“I love you, Reese. If you want to be with me, I could…”
She didn’t blink. “You could…”
I spoke faster now, the words tumbling out. “The stairs in the house, they’re uneven. Someone could easily trip and fall all the way to the bottom. I researched it; people die in the stupidest ways: Gas leaks. Car failures. Accidents.”
Reese inhaled and exhaled deeply. The truck got even closer. For amoment I thought this might be it for us.Wemight die right here and now. “We could be together. You and me, no one else. I love you and you’re not saying no. You’re not telling me to stop.”
Her breathing grew even heavier. “I love you, too. I freaking love you, too.”
And then she started the car.
***
Hours later, when I got back to the inn, a strange sight awaited me: my wife, smiling at me from the porch. It was still steamy outside and my T-shirt stuck to my skin. I smelled of sweat and adrenaline and felt the urgent need to take a shower.
“Here you are,” Cassie quipped. She sounded like honey, the kind of tone I’d heard from her in the first few days in the city, but not since. “I’ve been waiting for you. Well,wehave.”
I’d left Reese a while ago, when she’d dropped me off after our little trip. Since then I’d been wandering the streets, making plans in my head. We hadn’t discussed details. We’d talked very little, in fact. What else was there to say? I wasn’t a murderer. It wouldn’tbea murder. Reese loved me and she hadn’t told menotto do it; that’s all I needed to know.
Cassie grabbed my hand and led me inside to the living room. My spine tingled as I checked myself in the stained mirror in the entrance. Something was off.
She perked up as she spoke, “I was just telling Taylor!”
There she was, sitting on the old sofa, with its saggy cushions and musty smell. I kept looking around, certain that someone else was there, too. I’d lived with the two women for almost three months and had barely heard them say two consecutive sentences to each other. On the rare occasions the three of us had dinner together, I made most of the conversation. I’d never felt more out of place than in those moments, watching the seconds tick by on the old wooden clock on the wall.
But no, there was no one else here. Cassie smiled at me some more before wrapping an arm around my waist. Then, she raised her cheek, waiting for a kiss. I obliged. I was still at her mercy. For a little while longer anyway.
Cassie grinned like a little girl. “You don’t mind that I told Taylor before you got home, do you?”
“What did you tell her?” I said, keeping my tone cheerful. What the fuck was going on?
Cassie squealed and raised her left hand, her fingers spread wide. That’s when I saw it, the blinding diamond on her ring finger. It was much larger and sparklier than the one I’d bought at the pawnshop in the city. “About our engagement last night!”
What? Cassie was unpredictable at the best of times, but this was on another level. Although…thishadbeen our original plan, if you can call it that: the City Hall wedding so I could get my green card application started, and then the bigger wedding with Cassie’s friends. Meanwhile, her sister’s face was impassive. She stared inside her glass of water, her feelings only betrayed by her white knuckles.
Cassie turned back to her. “I’m so excited. I know it’s soon, but you’resucha romantic!”
That last part was directed at me as she squeezed both my hands with excitement. She knew about the affair; that’s what was happening here. She’d planned some kind of drawn-out punishment to make me pay for my mistakes. But no, that wasn’t Cassie’s style. She was impulsive, vengeful. If she knew, she’d lay it all out there and then. What else could it be?
She pulled me closer, practically pushing me down in one of the armchairs. I was barely settled in when she fell into my lap and wrapped one arm around my neck. And then it hit me. She was giving me exactly what I needed. We were “engaged” at last. We’d have the wedding she wanted. It was better this way. To carry out my plan, I needed us happy and in love, and she was handing that to me on a silver platter. Whatever she was doing, I could use it to my advantage.
I smiled openly. “I’m so happy you said yes!”
Cassie frowned, but just for a split second. I glanced at the diamond again. How much would that thing have cost? She had to be stopped.
I turned to her sister, avoiding Cassie’s gaze. “And I’m excited we’re doing it so soon. I know some people might think it’s a little rushed, but this is exactly what we want. What weneed.” Then I looked back at Cassie. “I can’t wait to marry you this Saturday.” My tone was firm, my stance undeniable.
Her face fell. I somewhat expected that. Cassie wasn’t that good an actress, especially when she hadn’t written the script. But it wasn’t just her. The air in the room had changed, and both women stared at me with eyes narrowed. I’d said something wrong. Fuck, what had I said?
Cassie chuckled sweetly. “Um, no, we’re going to Paris on Saturday,” she said, her eyes fixed on me. “We booked tickets, remember?” Then she turned to her sister with a huge, knowing smile.
What. The. Fuck. But then again, why was I surprised? Cassie had gone and bought herself an engagement ring without even telling me. I had no idea what else she was capable of, but it felt like she was going to keep outdoing me until I put a stop to it.
“Of course, I remember,” I said, buying some time.
My mind was spinning. I had to think fast. I had to stay away from France until I saved enough money to pay my debt back. But when Cassie said she’d booked tickets, I believed her. She’d never let me argue with her in front of her sister. If she had decided we were suddenly engaged and going to Paris to celebrate, then I didn’t see how I could get out of it. I pictured myself landing at Charles de Gaulle, the finance brigade waiting for me, loudly proclaiming the level of my tax evasion. But how would they know? If I moved back to France, they’d find out eventually. But if I only went for a few days, the risk was minimal. Cassie had set things in motion, but that didn’t mean I had to follow exactly on her terms.
“We’re going for our honeymoon,” I added, likeshewas the silly one for not remembering. Cassie tilted her head, confused, but I was on a roll, the plan forming in my head as the words came out. “We get married on Saturday and then I’m whisking you away to Paris. Nothing is too good for you.”
