The Player (17 page)

Nana Ruby frowned, but he could see the hint of a smile on her lips. “Make it quick. I want to get this thing over with.”

He hurried up to his room and changed into a pair of jeans and a light blue short-sleeved button-down shirt. Nana Ruby was bound to make some comment about how much time he’d taken with his appearance, but he was in for the fight of his life, and he needed to be prepared.

It was time to pour on the charm.

Blair was sure she’d been dropped into the middle of hell. “Tell me—why did I agree to this again?” she whisper-hissed.

“Because you’re a nice person?” Megan teased.

Libby laughed. “More like you couldn’t figure a way out of it.”

Blair should have known better. Nicole Vandemeer was known for taking everything to the extreme, and this wedding shower was no different. She’d decided on a garden theme, which for most hostesses might have meant purchasing a couple of pots of flowers, but Megan’s mother never did anything half-assed. And while Blair appreciated that character trait more than most people, she was currently caught up in a floral explosion.

The Vandemeers’ backyard was a magazine-worthy showcase even without the garden-themed decorations. It consisted of a two-tiered deck that led to an outdoor pool surrounded by a paver stone patio, but Knickers—as Megan and her friends called Nicole Vandemeer behind her back—had gone all out. Tall wooden poles were spaced about six feet apart around the perimeter of the patio. Organza was draped from pole to pole, and mason glass jars full of fresh-cut flowers covered tables draped with white linen. A large serving table set off to one side was covered with an assortment of small sandwiches, fresh vegetables, and crackers, with wheelbarrows on either side stuffed full of flowers. Mason jars with flickering votive candles hung from the trees around the patio, and hundreds of white and yellow daisies floated in the pool.

“I’m pretty sure those flowers are going to screw up the filter system,” Josh McMillan said from behind them as he walked out the back door and onto the deck.

Megan’s face lit up, and she turned toward him. “That’s what Dad said.”

Blair scowled as he put an arm around Megan’s waist and pulled her close.

“You weren’t supposed to come to this, Josh. It’s a
girls
’
shower.” Blair’s relationship with Megan’s husband had been rocky from the start. Blair had assumed that Megan, who was too trusting of people, was being taken advantage of by a predator. No one normal would volunteer to be someone’s fake fiancé, after all. The fact that Josh had turned out to be the real deal was suddenly irritating as hell. She couldn’t care less about who came to her shower, but she didn’t feel like seeing Megan and Josh together right now.

“Funny, that’s what Knickers said.” He laughed, then gave his wife a long kiss.

Without intending to, Blair found herself staring at them. “Yet you came anyway.”

He lifted his face, keeping his gaze on his beaming wife. “Megan and I have been apart for two nights and three days. If she’s going to be here, so am I.”

“But the real reason he’s here is because of Dad,” Megan added. “Dad was worried about being outnumbered, so he wanted Josh to keep him company.”

“Funny,” Blair said dryly. “I’m sure Noah’s in there too. How much company does your dad need?”

“Neither of them are staying for the shower, Blair,” Libby said, giving Megan a quick glance. “They’ll be in the house with Megan’s dad. If you want Neil to come over, why don’t you give him a call? It’s not too late.”

“I don’t
want
Neil to come.” It came out a bit too harsh, but the thought of Neil showing up sounded suffocating.

Megan’s eyes widened slightly, and she gave Josh a quick glance.

They must have come up with some secret eye contact language in the few months they’d been together, because Josh nodded and headed for the back door. “I’m going to check on your dad.”

That pissed off Blair even more. “For the love of God, can’t you two stop the goo-goo eyes for more than two seconds?”

“Blair,” Megan said quietly. “What’s going on?”

Her heart pounded an uneven dance in her chest as she looked into the earnest faces of her best friends. Could she tell them how Garrett’s sudden re-arrival into her life had incited her conflicting feelings? They thought she was cold, calculating, and heartless, and honestly, how could she blame them? She’d spent the better part of ten years convincing them and everyone else around her that she encompassed all of those traits. The only person she’d allowed to see her truly vulnerable was Garrett.

The thought of him made her eyes burn and her chest constrict.
Oh, God
. Why did she have to feel this way? Her relationship with Neil was fine; it was steady, and it was reliable. Sure, the energy between them was lukewarm at best, and they didn’t have sex very often, but she was fine with their arrangement. Besides, if Neil wasn’t interested in sex, he was less likely to stray. The problem was that an increasingly vocal part of her craved a hot, physical relationship like the one she’d shared with Garrett. Did she really want to live the rest of her life with nothing but mediocre sex?

“Blair, darling,” Knickers called out the back door. “Your mother-in-law’s here.”

Oh, shit.
People were starting to arrive. She had to pull herself together. “
Future
mother-in-law,” Blair muttered under the breath, then started to panic even more. She wasn’t sure she could play nice with Debra Fredrick two nights in a row, let alone for the three more days she had left. Even worse, her mother hadn’t been able to get off work, and now Neil’s mother was likely to make a big deal of it. “I need a drink.”

Something in her tone must have alarmed her friends. They exchanged a quick glance before Libby said, “I’ll go get it.”

“You better not bring me back some damn girly drink,” Blair said, eyeing the punch bowl with radioactive pink liquid on the food table.

Of course, Debra had already slipped out the back door. Without any preliminaries, she reached into her monstrous purse and pulled out the Curse Kitty. “That will be a dollar, Blair.”

Libby started laughing as soon as she saw the plastic cat bank. The top corner of the mailing tape had pulled away and was covered in black lint. “What in the hell is
that?
”

“It’s the Curse Kitty, of course,” Blair said dryly. “See? It’s printed as plain as day on the label.”

Debra’s eyebrows arched as she turned her gaze on Libby. “And you owe me a dollar, too.”

Blair sucked in a breath. “Debra, when most people meet someone for the first time, they start off with introductions—they don’t extort them for money.”

Debra’s face flushed, but her mouth was pinched tight with determination.

Blair waved her hand toward Neil’s mother. “Debra Fredrick, these are my best friends, Megan McMillan and Libby St. Clair. This is Neil’s mother.”

Megan held out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Fredrick.”

Debra took her hand, beaming. “What a sweet girl you are.” She looked down at the wedding ring on her hand. “You’re married? That must be why you’re so much more civilized than your friends. I keep hoping marriage will make Blair more domestic.”

Libby coughed and shot Blair a grin. Thank God she’d thought to warn them about her future monster-in-law.

“How long have you been married?” Debra asked.

Megan smiled, but even a blind man could see it was forced. “Two months.”

“Isn’t that precious,” Debra cooed, oblivious to the tension she was creating. “And when are you having babies? Soon, I hope? Maybe you’ll be a positive influence on Blair.”

“Debra,” Blair scolded. “Megan just got married. She’s not in any hurry.”

“We’re going to wait,” Megan said, looking uncomfortable. “We’d like to spend more time together first.”

Debra looked over all three women, her mouth pinched into a disapproving frown. “Aren’t you girls worried about your biological clocks? You’re not getting any younger, you know.”

Libby struggled to keep a straight face. “Maybe I should get Blair her drink before we start planning a joint baby shower.”

Debra shook the cat jar, the coins rattling against the sides. “Pay your dollar first. You too, Blair.”

Libby grinned, trying not to laugh. “I don’t have any money on me, so I’ll just run inside and get some from Noah. I’m sure he’ll appreciate this story.” She snickered. “And I’ll get you a drink you’re guaranteed to like, Blair.”

“Oh!” Debra’s eyes lit up. “Will you get one for me too? Do you have hard water? I’d love a hard lemonade.” She nodded her head with approval. “I had a few last night, and they were so relaxing.”

Libby burst out laughing. After hearing Blair rant about Debra being a teetotaler, she knew the older woman would never knowingly ask for an alcoholic drink. “One hard lemonade coming right up.”

Debra held out her cat. “Blair.”

Groaning, Blair pulled a dollar from the wad of cash in her skirt pocket and stuffed it into the slot. Everything in her screamed in protest, but she’d promised Neil to try her best to keep his mother happy. If she refused to go along with this damn kitty scheme, she was liable to create family drama. And with the partners watching, it was more important than ever to keep the peace. Thank God she’d asked Melissa to get her more dollar bills. She had a feeling the nine dollars she had left in her pockets wouldn’t be enough.

The back door opened again, and a woman who looked remarkably like Garrett walked onto the deck. Debra turned to face the woman, and her face instantly scrunched with irritation. “Hello, Barb. Nice to see you dressed up, but I specifically told you to wear something other than blue and white.” The sarcasm was heavy in her voice.

Barb glanced down at her white eyelet shirt and blue capris, then scanned her sister’s plain blue and white dress. “Some of us choose
quality
, Debbie Sue. I’m sure that dress came from the Dollar General, while mine came from Target.”

“It’s
Debra
now,” Neil’s mother snarled. “How many times do I have to tell you that?” Her jaw tightened as she lifted her chin and gave her sister a haughty look. “And besides, I got this dress at Sears.”

“You may call yourself Debra now because you think it’ll help you sell more plastic containers for your Tupperware business, but it doesn’t mean the rest of us have to follow suit. For heaven’s sake, your birth certificate says Debbie Sue.”

Debra’s face turned red, and she looked like she was about to have a heat stroke.

“I wonder where Libby is with that lemonade,” Megan murmured, looking around. “Or where my mother is. Maybe I should go check.”

Blair grabbed her arm as she started to walk away, her nails digging into Megan’s flesh. “Don’t you even think about it.”

Megan laughed, but there was a nervous hitch to it.

Barb shifted her attention toward Blair, and she resisted the urge to squirm under her scrutiny. “So
you
’
re
Blair.”

“You know who I am?” she choked out. In the year she and Garrett had dated, she’d never met his mother. They’d talked about going to see Garrett’s family for Christmas, but they’d visited her mother instead. At Garrett’s insistence. He’d claimed it was because his mother and aunt were crazy, but after their breakup, she’d wondered if he’d maybe been ashamed of her.

Megan gave her a concerned glance, and Barb looked at her like she was flat-out crazy. “Well, you
are
the bride.” She laughed. “Debbie Sue and I may have our differences, but I know about Neil’s fiancée.”

“Oh,” she mumbled, the blood suddenly rushing from her head. She was totally losing it.

“Blair, are you okay?” Megan whispered. “You don’t look like you’re feeling well.”

“I’m fine.”

Barb seemed oblivious to her distress. Turned out the two sisters weren’t so different after all. “Debbie Sue says you’re a lawyer,” Barb said, glancing around the elaborately decorated yard. “My son Garrett is a lawyer too. What type of law do you do?”

“You mean
practice?
” Megan asked, sounding uncharacteristically snippy.

Barb waved her hand back and forth. “Whatever.”

Blair’s chest felt like someone was tightening a clamp, a quarter turn at a time, until all the air was squeezed out of her chest. Should she admit that she’d dated Garrett? Pretend she’d only just met him? “I . . . divorce law . . .” She wasn’t sure she could spend the rest of the evening with Garrett’s mother.

“Blair.” Megan sounded more insistent. “Let’s get you something to eat before the party gets started.”

Blair shook her head. “Knickers’ll have a fit if we mess up her display.”

“Let her.” Megan turned to the two sisters, who were currently shooting glares at each other that perfectly punctuated the sharply worded barbs they continued to volley. “If you’ll excuse us, I need to get the bride-to-be something to eat.”

“Of course. We’ll get a chance to chat later,” Barb said, then glanced around the yard, already dismissing the two women. “Where’s Dena? Is she bringing her ill-behaved children with her?”