Plus None 2 (21 page)

I don’t see Alex’s fist move until it connects with the side of Juan’s temple. I gasp and throw both hands over my mouth, stunned.

Juan stumbles backward into a side table. The lamp on top falls onto the floor. He looks his age now and touches the place his son hit him. “Look at you. Pathetic, throwing your life away, your family’s lives away for a piece of trash.”

I flinch as though I’ve been hit, too. “How dare you. You don’t know me.”

He smiles meanly, laughter on his lips. “I don’t need to know you. I met your
family
. They have no pride. They care nothing about honor and duty.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Don’t I? Look at what you’ve done.” He waves his hand toward me. “You’ve stolen a girl’s future from her. My family will be ruined by this. Where’s the honor in that?”

Alex wraps his arm around my waist. “Let’s go. We’re done here.”

I push him from me and walk toward Juan. “You can’t force two people to be together. Especially not over something as trivial as money.”

“You think money is trivial only because you’ve never had any.”

“Damn right. I’ve had to work hard and struggle for every nickel, and I would do it all again before I let it hurt the people I love. You have all of this.” I spread my arms. “And you’re still unhappy. Worst of all, you’re willing to throw your son’s happiness away for it, too.”

“Just as you are willing to throw away mine? My wife’s? You care only about yourself.”

A twinge of despair moves through my chest. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I’m sorry.”

Alex places a hand at my side. His words are quiet, spoken against the crown of my head as he places a kiss there. “There’s nothing for you to be sorry about. You’ve done nothing wrong.” He takes my hand and turns us toward the hall.

Juan seizes his son’s forearm. “He’ll never let you do this.”

‘He’ is obviously Cadence’s father. What does this guy have on these people? Can he wield that much power over their lives?

Alex pulls away. “C’mon, Charlie.” He pulls me forward a step, not sparing a glance for either of his parents.

“Wait.” I drop his hand and turn back. Helena brings a nearly empty glass to her lips and drains the remaining wine. I snap my fingers in front of her face and she jumps in surprise. “He needs you now.” I look sincerely into eyes the same color as Alex’s. “Don’t disappoint him.”

Her lovely brow creases.

Alex reaches out for me and I take his hand. We walk through the hall beyond and out the front door. He guides me to the car. I don’t know what I expected from tonight but it certainly wasn’t that.

Alex climbs in, starts the engine, and we pull away from the grand, beautiful house. He doesn’t say a word and neither do I. Sometimes there just aren’t enough of them to explain how sorry you are.

Chapter Fifteen

Seven Days Until Wayne Ties Condoms Onto the Rolls Royce

I expected less jazz band and shrimp cocktail and more strippers and strobe lights.

The bachelorette-slash-bachelor party pulls away from the dock and sets sail in the sparkling water of Lake Lewisville. The gift-giving portion of the evening is already over, thank God. I was finally able to give Paige the Waterford picture frame I’d bought for the engagement party. Just after, I sat in abject horror as Aunt Brook presented my sister with a pair of crotch-less panties. They came highly recommended by Patsy. That was the last straw for Cadence and the gifting came to a speedy end.

While the boys party it up down below, the girls have been left to enjoy Cadence’s idea of a rip-roaring good time on the sky deck.

“Hey, y’all.” She stands on a chair to get everyone’s attention. “Don’t forget to leave the bride and groom a special message for the video montage!”

It’s going to be a wild night.

“Hi.” Paige is standing at my shoulder, another sash around her petite frame. It’s similar in color to the one she wore at the wedding shower, but this one has little penises printed on it.

“Hi yourself.” I’m not particularly keen on chatting with my baby sister at the moment. She hasn’t returned any of my calls and is, in my opinion, a big old snot.

“Listen, Charlie… I’m sorry, for not calling you back. It’s been a crazy week with last minute wedding details and Ken’s family getting into town.”

I shrug nonchalantly, even though my heart’s about to burst from my chest. “It’s fine. You’re busy, I get it.”

Paige stands quietly for a moment. “Actually, that’s not why I haven’t called.”

My ears prick up.

“I’ve been mad at you.”

Keep calm, Charlie. She’s the bride to be, just let her say her piece.

“It just seems like you’re out to ruin every event before my wedding.”

Breathe in, breathe out…

“And I thought you’d want to be more involved.”

“More involved?” I say, cutting her off. “You’re the one who decided I shouldn’t be Maid of Honor!”

“That doesn’t mean I haven’t wanted your help in planning things!”

I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “Paige, I’ve hardly been hiding. If you wanted me to be with you, all you had to do was ask.”

“That’s not…it isn’t…” She groans. “I’m not getting this out right.”

The party continues without us. Paige’s friends are dancing and belting out unintelligible music lyrics. The aunts have stationed themselves at a high top at the far end of the deck, protecting their courtesy cocktails from any needless spillage. I feel like a wet blanket at this party. Paige can hardly stand to look at me. She tugs on her penis sash and makes a face.

“I’m a terrible sister.”

I stare ahead and let her find her way.

“You’re the best sister anyone could ever have and I’ve made you feel like you’re not important to me.”

An ember of pain sears my lungs.

“And even worse, you think I haven’t been supporting you through this whole Alex mess.”

“Have you?”

“In my own way.”

“By telling me stay away from him?”

“By telling you that being with him would make things difficult for everyone, especially you. I’ve been moving in this circle for some time now. The people--” She pauses to look out at her guests. “--they’re not like the ones back home.”

“That’s been pointed out to me pretty clearly.”

“But that’s exactly my point. Jolene, Patsy, Brook, the boys, Daddy… they’re rough as asphalt but their edges have been rounded off. The people Alex grew up with are smooth but they’re as sharp as daggers. They see us and think we’re an easy target.”

“You’ve figured out how to fit in just fine.” I pull on her sash.

She turns her light blue eyes on me. “I love Ken.”

“And I love Alex.”

Her expression grows earnest. “I know you do.”

She pauses awkwardly.

“But?”

“But,” she says, looking away for a moment, “being with Alex means putting his family in an uncertain position. Cadence’s father is a bastard, even she’s afraid of him. There’s no telling what he’ll do and I know how much family means to you. I didn’t want to see you wind up in the middle of this mess. I’m worried about what’ll happen if things end badly.”

My throat constricts. Her concerns have been my own for weeks now and the quiet of the bakery and my hometown has given me a lot of time to think. I’m so blindly in love with Alex I’ve been ready to run through town like a raging bull, not caring as much as I should about what got destroyed in my path.

“Paige, why’re you sayin’ all this?”

She takes my hand. “When I went away to school I knew I would never go back. That meant giving up close ties with most of our family and making a new life for myself. I made that choice because there’re things I wanted. I knew I would never get them if I stayed in Harlow. Are you willing to sacrifice your ties to our family, or Alex’s to his, to be together?” She squeezes my hand. “Will you be able to live with the consequences, whatever they may be?”

I look back at her, anxiety eating me up inside. There’s a big swell of girls beside us and Paige’s hand is pulled out of mine.

“It’s time for penis shots!” Someone yells.

A cool breeze rolls across the deck and I shudder. I want Alex. I miss him. Needing a break after what happened with his father, we decided it’d be best for me to stay in Harlow while he investigated the contract between the Ramirezes and the Spellings. He’s been working night and day, trying to find a way to save his family, and us in the process. We’ve hardly had a moment to speak by phone. I haven’t even seen him tonight.

Paige’s question repeats itself over and over in my mind. Will I be able to live with the consequences? What if Alex and his parents are never able to heal from this? Can I really ask him to risk that for me?

The party moves inside but one person lingers at the back and I find myself face to face with Cadence. She’s wearing a sash identical to Paige’s, only hers says Maid of Honor instead of Bride.

“May I?” She gestures to the piece of rail beside me.

I nod and she joins me in looking out over the water. We stand quietly for nearly a minute before she breaks the silence between us.

“I’ve heard things didn’t go too well with Alex’s parents.”

That’d be the understatement of the year. “No, they didn’t.”

She looks out over the black lake. The moon’s nearly full and it throws light on the wake from the boat, making it look like a giant silver tail.

“Well, I’m sorry to hear that.”

A soft snort comes out of me uninvited.

She smiles at the water, shaking her head. “You can think what you like, but the last thing I want to see is Alex unhappy.”

“Because you love him?”

She takes her time responding, but doesn’t answer the question. “Did you know he and I have known each other since primary school?”

I watch other boats move in the distance, patiently waiting for her to continue.

“He was a few classes ahead of me but we knew each other. Our mothers were friendly at one time. He was always so nice to me, like the big brother I never had. And then, over time, he became like less of a brother and more like…something else.” She laughs. “When I was a freshman and Alex was a senior, this boy I liked stood me up for the Homecoming dance. Can you believe it?”

Finally, something Cadence and I have in common.

“I was humiliated. Waiting by the front doors of the school in a dress too big for my scrawny body. Alex saw me and asked what’d happened. Then he offered me his arm and took me inside as his own date.”

Her story is sweet and pretty, not unlike the image she presents to the world, but I know there’s more coming, and I know it’s going to pack a punch.

“I spent hours doodling his name in my journal after that night. And staring at his picture in the yearbook. I was positively smitten with him.”

“Let me guess.” I dread where the story is surely headed. “The two of you got together.”

She releases a high-pitched giggle. “Oh heaven’s no! He was strictly off limits to me.”

I meet her gaze, confused.

“The Ramirezes are practically Texas royalty, Charlotte. My daddy made our family fortune stealing from pensioners and small business owners. He’s a crook; Alex’s family would never in a million years have allowed him to date me.”

I’m truly shocked. She’s always flaunted her wealth at me, insinuating that I’m not good enough for her crowd. Now she talks as though we’re on the same side of the playing field.

“No, for all the money my family had in the bank, we may’ve just as well lived in the trailer park when it came to impressing the Ramirezes.”

We stare at one another, me because I don’t know what to say and her because she’s said too much.

“So when Daddy came up to UT, and told me I’d be required to marry Alex as part of his deal with Juan…well, I didn’t have quite the same reservations as Alex.”

There’s a lump in my throat that feels like a rock. I try to push it down. “But it was just a business deal. He never loved you.”

Her head recoils slightly. “Oh I don’t know. I think friendship carries its own kind of love. Besides, I was sure I could love him enough for the both of us.”

I look back over the water.

“You and I have never really found our way with one another. I wanted you to know the truth about things. At least from my side.”

It occurs to me that I never believed Cadence really loved Alex. She’s been the cause of so much of my recent unhappiness, now I’m the one inflicting pain on her. I’ve taken away the man she loves. I don’t know how or what to say, so I change direction.

“So you and I are more alike than we thought. Both from the wrong side of town.”

“I don’t know if I’d go that far, Charlotte. I’ve been to your ‘town,’ after all. But yes, I suppose our stories are similar.”

“And Paige? How does my baby sister fit in to all of this?”

She looks over at me, the smile on her lips genuine. “I always wanted a sister.”

“So you thought you’d just steal mine?” I say, raising the corner of my mouth.

“Maybe,” she jokes, smiling. “Honestly, your sister was the first person who looked at me for who I was, outside of the gossip surrounding my father. She didn’t care if I was rich or poor or unconnected. She just…wanted to be my friend. You have no idea how rare that is in my world.”

“Sweet Jesus, money really does ruin all things, doesn’t it?”

Cadence turns and I face her.

“I’m not asking to be friends or anything.”

I let out a sigh of relief. “Well, thank God for that. I don’t think I can take any more bombshells this week.”

“But I don’t want to be enemies any longer. If you can make Alex happy, then I’ll leave you two alone.”

“What about your father? Will he do the same?”

She looks down. When she raises her head, her eyes are tinged with an acid expression. “My father is a man who always gets what he wants. I won’t stand in your way but I can’t say the same for him. Just--” She reaches out and lightly touches my shoulder. “Just be careful.”

Cadence leaves me alone on the deck. The floor thumps from a heavy base line somewhere below me. Downstairs the man I want to be with is drinking to the happy future of an old friend. Above him, I’ve buried a feud with an old enemy. Will we ever be able to meet in the middle?