My Ex-Boyfriend's Wedding (15 page)

"I'm not twelve anymore. My name is Mike. Get in my truck." Pointing at his passenger door, he made his intentions known with a scathing glare. "Don't make me come over there and carry you, because I will."

It only took two steps in her direction for Jemma's prideful stance to deflate. She sauntered to his vehicle. "Mike is a bully. I like Mikey better."

He snapped his fingers in her face. "Now you know exactly how I feel about evil Jemma."

She pulled the long strap of her wallet purse over her head and under one arm, so it lay across her body, as she slid into his late model Ford. With a heady sigh of resignation, she slumped in the seat and crossed her arms over her chest. "Come on, get on it. Let's get this over with already."

"Gee, don't sound so excited. Is it going to kill you to come to the park with us and have some fun?" Mike got into the truck and slammed his door in frustration.

"You never know. It very well could."

Mike shook his head. "Drama Queen."

Jemma pouted in silence the entire fifteen minute trip to the park, which seemed much longer with no one speaking.

She scanned the park benches and picnic tables for her parents as they entered the lot. Fishermen and women, hoping to find the fabled twenty-pound bass, dappled the lake, while squealing children filled the playground. Luckily, she spied her mom setting up a table close to the spillway area of the lake, away from the noise and hustle. Jemma breathed in her first non-painful breath since the wedding fiasco. A bit of the tension and heartache subsided, though she'd never admit it to her brother.

Her mom looked up from the table as Jemma walked toward her. She raised a hand in an overly exuberant wave. "Jemma! Over here, honey!"

Jemma waved back, acknowledging her, hoping to calm her mother's excitement just a smidgeon. When she got a bit closer, she responded, "Hi, Mom. Where's Dad?"

"Oh, he's around here somewhere with the dog. He couldn't leave the house without bringing Penny with him." She rolled her eyes. "She might have separation anxiety or something."

She was definitely one spoiled puppy, but she kept her father busy. Jemma would've given her left arm to have a diversion like that for him when she was a teenager.

She helped her mom unload the rest of the food and get the hot dogs ready to grill. Penny returned shortly thereafter, dragging her leash behind her, no Dad in sight.

A few minutes later, her dad yelled for his dog from the trees, appearing soon after. He shook his head, tossing his hands in the air in defeat, when he saw Penny sitting at the end of the table begging for scraps.

A familiar scent of cologne wisped through the air from somewhere.  Tony's cologne.  A memory of Tony's kisses stabbed her heart. Even as she tried to block it out, the scent grew stronger, and Jemma's ears played tricks, morphing a man's voice to sound like his. She shook her head in a futile attempt to clear her mind.

Until she heard him, loud and clear.

Tony bellowed, "Kate, I can't believe you lied to me."

Kate meagerly replied, "I didn't lie to you. I kind of bent the truth a little." Her tone grew with confidence. "Trust me, we all need to talk."

Jemma turned around slowly, squinting past the bright sunlight to make sure it was actually him. Dressed in long gray basketball shorts and a white sleeveless Nike T-shirt, his hair was damp and tousled as though he'd been plucked right off of the court.

Mike walked over to Kate, grabbed her left hand with both of his, and placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles.

Tony and Jemma gasped in unison.

Mike turned toward them, his expression and tone matter of fact. "Kate and I have been dating for a while now. We learned a few things about the two of you from each other. It's time for everything to be out in the open."

Tony huffed and turned away, walking toward the parking lot. Hurt, Jemma made her way to her mother.

Kate interjected, her voice stern, "Both of you are going to sit with us over by the lake while Mr. and Mrs. Keith fix lunch."

Tony and Jemma turned back toward one another, staring into each other's eyes, generating their own hurt and pain. Jemma stubbornly stood her ground, waiting to see if Tony would follow or leave. Only when he turned to walk behind them did Jemma follow suit, but not before flashing a death stare over her shoulder toward her mom.

"It's for your own good, honey."

I'm pretty sure Anne Boleyn's uncle said something like that as she was dragged to the courtyard and beheaded.

Jemma stood with her arms folded and stared out over the lake, waiting for someone to explain what the hell was going on.

Kate took the lead. "Well, everyone here knows I lost the baby, left Dalton, and Daddy fired him."

That was the first she'd heard about Dalton being fired. Jemma didn't even realize she was smiling until she saw tears welling in Kate's eyes. Slapping her palm to her forehead, she immediately apologized. "I'm so sorry, Kate. That was horrible of me. I honestly didn't know Dalton got fired. I truly am sorry for your loss…of the baby, not of Dalton. I'm really sorry for my part in all of this, too."

Shut up, Jemma!

Kate blinked past the tears and stared at her wringing hands on the table, obviously searching for her next words. "Mike told me what really happened between you and Dalton. I completely understand your happiness to hear he was fired."

"Wait a minute." Tony's strong voice broke into the conversation. "How can you understand anything from her, Kate? She was dating Dalton at the same time you were. She even tried to get him to cancel the wedding right beforehand. That's what needs to be understood!" He punctuated every syllable of the last sentence by pounding his finger on the tabletop.

Mike stood up next to Tony and defended his sister's honor. "It's all a big mess, and a huge misunderstanding. Dalton lied about a lot of things and stretched the truth on everything else. My sister, in fact, dated Dalton at the same time he was dating Kate. The truth to this is that Jemma knew nothing about it. Kate was away at school, and Dalton had enough gall to move Jemma into his house and use business trips as a ruse to go visit Kate on her breaks." He climbed off of his imaginary soapbox and resumed his place at the picnic table next to Kate.

Tony looked back at Jemma, and for a brief moment, his eyes held regret. Anger regained control though, contorting his handsome features. "I know I didn't imagine the kiss in the hallway at the wedding reception. I saw that with my own eyes."

The anger spread to Jemma. She walked over to Tony and pushed a finger into the middle of his strong chest. "For your information, I tried to explain everything to you that night. I saw Stacy lure Dalton into the hallway and I happened to catch them kissing. Either that or Stacy was performing mouth to mouth to save poor Dalton's life, which I'm sure would be the spin he would put on it. I took a picture of it, though. He was trying to convince me to delete the photo or steal my camera. Evidently, that is when you walked out into the hallway. He shoved his
little lady
around the corner and put a show on
just
for you."

Tony's eyes widened, and he looked past Jemma for confirmation from his cousin. She sat at the table, enthusiastically bobbing her head. He threaded his fingers through his hair. He walked in small circles, muttering to himself for a few moments. "That lying little bastard…" He stopped pacing and stared out over the lake. "I can't believe I fell for all of it. I listened to my family, and then the kiss sent me over the edge. I was so pissed. I felt like someone plunged a knife right into the middle of my heart."

"Yeah, I know the feeling all too well." Jemma stared at the pebbles by her feet, nudging them around into a mindless pattern with her toes.

Tony raged, "I'm going to kill him with my bare hands. No, wait. I will force him to right every wrong, and
then
I'll kill him. No matter what happens, I'm calling in a few favors."

"No, Tony! Please don't put a hit on him." Jemma walked to his side, her fingertips lightly brushing his arm.

Mike had just taken a drink of soda and spit it all over the table. Some even dribbled out of his nose. Side splitting laughter followed from both him and Kate.

Jemma jabbed her fist on her hips, cocked her head to the side, and puckered her face into a scowl. "Exactly
what
do you find so amusing?"

Mike swiped some of the soda from his face with his hand. "Yeah, that's the other thing I wanted to tell you. Tony isn't Little Ant'ny. Little Ant'ny's last name is Giovannini, which, in my defense, is close enough to Giovanni for anyone to make that mistake." Mike tried to contain himself, but it only lasted a few seconds before he was laughing so hard he snorted.

Thoroughly embarrassed, Jemma felt her face flush as she turned a wide-eyed look toward Tony.

A hand covered his mouth in a poor attempt to hide his amusement. His eyes sparkled with mischief. "You thought I was a mob boss?"

"Well, it's not like the thought never crossed my mind, but it was my idiot brother who planted the seed to begin with," Jemma muttered through clenched teeth. She tossed a glare at her brother, before looking back toward Tony. "To what connections are you referring, then?"

Tony cleared his throat in an ill-fated attempt to quell his laughter. "My fellow business owners in the area. I want to make sure the bastard never has a decent job again."

Kate giggled this time. "I don't think that will be much of a problem." Obviously sharing a secret, she and Mike pushed their foreheads together, matching clever smiles on their faces.

Mike stood up and stretched. "You know what? I think we need to take a drive, the four of us."

Kate stood next to him, still beaming. "I agree; we should. We can take my car."

Tony and Jemma shared a look of apprehension.

Mike's words carried easily through the air to his parents. "Mom, Dad, we're going for a drive before lunch. Okay?"

"You kids have fun. We should have the food ready in about half an hour." Their mother waved goodbye.

As they walked toward the lot, Kate handed Mike the keys to her black Cadillac STS-V. "Here, you can drive."

His mouth gaped, eyes widened. Soon, the smile on his face was big enough and creepy enough to make the Joker jealous. "Hop in, folks, we're going for a ride."

Jemma gave Kate a concerned look and shook her head. "You honestly don't know the monster you've just unleashed."

Kate shrugged nonchalantly. "It was my father's wedding gift to Dalton and me. If he does any damage, it would almost be poetic." Jemma slid into the back seat next to Tony. Their eyes met. The familiar sensual buzz that tingled through Jemma caught her off guard, stealing her breath away.

"I owe you the world's largest apology. I should've let you explain."

Jemma melted. "Thank you, but I understand there were a lot of forces working against us." Mike slammed his foot onto the gas pedal, throwing all of them back against their seats. "I'm just glad the force in the front seat right now is on our side."

Turning his rounded gaze between her and the front seat, Tony said, "Literally, I guess. I'd hate to be a pedestrian right now."

"Mikey," Jemma started. He flashed a quick frown over his shoulder. "Excuse me, Mike, please slow down." Jemma reached forward, clamping a hand on his shoulder, hopefully pulling him from his fast-car induced bubble.

"Yeah, sorry about that." The car slowed some as he wound them through the Galloway area and up the hill toward Springfield. They turned onto the main road, and Mike said, "Oh, there's a Mickey D's. Mind if I pop in there for a sweet tea?"

"Please just take us to wherever it is you are taking us. I'm sure Mom has some waiting for you back at the park." Knowing her brother's stubbornness, Jemma fought a useless battle.

"I could use a glass myself," Kate added.

He turned toward Jemma, a gloating sneer lighting his face. "Mickey D's it is, then."

They pulled into a spot near the front door. Mike and Kate hurried out, staring into the backseat at Tony and Jemma. "Come with us!" they chimed in unison, waving them on.

Tony raised an eyebrow at Jemma. "Sure, why not."

Racing around the car, he looked befuddled when Jemma sat in her seat, waiting for him to open the door. She graced him with a sweet smile, as he held out his hand for her. They walked into the lobby of McDonald's hand-in-hand. Warmth flooded her as his thumb gently slid against hers.

"Would you like fries with that?" The monotone, familiar voice caused Jemma to whip her head toward the registers. There, behind the counter, hair net and all, stood Dalton Octavius Blackwell. The same man who thought everyone on the planet was beneath him. She couldn't help but stare.

And giggle, though that part probably could've been helped.

Kate's small hand appeared on her shoulder, and she whispered in Jemma's ear, "We just came here to show you what Dalton's been up to lately."

She shook her head, not really believing her eyes. "Seriously, the man thinks fixing his own meal is mortifying, and this is what he chose?"

"He didn't have a lot of options. It was either this or a sanitation worker. Daddy knows everyone else."

Jemma laughed so hard she snorted, which, in turn, caused the rest of her party to laugh as well. Amid giggles, she said, "This isn't funny because of what he's doing to make a living. This is funny because it's
him
."

They nodded in unison.

Their commotion caught Dalton's attention. He immediately slid his hair net off and fluffed his blond locks.

A young woman in a manager's uniform sauntered over, shaking her head so hard her high-topped ponytail slid down. She poked a tiny finger to his chest. "It's a health code violation to be around food without a hairnet. How many times do I have to tell you?"

Dalton's face flushed red with embarrassment and anger as he spouted, "And how many times do I have to tell you to leave me the hell alone?" He swatted the woman's hand away.

The manager's face flared to a matching shade. "You are fired!"