“Dear lord!” Sophie crossed herself.
“I already peed on a stick,” I said miserably. “What am I going to do? I can’t tell Mark. I have to take that secret to my grave.”
“Yeah. I think you can go to jail for sleeping with your brother,” Grace said.
“Is no one going to put forth the possibility that your mother or Memphis Eve could be lying?” Elsie said dryly. “Why are we already jumping to the worst-case scenario?”
“Even if we aren’t related—dear lord, please let us be not related, because there is not enough cake in the world to pull me out of that rock bottom—I cannot tell him that it might even be a possibility. He would freak out. He’s—brittle right now,” I countered. “What would I even say? ‘Whoops, remember my twin? She’s actually evil, and I only kissed you so she wouldn’t ruin your life, but then I let it get ruined anyways. Totes sorry about imploding your family. Have a nice life? Peace out!’”
“We need a plan,” Ivy said, taking out her Happy Planner. “Step one. Verify paternity.”
“We have the rehearsal dinner tomorrow,” Grace said with a nod. “Ivy, Brea, and I will be there. We can try to steal a DNA sample.”
“Step two: Hope that Brea is not related to Mark’s dad,” Ivy continued. “Step three: If Brea is, then she can move to Harrogate and hopefully never see the Holbrooks again.”
* * *
I trudgedhome from the Weddings in the City office. I still had to finish Liz’s dress, but all I wanted to do was curl up on my bed and eat the leftover wedding cake Sophie had given me. Instead, I stopped at a Starbucks and ordered two extra-large mocha cookie crumble Frappuccinos with three extra shots of espresso, extra cookie crumbs, and extra chocolate sauce. I was sucking down one of them as I walked up to my building.
I screamed and almost dropped my beverages when I opened the door. In the small vestibule, Memphis Eve and my mother were waiting.
“We need to talk about Jack Holbrook,” Memphis Eve said, eyes a little too bright in the dark. It made her look predatory.
“He’s your father,” my mother insisted. “I slept with him a bunch of times around when you were conceived.”
“I’m going to try to steal DNA from him tomorrow,” I said in a low voice. “Dave’s DNA didn’t come back positive?”
“Thankfully, no,” Memphis Eve said.
“I hope it is Jack Holbrook!” my mother gushed. “Just think, girls, a billionaire! You’d be entitled to part of his estate. I could sue him for child support. I could buy a yacht!”
“No one is buying a yacht,” I snapped. “Even if he is our father, no one can know.”
Memphis Eve’s mouth curled up like a cat about to strike. “Why?” she hissed. “What game are you trying to play?”
“I don’t want to hurt Mark.”
“Oh, right.” Memphis Eve laughed like the Wicked Witch of the West. “You slept with your own half brother.”
“Alleged,” I whispered, face hot with shame and anger. “Alleged. And you can’t go around claiming that we are related with no proof. That’s not right.”
Memphis Eve jerked forward and spat at me, “You don’t care about the Holbrooks and their reputation. You don’t care about Mark. In fact, younevercared about Mark. You only wanted him because I wanted him. You were always jealous of me. Now you’re trying to go in there and use your influence to cut me out of the inheritance.”
“You sound crazy!” I cried. “Both of you sound crazy. I’m looking for the truth.”
“Bullshit!” my sister yelled. “You want money. You want all of it, and you’re trying to squeeze me out. Well, I’m not going to let you. Those billions are mine.”
* * *
I trudged into the apartment.My dads tried to convince me to come watch TV with them, but I mumbled excuses about needing to finish Liz’s dress.
“You haven’t told us about meeting Mark’s parents,” Todd said.
“Or your bachelorette party,” Beau said in concern. “What’s the matter, Brea?”
“I have a wedding in a couple of days,” I said. “I promise we’ll talk after.”
Once in the safety of my room, I laid out Liz’s wedding dresses, reviewed my notes, and forced myself to concentrate on finishing them. A Frappuccino and a half later, I was wired.
