My eyes land on the prenup Bryce delivered. I throw it in her face. “If all your intentions are as pure as you claim, you won’t have any problem signing this.”
“What is it?”
“A prenup. To ensure you don’t get a penny from me.”
Disillusionment dims the light in her eyes, proving me right—she’s been after me for my money. But there’s no feeling of vindication—disillusionment of my own drips into my gut like poison. Perhaps I’ve secretly been hoping that Sebastian was right and she wasn’t just another mercenary bitch.
“Are you going to require me to pay rent? Utilities?” Her voice couldn’t be flatter.
“No. That would be ridiculous. Besides, you can’t afford it.”Annoying. It’s like she somehow knows that I thought about charging her before deciding it was beneath me.
Her chest rises and falls rapidly as she glares at me. I notice how pretty her breasts look—recall how responsive they were that night—and I want to strangle myself. Finally, she grabs a pen from my desk and scrawls her name on the contract. “There. Satisfied?”
Not even a little. I don’t know what will ever make me satisfied again. I hate her for disrupting my orderly and well-planned life. “Would’ve been more satisfied if I could have remained a bachelor—”
A commotion erupts from outside. Madison’s raised voice comes through the closed door, although the words are unintelligible. Suddenly the door crashes open.
“When I say hold my calls, it means no interruptions!” I turn, ready to eviscerate the intruder.
It’s Karie. Madison, breathing hard and with a few strands out of place from her normally impeccable updo, is holding her arm and trying to pull her back. Karie, meanwhile, tries to bat Madison’s hands away.
“Get your paws off me!” Karie says, struggling to escape. “Do you know how much this dress cost?”
“A poor man’s kidney?” Grace says under her breath.
I bite my lip to hide a sudden grin at the unexpected sass. It’s irritating that her unexpected sense of humor continues to amuse me. “It’s fine, Madison. Let her go.”
Madison does so and takes a couple of steps back to let me deal with the problem.
I put on one of my least welcoming faces. “What the hell is going on?”
“Mrs. Webber showed up without an appointment and insisted on seeing you.” Madison sounds calm, like she hasn’t had a minor scuffle.
“Why would I need an appointment?” Karie turns to me. “Tell your help that I’m your mother-in-law!”
Grace looks away, closing her eyes in embarrassment. My jaw grows tight. “You’re not. What do you want? You have ten seconds.”
Karie huffs. “I’ve been trying to reach you and Grace, but couldn’t.”
“I blocked you.” I wanted to do more, but the other measures I was contemplating are illegal. “Five seconds.”
Her smug smile falters, but she recovers. “I want to be in charge of the wedding, but Catalina says there are plenty of wedding planners in the city. It’s ludicrous! Tell her that you want me to do it. I’m entitled to the honor.”
The honor?This woman didn’t show an iota of kindness or warmth toward Grace at the dinner. Although she tried to hide it, she was angry, like somebody reached into her closet and absconded with her favorite Hermes handbag. Grandmother probably rejected her offer because Karie’s likely to botch the job, either through incompetence or out of sheer spite. If she’s anything like her biological daughter, she’s petty and nasty enough to do just that.
“I agree with my grandmother.” I let my gaze rake over the dress she seems to love so much. “I’m not letting a woman with the taste of a back-alley whore take charge of my wedding.”
The makeup can’t hide the flush creeping up her neck. “Howdareyou talk to me like that?”
“Easily. I open my mouth and form the words.”
Grace lets out a choked sound, then covers her mouth.
Karie’s chest is now heaving with rage. “I am themotherof thebride!”
“In what way? Grace didn’t pop out of your vagina. You didn’t raise her. And I can’t give you credit for being a good mother based on how Mick and Viv turned out.”
Her mouth opens and closes a few times. It happens when you get hit in the solar plexus with the truth.
