Chapter Thirteen
Cassie
Thanks to Declan’s little pep talk and ass slap, I walked into the house feeling pretty damn good about myself. That was, up until I heard my old girlfriends squeal my name like we were still in varsity cheer. And Brice veered off in one direction and Dec in another. “Where are y’all going? Declan Wylder Preston, I thought you said you’d be by my side.”
He turned to me with a smug smile. “Oh I have every intention of being by your side, eventually. Payback’s a bitch, princess.”
I shot a death glare at his retreating back. All at once I was enveloped in a suffocating cloud of perfume and hair spray. “Cassandra. It’s been ages, what have you been up to?” I hadn’t seen them since before I hooked up with Declan in Florida. And I hadn’t missed them. Not once.
Ugh. “Oh you know, just busy with my son. I opened my own store down in Seaside. Just l-i-v-i-n’…” The expressions on their faces told me that my new hippie stance on life wasn’t impressive. These girls thrived on drama and money. My quaint little bookstore and beach life would never seem appealing to them.
Nicole wore a dramatic pout…well, as much of a pout as she could manage with her lip implants. “Let me tell you, we have all been so worried about you, darling.”
Could they just leave it at that? Just concern for an old friend? Of course not.
“First Steven calls off your wedding, then you end up pregnant from a one-night stand? And now, a working single mother to a fatherless son.” Amber put her hand on my arm; her long talon fingernails grossed me out.
Are you mothereffin’ kidding me? They were making my life sound like a made-for-TV movie. And a bad one at that. “Well, actually, I called off our wedding, not Steven. And my son is not fatherless. Declan is Wyllie’s father.”
Then Racheal, dipshit number three, piped up. “Declan? Didn’t he move to Europe? Oh you poor little thing, he found out you were pregnant and then left anyway. How tragic.”
How I should have reacted: calm yet contrite. Yes, Declan has been living in London for the last two years. But I just recently told him about Wyllie. It’s been a tough couple of days, but we’ve come together as a little family and he is so in love with our child.
How I actually reacted: letting out a high faker-than-fake tinkling laugh that I hadn’t heard come out of my mouth in over two damn years. “Oh don’t be silly. Declan and I have been together since that first night. We just thought it would be tacky to rub our blossoming family in Steven’s face. He did move to London for a while. It wasn’t easy but we made it work. He’s the best father, we’re so lucky.”
Nicole glanced down at my bare ring finger. “Together for two years? With a child? And no proposal? How could he do that to you?”
I looked across the room and saw Dec standing at the bar; he had a scotch in one hand and a glass of wine for me in the other. He was going to shoot me. I’d already turned his world upside down…and I was about to do it again. But I couldn’t stop the words from coming out of my mouth. I just couldn’t.
“We’re engaged, have been for over a year now. He popped the question right after Wyllie was born. Uh, it was our first night home together as a family. He filled the house with flowers and candles, and got down on one knee. It was so romantic.”
Again she looked down at my ring finger. “Really? When’s the wedding, darling?”
Could this hole get any freaking deeper? Sure it could, watch. “Well, you didn’t hear this from me, my mother would just kill me for ruining the surprise…but her annual Christmas Eve party is actually our wedding.” Oh. My. God. The lies were just flowing like wine. I knew I shouldn’t be but I was kind of impressed with myself. Maybe I needed to see a therapist? Had I always lied like this?
“Oh, a surprise wedding. That is so in right now. Don’t you worry your pretty little head for just one minute—our lips are sealed. We are so happy for you, Cassandra, aren’t we, girls?”
They answered in sync. “So happy.”
I wanted to vomit. Had I been like that? Had I been dipshit number four? I would like to think that I’d always found them gross and fake. Well, better late than never, right?
Of course Dec picked that moment to walk up. He handed me a glass of chilled white wine. I slipped my hand around his waist. “There you are, sweetheart.” Out of the corner of my eye I could see him staring down at me, wearing a confused smile.
Nicole ran her hand down his arm. I smirked when he pulled back. “We were just telling Cassandra here how happy we are all for you two.”
Declan’s smile became genuine. “Oh, yes, thank you. We’re pretty happy too.”
Amber winked at him. These bitches better back off; he was my fake fiancé. He was…fake…taken. “I would hope so. I mean a son, an engagement, all coming together in a surprise wedding ceremony? Y’all sound like a celebrity couple.”
I felt Dec tense up next to me. I dug my fingers into his side, sending up a silent prayer that he just went with it.
“Mmmmmhmmm.” He grinned and took a sip of his scotch.
“Well, if y’all will excuse me, we simply must mingle.” They walked off together, in a pack, looking for their next meal.
When they were gone, Dec grabbed my arm, pulling me away from his body and turning me to face him, “What the hell, Cass?”
“Look, I—”
“You guys are never going to believe what just fucking happened. Amber’s husband followed me into the bathroom and—” Brice stopped short, looking between Declan and me. “Wait, what’s with all the tension here? Why does Dec look like he’s seconds away from strangling you?”
Declan cleared his throat. “It’s time to go.”
“We have full glasses, man,” Brice whined.
“Don’t care, let’s go.” Dec started to walk toward the front door.
Just like the siblings we were, Brice and I both downed our drinks before following him out. Petulant. Just ask my mom.
“Wonderful.” Declan rolled his eyes, grabbed us both by the arm and steered us out of the house.
Once we were all safely in the car Brice asked again, “What the hell is going on?”
Dec looked at me, eyebrows raised. “Since Cassie is apparently so good at telling stories, I’ll let her explain.”
I made a face at Declan. “Both you guys abandoned me. I was attacked by perfume and a pack of passive-aggressive bitches.”
Brice snickered. “What did they say to you?”
“They called me a working single mother with a fatherless child.”
Brice’s eyes got wide. “They. Did. Not.”
I nodded. “They. Did.”
“So what did you say?”
“I told them that Wyllie was not fatherless, that Declan was his dad.”
“Good for you, sis.”
Declan crossed his arms over his chest. “And?”
“Annnnd…that I was not single. That Declan and I had been together since the night Wyllie was conceived.” I shrugged and looked out the window.
Declan let out an irritated sigh. “And.”
“Annnd…that we were engaged and we’re going to have a surprise wedding on Christmas Eve…yaaaaaaay…” I smiled and did a little happy dance.
Everyone in the south had annual holiday parties. My mom’s Christmas Eve get-together was the social event of the season. She sent out gold embossed invitations and had champagne fountains, ice sculptures, and real snow brought in. It really would make a beautiful backdrop for a wedding. It was a lovely lie.
Brice spit out the sip of scotch he’d just taken from his pocket flask. “Cassie. You told them that?”
“I did.”
Declan shook his head. “She did.”
Brice leaned forward to our driver. “Sir, take us to the nearest bar.”