Two weeks went by.
No drama.
No fights.
No nothing.
It was an eerie calm, and it wasn’t that nothing at all happened, just no bad stuff. There were parties. Heather and Channing came over, and we hung out at Manny’s. There’d been no more sightings of Caldron, so Mason and Adam went back to working at the country club. The hotel was nearing its opening, and they’d been doing more and more events for it—radio interviews, newspaper interviews, ads, even a couple videos for Facebook. And somehow, during those three weeks, I got roped into helping with a bridal shower for Becky.
Heather brought in a package of silk flowers and dumped them on Malinda’s table. “What are we doing here? We’re not bridal shower friends. We’re Vegas and bachelorette party friends.”
Cass came over and picked up some of the flowers. “You’re supporting friends, and Sam promised to support Becky.”
Heather glared at her. “I hate you.”
Cass narrowed her eyes.
“Go away,” Heather added.
I smothered a laugh.
“You’re still just as hateful as you were in high school.” Cass sniffed.
“Like you would know,” Heather countered. “You went to the rich, preppy school.”
I was content to let this go on as long as necessary. Mark’s girlfriend was a longtime enemy of mine. We’d come to a strained truce because of Becky, but nothing had been spoken between us. I was waiting for her attack. It’d come. It always did.
I had a lot of fires in my life. They were all simmering and contained, but at any moment, there could be an explosion.
Malinda came to watch the exchange from the kitchen, and my excitement died a slow death inside of me. I had to stop Heather from completely annihilating Cass, though it would’ve been so much fun to watch.
Clearing my throat, I grabbed a pile of papers that still needed to be folded and sat down. “I’m seconding Heather’s request. Go away, Cass. We’re busy folding these little suckers. We don’t need you to boss us around.”
Heather sat beside me, taking half the pile. “Yeah. Get stomping…” She waited until Cass had left with a huff before adding under her breath, “you prissy bitch.”
I had to stifle another laugh. Today was not the day.
She looked at the paper as she started to fold and paused. “Wait. The Love Game?” She read one of the questions. “Who said I love you first?” She looked to me. “Are you serious? This is the type of game people play at bridal showers?”
I shrugged, starting on my pile. The questions were on the front of the page and the answers were on the back. No one was supposed to look, but Malinda had them printed this way on purpose. Everyone was going to cheat, but Becky would feel like everyone actually knew her that well.
“From what I Googled, this is common stuff,” I told her.
She snorted, starting on her pile. “Too bad it’s not Logan’s bridal shower. This game would have questions like Who offered to do anal first?”
We looked at each other and said at the same time, “Logan.”
I laughed. “That’s a no-brainer.”
Heather sighed. “I’m going to die of boredom at this thing. What did you blackmail me with to make me do this?”
I thought about it. “I threatened to tell Logan that Channing wants to marry you.”
“Oh yeah.” She shuddered. “I don’t want to think about what he’d say if he knew that. He’d be on my ass all day long.”
“If he didn’t have Taylor, he’d be begging to be your maid of honor.”
Heather barked out a laugh. “He would. He’d be stabbing you in the back, trying to get that position from you.”
“He could have it. I hate weddings.”
I cringed, realizing what I’d just said. The words slipped out before I knew I was even going to say them.
Heather paused mid-fold. “Are you serious?”
I looked around, making sure no one else had heard my flub. Then I shrugged, leaning forward. “Maybe.”
“This is the wrong summer for you to be saying that. You know that, right?”
I nodded. “I’m not proclaiming it or anything.”
“Becky got engaged. Channing’s been bringing it up more and more with me, and your mom is actually getting married very soon.”
“I’m aware. It’s all around me.”
She lowered her voice. “Has Mason mentioned the M-word to you?”
I shook my head, feeling some relief. “No. I think it’s just overkill. That’s all.”
“Bullshit.” Heather continued to watch me steadily. She wasn’t giving me any room to breathe. “The whole wedding thing is usually contagious for girls. If you’re around it, you suddenly want to do it, too.” She studied me. “You look ready to bolt just having this conversation. You really hate weddings, or you hate your own wedding?”
I hated this conversation. “I’m not engaged, so this is a conversation I don’t need to bother with.”
“But he will ask you.”
My heart jumped to my throat. “You know something I should know?”
She shook her head. “No, but it’s Mason. He loves you—like, really loves you. He’s going to want a ring on your finger.”
I knew that, but the thought of marriage sent ice through my veins.
“I’ll deal with it,” I told her.
The look in her eye said bullshit.
“It’s not a big deal.”
She snorted. Again. “You need to talk to Mason about that. For real, Sam. It’s a big deal. It’s on the same level as when a partner doesn’t want to have kids and the other does. It’s a deal breaker.”
She wasn’t helping. I felt a headache forming. “I know. I’ll talk to him.”
“Promise?”
I nodded.
“No, you have to say the word. I know you, and you’ll try to get out of it somehow. Promise me, Sam.”
I didn’t understand the problem. Mason never brought up marriage or weddings. We hadn’t talked about it, and he came from the same background as me. He’d understand. Right? But I remembered the fear I felt when I first realized how much I didn’t want marriage.
I didn’t want to promise, but Heather was waiting, watching me like a hawk. “I’ll talk to him,” I heard myself say.
She let out a sigh of relief. “Good.” She squeezed my hand. “It’ll be fine. I know it. That guy worships the ground you walk on. There’s nothing he wouldn’t deal with for you.”
Yeah…I hoped so.
Heather went back to reading the questions and groaned. “Honestly? ‘What’s your idea of a perfect weekend?’ Please. Hers is probably when there’s a slight breeze in the air, walks on the beach, and cuddling in front of the fireplace. His is probably a blow job to wake up, a blow job at lunch, a backdoor rally in the afternoon, and a good scotch after dinner.” She rolled her eyes. “I can’t stand when couples like them get married.”
I laughed, wondering just how far off her answers were from Becky and Adam’s truth.
Then Becky walked in with Adam right behind her. They were holding hands and smiling, but the terror in her eyes and forced lines around his mouth were what caught my attention.
“Wait, wait, wait,” Heather said. “Since when does the groom come to these things? This completely blows all of my white trash stereotypes about what rich folks do.”
Malinda went over to greet them. As Adam hugged her, Becky glanced at me, and I stood.
“Something’s not right,” I told Heather.
“What?”
I was across the room before Malinda had finished gushing over the couple. She had an arm around Becky’s waist and beamed at me.
“One of these days, this will be you and Mason, Sam. I can’t wait.”
“Yeah.” My cheeks were hurting, my smile was so forced. I reached for Becky’s hand. “Can I have a minute?”
An emotion flickered in Malinda’s eyes, and she glanced down. I know she saw how tightly Becky held onto my hand, but she continued to exude warmth. She turned, pulling Adam over to where Cass and some other girls were helping put up the decorations. “Come on, Adam. I need your opinion about where we should put the cake.”
Becky overheard. “There’s a cake?”
I pulled her past everyone, motioning for Heather to follow, and tugged her downstairs.
We found Mark on the couch playing video games.
“Hey, wha—” he started to say, but I cut him off.
“Get out. This is girl time.”
He paused his game. “Where am I supposed to go?”
“Logan’s determined to create a new drink. Go over and be his guinea pig.”
He groaned, but turned the game off. “I’m going to get wasted off my ass, aren’t I?”
Heather patted him on the back as he moved past us, going upstairs. “Just have fun doing it. That’s the trick.”
He muttered something under his breath, but then the door shut behind him.
Becky bit her lip, hugging herself. She eyed Heather.
“Heather’s fine.”
“She’s your friend, not mine,” Becky said.
Heather snorted, sitting where Mark had just left. “If you want to start a fight, keep reminding me of that.”
“Heather’s loyal to me, and as long as I’m loyal to you, so is she.”
Becky continued to stare at Heather, doubt evident in her gaze. Then she turned to me. “You pulled me down here. What’s going on?”
“Something’s wrong.”
“I know. What’s up?”
“No.” I shook my head, sitting on the couch next to Heather. “With you and Adam. What’s going on?”
Becky seemed to shrink as she sat on the couch across from us. “You noticed that, huh?” She rubbed her hands together, sticking them between her knees. “I thought I’d perfected the plastic look.”
Heather laughed. “The fact that I know exactly what you mean makes me think Sam’s not all that crazy for liking you again.”
Becky looked up, warily, and shrugged. “Plastic and shiny. It’s the fake look we rich people offer, isn’t it?”
Heather lifted a shoulder. “It’s the equivalent to the tough, I-don’t-give-a-fuck look we not-rich people have.”
A cloud came over Becky’s features. “Adam might not be able to go to law school. We might have to stay here after we graduate. He’s going to have to take over his dad’s business.”
This.
This was the moment—I could feel it—what Mason had been searching for since James had sicced him on Adam. I tried to quell my adrenaline.
I leaned forward, keeping my voice casual and steady, “What do you mean?”
Heather sent me a look.
Becky shook her head. “It’s so messed up. I don’t even know what to say.” She looked at the ceiling. “It’s nothing Adam’s done. It’s what’s being done to him. His dad’s fucked up in a major way.”
Heather leaned forward slowly. She softened her voice. “What’s he doing?”
“He’s breaking the law.”
“How?”
“He broke down and told Adam this morning. It’s all complicated, but from what I understood, when he has to get permits to develop land somewhere, he bribes whoever gives him the permits. He found a copy of the emails on a computer somewhere. He doesn’t know who made the copy, but he knows it’s out there and everything could blow up in our faces. He’d go to jail.”
“Bullshit.” Heather leaned back. “Rich people pay fines. Poor people go to jail. That’s a fact.”
“Not with this.” Becky suddenly looked so tired, like a slight wind could knock her over. “It’s been going on for years, and there’s enough to worry about that even I’m in the know.” She shook her head, getting up and beginning to pace the room. “You guys can’t say anything. I mean it. Adam would break off the engagement if he knew I was telling you guys this. No one can know.”
“Yeah, of course.” I nodded.
Becky sighed. “I mean, in the long run, it’s not that bad. Adam could take over the company and run it until he finds someone else to step in for him.”
“What would he do then?” Heather asked.
“He’d go to law school as he’s planning. And then he’d go into politics after that. This would just be a speed bump along the way.”
Heather shared a look with me. It sounded like a doable plan, but anything could be planned out on paper. Only sometimes life didn’t turn out that way. I stood up and went over to Becky, pulling her in for a hug. Then I lied to her because that was what she wanted to hear at the moment.
“Everything will be fine.”
She hugged me back, and as those words left me, she sagged in relief.
“Thank you, Sam.”
The door to the basement opened, and Malinda called down, “Everyone’s starting to arrive. Becky, are you down there?”
She took a deep breath as she pulled away from me.
“I’m here.” Smoothing her dress and fluffing her hair, she flashed Heather and me a smile. “Thank you, guys.” She squeezed my hand. “I mean it. I’m coming, Malinda!”
Heather stood next to me, watching her go up the stairs.
“Samantha? Heather?” Malinda called back down.
Heather asked softly, “Why do you look like you just killed her puppy?”
“Do you really want to know?” I kept my voice low so Malinda couldn’t hear.
“Do you have to ask?”
“Girls?”
“I know who has the copy of those emails.”
“Who?” Heather stopped me.
Malinda watched us, a slight frown marring her face. “Just come up when you’re ready.” She moved back, shutting the door.
“Sam,” Heather prompted me. “Who has that copy?”
“Mason.”
I went upstairs. He just might not realize what he had a copy of.
Heather was right behind me, and she took my arm and pulled me out to the back porch. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
I could see through the window. Becky’s smile was more relaxed. She had a fresh glow to her, and she tipped her head up so Adam could drop a light kiss on her lips. She looked happy, and I was going to be the reason it was taken away.
I nodded. “It’s her or Mason. I’ll always pick Mason.” I studied her. “Are you with me?”
She gave me a look. “You know I am. I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were doing. You recently decided to become friends with her again, and now you’re going to do something I know you loathe.”
“I know. I’m going to stab her in the back.”
And with those words, I went back inside. Heather was right behind me. There was no confusion. I knew exactly what I’d just become, and so did she.
I was the bad guy now.