“Christine,” a gruff voice said as a puffed-up man approached, one with the appearance of having one too many glasses of scotch with his buddies.
Trailing behind him were three men about the same age, all wearing plastic smiles.
The shot of tequila arrived just in time and she tossed it back with a dramatic flair, again slamming the glass on the bar with enough force I was shocked it didn’t shatter.
“Ah.” She even wiped her mouth with the back of her arm as any cowboy would do. When she snapped her head in his direction, I could swear she had demon eyes. “Hello, Daddy. I’m home.”
CHAPTER 20
Christine
The liquor flowed, which was the only way I was keeping sane.
The music remained festive, although archaic.
The conversation was lively, if not argumentative.
The food had been delicious with way too much money spent.
Lobster tail and filet, my father’s favorite since he was a meat and potatoes man. The lobster was a stretch, but as long as the delicate meat was slathered in hot butter, he was fine with it. I could tell my mother’s intervention with an antipasto salad. And my sister’s choice for her special day?
Beluga caviar.
Only the best for her upcoming-yet-hell-would-freeze-over-first nuptials. I’d watched her fiancé, a guy with a very high opinion of himself feeding her rounded spoons of the expensive delicacy while she giggled and batted her eyelashes.
I’d chugged another larger shot of tequila and would have consumed more had my date not prevented me from doing so. Of course, Danny was right in keeping me from killing myself over my family. At least the alcohol had taken the edge off my anger as well as the crazy desire I’d felt for my handsome flower killer.
Whatever had gotten into me, I liked it. I’d never been so free with my acts of lust. Much more exciting than the topics being discussed.
The group of people was… lackluster at best. Other than the gorgeous man who’d been sitting to my right, at the long table full of boring people.
There were two senators and their wives, a judge and his, some attorney, and by the way he’d been leering at me since I’d walked into the recreational room, the man I was supposed to marry.
My mother wasn’t a good liar, nor could she hide her intentions. She’d tried three times to mention I’d originally gotten a scholarship to study law.
Which I’d wanted nothing to do with and I enjoyed reminding her I was nothing but a lowly teacher. The dude didn’t seem put off by my less than acceptable profession.
Thankfully, my sister had attempted to control the emotional level of the dinner conversation, going on relentlessly about the six-carat diamond on her finger, which would be the largest for her collection, the wedding venue selected, which was another archaic monument to nepotism and wealth, and the two-month honeymoon they had planned.
If anyone was a fly on the wall, they might say I was jealous of her. Maybe so. She’d always gotten the cutest boyfriends whereI’d had no suitors until my senior year in college and even then, the single boy who’d asked me out had been…
Dull.
The story of my life.
Until now.
“I was standing in the halls of Congress when a young kid walked up to me, tugging on my jacket.” My father pushed his plate away and immediately, one of the usual hired help yanked the plate away.
Utter perfection at every turn.
“What happened?” Judge Watkins asked, a man who shouldn’t ever take another bite of food.
“The little tyke held up a stuffed wolf and with his parents standing right behind him, he was brave enough to ask why I wanted to kill all the wolves.”
The entire table laughed.
Except for Danny and me. I sensed his anger given I’d briefly told him what my father had been working on since day one of the great shifter discovery.
