I sighed. “It's not that we don't like them, Charity. And honestly it doesn't matter what we like anyway, it's your wedding.”
She sat down on one of the ornate chairs right next to the mannequins and slumped over. “My sister didn't like it either. I just thought she was jealous since I'm the first one getting married in the family. But now that I see your faces I know that maybe this wasn't the right choice.” For once she was being almost human. Showing real emotion instead of her sticky sweetness that made me want to vomit half the time. I looked over and Kenz’s face showed her empathy.
“They're not that bad, Charity. I'm just not a big fan of pink.”
I rested my hand on Charity’s shoulder. “Yeah it'll be fine, really. It's your wedding, not ours.”
An attendant shuffled behind me. “Why don't you girls try them on? They always look better on the bridesmaids than they do on the mannequins.” I turned around and nodded and she moved to take them off the mannequins. Mackenzie and I went into a dressing room to change.
I was going ask for help from one of the attendants to zip me up but then I thought better of it. “Charity, do you think you could zip up the back?”
She was sitting in the chair, but I saw her head rise a little. “If you're sure…”
“Yeah, I just can't seem to reach it.” I tried to appear nonchalant, like this was something I would ask her to do any time. I just wanted to make her feel better. But when Mackenzie and I emerged from the dressing rooms it was clear on all the attendants’ faces that neon pink didn’t do either of us any favors. One girl even had a severe look of disgust to the point where she walked away. I'm sure her boss had told her that they were still trying to make a sale. Charity chewed on her lower lip as Mackenzie and I stood side-by-side looking in the mirror.
“They're a lot pinker than I thought.”
Mackenzie added, “They’re the brightest I think I've ever seen. And they make my eyes hurt.”
Finally Charity cracked a smile while she stood behind us, “Oh my God, they're hideous. What was I thinking? Neon pink on girls of your age? Oh girls, I'm so sorry.”
Both Mackenzie and I busted out laughing. “These are really awful,” I said.
“My eyes, my eyes!” Mackenzie was grabbing onto her head like she was blinded. It threw the three of us into a fit of giggles. The attendants didn't seem to appreciate the hilarity of our situation.
Once I took a deep breath and calmed down a little I added, “Charity what are you going do? We can't wear these and the wedding is next week.”
She looked around the salon. “All right people get to work, I want black dresses, short. I still want the bow, but in the front on a sash. The money does not matter, I’ll pay for these as well.” She gestured to the two dresses still on our bodies. All six attendants that had stayed scattered. Within minutes they were back with several options that all looked classy and chic. Much more our style. I grabbed three from one attendant and Mackenzie picked out two more from the other girls. We tried on dresses for an hour, and even started our own little fashion show. Apparently Charity had made sure we would be alone for the whole morning, because no one came into the store. At one point we had even gotten scores from the attendants by holding numbers up on their fingers. And when we both walked out in a simple, strapless, short black gown with a thick sash on the waist, everyone gave us tens.
“These just look like they were made for you!” Charity beamed.
“I like this one a lot.”
“That's super high praise from Mackenzie; these are definitely the ones.”
Charity looked back at the salesgirls, “I'm going to need one more in a size ten for my sister. And make her sash a different color, maybe a cream or an ivory to match my dress.” She looked back at us, “She's the maid of honor, she has to stand out a little bit.”
Mackenzie put her hands up. “You don't need to tell me about having to stand out. I have an older sister, too.”
Charity smiled once again. And for the first time since she had split up my family, I actually kind of liked her. Maybe she wasn't going to be the step monster that I had thought she was.
We decided as a group to forgo lunch, mostly because Charity got a phone call from work and she had to go back early. Zoe also called me while I was at the bridal salon and asked me if I wanted to do lunch. Charity said that she didn't mind dropping Kenz back off at home, so after they left I walked downtown to a little pub. Zoe was already there sitting outside sipping what looked like lemonade, but knowing her I was sure it was spiked.
“What you got there?”
She cocked her head to the side, “Something absolutely delicious and perfect for a summer day. Should I order you one?”
I shook my head. “Nah, I think I'm in the mood for a Long Island iced tea instead.”
She smiled. “Feeling a little feisty are we? The dress fitting didn't go so terribly then I take it?”
I shook my head. “No, actually. Charity was almost human. I don't know what happened, but suddenly it just seems like she actually wanted to be our friend. And not a fake one either—she even changed the bridesmaids dresses to make us happy.”
Zoe looked like ghost just walked by. “No way! I thought she was going to an evil stepmother. I'm not sure I like her changing her style all of a sudden the week before the wedding. Or were you and Mackenzie just being such super bitches that she couldn’t work with you anymore?”
“Ouch! No, actually we were being super nice about the fact that she wanted to put us in neon pink dresses. But they were God awful and finally she realized that. My super chic black dress is being delivered to the house on Saturday.”
She looked impressed. “Won't you just look fabulous then? Make sure you don't look better than the bride, though.”
I laughed. “No I'm pretty sure she would punch me in the face to make sure that eye matched my dress if I looked better than her. But we’re making progress, even if it's just baby steps.”
Zoe grabbed the waitress and ordered my drink. After she walked away she got a more serious look on her face. “Lena, we need to talk about Slade.”
I was shocked; I hadn't even thought about Slade since I had talked to Blake about his troubles. I'd kind of washed my hands of the situation, but although he wasn't my problem anymore, a piece of me still wanted to know. “What about Slade?”
She set down her drink and sat up a little straighter. “Blake said that he talked to you about it, so I feel like it's okay for me to tell you. Slade is going to be away for a while. Like you probably won't see him anymore while you're here.”
Prison. He had finally done something dumb enough to go to jail for the second time in one summer. “Where is he, Zoe?”
She sighed. “He's in rehab, Lena. Apparently his drinking has been getting a lot worse and his parents found out that he hasn't paid the rent on his apartment in like three months. I guess Blake kind of ratted about that. It seemed like he was spending more time gambling and drinking than he was going to work. Turns out he lost his job six weeks ago for being drunk on the job. He's got a problem.”
I sat back in my chair. “I knew it was bad, but I didn't know was that bad.”
“Well at least now you know that all that gibberish he was talking about wasn't really about you. He's been having problems for a long time, but I don't know what set him off recently for it to become so bad.”
“Beats me. I didn't even know about Megan dying, or how important she was to him. And I mean, I guess these things can get progressively worse.” Honestly, I didn’t know any alcoholics, so I had no idea what it was like to have that disease.
A girl behind us turned around and tapped my shoulder. She was blonde with stunning blue eyes and the perfect dazzling smile. I thought I recognized her from somewhere, but I couldn't place her. “I'm really sorry to interrupt, but were you just talking about Slade Finnegan?”
Zoe's eyes got wide; clearly she didn't know that the girl behind me knew our friend. I knew
that we couldn't deny it, though. I mean, how many Slades were there? “Yeah, we were. Why?”
“I used to work with Slade. Things got weird at work when he lost a really big client for our accounting firm. He screwed up in a Monday morning meeting one time and the boss really chewed him out. That's when I noticed he started going happy hour a little bit earlier than the rest of us. Our job is really stressful, you know? I think was just too much for him. Glad to hear he’s getting help. I'm Harli, by the way.” She turned around and extended a hand to me. As I shook it I realized I where I knew her from.
“You were at Zoe's house the other night. The party. I think I saw you at the bar.”
She smiled again. “Yeah? I didn't realize it was your house. I was invited by a friend.”
Zoe waved back at her. “Oh yeah, there's always about twenty people at my parties that I don't know.”
“Well again I'm sorry to interrupt, but I hope that Slade gets the help he needs. He was always so great to have around the office. It’s been kind of dull since he left. Enjoy your lunch.”
She turned back around to what looked like her book and I looked back at Zoe. We both kept the conversation light as we ordered and ate our meals. I asked her about Clara and she said that things were great. It was nice to hear her so happy. Things hadn’t been easy for her overseas.
“How is Micah?”
“Hot.”
“Yeah, I already knew that.”
“We went to an art gallery opening the other night. And then we had our own little party afterward.” I kept the salacious details of the hallway to myself. For now that was just a moment that Micah and I shared. I wasn't going to divulge all of my secrets.
“Girl, he brings the devil out in you.”
“Maybe. What of it?”
She reached for her drink. “Just know that when love burns hot like that it burns out quickly.”
I shook my head. “Zoe, really… what would you have me do?”
“Nothing, I’m just saying that sometimes you want the slow burn, not the fire.”
“Oh, and who would that be?”
She took a sip. “Nobody knows that but you. But I’m just saying I saw your eye when you watched Blake leave my party.”
“And?”
“And you wanted to kill him, but not for making you clean up the mess. For leaving with that hot blonde.”
I rolled my eyes. “Not true.”
Suddenly the blonde at the table behind us called for a waiter to bring her check. She sounded annoyed. As she stood I felt like I had seen her more than just at the bar, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
Zoe ignored the interruption and laughed, “Totally true. You can’t deny you still have feelings for him.”
I didn’t know what to say so I finished my drink. I wasn’t going to argue with her, and part of me didn’t know if I could.
5
On Friday night Micah and I made plans to go out to dinner. He wouldn't tell me where he was taking me, and considering he had such success last time with the jazz club I decided to let it go. But when we pulled up to a fancy French restaurant I thought I was a bit underdressed. “I don't even have heels on! Micah, I’m wearing flats.”
He smiled at me. “You look amazing. It doesn't matter what you wear, you look great in anything.”
That was every girl’s dream to hear, but my confidence was wavering. He might've thought that I looked great, but I didn't want the hostess to give me a look that said I should be dressed nicer. “Are you sure this is where you want to go?”
He looked at me again. “Yes.”
I mumbled, “I just didn't realize we were going to such a nice place.”
“You look beautiful. Now let's go.” He walked around and opened up the door for me looking suave in a long-sleeved black shirt and khakis. He even had his hair styled so that it dangled dangerously close to his eyes, just the way I liked it. He gave the valet his keys and we walked into the candlelit restaurant. As the hostess led us to our table, I noticed that the room was full of other young couples and a few businessmen doing deals. I loved people watching. I'd only been in a place like this a few times before, and it hadn't been in years. They sat us at a small table near a window where we could see the moon shining through the darkness. Micah pulled out the chair and I sat down.
Micah shook me out of my moment of peace. “Beautiful isn't it?” he whispered in my ear.
I sighed, “Yeah it really is. Thank you for bringing me here.”
He smiled. “I thought you would enjoy it.” He moved around the table and sat down. The hostess passed us our menus and sauntered off. He opened up the menu. “Now let me make a couple suggestions: the lamb here is delicious, but so is the duck. And if you're into seafood I would go with scallops.”
I smiled at him. “Come here often?”
He laughed. “My parents are friends with the owners. The chef here has cooked Thanksgiving dinner for my family for the past six years. The food is amazing.”
I rubbed my leg up against his. “So why don't you just order for me? Since you seem to know so much.”
“Done.”
He beckoned a waiter over with his hand, and as the server filled the water goblets Micah asked for a bottle of wine. Then he ordered the duck for me and a steak for himself. I continued to look out the window and enjoy the quiet of the evening. Even though the restaurant was fairly full it seemed like everyone spoke in hushed whispers. It only added to the ambience of the restaurant. It almost made it feel like you needed a password to enter. I let my imagination run wild.
I looked around the restaurant and my eyes settled on two men at a table in the back corner. “So what do you think the two men in business suits behind us are doing? Black market deal?”
Micah laughed. “Actually, I believe they are selling art. The bigger guy keeps pulling out his phone and showing pictures. I would think it’s some type of goods. I've seen the thinner guy at a couple gallery openings I’ve been to. So I would go with art or jewelry. I don't really think this is the place that you do black market organ deals.”
“But you didn't say it wasn't the place to sell black market art.”
He laughed. “Touché. They do look a little shady don’t they?”
I continued to gaze around the restaurant to find another set of people to discuss when my eyes settled on the blonde from the pub the other day. Harli was her name. And I found myself in taking a breath when I saw who she was with. “Blake.” I said just above a whisper.
Micah cocked his head to the side, obviously confused. “I didn't catch that.”
I shook my head and tried not to stare. “Catch what?” I tried to shoot him a dazzling smile to deflect his attention from what I just said. But my eyes wandered once more and he turned his head around to see who I was looking at. I was caught.
“Isn't that the guy that was texting and calling you on Saturday night?”
I paused trying to figure out a better story than I had, but lies had gotten me into so much trouble before that I just decided to tell the truth. “Yeah he's an old friend.”
He nodded. “An old friend? Like the old friend that was on the roof screaming at you?” This was taking a turn for the worse very quickly.
“Micah, that was in the past. Don't worry about it. People do stupid things when they’re drunk. We’ve all had those nights, right?”
He looked behind him one more time but he didn't say anything. I hoped I would be able to continue to enjoy the evening without focusing on the weight of the jealousy that was sitting in the pit of my stomach. But I couldn’t help thinking about them. Suddenly I remembered why Harli had stuck out in my mind from the part. She was the girl that Blake had left with. The girl that he probably fucked on the way home. Super. And she had heard Zoe’s assessment of my feelings for Blake, even better.
Our food arrived quickly and the chef came out to greet us. “Micah, so good to see you. And this lovely lady here is…”
I loo
ked at Harli again. She was flipping her hair and laughing like an idiot. She was gross. Probably a bottle blonde—there was no way it was natural. Micah called my name. “Lena, meet Allen. Lena…”
I looked up at the chef standing next to the table. “Oh I’m sorry, hello. The food is absolutely delicious. Thank you so much for having us.” I felt dumb for not paying attention, so I really tried to turn on the charm.
He smiled at me and shook my hand. He had on a perfectly clean chef’s jacket and soft brown eyes that told me that he was a caring individual. “Lena, it is my pleasure to have you in this restaurant. Please make sure you order dessert.”
I smiled back at him. “I'm sure we will. But actually, you should send out whatever you would like, I'm willing to try anything tonight.” Once again I rubbed my leg against Micah trying to focus completely on him. He looked at me and winked. The chef walked away and our conversation started to flow more easily as Micah poured me a second glass of wine.
“Are ready for the wedding?” He asked as I picked up my newly full glass.
I had already told him about the dress fitting in a text yesterday but we hadn't really talked about the actual event. I considered inviting him, at least the rehearsal dinner, but I thought Mackenzie would feel left out so I hadn't. But there was a party after the reception that I thought he might be interested in going to with me.
“I don't know, I guess I'm ready. I mean I hope I am. I'm not really sure what it's going be like to have a stepmother, but I guess I'll get used to it.”
He nodded understandingly. “I’m sure you will. You seem to be doing great.”
I tried to muster up a smile but I knew that only half my lip curled. I still wasn't sure about expanding my family, but Charity was starting to grow on me, and if I could at least tolerate her that would be enough for now. I looked over to Blake’s table once again and found it empty. Perfect, now I could focus on Micah completely. “You know I was thinking about the party after the reception, and I was wondering…”
Misperception (Finnegan Brothers Book 3) Page 3
