Sugared

by Gina LaManna

  While on the outside she was the same polished, suave professional she’d always been, there was a note of giddiness, of lightness that hadn’t been there before. A level of excitement could be heard in her voice, an extra bounce visible in her step.

  “How’s work going?” I asked, pretending it was the most normal question of the night.

  “Great,” she said as we made our way back to the kitchen where she then greeted Nora and Meg in turn. “Fabulous. And you?”

  “Good,” I said, a finger on my lip as I considered what else it might be. “How’s the rest of life? Love? Anything new?”

  “Nope,” she said, a bit too cheerily. “Everything is business as usual.”

  “Any reason for the early flight?” Nora chirped. “We’d love to have you at breakfast tomorrow.”

  Her face turned the tiniest bit pink. “I don’t think I’ll be able to make it.”

  “Oh?” Nora spoke, but we all swiveled our heads in her direction.

  “I actually can’t stay tonight, either,” she said. “I just came to drop off my bags and change, maybe take a quick shower.”

  “But...” Nora looked at the clock. “It’s after midnight. Don’t you want something to eat first?”

  I wondered how midnight and eating were relevant, but it didn’t pay to argue with Nora. I was more interested in Alessandra’s response, but it seemed she was too occupied glancing at the name cards on the table to respond.

  “Seating charts for the wedding?” she asked, looking up. “Is it completely rude of me to ask if I can bring a plus one?”

  Nora leaned forward and shoved the name cards toward the back of the table with a dramatic sigh. “Invite your whole posse since Lacey is refusing to make any decisions.”

  “Not a posse,” Alessandra said. “Just one.”

  “Which one?” Anthony asked sharply.

  I elbowed him. “She’s an adult,” I told him quietly. “Don’t pry.”

  “I’m meeting a friend tonight,” Alessandra said. “To catch up. I’m hoping he’ll be my plus one.”

  “Is it serious?” Nora rapidly scooped the name cards back into a pile, obviously excited now that she knew it would be a date. A potential prospect for new weddings, new love, new grandbabies. “You know, I can probably reuse these.”

  “We’ll see!” Alessandra said, whisking away toward the other side of the kitchen. “Now, which way did you say was the shower?”

  ***

  “Well, that’s certainly interesting, isn’t it?” I held Anthony’s hand as we made our way back to our own house, the chill in the night air perking us both up after the warmth of the kitchen had lulled us into a sleepy haze. “Come on,” I urged, tugging on his hand. “You have to gossip with me. Meg went home, and I can’t talk to myself again.”

  “Again?”

  “Sometimes I talk to myself when you’re not home. Don’t ask.”

  Anthony, the gem that he was, played along. “Do tell, Lacey,” he drawled. “What’s so interesting?”

  “Your sister!”

  “She got an early flight? Doesn’t seem all that interesting to me. Seems a little unfortunate, actually, that she’ll have to stay with Carlos and Nora for the extra few days.” He turned to me and added hurriedly. “I love your grandparents, but they can be a bit much if you’re living with them.”

  “But it’s worth it to her because she’s in love!”

  “In love? How do you know?”

  “Anthony!” I laughed as I pulled him faster toward home. “Are you blind? She had it written all over her face.”

  “I think I would know if my own sister was in love.”

  “Don’t go getting all big brother defensive; she’s a grown up and she can take care of herself. If she wants to gallivant with her man in the middle of the night, let her have some fun. I think it’s great! Remember when we used to gallivant?”

  “I’ve never gallivanted anywhere.”

  “The date in the parking garage. That one was on my birthday. What about the night you took me to that cabin in Stillwater? I can think of so many gallivants.”

  Anthony’s stony face didn’t match my excited one. “We don’t know who he is, what he does, or where he lives.”

  “Don’t you think Alessandra’s a good judge of character? You share a bloodline, after all. Trust her. She’s way tougher than I am, and I managed to find someone amidst the chaos of the dating world.”

  “Sure,” he agreed, unconvinced.

  Before I could get annoyed at his lightning quick dismissal of my toughness, he stopped walking and pulled me in for a hug.

  “You don’t need to be tough,” he said, his dark eyes glinting against the moon. “You’ve got me, doll, so it all evens out.”

  “Yep,” I squealed as he lifted me into his arms. “We make a great team.”

  I reached behind him as he carried me through the doorway and pinched his butt. He didn’t move any faster. Disappointing.

  “Don’t you remember the early days of being in love?” I asked. “People get dumb, and passionate, and they’re willing to do anything—including leaving the house after midnight.”

  Anthony marched straight to the bedroom and laid me down, pulling off my pants in one go. I was left with a ridiculous pair of St. Paddy’s day underwear with clovers on them. They weren’t sexy, but he didn’t seem to care.

  “The early days?” I reminded him as he slowly, deliciously unbuttoned his shirt. “Hey, I’m still gossiping here. Don’t you remember the butterflies and nerves and anxiety? We snuck around for ages hoping my family didn’t find out.”

  “I didn’t have any of that,” Anthony said. “Men don’t have butterflies.”

  “Sure you do,” I said. “If not butterflies, then what would you call it?”

  He crooked a gaze at me, slid out of his dress pants, and climbed onto the bed in his boxers. He let a long, lazy gaze trail over my body. “I’ll give you one guess.”

  “I think I figured it out.”

  “I knew I married a smart cookie.”

  “I don’t know about smart, but I am probably forty percent cookie by this point. Assuming the whole you are what you eat theory is to be trusted.”

  Anthony’s hand found the edge of my shirt and toyed with it, but I found myself rolling toward him so we were on our sides, facing one another on the bed. “I had so much fun falling in love with you.”

  “What are you talking about?” His hand reached out, and he cupped my face. “I’m still falling in love with you.”

  I melted toward him, a sweet kiss joining us across the darkness. The late hours this evening had held a bit of magic in them: a surprise appearance by Alessandra, the man I loved holding me close, a family working hard to prepare for my impending faux-wedding.

  It was perfection.

  Perfection overshadowed by tragedy.

  “Anthony,” I murmured. “There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

  “Mmmm.”

  I pressed a hand to his chest and tried to pull back, but he nuzzled in closer.

  “Can it wait?” he asked. “You’re ruining my plans. I told you I had plans.”

  “Anthony.”

  My voice must have belied a gravity to the moment that I hadn’t intended. All the better, I supposed, since it wasn’t an easy topic to bring up.

  “What’s wrong?” He spoke in a demanding way, sensitive around the edges, the threat of action hovering nearby. “What happened? Is this about Beckett?”

  “No, earlier today, I called Meg,” I said, stalling, searching for words. “I asked her to pick up some pregnancy tests and bring them over.”

  “Why?” A light flicked on in his eyes. From dark, sensuous chocolate to a brighter shade, a hint of confusion. “Oh.”

  I nodded, inhaled a breath. “I was late, and I thought it would be better to take the test and find out one way or another.”

  “And?”

  If I wasn’t mistaken, Anthony wasn’t bre
athing. He’d gone stone cold paralyzed.

  “I was confused.”

  “How?”

  “What do you mean, how?”

  “Isn’t it a yes or a no answer? How were you confused?” Anthony hesitated. “I can try to figure it out, or even better, I’ll call Dr. Gambino. He can be here in five minutes.”

  “No, I wasn’t confused about the results. I was confused about my feelings.”

  “Oh.” Anthony paused, still confused himself. “What feelings?”

  “Well, for starters, we’ve never talked about babies. At least, not really. I vaguely remember mentioning a family awhile back, and I think you agreed.”

  Anthony nodded as he smoothed my hair back. “Why the confusion, then?”

  “Because! I don’t know if I’m ready. I don’t know if you’re ready, or we’re ready. I didn’t know what your reaction would be.” I glanced up at him, tilting my head for a better view. “So, could you help me out and tell me your reaction?”

  “You haven’t told me the results.”

  “That’s not the point.”

  “Lacey, breathe.” He didn’t answer, but instead held my gaze steady. “You didn’t have to be nervous in the first place, or shy, or concerned. If you’d called this morning, I would’ve come home so you didn’t have to alert Meg.”

  “Well, I thought it was a long shot that the test would turn out positive.”

  “Look, whatever the answer is, it doesn’t change how I feel about you.” He dipped his head to brush his lips across my forehead. “I’m married to the woman I love. That’s what matters to me. If we have kids, don’t have kids—that’s fine. I’m happy as long as I have you. Everything else is bonus.”

  I smiled up at him, an ache leaving my chest. I hadn’t realized I’d been keeping the worry locked inside all day, but now that it was gone, relief took over.

  “I always assumed we would have kids,” Anthony said. “I figured you wanted to wait until after this wedding ceremony. But that doesn’t answer the other question, Lacey.”

  “What other question?”

  “What do you want?”

  My eyes got all watery, and I gave a quick shake of my head. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “Of course it does.”

  “It was negative,” I said, finding his gaze, holding it there. “False alarm. I’m not pregnant.”

  He stilled, holding me there, and if I wasn’t mistaken the tiniest of shine went out of his eyes, too. Then again, maybe I was just projecting onto him. If I’d realized one thing today, it was that there was a piece inside me that had wanted a different result.

  “I don’t know why I’m upset,” I said, once I could finally speak again without the threat of crying. “I didn’t think I was ready. I haven’t caught baby fever, and I don’t hear my clock ticking. But when I took the test, and I started to think about it... something changed. And I didn’t know how to feel about it.”

  Anthony hugged me to his chest, so tight I could hardly breathe. I basked in it, relished it, breathed every bit of him in.

  “Then, I worried that maybe you’d be annoyed, or upset, or—”

  “Stop.” He put a firm punctuation on my sentence, his lips pressed to my head. “I’d never be any of those things. If the test had come back differently, I would’ve been thrilled.”

  “Really?”

  He eased back and gathered my hands in his. “Absolutely.”

  “What do you think this means for us, then?”

  “I think it means you figured something out today,” he said. “Maybe we both did.”

  “That I’m a nut who can’t control her emotions?” I sniffed, trying for a joke.

  Anthony didn’t quite grin back, but he did run his hands over my bare legs. “No, of course not.”

  “Do you think... do you think we’re ready?”

  “We are getting married for the second time,” he said. “In just a few days. If you’re ready, I’m ready.”

  “I don’t think I’ll ever be ready,” I said, a little blip of excitement in my chest at the thought. “But maybe nobody is. Maybe it’s always a rollercoaster.”

  “I’m sure you’re right,” Anthony said, finally allowing a smile onto his lips. “It’s a good thing I like rollercoasters.”

  “It’ll be one hell of a ride, I’m sure.”

  “Speaking of plans, didn’t I have a few in store for you this evening?”

  Chapter 7

  The next morning, Anthony made sure I left the house with a smile on my face.

  Good thing I had such a supportive husband, I thought, trying my best to whistle as I strolled toward the main house. Anthony followed next to me, a puzzled expression on his face as he watched me try to whistle.

  Even though it was a whistling sort of morning, I wasn’t a whistling sort of girl. I sounded more like a deflating balloon than anything, so I gave up by the time I reached Nora’s front door, to Anthony’s exhausted relief.

  “Hey, don’t move so fast,” Anthony said, grabbing my wrist and holding me back. He’d been patient and withheld his interrogation while I tried my hand at whistling. “What are your plans for today?”

  “Hang out, prepare for the wedding,” I said vaguely. “The usual woman stuff that you have no interest in doing.”

  “It’s our wedding, so I’m interested,” he shot back. “What sort of plans do you have for the day? Should I come with you?”

  “Nah. I can handle it.”

  “Lacey.” He lifted me off the front steps and set me gently next to them. “What are you going to do today? Look in my eyes as you answer.”

  My head drooped as I nudged at some of Nora’s decorative rocks with my toe. “Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to.”

  “Do I need to be worried?”

  “I’m just going to ask around a little, okay? Put some feelers out there. Beckett was a friend, and I just have to make sure—for my own sanity—that everything checks out.”

  “What if it doesn’t make sense? It’s not up to you to decide that, sugar, and it’s sure as hell not your job to pursue it.”

  “I just can’t believe—”

  “That he killed himself? You’re in shock.” Anthony pulled me to his chest and guided my head to rest against his shoulder. “I have a hard time believing it, too, and I’ll have my men look into it. I’ll help, personally. I respect him, owe it to him, but Lace—it doesn’t look good.”

  “This isn’t shock, Anthony! This is me worried that someone murdered our friend.”

  “If that’s true, I want you to have even less to do with it.”

  I stubbornly raised my chin. “Well, I have a few things to take care of for the wedding, and I’m going to ask around in my spare time. It can’t hurt.”

  He groaned. “You always say that. And it always hurts. Why don’t you let me handle it?”

  “I love you, but I’m going bored out of my mind dealing with flowers and dresses.”

  “And cakes?”

  “Okay, I’m not bored of that,” I agreed. “But the rest of it. I mean, it’s a fake wedding! Fake wedding,” I whispered again, quieter. If Nora heard me, the whole ruse would be for naught. “Let me poke around in my spare time.”

  “Call me if you find anything. And don’t go putting yourself into dangerous circumstances. We’re getting married in a week and, fake or real, I want you healthy and in one piece when you walk down the aisle.”

  “You worry too much.” I raised onto my tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I’m going to head inside to find out all the juicy details about Alessandra’s date. Wanna come?”

  He backed away slowly. Girl talk had that effect on Anthony. “Have a nice day, Lace.”

  I waved as he disappeared to the garage. If I had to guess, he had nothing to do there except wait out the danger zone of gossip, which was fine by me. It was impossible to gossip properly with men in the room.

  “Hey Harold,” I said, heading through the front d
oor. “You like to gossip, right?”

  “Absolutely not.”

  “Liar! You listen to everything everyone says. You know more about what happens in this house than Carlos.”

  “I don’t gossip, I spread information.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Have you seen Alessandra?”

  He pointed down the hallway. “She’s made a friend.”

  Intrigued, I passed through the Hallway of Infamy, followed my nose, and landed in the kitchen. I wasn’t disappointed.

  “Howdy,” Nora said. “Just in time. You know how birds have them homing instincts? I’m pretty sure you have the same thing with your nose. For food.”

  “I’ve been perfecting the skill for years. Is Alessandra here?”

  I loaded a plate with two croissants—one chocolate, the other plain. I could dip the plain one in chocolate to give it a little more zing if need be, but I didn’t want to hog all the good ones from the rest of the family.

  “She’s meeting with Carlos,” Nora said. “The two of them really hit it off.”

  “Oh, I don’t imagine that’s true.” I bit into one of the croissants, then stood up to pour myself a cup of coffee. These were dipping croissants. “Carlos doesn’t hit it off with anybody.”

  Nora pursed her lips. “Now that you mention it, I suppose it’s strange. Then again, Alessandra’s quite an impressive woman.”

  “Yeah, but I mean, look at us. I’m his granddaughter, and we still have yet to hit it off.”

  Nora didn’t look all that convincing as she patted my hand and murmured a note of sympathy. “Well, you and I hit it off, dear, if that makes you feel any better.”

  I was lost in the middle of my chocolate croissant when I heard a foreign sound coming from a room nearby. I stopped eating, my mouth hanging unattractively open as I gaped at Nora. “Is that what I think it is?”

  She stood, put her ear to the door, and nodded. Her eyes were wide as saucers. “I think so. Come listen. It’s like catching a glimpse of a unicorn—rare and beautiful.”

  I joined her at the door, both of us snooping like five-year-old children. “Carlos is laughing?” I asked in awe. “The world must be ending.”