress could be doing to Mirabella. She felt sick at Cooper’s suggestion that it would’ve been better to end the pregnancy than to go through what they were going through with it. Sebastian tensed next to her. Then his chair clattered
to the floor as he stood up too quickly.
“Stop, Sebastian.” Heather’s voice was cold from the hallway where she and Harrison stood, and she gave a hollow laugh. “Who will get you off an assault charge if you hit him? He sure as fucking shit deserves it because that’s the most disgusting thing I’ve ever heard come out of his mouth, but don’t do it.”
“You should listen to Heather, Sebastian,” Cooper said in an unkind tone.
Lita frowned and thought about what he’d said before about Sebastian threatening violence over her. She realized that Cooper knew, or at the very least had some inkling, about what Sebastian’s feelings had been toward her in the past. Lita had no idea why he was trying to antagonize Sebastian right now, though.
“Suggest that my baby would be better off dead again, and I’ll make it my life’s mission to ruin you.”
“Big words, Sebastian. Why don’t you go write a song about it? Meanwhile, I should probably talk to Heather about how I’m going to keep her ass out of jail. So, unless you want her to spend tonight in lock-up, chill the fuck out. Do you want Heather in jail, Sebastian?”
“Cooper, that is enough.” Hayden’s tone was surprisingly sharp, and everyone turned to look at him. “You work for us, not the other way around. Stop provoking Sebastian and do what you’ve been hired to do.”
Lita had never heard Hayden sound anything less than perfectly chill and pleasant. From the looks on everyone else’s faces in the room, she assumed this must be a rare occurrence for them to witness too.
“We’ve all been through enough today. We don’t need you making shit worse. Get Heather’s charge dropped, and for fuck’s sake, stay the hell out of Lita’s pregnancy. We might be your business, but she is not. If you think you have a right to an opinion about her pregnancy, you’re sorely mistaken. Clearly, you’ve overstepped that boundary twice now. Do it a third time, and we will terminate our contract with you, early penalties be damned.”
Cooper was looking at Hayden with a frown on his face, but all he said was, “Noted. Back to the issue at hand, I guess.”
He laid out several plans he had to try and avert Heather from getting charged with assault for slapping the reporter. Lita was surprised, but he really did seem good at his job. He had already contacted the reporter’s network to get into negotiations and had a lawyer on standby. He seemed confident about the fact that Heather ultimately wouldn’t be charged but didn’t yet know exactly what the price would be for that. Once he’d left, the mood in the group was somber.
