"No, we didn't get that far yesterday," I said.
"Well, there's a ton to plan," she said. Her expression turned serious, and she collected her things before retreating to the staircase. I'd put money on her returning to her office and making some phone calls to get available dates for the event space at Sixty State Street.
It was like she'd forgotten how to feel anything.
Shannon gestured toward me, another stiff smile in place, and she said, "We should get dinner soon, the three of us, and start thinking about dates, venues, themes. So much to do. Colors. Flowers. Everything. Let me know what works for you two, and we'll get together."
Her heels clacking against the stone staircase echoed after her, and the conference room was silent for a long moment.
I turned back to my siblings and Andy, my hands spread out before me.
"Please tell me you all saw that," I said. "Please tell me someone saw her run out of here like she was being chased by Death Eaters."
"We need to give her space," Patrick said.
"I'm tired of her being pissed at me and taking it out on Tiel," I said.
"We have been over this before, Sam. Not everything is about you. She's had a rough few months," Andy said. "She doesn't want to talk about it. She'll avoid the shit out of you if you don't play by the rules. I mean, Lauren pushed her hard, and Shannon barely talks to her now."
"Truth," Matt said. "My wife is very unhappy about the state of affairs."
"And it's not like you haven't done the exact same thing before," Riley muttered. "No. Strike that. You're a little more Wicked Witch of the West with your exits."
"Are you fucking kidding me?" I yelled. "I'm going down there and—"
"Don't," Riley interrupted. "Whatever you're thinking right now, don't." He dropped a hand to my shoulder and pushed me into a chair.
I glanced at Patrick. "Do you need anything else from me this morning?"
He lowered his laptop screen with a long sigh. "Congratulations, man. We're happy for you," he said. "But please don't upset her. I have too much on my plate today for another round of Shannon staring out the window and pretending she's not crying."
I collected my things and moved toward the staircase. "It's truly comical how you're all so concerned about Shannon right now, but none of you motherfuckers had noticed anything was wrong until I came home last spring and pointed it out to you. It's also amusing that you think we should simply leave her alone and hope that whatever is slowly killing her magically disappears. If it was any one of us, Shannon wouldn't let that shit fly."
I didn't wait to hear their disagreement. I headed straight for Shannon's office and silenced her assistant, Tom, with a sharp glare as I passed his desk.
Where most people avoided confrontation, Shannon thrived on it. She was born for argument, negotiation, cross-examination. She held nothing back, and when it came to personal matters, it was where she was most honest.
I was praying that bringing this confrontation to her door didn't push her over the edge.
"Is there something you wish to share with me?" I asked.
I dropped into a chair and waited for her to acknowledge me. Her elbows were propped on the desk and her head was in her hands, and though I'd seen her in that pose plenty of times, this moment was scented with bitterness and loss.
"No," she said, shaking out her hair. "A lot on my mind today. A lot of meetings. You know how it is. Mondays are always crazy."
Shannon was good with poker faces. Really good. But she was failing right now. "You're falling apart," I murmured. "Could we drop the 'everything's okay' act?"
"And I'm checking out two more properties this afternoon," she continued, ignoring me. "A pair of brownstones that were in the process of being remodeled but the developer ran out of cash so they've been vacant for a few years. Could be interesting."
"If I wanted your schedule, I could have asked Tom. Why don't you cut the shit and tell me what's going on?"
She stared at her skirt. "Nothing is going on. I'm thrilled for you, truly, and will do anything to help with planning the wedding," she said, and it sounded like a well-rehearsed line.
"That's a load of bullshit," I said, and her gaze snapped to mine, shocked. "It's bullshit. You should have seen your face up there, Shan. You were devastated, and I want to know why."
"Not devastated," she said. "Just surprised. It seems like you just moved in together, and…" She stared at her fingernails for a minute before heaving out a sigh and continuing, "And I can't wait to help with the planning. You're thinking summer, right? Summer weddings are wonderful, though the best spots book up quickly. What about The Cliff House in Ogunquit? Or were you thinking somewhere in town?"
She babbled on, rattling off the names of every hot wedding location in the region and conducting a debate with herself about which location I'd prefer.
