[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

your business to prosper financially.
 Our business, her mother corrected coolly.  The last time I checked, you
were a Garrity as well. And I refuse to air out any more of our family issues in
front of these people. Meet me at the café in the main hall in fifteen minutes.
I ll get us a quiet corner, and we can deal with this like grown-ups. She turned
on her tasteful spindly heel and swept out of the room without waiting for an
answer.
These people. As if they were some subhuman race. Lacey stared at the open
door for a long moment, still reeling from the shock. She d gone to sleep feeling
happy and safe and satisfied and had woken up to a nightmare.
 Well, that was awkward, Cat said, stepping back into the room. Her
expressive face was high with color, and Lacey knew it had taken every ounce
of her friend s self-control not to tell Rowena where to go. Despite her mother s
best efforts to get Cat to behave like the low-class broad she d determined her
to be, Cat had always managed to handle herself beautifully. In the past
twenty years, she d never once told Rowena what she really thought of her. By
now, she seemed mostly immune to Lacey s mother s cold but polite
forbearance capped by random, subtle putdowns. But Galen wasn t used to it,
and Lacey could feel the tension pouring off him.
 I m so sorry, you guys. She has no right to treat you that way. I know she s
a nightmare. Let me get this over with. I ll talk to her and send her on her
way.
Galen released her hand and nodded.  You do what you need to. In spite of
his words, she could feel the change in him. It was like he d erected a wall
between them in just a few short minutes, and she hated it.
 I won t be long. Then we can go fishing like we d planned, all right? She
despised the pleading tone of her voice but couldn t seem to help it.  It will be
fine, you ll see.
Galen nodded and rolled to his feet.  Sure thing.
Cat scowled at him.  Don t let her get in your head, Lace. Stay strong. We ll
be here when you get back. Come on, bro, let s go for a swim and let her get
ready.
They left Lacey alone in the bed. Their bed. The look on Galen s face had
about done her in, and she wanted nothing more than to rail at her mother for
her behavior. The thought got her up and moving, fueled by her anger. It was
time to put her mother on notice. She wasn t the same woman she used to be
before her wedding day. Before Puerto Rico. Before Galen.
And more than that? She wasn t going back.
Less than twenty minutes later, she stood at the entrance to the café.
Sucking in a deep breath, she yanked open the door and stepped inside.
Her mother was already seated, and the hostess led Lacey to the small booth
in the farthest corner where Rowena sat with a glass of grapefruit juice and a
face just as sour.
She glanced pointedly at the slim gold watch on her wrist, but Lacey didn t
bite. She slid onto the booth and faced Rowena head-on.  I don t appreciate
the way you treated my friends.
 And I don t appreciate your tone or the way you re behaving. I think it s time
for you to look a little harder at the people you call friends. Her mother
plucked up the napkin in front of her, opened it with a snap, and settled it on
her lap before meeting Lacey s gaze again.  A girl who drags you into trouble
by the nose since childhood fixes you up with her brute of a brother. Her voice
had risen slightly and a blue vein throbbed behind the thin skin of her
forehead. She stilled, took a breath, and folded her hands primly on the table,
modulating her tone again.  A brother who pretends to be a gallant rescuer of
runaway brides, only to sweep you off to Puerto Rico and take advantage of
your vulnerability and wealth. And they should have my respect?
 No. No, don t you make it sound like that. Every time something doesn t go
exactly the way you want it to, you start this bull. The manipulation and
bending the truth, putting a nefarious spin on everything. Cat is like a sister to
me. She s been nothing but good for me, and Galen came here and helped me
through a very rough time. I didn t pay for his ticket, and he has his own
money. They are the best friends I ve ever had.
 Well then I suggest you start interviewing for new ones, because a true
friend wouldn t lead you down a path of destruction and heartache or be party
to the breakup of your marriage.
 I. Am. Not. Married. She all but spat the words, but her mother barely
blinked.
The determination in Rowena s eyes was chilling.  You spoke vows. We had a
contract with Marty s family. The merger is in place. We have made promises to
clients about this expansion; there are deals on the table contingent on this
going through. This isn t some child s game to be tossed aside over a crush.
People s livelihoods depend on this. Already the negative press is damaging our
name. We need to make this right, and we need to do it now.
It took every ounce of self-discipline to keep her voice low enough that the
other diners wouldn t hear.  You know, Mother, people who negotiate these
types of arrangements have a name. They re called Madames. Or pimps, if you
prefer.
Rowena didn t bother to feign shock or horror. Instead, her shrewd eyes
narrowed at the barb. She looked like a snake.  Don t be such a drama queen.
I m not selling you off to some lecherous sheik. Marty is a nice young man with
an impeccable pedigree. Our families are doing what good families have done
for generations. Ensuring that our son and daughter settle down with a spouse
of equal standing.
 And in your estimation  she could feel the pulse throbbing in her temple
and fought to keep her composure  a man who would cheat on his wedding
day is my equal?
Her mother shrugged her slim shoulders and took a sip of juice before
responding.  I m speaking socially. You thought he was fine until his little slip.
In fact, you were happy to marry him. As for the man s character, it s no worse
than most. You always were such a little prude about that. Men are lustful
beasts, Lacey. Make your home, make your babies, spend his money, enjoy the
club and your social life, and turn the other cheek to the rest of it.
Lacey drew back, as much stunned that her mother still had the ability to
shock her as she was by her words.  You can t possibly believe that.
 Oh, but I do.
 I guess that s easy to say, since Dad never cheated. Why you would want
that for your only daughter, I don t 
Rowena s mirthless, tinkling laugh skated down Lacey s spine like an icicle.
 Oh, darling girl, don t be so naive. How do you think I got him to buy me the
house in the Hamptons? Or that Bentley? Or this bracelet, for that matter. She
held out her hand to examine the diamond bangle with a fond smile.
Lacey s stomach heaved, and she bit down on her trembling lip. Her mother
had always been a dragon, but her father? A distant but doting teddy bear of a
man. The one she could count on for a hug or an ear to bend when he was
home to give it.
A cheater.
As much as she didn t want to believe it, when her mother met her gaze
again, she saw the truth there, laid bare. She shook her head violently.  No.
Not me. I don t want that. I won t have that. I want someone who will be
honest and loyal and who loves me more than anything else in the world.
Rowena swept a hand over her flawless updo.  Then get a dog.
Lacey wouldn t give her the satisfaction of flinching.  I won t let you crush
this dream for me.
 Is that what you think you have in your boxer up there? A dream?
Lacey looked away, refusing to answer.
 Here s a wake-up call for you, then. If a vapid little man like Marty would
cheat, why would you think one woman would be enough for your virile Mr.
Thomas?
Rowena s aim was true, and the venom-tipped arrow struck home. In spite of
Lacey s immediate denial, she could already feel the insidious effects of the
poison infiltrating her thoughts, seeping into her heart. Hadn t she thought [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]