Playing for Keeps (3 page)

She picked up the phone on the fourth ring. “LunaVerse. Celeste speaking.”

“It’s me. Are you busy?”

“Nah. But I wanted to seem busy in case it was Luna.” Luna was her boss and a royal pain in the butt. “What’s up?”

“Nell’s getting married.”

“No way. To that River guy?”

Celeste was always calling him River. “Riley.”

“Whatever. Though I’m telling you, he feels more like a River.”

I rolled my eyes. Did I mention Celeste works in an astrological store? They sell stones and books on weird stuff. She fancies herself as something of a psychic. I give her props for trying, but her “feelings” border on the ridiculous most of the time. But I humor her. I
am
her best friend after all. “Focus on the issue here. Nell is getting married to that tool.”

Celeste had such an expressive shoulder shrug that I could always tell when she did it even if I couldn’t see her. “It’s her life. You’ve got to let her live it.”

“But
Riley
.” I shuddered. “There’s something about him.”

“At least he’s cute.”

For Celeste, that’s all that mattered. But then she didn’t exactly have a stellar track record either. “I still don’t think he’s right for her. He’s so plastic. What can she see in him?”

“Let me see. Great bod, biddable, and platinum card. Hmm. You’re right. He sucks.”

I sighed.

“The problem here isn’t that Nell is getting married. It’s that you’re not.”

“That’s not true.” Very much.

She exhaled so strongly it sounded like gale winds through the receiver. “Whatever. Listen, there’s a hottie in the color therapy section whose energy is calling out to me.”

There was always some hottie calling out to her. She and Nell were a lot alike in that way. Except Celeste didn’t profess to fall in love with every guy she dated. She was just out to jump their bones.

“Okay,” I said, disgruntled. I guess I was looking for more support from her.

“Stop by the store and I’ll do a reading for you. Maybe there’s a guy looming off the horizon waiting for you to step out and claim him.” Her voice grew sly. “I bet he’s tall, dark, and studly with a name that starts with a P.”

“Bye, Celeste.” I hung up.

I loved Celeste but sometimes she drove me crazy. It wasn’t her kookiness—I could get past the psychic babble. Sometimes she was relentless, and she knew it. Especially about Pete. She was convinced Pete was cosmically ideal for me.

He was
not
.

Okay, I admit, he was really, really sexy. And nice. And funny. And sexy. But even if I could get over him dating Nell, I wasn’t willing to risk my second closest friend like that. Not that he’d want me.

Despite her persistence where Pete was concerned, Celeste was the perfect best friend—fiercely loyal and messed up enough to be non-threatening, though not enough to be draining.

Around four I managed to slip out without anyone—meaning Daddy—noticing. I went home, worked out in our basement gym, and took a shower. I slipped into my Batman pajamas and went downstairs.

I stepped into the kitchen and froze. The dishes from dinner last night and breakfast this morning towered crookedly from the sink and spilled onto the counter.

“Chloe!”

No answer.

The brat. She was supposed to have cleaned up. Sighing, I pulled on my gloves and got busy.

I was wiping the counter one last time when Nell and Riley arrived. They came in through the kitchen door. Riley carried two large pizza boxes.

“I see we’re just in time.” Nell beamed at me, practically bouncing over to give me a hug.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. If Riley could make her look so radiant, maybe Pete was right and I should stay out of it.

I was getting pretty sick of Pete being right.

Riley smiled at me. “Hello, Grace.”

His teeth were so blindingly white I wished I had my sunglasses on. “You can put the pizza on the table. I’ll get plates.”

Nell beat me to it. She got up on her toes to pull down a short stack of plates. “Where is everyone?”

“Daddy’s teaching late tonight and Chloe is God knows where. Probably studying at the library. She has finals in a few weeks.”

Nell snorted. “I can’t believe you buy her studious act. She may be studying anatomy, but I bet it’s not on a plastic dummy.”

I frowned at her. There are some things I prefer not to think about, and Chloe getting it on with a guy was one of them. Logically, I knew it was inevitable—she
was
twenty after all—but the illogical part of me couldn’t see her as anything but my baby.

Fortunately, Nell had too much on her mind to dwell on Chloe’s sex life. “Wait till you see my ring. It’s so gorgeous. Riley picked out an amazing diamond.” She beamed at him.

His gaze was equally rapturous. “Nothing but the best for my precious love.”

I rolled my eyes. I’d be lucky if I didn’t throw up before the evening was over.

“And I stopped by a couple caterers that a friend recommended.” She pulled out a manila folder from her purse, which hung on the knob of the back door as usual, and tossed it down on the table. “They gave me sample menus.”

I picked one up and flipped through it. The Ultimate Hawaiian Luau.

Nell put two slices of pizza on a plate and handed it to Riley. She picked a thin piece and pushed the pizza box toward me. “Of course, we’ll have to set a theme before we decide on the menu.”

“Of course,” I murmured. I looked down at the pizza, not really hungry. But I figured I needed sustenance to make it through this ordeal, so I took the biggest slice I could find. “Anyone want a beer?”

They shook their heads so I got one for myself. Hopefully it’d keep me calm and under control until Pete arrived. This was Nell’s event—I didn’t want to get in the way. Not too much, in any case.

Somehow Nell managed to keep the conversation going while she was eating, and it was all wedding talk. Not able to muster up enough enthusiasm for the benefits of picking a black and white color scheme, I kept chewing. Riley smiled at her and occasionally tossed her the properly complacent “Yes, dear” while I washed down the pizza with beer.

Pete walked in as I was putting the dishes in the dishwasher, and I’d never been so happy to see anyone in all my life. “Hey!”

He grinned at me, the slightly wicked one that said he knew I was suffering and he was enjoying it. He tugged my ponytail as a greeting, exchanged some complex man handshake thing with Riley, and kissed Nell on the cheek.

“I didn’t know you were coming tonight, Pete,” my sister said.

“Grace thought you’d need my input.” He got a plate and helped himself to pizza.

I couldn’t resist. “He has the inside track on strippers.”

Nell looked thoughtful. “Maybe I should have you arrange my bachelorette party. I like blonds.”

Grabbing a beer from the fridge, Pete sat down in my chair. “Then I’ll see if I can book Candy. I know for a fact she’s a natural blonde.” He and Riley exchanged grins.

I gagged. “I don’t even want to know how you know that.”

“A woman.” Nell tapped a finger against her lips. How did she manage to keep her lipstick in place even after eating? “I’ll have to consider that. Does she give lap dances?”

“Nell!” I flushed from my chest up to the tips of my ears.

Pete looked at me and chuckled. For some reason that made me flush deeper.

In my defense, I’d like to state that I’m not a prude. Okay, I’ve never kissed a woman or had a
ménage à trois
or anything like that, but I like sex. At least, I remembered that I liked it. It’d been so long… And I didn’t blush in embarrassment. I blushed because I wished someone would give
me
a lap dance. Hell—I’d be willing to be the dancer.

All talk of sexual acts dropped when Nell pulled out her legal pad. “I made a list of what we need to do.”

She handed each of us a copy and let us scan through it before continuing. The first items read

Find a gorgeous dress

Go shoe shopping—princess slippers!

Handmade lingerie?

“Good to know you have your priorities straight,” I said.

She ignored me. “We need to figure out where we’re going to have the ceremony and reception because I have to reserve the space as soon as possible. We also need to decide on a theme. Weddings have to have a theme these days.”

“What do
you
want, Nell?” I asked. It was her wedding after all.

She gazed at Riley. “A big church wedding. Traditional with all the trimmings. Just like Mom and Dad’s.”

He kissed her. “Anything you want.”

My throat clogged up. It’d been a long time since I looked at the wedding album but I could see each documented page like I’d gone through it yesterday. Mom used to pull it out and describe her dress and how she felt like a princess in it. She’d describe the food and the cake and the flowers—hundreds of pink roses because they were her favorite and Daddy insisted she have them even if they cost a fortune. She’d tell us how Daddy’s eyes followed her and how everyone could see plain as day every ounce of love he had for her. She’d say how handsome Daddy was in his tux, that he made her heart beat fast and hard because that day he became hers.

Personally, I loved the picture of Aunt Millie, trashed on champagne, tongue stuck to the ice sculpture she’d tried to lick.

“Trinity?” I supposed they’d let Nell get married there. We were all baptized in that church. Not that they’d recognize us. We hadn’t attended services for so long you couldn’t even really call us lapsed. They probably had us listed as MIA.

“Yeah.” Nell wiped her eyes. She cried at the drop of a hat. That was Nell for you—expressive. I never cried. “I thought the reception could be held outside in their gardens. They have lovely grounds.”

I took her word for it because I couldn’t remember.

“For the theme, I was thinking of doing an autumn motif. Lots of golds, rusts, and greens. You and Chloe would both look great in green.”

“No 70’s theme? I think Pete would look great in a blue bellbottom tux.” I shot him an evil grin.

He tweaked my hair. “Careful.”

Nell ignored us. “So, with that in mind, we’ll be able to pick out the decorations and settings. You’ll help me, won’t you, Gracie?”

“Of course.”

She smiled so radiantly it was painful to behold. “Great. I have some appointments set up already.”

She handed me a sheet of paper that looked like a military campaign schedule. Caterers tomorrow. Florists on Friday. Dresses on Saturday and Sunday.

I grimaced. I hate clothes shopping. Especially with Nell. Put her in a store and she was like the Energizer bunny on cocaine. “Seems action packed,” I said carefully.

“You don’t mind, do you? I figured you’d be free.”

“No, it’s fine.” Everyone took it for granted that I didn’t have a life. I felt Pete’s eyes on me but I ducked my head and pretended to study the schedule.

Riley took a break from staring adoringly at Nell to say, “If we’ve covered the initial details, we should get going.”

In other words: I can’t wait another minute to jump your bones, Nell.

Nell lit up and hurriedly stuffed her folder with her pamphlets and notes. “I think we’ve made enough progress tonight. I’ll leave this for you so you can get acquainted with it before our appointments.”

I took it from her, promising myself I’d study it with all the attention she—and Mom—would want me to give it. I may not have known anything about weddings now but I was going to become an expert real quick.

In a sudden flurry, Nell and Riley left.

Sighing, I collapsed on the chair.

Pete looked amused. “How are you holding up, champ?”

I poked at the manila folder with a finger. “Did you see this? It’s better planned than most military excursions. Daddy would be proud.”

“Are you up to the challenge?”

I heard the subtext to his question. “I can do it.”

“Don’t let Nell con you into doing it all yourself. It’s her wedding.”

I instinctively started to defend her but then I realized he was right. Nell, as organized and analytical as she was, could be flighty. Literally. If she got an idea to do something in her head, she was gone. Mom’s death did that to her. I went to one extreme: being really cautious about everything I did. She went to the other: living in the moment to the exclusion of all else.

Daddy walked in through the kitchen door. “Pete. Good to see you.” They shook hands before he dropped a kiss on my forehead. “Was that Nell I saw leaving, Gracie?”

“Yes, sir.” Daddy didn’t smell right. I sniffed furtively but couldn’t put a finger on what was different. “Should I warm up some pizza for you?”

“No. I’m going to take a shower and watch some TV in my room. Goodnight, you two.” He strode quickly through the hall. I could hear his heavy tread as he took the stairs two at a time.

I frowned. Daddy was hiding something. Usually he hung around, told stories from his workout, and gave me status updates on how each of his students was doing.

Then I realized what was different. He smelled too clean—not sweaty like he’d been working out all day.

Weird.

“I’m going to take off too.” Pete got up and rinsed his beer bottle before dropping it into the recycling bin.

“Why aren’t
you
married?” The question popped out before I could censor it.

He raised his brow, leaning against the sink with his arms folded.

I shrugged. “It’s just that you’re so housebroken. You’d think some woman would have snapped you up long before now.”

His lips tipped up like he was amused but his eyes were a serious gray-blue. “I’m just waiting for the right one to propose.”

Thank goodness he wasn’t seeing anyone. If he got married, he probably wouldn’t be able to hang out with me as much, and I wasn’t ready to lose his friendship.

He tipped up my chin, kissed my forehead, and smoothed out my frown with his thumb. “Call me.”

I watched him leave. For a split second, I wished I were free to go with him.