6. Six

6

SIX

I was nervous.

Sure, it was my decision to drop the bombshell on our families this way, but I second-guessed my decision for the bulk of the day.

“What are you thinking?” Rex asked as he appeared in the kitchen. He’d changed from his serious work suit to a pair of comfortable khakis and a blue polo shirt. His outfit told me he had every intention of going out partying after dinner. That wasn’t an “I’m going back to my place to watch television” outfit.

“I’m thinking that my father is going to be a bear,” I replied. I looked him up and down. “Are you seriously going out prowling tonight?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Rex made a face. “I’m going to have to drink my weight in cocktails tonight to overcome the trauma that is going to be this dinner.”

I darted my eyes to the clock on the wall. Five minutes. That’s when everybody was supposed to be here. They had no idea why I’d arranged for this dinner.

“It’s going to be fine.” Rex was good at reading people even if he liked to pretend otherwise. He embraced the dumb jock label because that meant people were constantly underestimating him. “Don’t get your panties in a wad.”

I glared at him. “No sexist comments in front of my sisters. You know they don’t like that. I have to hear the complaints for weeks after they’ve interacted with you enough as it is.”

Rex smirked. “I can’t believe you invited them too.”

“It seemed prudent.” I glanced at the closed guest room door. “Do you think your sister is going to make it to dinner, or is she going to hole up in that room and hope that we forget about her?”

“Normally, I would say the latter, but it’s hard to tell with her.” Rex lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “She’s kind of hard to read sometimes.”

“Actually, I think she’s pretty easy to read when you put the effort in,” I countered, ignoring the sharp look Rex shot in my direction. “She wears every emotion on her sleeve.”

The move from her apartment to mine had been easy. Despite her best efforts to stay up and make sure her precious books made it without being damaged, she’d slept through the bulk of it. In the grand scheme of things, she didn’t have a lot in the way of belongings. All her clothes were deposited in my closet—something she’d yet to comment on—and I’d had a fresh cocktail dress delivered from one of the downstairs shops so she would have something pretty to wear. I’d left it on her door without comment. At some point, she’d obviously found the dress because it was no longer there and her door had remained closed all afternoon.

“Is something going on between you and my sister?” Rex asked bluntly. That was his way. He didn’t pussyfoot around uncomfortable situations. He just threw it out there like a bomb.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” I made a face. “I feel kind of bad for her because of the surgery thing. Her face is a little swollen, and even though she tries to act tough, I can tell the pain meds aren’t doing their job.”

“Oh.” Concern lined Rex’s features as he drew his eyebrows together. “I was kind of hoping it would be nothing.”

“It definitely wasn’t nothing.” I shook my head. “I should’ve waited at least one day to host the dinner. I just thought it would be better if we told them right away. If we drag it out…” I trailed off.

“Listen, we have the story in place,” Rex supplied. “You guys have been seeing each other on the sly for months. You didn’t want to tell anybody because you didn’t know if it would work out. On a whim, you decided to get married—this is Vegas, so that can’t come as a shock to them—and unfortunately for everybody involved, my sister had a dental emergency last night so you didn’t get much of a honeymoon.”

It was a simple enough story. It would also explain why Olivia couldn’t eat the prime rib I’d secured for us. Still, guilt flooded me. “She could’ve used a full day in bed.”

“I think she’s probably at her limit,” Rex replied. “Livvie can’t just sit there. She gets bored easy. She’s like a shark. She’s always moving.”

“That’s … an interesting comparison,” I mused.

He shrugged. “She’s always loved sharks. She likes to go visit Mandalay Bay just to see them in the tanks occasionally.”

I filed that information for later and pasted a bright smile on my face when Olivia’s bedroom door opened. She was dressed in the cocktail dress I’d gotten her, and I was gratified to see it was a perfect fit. Her hair had been swept back in a simple but pretty bun. She’d fussed with her makeup, but it didn’t look overdone. The dress itself clung to her curves, which weren’t exaggerated, but got my heart pumping all the same.

“You look great,” I said dumbly.

She frowned at me before gesturing toward the bedroom. “My stuff needs to be put away, and I can’t bend over without it hurting.”

“I’m on it.” Rex immediately started for the bedroom. “I’m going to stuff it all under the counter and in the closet, Livvie. It just needs to be out of sight for tonight. Then you can do whatever with it.”

“Thank you.” She smiled at her brother, but it didn’t last. When she turned to me, there was betrayal in her eyes. “Just for the record, I think this is a terrible idea.”

I nodded. “I’m kind of thinking that too,” I admitted. “It’s done, though. We just have to get through it.”

“I didn’t have enough time to prepare myself for the lie,” she argued. “I’m a terrible liar.”

I could see that. “Just fall back on the dental surgery if you’re stuck,” I said. “Blame it for being muddled. Otherwise, let me do all the talking.”

“And you think you’re just going to be able to magically sell this?”

I nodded without hesitation. “Yes. Trust me. I’ve got this.”

“YOU’RE WHAT?”

My father looked like a cartoon character who was about to release steam out of his ears as he stared down at me. I sat on the couch next to Olivia, her hand clutched tightly in mine and met his furious gaze with an even one of my own.

I’d opted not to drag things out. I only waited until everybody showed up—thankfully, for once, my sisters were not late—and then I’d lowered the boom. I’d said it as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

“Olivia and I have been dating for a while. We didn’t tell anybody because we were trying to figure things out. Last night, we decided to get married. So, as of now, we’re all one big happy family.”

In hindsight, I could’ve chosen a softer landing for the news. I was too keyed up to think it through, though. I just lobbed the bomb—as Rex had taught me to do through years of watching him—and waited for the fallout.

It was swift and brutal.

“Did you hear what he just said?” Dad demanded of Mom.

For her part, my mother was much harder to read than my father. She looked between us, at the way Rex and I kept Olivia buffered between us, but she said nothing.

“What in the hell?” Dad practically exploded.

Next to me, Olivia jolted. She obviously wasn’t used to people yelling. I gave her hand a firm squeeze and shot my father a quelling look.

“For the record, Livvie and I didn’t have the most auspicious of honeymoons,” I offered. Now was the time to draw in that dental surgery sympathy we both needed. “She snapped her teeth together when she accidentally got jostled by people in the wedding chapel and we spent the night at the dentist so she could get emergency surgery.”

Rex made the appropriate tsking sound, sympathy practically rolling off him. My mother just continued to stare. My father … well, I had no idea what my father was feeling at this point. My sisters were grouped together like witches about to cast a spell. Bill and Patty Carter, however, seemed to be trying to work things out in a rational manner.

“You got married without your own mother?” Patty demanded of Olivia.

Olivia sipped the lukewarm tea I’d supplied her with. Anything that was too hot or too cold was a no-no at this point. “It seemed like a good idea at the time,” she said lamely.

“But … that’s not right.” Patty pinned me with a dark look, and I didn’t have to ask what she was feeling. It was obvious. “Was this your idea?”

“Um…” I thought I had things under control—honestly, I was convinced the Carter family was going to be easier than mine—but the thought of disappointing them left me feeling bereft.

Patty and Bill might not have been my parents, but they’d offered me more parental direction than my own parents over the years. When I’d been debating between college and going straight to work for my father, Bill helped me break things down in a reasonable manner.

When my high school girlfriend broke up with me—something I was oddly devastated about—Patty had explained that I was only feeling what I was feeling so intensely in that particular moment because I hadn’t been expecting it. She said eventually, I would get past it and laugh at the hurt I felt. I’d been annoyed at the time, but damn if she wasn’t right.

I did not want these people being disappointed in me.

“I’m sorry,” I said finally. “I know you’re probably angry at me.”

“Damned right we’re angry,” Dad growled.

I ignored him and kept my focus on the Carters. “When Olivia and I started dating, we decided that it was likely a bad idea. I mean … we’ve known each other for basically our entire lives.”

Patty darted an unreadable look toward Olivia. “Is this about your crush when you were a kid?” she asked finally. “I know you cried for three straight weeks when he started dating that Fallon girl and stopped coming over?—”

Olivia’s cheeks turned bright red. “Mother!” She was clearly embarrassed.

Me? I found the knowledge that she had a crush on me back then to be … adorable. That was the only word I could think of to describe the emotions that swirled around me when I thought on it too hard. Sure, it was obvious she had a crush back then. If her mother noticed, however, there must have been conversations about it. What would that have even entailed?

“It’s not about her crush,” I assured Patty. “We’ve talked about that.” Okay, that was a vicious lie. We’d avoided that topic like the plague. We would talk about it, though. There were no circumstances where I could just ignore that conversation. It would be too torturous.

“Then what is it about?” Bill asked. His face was a blank slate as he glanced between us.

“As I said, we were unsure if we were really feeling a spark or if it was some residual goofiness from when we were kids,” I explained. “Also, there was the Rex factor.” I darted a look toward my best friend and held my hands out.

Rex had come up with this part of the plan, too. I’d rightfully argued that our parents weren’t going to believe that we’d managed to keep our relationship hidden from them. When Rex suggested we tell them we were trying to keep it hidden from him, a few more of the pieces were likely to fall into place. I was hoping he was right.

“The Rex factor?” Dad demanded.

I shot him a warning look. “Rex is my best friend. Livvie is his little sister. If things didn’t work out, I was afraid that I would lose him as my best friend. Obviously, as his biological sibling, Livvie would take precedence.”

“I’m not so sure,” Olivia countered. She’d regained some of her strength as I’d carried on talking. She didn’t look as if she was ready to wage war or anything, but she was obviously feeling better. “You and Rex are tragically codependent. I think he could choose you over me.”

I poked her side and laughed when she shot me an exaggerated look. It was enough to suck a sharp intake of breath from Patty. My mother remained silent. Bill was impossible to read. My father, per usual, was still in jerk mode.

“So, let me get this straight.” Dad readjusted in his chair. That’s how I knew he was going to go from zero to jackass before I could even take a sip of my drink. “You and Olivia carried on a secret relationship and just last night decided to get married. Is that what you’re saying?”

I nodded.

“Well, that’s not suspicious at all,” he drawled sarcastically.

“Why would that be suspicious?” Patty countered.

“Because three days ago I pulled him into my office and told him it was time to get it together,” Dad replied. “He’s been making a mockery of this family for far too long. It can’t continue. I told him he needed an appropriate girlfriend. Bam!” He slapped his hand down, catching everybody off guard. “He’s suddenly married to a librarian overnight. Does nobody else find that fishy?”

From the kitchen, Opal raised her hand. I murdered her with a death glare, and she slowly lowered it. The look she shot me was full of mischief, though. Did she not believe the story? Or was this simply about her having someone new to torture? It was honestly hard for me to read her.

“I’m actually an accountant,” Olivia volunteered.

Dad pinned her with an incredulous look. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“You said I was a librarian. They’re vastly different jobs.”

“I don’t… I can’t…” Dad looked to Bill for help. “Do you want to say something about this?”

My heart sank. It was hardly surprising that my father was putting the onus of this situation on Bill. Ryder Stone might’ve been a shark in the boardroom. He was an uninterested wimp when it came to his children, though. There was always something more important to focus on than what we were feeling or doing.

“I’m not sure what to say.” Bill glanced between Olivia and me. His gaze ultimately fell on Rex, though. “It’s weird that you never mentioned this. You have a big mouth. When did you find out?”

Rex shrugged. “I found out a few weeks ago.” He was calm. His job allowed him to lie with the best of them. “They admitted to me that they were in love. I was angry at first—I couldn’t believe they’d been lying to me for months—but they seemed happy enough.”

“Why didn’t you urge your sister to tell us at that point?” Bill asked.

“We were trying to figure it out.” Rex shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t think they were planning on getting married that fast. We went out for a few drinks yesterday afternoon to help Olivia figure out her next career move. It just sort of happened.”

Dad’s eyebrows moved toward one another. “Wait … you don’t have a job?” he demanded of Olivia.

She pressed herself in tight at my side. It was obvious my father left her feeling uncomfortable. “Um…”

“Olivia found a discrepancy in the books for Bradford and Sons,” Bill volunteered. “She worked for the junior Bucky and turned over her findings to the senior Bucky. He was very grateful.”

“Wait, you’re the one who got Bucky Junior fired?” Dad’s eyes lit with glee. “I always hated that kid.”

“Yes, well, as thankful as the father was to find out that he was being robbed blind, they had a convenient downsizing afterwards,” Bill continued. “Livvie here was the victim of that downsizing.”

“Ah.” Dad bobbed his head. “You did all the work. You saved him money. He needed a scapegoat just in case, though, and you were the easy target.” He clucked his tongue. “That is crap. You shouldn’t be penalized for doing the right thing.”

I narrowed my eyes, surprised. Rarely was my father on the side of righteousness when it came to these things.

“Well, how about this?” Dad managed the sort of smile that loosened my innards.

He’s up to something, my inner voice warned. Yes, but what?

“Why don’t you have Olivia talk to human resources when she’s feeling better after her unfortunate dental surgery?” Dad suggested to me. “There has to be something she’s qualified for in the company. I mean … they’re always looking for counters in the cages at the very least.”

Olivia shot me a dark look, and I gripped her knee before she could start spouting off.

“I think Livvie wants to handle that herself, but obviously I’m here if she needs anything,” I replied to my father. “She does need to get over her surgery. That was unexpected … and painful … and her food options are limited at present.”

“Can’t you live on love?” Ruby teased. She was still grouped with my other sisters in the kitchen, and the way that they watched Olivia and me suggested trouble. I wasn’t certain they were actually buying this. If we’d been close siblings, like Rex and Olivia, that wouldn’t have been a problem. My sisters saw me as the enemy, though. Whatever they could hold over my head, they were going to do it.

“That’s the plan,” I replied smoothly. I shot an apologetic look toward Bill and Patty. “I really am sorry. It just sort of happened. At first we weren’t sure it was going to be something. Then, when it became apparent it was, we felt trapped. I know we would do it differently if we could.”

“Oh, it’s fine,” Bill said, catching me off guard with his hand wave. “Honestly, I always knew you and Livvie were going to end up together. It’s hardly surprising.”

I cocked my head. What now? “You knew?”

“Of course.” Bill beamed at me. “She wasn’t the only one with a crush. You wisely kept yours to yourself when she was a minor. Eventually, though, I knew this was going to happen.”

“It was pretty obvious,” Patty agreed.

I was officially floored. Was that true? Slowly, I turned to Olivia. She seemed as baffled as me.

This day just kept getting weirder and weirder.

“Well, thanks,” was all I could say. “I’m sorry we didn’t tell you. We’re committed to keeping you in the loop going forward, though.”

“Sure. Fine.” Dad looked bored. “What’s for dinner?”