Plus None 2 (17 page)

My chest depresses painfully, scared of what’s coming next.

“I choose you.”

I gasp and sob at the same time, reaching up to pull him to me. He folds me snugly in his arms.

“Are you sure?” I ask, clinging to him. “You’re not just saying this because you’re afraid I’ll try to drown you again, are you?”

A rich, short laugh moves through him. He holds me close, kissing the top of my head. “You’re the only thing I’ve ever been sure about.”

Chapter Twelve

Sixteen Days Until Brook Gropes the Preacher

I’m not sure if it’s the post sex glow or the quality of the fabric, but I’m rocking the hell out of this bridesmaid dress.

The fabric falls in a flattering a-line from a pleated ruche bodice. I turn, happy with the reflection in the mirror. Knowing Cadence’s love of couture, I wasn’t sure what us lowly bridesmaids would end up with. But this dress is pure Paige. The cranberry color makes my blue eyes bluer and my light hair pop. I lift and position my bust beneath the sweetheart neckline. Once I get a good strapless bra, I’ll be good to go. I can’t wait for Alex to see it.

The thought of him brings a naughty smile to my lips. Four nights of amazing sex has left me glowing like a Christmas tree on fire. Paige noticed immediately and I had to come up with an excuse on the spot. I’m not confident she bought my story about catering a big, expensive wedding next month, but it bought me some time. Alex and I agreed that Cadence should be the first to know of his decision not to go through with the marriage.  

He’s dreading the conversation. I’m trying to feel bad for Cadence but she’s making it really hard. When she told the seamstress to leave room in the skirt for my wide hips, I wanted to sew her mouth shut.

“Charlotte, are you ever coming out of there?”

Her voice is like nails on a chalkboard. I give myself an appraising final glance and pull back the curtain on my dressing room. Shelby, Carrie Ann, Tiffany, and Cadence are all waiting in the hallway in identical dresses. I silently congratulate myself on looking better than any of them.

Cadence moves disapproving eyes over me then turns to address my fellow bridesmaids.  “All right, we’re going to walk in the order we’ll be doing for the wedding. Tiffany, then Carry Ann, Shelby, Charlotte--”

I cringe.

“--and I’ll go last, with the Best Man.” Her eyes flit in my direction.

You poor, crazy bitch.

Tiffany, a bubbly brunette who rushed Delta Gamma with Paige her freshman year, jumps up and down in excitement. “Oh, isn’t it excitin’, y’all? It’s going to be just like a fairytale.”

Shelby and Carrie Ann, equally bubbly blondes, squeal in agreement.

“All right. Now go.” Cadence points Tiffany down the hallway with the subtlety of a drill sergeant, watching with sharp eyes as they move slowly way from the fitting room.

“Charlotte, get in front of me.”

The only thing keeping a smile on my face is the image of an empty box of condoms in my bathroom wastebasket. That gives Cadence twelve lives today.

I float slowly down the hallway, holding my pretend bouquet before me as instructed.

“Don’t slouch.”

Eleven lives.

“Move faster, Charlotte,” she whines. “We’re rehearsing for a wedding, not a funeral.”

Ten.

Paige is sitting on the same white tufted couch I occupied last time we were here. Her smile takes over her face as she watches each girl climb onto the low platform. I’m not going to let anything get in the way of her happiness today. I’ve ruined enough of Paige’s bridal events. I’m not sure she could forgive me for spoiling another.

“Will you hurry up? My God, it’s like you’ve never walked before.”

Nine.

Lordy, this girl is asking for it.

I skip forward and pull myself up the carpeted stair. Paige’s smile changes when her eyes land on me. It’s not the same carefree, happy smile she gave to her sorority sisters. This one is just for me. It says,
“I love you so much. You know that, right?”
I return it in equal measure.

“You guys look amazing.” She claps her hands together.

Shelby, Tiffany, and Carrie Ann each do their impersonation of a dolphin and jump off the rise to surround the bride.

I turn and look in the mirror, piling my hair on top of my head as I consider hairstyles for the wedding. Cadence also turns and I catch her eye in the reflection. I haven’t spoken more than twenty words to her since our
Battle Royale
at Ken’s country club.

I watch with caution as she opens her mouth to speak.

“Charlotte…”

My head tilts to the side on its own accord, annoyed.

“Fine.
Charlie.
” She shakes her head. “I want to apologize, for my behavior at the bridal shower. I think we both got carried away with things and for my part, I’m sorry.”

She could’ve tasered me and I wouldn’t be this shocked. I honestly don’t know how to respond. So I don’t.

“Paige wants us to be friends but that may be asking a bit much, so how about a truce? At least until the wedding’s over?”

I turn and face her properly. She looks contrite and sincere as she offers me her hand. Agreeing to the peace will make Paige happy but it doesn’t feel right. Cadence doesn’t know it now, but I’ll soon be the cause of her unhappiness, and agreeing to a truce rings false. “Cadence…”

Her hand bobs in front of me. “Oh c’mon, Charlotte, even we can agree to get along for a couple of weeks.”

I feel a little queasy. I don’t want her to get hurt. I don’t want anyone to get hurt because of Alex’s decision to be with me. I’m not a bad person. But I can’t lie.

Cadence drops her forced smile and withdraws her hand. She tsks her tongue in exasperation. “I should’ve known you couldn’t be civilized.”

“Hey now…”

She stomps down the steps and heads for the hallway. For some truly stupid reason, I follow.

“Wait.” I jog to catch up with her.

She ignores me and keeps walking. I yank her arm and spin her to face me.

“What? What is it now?” she demands, crossing her arms.

“I just, I wanted to say…thank you. For apologizing.”

Her eyes roll to the ceiling. “I guess that means you’ve got nothing to say to me?”

I bite the tip of my tongue. There’re a lot of things I’d like to say to her, I wouldn’t know where to start.

“Well, I hope you got a kick out of me apologizing, because it’s not likely to happen again.” She turns halfway then changes her mind and fixes me with a hard glare. “You know, you are unbelievable.”

“
I’m
unbelievable?”

“You walk around with a chip on your shoulder, always thinkin’ of me as the bad guy. But you’re no angel. You’ve made bad decisions and done things you can’t take back. Tell me, how are we any different?”

I open my mouth to tell her I would never agree to be sold into marriage for a majority stake in an oil company, but push down the urge.

She smiles maliciously. “You’re no better than me. You lie and sneak around to get what you want just the same as everyone else.”

Her insult lands right on the money this time.

“You even tried to steal my fiancé. But I will always beat you. Know why?”

My fingernails dig like daggers into my palms.

“Because I’m better than you. You let people walk all over you and you just lie down and take it, like the loser you are.”

Eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.

“Why don’t you call your fiancé and ask him how much he likes it when I
lie down
?”

Oh, Charlie, no…

Her eyes go very still on my face. The air around us hums with energy, like the weather right before a tornado. One minute you’re wondering where all the wind went, and the next you’re hiding under a mattress in the bathtub as the roof gets torn off your trailer.

“What did you say?” Her voice is a throaty whisper.

“I…” I’m so stunned by my own words that I’m having difficulty finding new ones to replace them. “We didn’t want you to find out this way.”

She brings both hands up to her mouth and turns to face the wall. I don’t know what to do.

“You stupid idiot.”

Now I want to slap her in the face.

“Do you have any idea what you’re getting in the middle of?” She turns back to face me.

There’s no backing down now. The truth is out. “I know he loves me, and wants to be with me.”

Her eyes are still wide with shock but they crinkle slightly at the word love. 

“You can’t seriously expect him to marry you because of a business deal made between your fathers?”

“Oh, Charlotte.”

Her hysterical laughter unnerves me.

“Let me ask you a question.” She fixes a condescending smile on me. “What do you think will happen when Alex tells his father--and mine--that he’s backing out of the deal?”

Though I’ve given the outcome of Alex’s decision a lot of thought over the past few days, Cadence’s obvious belief in my stupidity has me second-guessing myself.

“No? No insightful country wisdom on the subject?”

“You can be as nasty as you want. It won’t change the fact he’s chosen a life with me over one of servitude to his father, or yours.”

She shakes her head, the patronizing smile still in place. “My father will never, never let Alex break his promise. Never.”

“It’s not his choice, Cadence.”

She tosses her head back. A soft, dour laugh echoes down the hallway. “How naïve you are.” Her eyes lock on mine. “Go home, Charlotte. This life--” she spreads her arms out, “--isn’t for you. Go home and find someone kind and simple who comes home smelling like oil and wants to give you lots of babies. Those are the kindest, most honest words you’ll ever hear from me.”

She turns and disappears into the fitting room.

A feeling of intense dread surrounds me. She’s crazy. Alex and I are in love. We’re going to be together. Her father isn’t God. He can’t command Alex to bend to his will. I take a few deep breaths and try to rid myself of the alarm I feel, but it refuses to let go.

I hear the soft tapping of heels behind me and turn to see Paige. She’s hugging herself tightly, a torn look on her face. I try to smile at her, to reassure her and maybe myself that everything is going to be fine. She shakes her head. My baby sister turns and walks away, leaving me alone in the hall.

I just got everything I thought I wanted. So why do I suddenly feel like a fool?  Like it’s all about to be ripped away?

I shouldn’t. I’ve got no right and it’s a violation of his privacy. On the other hand, it’s half-open already so it’s not like I’m breaking in, it’s more like…justifiable cause.

Screw it.

I tuck my fingers behind the glass mirror and pull the vanity cabinet open. Alex isn’t home from work yet. I need to talk to him before Cadence has a chance, so I called under the pretense of spending the night in Dallas. He left his key with the doorman who smirked a little too much for my liking. Of course, he didn’t give me permission to snoop but I figure that’s implied whenever someone leaves you in their personal space unobserved.

Vitamins, shaving cream, moisturizer.  (I shudder to think of what the boys would do if they knew he had a nightly routine. Moisturizing is the same as wearing pantyhose and being a vegetarian in their book.)  Razor blades, aftershave, and aspirin.

It’s official. My boyfriend has the world’s most boring medicine cabinet. Thinking of Alex as my boyfriend makes me grin. We haven’t had the official discussion, of course, but I figure potentially bankrupting his family to be with me implies it.

Thinking along those lines wipes the smile right off my lips.

I don’t know what I’m going to do about the bakery tomorrow. I suppose I could ask Brook or Jolene to open up for me and sell yesterday’s leftovers at half price. It depends on what happens with Alex tonight. We agreed he’d be the one to break the news to Cadence and I’ve gone and mucked things up. He might just toss me out on the street when he hears what I have to say. At least, if that happens, everyone in Harlow will get their Friday morning cinnamon rolls.

I walk through the apartment, touching knickknacks and shiny steel appliances. His place is so different from mine. For one, it’s about five times the size. For another, it’s filled with expensive furniture, fine art, and more throw pillows than any man has the right to own. But for all the fancy décor and airy layout, his apartment feels less like a home than mine.

He’s made the near two-hour drive to Harlow numerous times. I always figured it was because he knew I needed to be at the bakery so early. Now I wonder if it’s because he’s unhappy here?

My patchwork apartment isn’t much to boast about, but it feels like home. Maybe Alex feels the same way.

There’s a stack of mail on a little table in the hallway.  I let my nosey fingers flip through the envelopes. Bills and advertisements. No love letters from his forced fiancé or death threats from her father. A good sign.

Maybe I should cook him dinner to soften the blow. I amble into the kitchen and pull open the fridge. There’s an unhealthy amount of vegetables lining the bottom two shelves and the rest is packed with fruits, low-carb condiments, and light beer. Man, he is gonna get fat datin’ me.

 An inventory of the freezer turns up a roast and some frozen potatoes and carrots. I wonder if he’s got a dutch oven. I could make us dinner.
“Hey honey, I’ve got a pot roast in the oven and I told Cadence we were sleeping together. How was your day?”

On second thought, eating out sounds like a better plan.

A key in the front door sends my heart racing. I tiptoe my way into the hallway as Alex lets himself inside.

“Hey you.” He grins from ear to ear.

“Hey yourself. I thought you weren’t going to be here until after seven?”

He wraps his arms around my waist and gives me a kiss. “I couldn’t stay in the office another minute knowing you were so near to my bed.”

I relax against him and let his lips devour mine. The way his hands are roaming across my back, I’m not sure we’ll make it to the bed.