Vanessa hurried to the terrified Nigel and scooped him into her arms. A few poop pellets rolled out from under him. “Nat, you literally scared the shit out of him.” She nuzzled him by the ears where he was silkiest. “Poor guy. You’re only trying to be friendly.”
Natalie crouched on the chair. “Why is arabbitin your apartment? Wouldn’t a Doberman be a more appropriateanimal at this point? Maybe a German Shepherd? A rabbit wouldn’t even trip a bad guy.”
“Okay, no need to insult him because you freaked out.” Vanessa hugged Nigel to her chest. “Besides, he’s not here to be a guard. He’s here for emotional support.”
“Why is he here at all?” Natalie demanded, gingerly stepping from the chair.
“Jordan is pet-sitting for Ivy and Sean,” she explained, then said to the rabbit in a softer voice, “but you like me better than Jordan, so you stay here now, don’t you?”
“This gets more fucking absurd by the hour,” Dex muttered as he stomped back to his post outside the door, but before he closed it he pointed at Natalie. “You! Don’t scream unless you need me to kill someone.”
“Okay, Dark Knight,” Natalie yelled at the closed door. “I’ll let you know when the zias get here.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“What do you mean, when the zias get here?” How much trauma could one person endure in the span of twelve hours?
Natalie fluttered her hand in the air and went back to her coffee. “Your mother and Zia Ella should be here any minute.”
“What? Why?!”
Natalie quirked an eyebrow. “In under four weeks, you’ve planned the largest fashion show this town has ever seen. It’s all over social media. The crème de la crème of Portland’s high society, and by that I mean all the hipsters, are attending. Trailblazers will be there. The mayor as well. Did you think your mother would sit at home making gnocchi and watching Jeopardy with Zio Luche on your big night?”
Well— “Yes!”
Her mother would find a way to criticize everything that Vanessa chose to wear, what she had the models wear, the appetizers she had catered, the music, the show’s length, the?—
“This isn’t a good enough reason to catastrophize, Ness,” her cousin said, reading her mind. “It’s too late for that. Besides, it’ll be fine.”
“What about your mother?” Her Zia Matilde wasn’t quite as obnoxious as the other two, but that was probably because she had two other daughters, both with husbands and children, who she could focus all her attention on.
“Oh, don’t worry.” Natalie took a bite of the muffin she’d pulled from her grocery bag. “She’ll be there too.”
Vanessa threw back her head and groaned. “Whyyy?” She slouched on the couch, placing Nigel gently beside her. He proceeded to burrow behind the small of her back. “My mom didn’t even attend my first big show in New York when I was sixteen.”
“That was different.”
“How was that different? If anything, it was more important. I was young and could’ve used my mom’s support.”
“They didn’t know anything back then, Ness.” Natalie always referred to the senior Barone women in plural, even if she was only talking about one. “They thought it was a phase, like thinking you’ll be a popstar or play for the NHL. They had no idea what was coming.”
Vanessa flicked a tuft of Nigel’s fur off her thigh. “Yeah, well, spoiler alert, neither did I.”
Natalie sat beside her on the couch and patted her leg reassuringly. “You know I’m here for you, right? No judgment.” She nudged Vanessa with her shoulder, another subtle invitation to open up if she wanted to.
When tears stung her eyes, she blinked them back hard. She’d cried enough over everything Kurt had done to her. She reached behind her to retrieve Nigel and settle him on her chest for a cuddle. Damn, she was falling in love with this rabbit.
“I’ll never live down that fucking video.” She sniffled as she stared at Nigel’s silky coat. “My mother will forever judge me for it, regardless of what she says. It’s what she doesn’t say that makes me know that.” Fucking tears. A big one dropped onto Nigel’s back, and she wiped her cheek with her sleeve.
“Doesn’t matter what she does or doesn’t say. You can’t let the past hold you captive, Ness.”
“I try not to, and I think I’m doing good, until a fuckwad like Kurt accuses me of sending a copy to his wife so he’ll be with me.”
A snort sounded beside her. “I’m sorry, it’s not funny. It’s not funny.” Natalie said, her words muffled behind her fist. “I just really can’t believe he thought you sent a sexy video from six years ago, that was not meant for him, to his current wife because you wanted him for yourself? It’s so delusional.” Another snort, followed by an escaped giggle. “I’m sorry, men are so fucking whack sometimes if you don’t laugh, you’re gonna cry.”
Vanessa nodded. “Which is what I did all night until Jordan?—”
“Licked your kitty?” Natalie guffawed, clutching her sides. “I’m sorry, Ness. I love that man. Please tell me you’ll marry him.”
