Work of Art (28 page)

Her overnight bag was packed, and she was going to stay with her maid of honor, so we wouldn’t see each other until the ceremony the next day, but first we had to get through the rehearsal and a dinner party with our families.

Ever since I’d left Harper’
s apartment that morning, I’d been mulling over everything I was feeling, and my mindset was fucked up to say the least. And Trish was smiling from ear to ear. I felt like a jerk, and I hadn’t even done anything wrong.

“Babe,” I said, and I started to tell her about what I’d learned the night before
, mostly because I was getting anxious about seeing my family and needed to talk to someone, but I stopped, suddenly remembering why I wanted to wait to share everything with Trish.

Mostly I didn’t want to put a dark cloud over our wedding because of my family’s involvement, but I also knew how awkward it would be for Trish once she knew and then had to see Harper. She never even knew Harper had gotten pregnant years ago, because I thought it was a moot point, and there was no need to air dirty laundry. Seeing her and knowing that we’d had a child
together would be hard for Trish. I’d tell her after the honeymoon.

“Yeah?” she said, waiting expectantly for me to continue my sentence.

I smiled instead of answering her right away. “You look beautiful.”

She smiled a wide smile and walked over to me. “Thank you,” she said, as she cupped my cheek. “Thank you for choosing me and loving me and making me your wife. I’ll make sure you have a great life, Mr. Carson.”

Then she leaned down and kissed me.

Trish’s maid of honor,
Katherine, came in the room five minutes later and told me she was taking Trish for a pre-rehearsal drink with the bridesmaids and I could collect her in 30 minutes. I thought about calling my brother to see if he’d meet me at the hotel bar for a beer, but I had a feeling he was holed up in his room with his new girlfriend. When I’d met her in the lobby earlier, they’d barely been able to keep their hands off each other. So I figured I’d call Brandon. He’d have a drink with me.

“Hello,” Harper said, and my stomach tightened at hearing the sound of her voice. She was in Brandon’s room
, and I didn’t like that.

They already had a flirty relationship, and I didn’t like to think about them being alone together. The three of us had driven to Monterey in Brandon’s new BMW he’d just picked up that afternoon, and they’d joked and inadvertently flirted the whole way while I’d sat in the back and thought about my plight. It irritated me, and I’d be pissed if he slept with her.

“Hey, it’s Ryan.”

“Hi Ryan,” she said cheerfully.

She been so nice to me ever since the night before, and it was slowly killing me.

“How are you doing?” she asked, when I didn’t say anything else.

I let out a long, slow breath. “I’m hanging in there, but I haven’t seen my parents yet. I’m sort of afraid that I’m going to go off on them as soon as I see them and ruin the whole night. And I sort of don’t care.”

“Ryan, no,” she said softly.

“Harper, I’m – I can’t – how could they do something like that?”

“I don’t know. It doesn’t make any sense.”

It was sadistic is what it was. And manipulative. And just fucking wrong.

“I know, but it’s your wedding weekend. You can’t confront them. This we
ekend should be about you and . . . Trish.”

I noticed it took her few seconds to say Trish’s name, almost as if it was uncomfortable for her, and I tried not to read into that.

“You’re right. You’re right. It’s just sort of completely overtaking my thoughts right now.”

“Then maybe you need
something to take your mind off of what happened,” she suggested. “We can’t change the past.”

She was right. She was completely right.”

“Yeah, that’s why I was calling Brandon. I wanted to see if he wanted to grab a drink. Are you hanging out in his room?”

“No, we’re sharing a room,” she said lightly, and the urge to growl in annoyance sort of took me by surprise.

“Really? But you hardly know him.”

“I know him well enough. Besides, if he was going to murder me in my sleep, he would have done it when I stayed with him in Boston,” she said
, and again caught me by surprise.

“I won’t murder her, but I might sleep with her,” Brandon called out from the background, and I gripped the phone tighter in my hand.

“No, you won’t,” she responded, as if his notion was crazy, and it made me breathe a sigh of relief.

“When did you visit him in Boston?” I asked, trying to interject myself in their friendly banter.
They did the same thing during the whole car ride out to Monterey.

“Um, like two weeks ago. I had to go back and settle my mom’s estate.”

“Oh. I didn’t know that.”

“Because I didn’t tell you,” she countered.
“We weren’t exactly friends then.”

Yeah, well, I was friends with Brandon then, and he didn’t tell me either.
Asshole.

“So we’re friends now?” I asked softly, instead of bitching about Brandon.

“I think we are,” she said, just as softly.

“Me too,” I said, and I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face.

“Get your ass down here for a drink!” Brandon suddenly shouted.

“Come hang out,
Ry,” Harper insisted.

“Alright,” I
told her, not able to tell her no when she used my nickname. “I’ll be there soon. What’s your room number?”

* * *

Trish and I drove from the church where we had the rehearsal to the restaurant together. The mock ceremony had gone smoothly, and aside from having to be in the same room as my family, it hadn’t been unbearable. I just pushed what I’d learned and what I really wanted to say to them to the back of my mind and smiled my way through the hour.

But the whole time I’d been distracted because Harper had been moving around the church with her high-tech digital camera attached to her eye. She’d photographed the entire event, and I so badly wanted to see her pictures. The one time she’d caught me looking at her, she’d lowered the camera and winked and smiled at me before she went right back to snapping pictures.

I wasn’t sure my family had recognized her, and if they did, they hadn’t said anything, but I was waiting for them to lower the boom when they did. They would not be happy to see her.

Trish and I were the last ones to arrive and
were escorted back to the private room where our rehearsal dinner was being held. I immediately spotted my brother, John. I felt like he was my only ally, as I was pretty sure he hadn’t been in on what my parents and my sister had done. He was four years younger than me, so I doubted he’d been conspiring with them at age fourteen.

Trish held tight to my hand as her friends descended on her, telling her how much they liked her dress a
nd her shoes and her bag. And as I tried to tune out the screeching, my eyes found Harper across the room, standing next to Brandon, sipping champagne and very much looking like she belonged in the room. She was wearing a long-sleeved, short, bright green dress and nude heels that made her legs go on for days. And she was laughing at something Brandon was saying.

She looked gorgeous, and s
eeing them together made me jealous as hell. I hated to admit it, but it did. Even though I knew nothing was going on – or at least I hoped. Who knew what would happen if they got drunk later.

“Ryan, darling,” my mother said, suddenly descending on me a
nd air kissing my cheek before I had the chance to pull away.

“Hello M
other,” I said tightly, because all I really wanted to say to her were words that weren’t appropriate to say in polite company, so I kept my mouth shut.

“Smile, dear, it’s a party.”

And you broke up the best relationship I’d ever had and took away my chance of ever knowing my son, and he died, Mom. He died. Did you know that? And I wasn’t there for him, because I didn’t know he existed, you callous, self-centered, bitch.

I forced a smile on my face.

“Now come,” she said, addressing both Trish and me. “You two need to make the rounds and thank everyone for coming.”

Then I watched her glare in Brandon’s direction and make a face like she’d tasted something awful, and I knew she’d
finally recognized Harper. At least she didn’t say anything.

Thirty minutes into cocktails I w
as talking to my brother when I looked up and saw my sister descending on Harper. She was alone, sipping champagne, and Lisa had a sneer on her face. I’d honestly been trying to avoid talking to my sister, outside of simple pleasantries, because I knew if given the opportunity, I’d likely go off on her too. She was just as culpable as my parents and had even less of a reason to betray me. I’d never done anything to her.

“Shit,” I cursed, as I watched Lisa tap Harper on the shoulder.

John looked up and followed my gaze. “Who is that?”

“Harper Connelly,” I said, never taking my eyes off of her as I tried to figure out what Lisa was
saying to her.

I was afraid she’d repeat
more of the hurtful things she’d said to Harper years earlier.

“No shit,” John
said, the surprise in his voice evident. “She’s hot as fuck.”

Yeah, I know.

“What’s she doing here?” he asked, practically drooling.

“She’s Brandon’s date,” I told him
, just as Harper’s smile faded.

In three seconds I was across the room. “Hey,” I said cheerfully, and Harper looked at me in confusion. “What are we talking about?”

“I was just saying hello to Harper,” Lisa explained snidely, as she took a sip of her white wine.

My eyes involuntarily narrowed, and I felt my breathing get shallower. I was in serious danger of saying something I’d probably regret, but Harper’s infinitesimal shake of her head stopped me.

“Lisa, James needs you,” I said instead, collecting myself with a few deep breaths that I hoped were unnoticeable.

“For what?”

“I don’t know. He’s
your
husband,” I snapped, and Lisa rolled her eyes.

“There’d better not be an issue with the nanny,” she said, shaking her head before she turned to Harper.
“You take care, Harper.”

Then she walked away, the arrogance dripping from her every step.
I knew I’d have to keep an eye on her or she’d likely try to talk to Harper again before the night was over.

“What did she say to you?” I demanded.

Harper shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. I’m a big girl, Ryan, and your sister, I’m sorry to say, is a very small person.”

“What did she say to you?” I repeated, the rage bubbling up
inside me once again.

“I’ll talk to you about it later,” she said calmly. “I do not want you getting upset and causing a scene and airing all of our dirty laundry in front of these people. There are some things in my life tha
t I like to keep private. Tyler is one of them, and the fact that your family apparently sabotaged our relationship is another. This is not the time, nor the place, although if we were alone in a dark alley, I might have pummeled your sister. Just an FYI.”

“Fine,” I grunted, knowing she was right. “Are you having a good time?”

She chuckled. “You always did have the best manners, Ryan Carson. Yes, I’m having a good time with Brandon. He’s a fantastic date.”

I noticed she didn’t say she was having a good time at the party, and I really couldn’t blame her.
I
wasn’t exactly having a good time, and I was one of the guests of honor.

“I’m glad,” I said, the burning intensity I felt ebbing just a little.

“Hey dude,” Brandon said then, coming back from wherever he’d gone. “What’s up?”

“Nothing much.
Just saying hi.”

“Cool. So what are the plans for later after the stuffy folks go to bed?”

“No plans,” I said, shrugging, and he just laughed. “What?”

“Oh
, there are plans.”

“Whatever,” I said, not in the mood for anything he might have planned. It was the night before my wedding, and I needed to stay out of trouble.

Brandon just chuckled again, and Harper looked at me sympathetically but with a smile on her face, so I knew he’d talked to her about what he was up to.

Then I
noticed Trish standing by herself across the room. I hated to leave her alone, so I beckoned her over with my hand. She smiled and crossed the room lithely.

I put my arm around her, pulled her to my side and kissed her temple when she reached me. Then I looked at Harper
, who was smiling passively at me, but there was a ghost of something in her eyes. I realized then what I was looking for, and I couldn’t believe I’d been hoping for a reaction to her seeing me with my fiancé. I was sick.

“Hi Brandon,” Trish said politely,
and I had to give her credit. She was giving him a chance.