Was Prescott going to ask Georgie for help? If that was Prescott’s plan, he was going to crash and burn, which gave Jack far more satisfaction than it should. Georgie may have sought his approval in the past, but Addy had told him their sister had grown since coming to Asheville.
About twenty minutes into the party, Jack was talking to Finn and Addy and a couple who worked at Big Catch (and had apparently forgiven Finn) when Maisie and her friend Blue walked into the events room.
Maisie stopped in the entrance and scanned the space, her gaze locking on Jack.
His mouth went dry, and his vision tunneled as he took her in. She looked sexy as hell in a slinky green dress that clung to every delicious curve. Her hair was loose, the curls brushing her shoulders and making him think of how he’d kissed that exact spot the night before. Then his gaze dipped to her legs, and he smiled a little when he saw she was wearing clogs. Maisie O’Shea was the only woman he knew who could wear them and still look so hot.
His gaze lifted to her expressionless face, and he took a step toward her. But River beat him to it and engulfed her in a hug. “There you are! I thought you were going to ditch me again.”
It stung to see River touch her, hold her, even though he released her and immediately wrapped an arm around Georgie’s waist. Did it still hurt Maisie to see them together? To witness their happiness from the outside? He couldn’t tell from her expression. Then again, even though she was talking to them, her gaze was on him.
“You’re the one she wants,” Addy whispered next to him, and he realized he’d been flat out staring. When he glanced down at her, she added, “Finn told me about your fight.” She shrugged with an apologetic grin. “He held out for a few hours, which has to be some kind of record for him, but he’s an incurable blabbermouth.”
“That’s okay. I’ve never been a fan of secrets.” Which was why he felt so uneasy about the ones he’d shared with his brother. “Have you talked to Lee today?”
She frowned. “No, and I’m actually starting to get a little worried.”
Jack was too. “He and I discussed something important this morning, and I’d hoped he’d talk to you and Georgie about it before the party. But obviously it would have been impossible for him to get a hold of you.”
She cast a glance at Victoria and frowned. “Ol’ Vicky was losing her mind this morning. I can’t decide if she was actually worried, or just pissed she wasn’t controlling Lee’s every move.”
“Probably a combination of both,” Jack said dryly, watching Maisie and Blue as they left River and Georgie and joined the line at the bar. “Only not how you think.”
“What’s that mean?”
He pushed out a sigh. “I’ll tell you and Georgie everything, but not until later. I don’t want to ruin her night.”
“You mean Georgie and River’s night.”
He made a face.
“She wants you, Jack. I’ve seen it for months.” She paused, then lowered her voice. “I think she loves you.”
He loved her too, but he still felt unsettled, as if he’d been given the gift of his dreams on Christmas morning, only to find someone else’s name crossed out on the tag. But he knew that was his own insecurities talking. He would get over them, but he wouldn’t get over losing her. He couldn’t let that happen.
Adalia put a hand on his arm. “You should talk to her.”
“But the party—”
“We’ll hold down the fort,” she said. “Trust me, Georgie would rather see you happy than have the perfect party.” She smiled up at him, and for a second he flashed back to the will reading. To the way Adalia had spoken about him and not to him. They’d come such a long way, and he couldn’t believe how he’d lucked out in the sister department.
“Okay.” He squared his shoulders and started toward Maisie, still unsure of what to say. He only knew he didn’t want to be at odds with her a second longer.
But as he started across the room, Lee walked in wearing the same clothes he’d worn the night before. His hair looked like he’d repeatedly run his hands through it.
Oh shit. This did not bode well.
Prescott’s back stiffened when he saw him, and he shot a dark, accusatory glare at Jack.
The asshole could go stuff himself. Jack was more concerned about Georgie.
Lee headed over to Georgie and grabbed her shoulders. “I love you, Georgie. You marry the man you love, you hear me?”
Her eyes narrowed in confusion. “Thank you…?”
Then she waved her hand in front of her face.
Lee turned to face River. “But I still want you to sign those damn papers, because it’s not just about Georgie here. It’s about protecting Addy and Jack too.”
River turned serious. “I would never hurt Addy or Jack. I have no problem signing.”
Jack was stunned, both because River had been so quick to accept the request, and because Lee had expressed concern for him for the first time.
“Have you been drinking?” Georgie asked, then threw a panicked look toward her sister. “Why don’t you go sit down with Addy and we’ll talk later, okay?”
As much as Jack wanted to talk to Maisie, he needed to deal with this situation first. He hurried over and grabbed Lee’s right arm, nearly keeling over from the alcohol stench, and tried to steer him toward a high top table in the back of the room.
A server walked by, and Jack snagged her as she passed. “Chelsea, bring us a cup of coffee as soon as you can get to it.” He shot a glance at the wobbling Lee. “Actually, make it a carafe.”
Chelsea took one look at Lee, then rushed out of the room.
“Oh, my God,” Addy said, taking Lee’s arm on the other side. “Are you drunk? I’ve never seen you like this.”
“You’re just the person I need to talk to,” Lee said, craning his neck to face her and nearly falling from the abrupt motion. “Georgie too, but she’s busy.”
“Now isn’t a good time,” Jack said, tightening his grip. “Let’s wait until later.”
“But you said I needed to be the one to tell them,” Lee said, slurring his words. “The FBI agent thought so too.”
Addy gasped. “Lee, are you in trouble?”
“He’s going to be in trouble if he ruins Georgie and River’s party,” Maisie said, sweeping in. She gently pushed Addy out of the way and took Lee’s arm in a tight grip. “I’m having a severe case of déjà vu. Jack, what do you say we take your brother outside to get some fresh air before he wrecks another pair of innocent shoes?”
His heart rate had picked up, and even though his focus should have been on Lee and the unfolding chaos, he couldn’t help but be excited that Maisie had come over to help.
“Addy,” Maisie said, “can you get your brother a cup of black coffee?”
“Already on it,” Jack said.
Maisie gave him a dark grin, then turned to Adalia. “Jack and I have Lee covered. You make sure your dad and Vic-tor-ia don’t ruin the party over this.” When Adalia hesitated, Maisie said, “We know what’s going on. He’s okay. Trust us?”
“Okay,” Adalia said reluctantly.
The fear in her eyes ripped a hole in Jack’s heart. He wanted to reassure her, but he couldn’t. The situation was as bad as she was imagining. For now, the less he said, the better.
Jack and Maisie escorted Lee out the back door and into the alley.
“It stinks out here,” Lee said, his nose wrinkling.
“Yeah,” Maisie said. “Kind of like you. I take it from the fact you’re wearing the clothes you had on last night that you haven’t had a shower today?”
“No time,” he mumbled, then pulled away from them, pacing in anxious circles near the dumpster.
“You’re going to fall, Lee,” Jack said. “Why don’t you sit down for a minute or just lean up against the wall?”
Lee shook his head. “No. I have to talk to Georgie and Addy. I have to warn them about the FBI.”
“You talked to the FBI?” Maisie asked,
her eyes wide.
“I called them.” Lee held up his hand, using his thumb and index finger to mimic a phone. “They were super eager to talk to me. Flew right down even.”
Jack’s stomach dropped. “Oh shit.”
This must be really bad.
“I made a deal,” Lee said with a laugh. “If you’d told me yesterday whether I’d be making a deal with the FBI to turn on my father, I would have called you a lying asshole.”
“You actually did call me an asshole,” Jack said dryly.
Lee stopped and gave him a blank look. “Oh, yeah. Huh.”
“We need to get him home,” Maisie said under her breath. She was shivering from the cold. “Or at least to the Buchanan house.”
“Good idea,” Jack said. “You’re freezing, so you go inside and I’ll take him.”
“They need you inside,” she said. “You’re the man who planned all of this.” She waved back at the brewery. “I’m expendable.”
“You’re not expendable, Maisie,” he said, his voice breaking. There was so much he wanted to tell her, but he didn’t want to get into it with Drunk Lee about to barf again. “I’ll deal with this mess.”
“Alone?” she asked in an accusatory tone.
“You look way too gorgeous in that sexier-than-hell dress to be dealing with a drunk, but I do want to talk about what happened. Look, Maisie, I’ve been—”
He was about to say miserable, but Chelsea opened the back door carrying a tray with a carafe and several coffee cups.
“Adalia told me you were back here. I have your coffee,” she said as she glanced around as though trying to decide what the hell was happening and if she should set it on the ground or on the dumpster.
But Lee took advantage of the open door and rushed through the opening faster than Jack would have expected from the intoxicated man.
Jack and Maisie raced after him, but by the time they reached him, he was already in the event room, confronting his father and Victoria.
“Lee,” Victoria whisper-shouted, even though everyone could hear her. “You’re drunk. You need to go back to the hotel and wait for me. You can apologize for everything later.”
“And sit on the bed where you screwed my father?” he bellowed. “No, thanks.”
There were several audible gasps, including from Georgie, who stood near the appetizer table.
Victoria’s face paled. “What in God’s name are you talking about?”
Lee reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a folded wad of photographs. He tossed them onto the table in front of his father. “This should explain it.”
Victoria shot Prescott a panicked look that suggested Prescott had kept quiet about his dinner with Dottie. She clearly didn’t know news of their affair had gotten out. Her eyes flew wide as she opened one of the photos.
“That proves nothing,” Prescott said in a bored tone. “I have a sex life. I’m allowed to sleep with women.”
“You can sleep with other women, yes, but it’s generally frowned upon to sleep with your son’s girlfriend,” Lee said.
“That’s not me,” Victoria said, taking a step backward as though the photos would bite her.
“I recognized that little mole, Victoria,” Lee slurred. “The one on your back with the hair that grows out of it.”
“My mole does not have a hair in it!” she shouted.
Lee released a harsh laugh. “Of course you’d deny the hair before denying you slept with my father. I knew you were screwing someone, but I figured you’d keep it out of my family.”
Her eyes were wide, and Jack could practically see her flipping through her mental Rolodex of options.
“It was only one time,” she said, tears pooling in her eyes. “It was a mistake, Lee-lee. I’ve regretted it ever since.”
“That’s bullshit and we both know it.” Lee pointed at the photos. “Take a look. They’re from different days.”
“Okay, twice.”
“Try again.”
She winced. “Three times, but I was drunk and he took advantage of me the last time.”
“You were more than willing every time,” Prescott said.
“You thought you were just screwing him,” Lee said, laughing, then shook his head. “But the truth is you’re both screwed.”
Prescott’s face turned a dark red. “What have you done, Junior?”
“You were going to let me take the fall, but I turned it all around on you,” Lee said. “Right now, the FBI is going through our offices.”
“They can’t do that,” Prescott said, but uncertainty filled his eyes.
“They can if you give them permission, which I did only a few hours ago.”
Prescott’s face paled, and Victoria looked like she was about to pass out. But then Prescott’s anger returned with a vengeance.
“What the hell have you done?”
“For once in my life, I made my own decision. Have a nice life in prison. Both of you.” Then he turned around and headed for the exit, plowing into Blue.
She nearly fell over, but he grabbed her arms and kept her upright.
“Hey,” he said, his eyes lighting up. “I know you.”
A wry look twisted her mouth. “Don’t throw up on me this time.”
He made a face. “Then maybe I should leave.”
Before anyone could stop him, he ran for the door.
Chapter Thirty-Five
So much for saving Jack’s party. Then again, maybe it had been beyond saving the moment Prescott and Victoria had RSVP’d yes. Everyone stood in the room in shocked silence, and Maisie fought the crazy urge to laugh or ask about the canapés. Blue was looking out the door after Lee, like maybe she was worried about him. Leave it to Blue to worry about a man who’d been falling down drunk both times she’d met him.
“Is it true?” Addy asked her father, her voice hard.
“This is ridiculous,” Prescott said. “This is neither the time nor the place for this discussion. You’re ruining Georgie’s party.”
“Answer her question,” Georgie said, raising her voice with each word.
Prescott started to say something, then stopped and started again. “Your brother is exaggerating. I might be in a small bit of trouble, but I have it under control.”
Dottie laughed. “A small bit?”
Prescott became enraged. “You. You did this.”
He lunged for her, but River and Jack quickly bodychecked him, holding him back. Not that Jack needed the help. He could have held Prescott back with one arm. Still, she liked that they’d acted together, that they weren’t awkward with each other.
“That woman is a conniving witch!” Prescott shouted.
Victoria, who’d turned the photos over as if to hide her indiscretion—or maybe the questionable mole—looked up with flashing eyes. “She is. She can read teacups.”
That earned her a disgusted look from Prescott, who shook off River and Jack. They stood by, ready to grab him if he tried to go for Dottie again.
“I refuse to take any more disrespect from my ungrateful children. I’m leaving.” He grabbed Victoria by the arm and headed for the front door, walking at a pace that indicated he would be driving straight to the airport in an attempt to waylay whatever was happening at his office. If the Feds hadn’t been combing through his papers, catching every single altered figure, he surely would’ve stayed until the bitter end to make every last person miserable.
“Prescott, my shoes,” Victoria squawked as she shuffled along in her three-inch heels.
“Good luck!” Addy called out after them. “I know for a fact there isn’t another flight to New York until morning. Plenty of time for the Feds to find everything. Being arrested isn’t a big deal, Dad! Happens to the best of us.”
Maisie finally let herself laugh then, because Adalia would know. Of course, she’d been arrested for destroying her own art, which had been stolen from her. Not for stealing someone else’s money.
Her father didn’t turn back
to look at her, but his scowl deepened.
Before he could leave in a huff, the door to the street swung open so hard it would have broken his nose if he’d been any closer. Too bad.
Lurch and Stella stood in the opening, Lurch’s face still drawn up like a goat, along with a tall, silver-haired man with a chicken’s face superimposed on his features with paint. Lurch had gotten the short end of that stick—at least the other guy’s face could be washed. They had Lee with them, and the silver-haired fireman was holding him up.
Addy and Georgie hustled up to the front of the room, Finn and River with them. Maisie looked for Jack, assuming he’d head up there to deal with the situation, only to feel a sudden warmth at her side. When she glanced up, he was there beside her, his eyes on hers, a question in his gaze. He reached for her hand, and she gave it to him, his touch sending a rush of relief through her so great she nearly crumpled from it.
Blue grinned at her and stepped off to stand next to Iris. With her updo and dress, Iris looked like the adult she was becoming, but the wave she gave Maisie was all teenager.
“The party has arrived!” Stella said grandly. “I’ll be painting faces for half an hour for my new project, but only if you’re willing to pose nude.” Glancing at Lee, she announced, “I’ve already found my first volunteer.”
Lee pulled away from the fireman a little, wobbling alarmingly, and took a step toward his father. “And another thing. I quit.”
“You’re a disgrace,” Prescott said, his cheeks flushed. “You’ll be back, though. You wouldn’t know how to stand on your own two feet if someone drew a diagram for you.”
He gave Lee a withering look of contempt, which Lee responded to by wobbling a little more, looking just this side of nauseous. Really, if ever there had been a time to vomit, surely it was now.
“He doesn’t need you,” Georgie said, seething.
“He has us,” Addy said, and they fell in on either side of him, each of them taking one of his arms.
“He’s not going to stay here,” Victoria said as if scandalized.
“And why ever not?” Addy said. “Looks like you’re going to have to burn those wedding dresses and all of your monogrammed baby bibs. Either that, or you can take out a personal ad for someone whose last name starts with ‘B.’”
Getting Lucky Page 32
