“And that’s our cue to scram, skedaddle.”
Cateline’s eyebrows knit together in confusion. “That means to get the heck out of here. I can’t afford another scandal. I mean, I can afford the lawyers, just not the headache or getting put on probation again.”
She nudges my shoulder with hers. “Come on, it didn’t turn out that bad.”
“That’s a fact. Want to go get a cheeseburger and milkshake? Do you have those here?”
Her expression lightens with laughter. “I think we can make that happen.”
As we sneak around the side of the house, Cateline’s mother spots us and calls her daughter over.
“I’ll be right here,” I say, leaning against our rental car and hoping The Pink Lady doesn’t have any more shaving cream.
The two exchange heated words and then Cateline storms toward me.
“It was a mistake to come here,” she says.
“Are you okay? What’s going on?”
Her eyes are slivers of disgust. “Come on. We need to talk.”
Whereas earlier, I felt sparks all over when with Cat, now they’re just cooling embers. The guests murmur as they shuffle toward their cars with The Pink Lady screaming in a language that isn’t French.
“Are you okay?”
Cat doesn’t answer.
“Are we okay?” I ask, worried that she still thinks I’m somehow involved with The Pink Lady. I’m not. Never seen the woman in my life.
Cateline stands stiffly, like she’s not sure where to go or what to do, but she won’t look at me.
I’m not okay. But it isn’t my body that aches. No, it’s the center of my chest. “After the kiss we shared by the water, I thought you wanted to be with me. After witnessing you and Gaston dancing and the game of chase, it looked like you wanted to patch things up with your old flame. Which is it, Cat?”
This sets Cateline on fire. Eyes wide and mouth sharp, she shouts in French.
“I’m confused.”
“You are all the same. All of you cavemen!”
“Who’s the same? Gaston is an arrogant brute. I’m more of an arrogant beast. There’s a difference,” I say, trying to lighten the mood.
“I need to go,” Cateline whispers, grasping at the threads of her composure.
The plan was to stay here tonight, but we get in the car, if only for a quiet place to talk. At least that’s what I thought she wanted to do, but she remains quiet. Stubbornly quiet. I set aside my ego, because more than anything, I want to fix this.
“Cat, I’m afraid I came on too strong, asking your parents for your hand in marriage. I shouldn’t have sprung the marriage proposal on you like that. I thought it was the gentlemanly thing to do...and I have to admit, when the Gaston guy showed up, I felt jealous, possessive, and afraid that you’d go along with what your parents wanted if I didn’t act fast. I don’t regret it, but maybe I should’ve handled it differently—perhaps talked to you first.”
She remains silent.
I let out a long sigh. “I thought you wanted to talk?”
“It turns out the embassy has been sending my parents letters about my expiring work visa, thinking they could get the notifications to me when I hadn’t replied. They have an immigration official coming tomorrow.”
“What does that mean?”
“That means they’re trying to sabotage us. That means they know about the green card. That means everything is falling apart.”
“They can try. They won’t succeed.”
