Twisted Proposal (13 page)

“Trying to find the way outside,” I lied.

“So this is your stepdaughter? Now I see what all the fuss is about,” the man said without bothering to introduce himself. He shared a glance with Stuart and left the room. 

What did that mean?

Stuart pursed his lips, then drained his glass of bourbon. “You look nice.”

“Thanks,” I replied, wanting to ask him if they were talking about me, but instead he exited the room without another word. After a quick glance around to see if anyone was watching, I ducked over to the bar and poured a quick drink of Jack and Coke, with very little soda.
A little liquid courage never hurt anyone.
Downing the beverage, I felt the familiar warmness begin take over. I licked my lips and squared my shoulders, standing straight. Now I was ready to take this dinner on. I made my way outside.

Chapter Thirteen

Someone had set a table for eight on the wooden deck. A different cook was grilling what looked like steak and lobster. I approached him, smiling.
Where was Zach?
I didn’t see him anywhere. I turned back to the chef. “Excuse me, sir,” I said. 

He faced me. “Hello, Addison, how may I be of assistance?”

For some reason, that made me laugh. “Well, for starters, I must say that I’ve never had anyone say that to me before. But I wanted to let you know I’m a vegetarian. I don’t know if anyone told you or not.”

“Yes, dear, I have been informed, and I’ve prepared a lovely rice pilaf with grilled vegetables for you.”

“Sounds delicious. Can’t wait.”

“Addison, what are you doing?” Petra snapped as she joined us. She had changed into a red flowered dress and heels. Her eyes glazed over as she took me in.

“Nothing you need to be concerned with.” I dismissed her walking over to Zach, who was standing near the railing.

“Hey kid, what’s up?”

“Not much, but this should be interesting,” Zach said.

              “What?”  I edged closer, trying to peer around him, but he blocked me.

              “You’ll see.” He flashed me a killer grin. It was obvious he was up to something, but I didn’t want to stick around to find out.

              “You’re so funny!” Lexus laughed. She was nearby, but I didn't see her until Zach pulled me out of the way. She was to my right, coming up a set of almost hidden stairs that led down to the pool.

She greeted me with a sneer, before smiling over her shoulder at someone. I rolled my eyes and turned back to look at the pool, resting my elbows on the railing. I didn’t care who she was with.

The crystal clear blue water seemed to call my name. I’m sure it would feel nice in this heat. Not that it was unbearably hot, but it was definitely different. A little stone pathway wound through the backyard, pausing poolside, and then continued further back to a gazebo-like building. They had their own private getaway right here.
What was the point of ever going on vacation?

              “Addison, I want to introduce you to someone,” Zach said.

              “Okay.” I twisted around to see Lexus draped all over Jackson, who was now dressed in a pair of gray dress slacks and a red polo shirt, which fit him well
.

              “Jackson, this is my half-sister from Illinois, Addison." She pulled Jackson closer to her. "She used to live in the ghetto,” Lexus added in a loud whisper.

“How nice of you to share that with the world?" I kept a neutral expression on my face.
What did I care if he knew I lived in the ghetto, but she didn’t have to be so rude!

To my surprise, he ignored her and focused on me, like his father had done. At least he knew how to be respectful.

“Nice to formally meet you, Addison.” He extended his hand. I thought about not taking it but smiled and shook it. Lexus gave me a dirty look. Now I knew how to get her back.

              “Likewise, I’m sure,” I responded. Unimpressed, I returned to studying the backyard.             

“If you like this yard, then you would love mine,” Jackson noted, as he slid next to me.

“You sure know how to take stalking to the next level,” I replied, not looking at him.               

Before Jackson could respond, Stuart announced: “Time to eat.” I straightened up, coming eye to eye with Jackson. There was something that made me uneasy about him. It was as if he was peering into my soul or something. He moved aside so I could pass. 

I took a seat next to Zach and placed a linen napkin in my lap.

Mr. Van Buren passed me a dinner roll. “I don’t know if your father told you, but I knew your mother and her sister as well.”

              “Who didn’t?” Petra snickered, before I could respond. I narrowed my eyes at her but returned to Mr. Van Buren. He was, after all, addressing me.

“They were an interesting pair. Your mother’s Elizabeth?” he asked.

I carefully split the roll and dabbed some butter on it before saying, “Elizabeth wasn’t my mother. Eve was.”
Take that, Petra
. Stuart shot daggers at me, but I pretended not to notice as Petra’s smile faded.

              “Eve? Who’s that?” Petra questioned, gawking at Stuart.

So he hadn’t told her.
Perfect.
That’ll teach you to mess with me.

              “Elizabeth’s identical twin.” I sipped my water. All eyes were suddenly on me.

“Oh yes, I remember that,” Petra said quickly.

It was obvious that no one bothered to fill in our guest about my being here and that lit a fire within me. I wasn’t afraid of anyone anymore. These people were nothing to me.

              A model--thin woman sat down next to Jackson’s father and looped her arm though his. She had perfectly smooth olive skin, and her dark brunette hair framed her chiseled cheekbones. Her light grey eyes took me in with interest. “Sorry I’m late, everyone. The shoot ran late.”

“It’s no problem, honey, we were just getting started,” Mr. Van Buren said and planted a kiss on her cheek.

“Nice of you to join us on such short notice,” Petra gushed.

“It’s no problem at all. Especially when Remmy told me that one of your daughters was interested in modeling.” She planted her eyes on me.

For a moment, I was confused.
Surely she meant Lexus, who was so vain anyway, but she kept staring at me, studying me like a bug under a microscope. Modeling? Me? She had to be kidding, right?

“The dress looks fabulous on you….” Her words tapered off as she realized she didn't know my name.

“Addison. Her name’s Addison,” Stuart answered for me.

“Okay. Well, Addison, if you don’t mind, will you stand and spin for me?” she asked.

I felt my face grow warm.
Did I really have to do this? How humiliating.
For a second, no one said anything. That’s why there was no tag. It was made especially for me. I glared at Stuart, who avoided my stare, but caught Lexus wrinkling her nose.

              “Oh excuse me. I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Morgan DeFrio, hyphen Van Buren, of course. Come on now, let me see,” she urged.

“Okay.” I stood and rotated in a tight circle.

              “It’s perfect. Do you like it?” Morgan's voice bubbled with energy. It seemed unnatural, but it worked for her.

              “Yes,” I replied. I mean what else could I say?
I hated it?

              “You can sit now, dear. What do you like about it?” she said, ignoring everyone at the table. She wanted an honest answer, and I was going to give her one.

              “I’m not keen on the color, cut or the fact that it’s strapless. But I like the way it feels on me. It’s not too tight and I like that. Um…and I know this is going to sound stupid, but I like when I twirl around that it floats up.”

Lexus laughed. I pretended not to hear. “It’s nice," I added “Did you …did you make it or design it?”

              “I’m a designer; I leave the hard stuff for other people.” She placed her napkin in her lap. “I’m glad you like it. I’ll have to snap a picture before we leave.”

              “So, Addison, how do you like California so far?” Jackson asked.

              “I don’t. I miss Illinois,” I replied.

“I have to ask, why
are
you here then?” He shifted his gaze to his father.

“She’s been living with her mother and decided on a whim she wanted a change,” Stuart interjected before I could answer.
Why was he lying?

              “Children are like that,” Mr. Van Buren said, peering at me, his curiosity aroused.

My heart skipped a beat.
I wasn’t a child. I was practically seventeen.

“So tell me, Addison,” Mr. Van Buren continued, “Are you excited about living with your father?”

              I wasn’t going to lie for Stuart. I met his eyes head on. “As happy as one can be under the circumstances.” I wasn’t in the mood for a dinner of lies.
Why couldn’t he just be honest?
He was making a big deal out of everything.

              “Circumstances?” Mr. Van Buren repeated, shooting daggers at Stuart. Clearly, Mr. Van Buren did not like being kept out of the loop.

“My mother died of stomach cancer. I apologize for Stuart advising you this was some kind of split-second decision,” I clarified. Stuart choked, and Petra made a strangled sound. “But I’m sure California will grow on me,” I added, taking another sip of my water. My head ached.
Maybe I shouldn’t have drunk that Jack!

“I’m sure.” Mr. Van Buren then asked Stuart about his court schedule for the following week, and the conversation shifted to talk about the law firm.

I focused on my leafy salad with red vinaigrette that someone had placed in front of me. It was sweeter than I had anticipated but rather tasty.

“So have you given any thought about where you will be attending school?” Jackson asked when it was quiet again, which was after the salad plates were removed.

              “No.” I shrugged.
Why did he care where I attended school?

              “I think you would be a good candidate for Briarwood Academy. I know it’s late in the semester, but still I feel it would be a perfect fit. Especially since you’re planning to pursue pre-med, isn’t that right, father?” he asked, glancing at Mr. Van Buren.

And how did Van Buren and his son know that? Did everyone pass my personal file around?
I gave Stuart a strange look, but he avoided me by carefully cutting up his steak.
And Briarwood wasn’t that where my mom and aunt went to school?
I would have to double-check that. Truth be told, I didn’t care where I went to school, only that I graduated and got the hell out of here. “Candidate? You make it sound like a competition,” I muttered.

              “That’s because it is,” Jackson said.

Lexus snickered. I shot her a nasty glare.

“You know what? I think I’ll go to the same school as Lexus.” She perked up, soaking up the attention.
Anything to get the attention off of me.

              “I don’t know if Willow Brooke Academy would be a good choice for you, but it’s always an option,” Jackson said, as if it was his decision.

What was wrong with these people?
“Fine, I’ll just go to public school,” I said. Everyone erupted in laughter. “Guess I don’t get that joke.”

“No one here goes to public school. That would be, like, social suicide,” Lexus scoffed.

              Fire coursed through my veins, and I took another drink to calm down.
Like I knew or cared about social suicide! They should try living with the consequences of a real suicide sometime.

“What she means to say is that I prefer that no one in my office send their children to public school. They are underfunded, understaffed, and under-appreciated.  If you’re smart, you go to a
smart
school. If you’re not, and your parents have money, you go to a different school,” Mr. Van Buren said, directing his comment at Lexus, but she missed it.

              “What are your scores, dear?” Morgan asked.

              “Scores?”

Again Lexus giggled. I sighed. I was getting rather sick of her.

              “Do you know your ACTs or the SATs? Either will do,” Jackson asked.

              My test scores weren’t that great because I had stayed up all night before the test, thanks to Elizabeth having yet another overdose episode at work. I had spent the night in the ER with her. “I scored a 36 on the ACT and at 2200 on the SAT.”

              “Briarwood would be a great school for you. You should check into that, Stuart,” Mr. Van Buren advised.

              “Yes sir. First thing in the morning,” Stuart said.

             
What was happening
? I was going to some private school. Wouldn’t that be…expensive. How was I going to pay for that?

Petra began a conversation about some friends of hers with Mrs. Van Buren as the main course was served.

              “Where’s your lobster?” Jackson asked when a plate of rice and vegetables were placed in front of me.

              “I don’t eat meat,” I replied and Mrs. Van Buren smiled. She was eating the same food as me.

              “Are you just a no-meat kind of girl, or do you go all the way?” Jackson joked, and Petra choked on her food. “Sorry, poor choice of words,” he said, turning a bright shade of pink.

              “I’m a vegetarian, not vegan. Everything else is fine.”

Zach snickered, but Petra shut him up with a glare.

I was thankful when everyone finished dessert. Lexus pulled Jackson off somewhere, and Mrs. Van Buren and Petra went inside, which left Zach and me alone at the table with Stuart and Mr. Van Buren.

“Addison and Zach, will you excuse us?” Stuart asked. Zach went inside. I hesitated.