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As we all sat down, Dad said, “Champagne, Misty?”
“Yes, thank you, Gregory. That would be lovely.”
In typical Dad fashion, he didn’t offer one to me or Mom. “I’ll have one too, thanks, Dad. What about you, Mom?”
“Oh, um, yes. Yes, actually, I wouldn’t mind a drop. Thank you. Gregory.”
Of course, this was where Dad would normally get his back up, but he didn’t dare in front of Misty. “Of course.”
Dad sorted the champagne and sat down. Then…no one moved. All that food sitting there, and no one was going to eat it? I reached for a Crostini and not a word of a lie, Misty drew in a sharp breath. It was enough to make me hesitate for a moment, then I thought, fuck it. I was starving. And say what you want about my mom, she sure could cook. “Mmm, so good. Mom, Ineedthis recipe!”
It was like my words galvanized everyone into action. Tyler and Dad piled their plates, Mom and Misty put a few crackers and some celery sticks on theirs.
“So, Misty...” Dad began once we’d all taken a few bites. “Tyler tells us you work for Councilor Smyth?”
And so began the most monotonous evening of my life. All through the pumpkin soup for entrée, pot roast with mashed potatoes and glazed carrots for main, the conversation went like it did every other family gathering. It was all about Tyler. And now Misty. I may as well have been invisible. Right down to when it was time for dessert.
Tyler turned to Misty with an overly enthusiastic grin. “Oh, babe, didn’t you bring something for dessert?”
“Yes, I did!”
“She insisted we try this special pie she gets,” Tyler said with a casual shrug, like it was no big deal. “I did say that Scarlett would probably make one, but you know, it’s good to try something new every now and then and she should go ahead.”
“Well, that’s very thoughtful of you, Misty.” God, could Mom gush anymore? “Scarlett, how about you help me?”
“Sure.” In the kitchen, I grabbed Misty’s pie from the fridge. As Mom fussed with plates and forks, I lifted the lid. It was... a grocery store pie that wouldn’t have cost more than $4.99.
Mom hadn’t given up on her gush yet, though. “So thoughtful and kind of Misty. I never expected that. Isn’t she great? Such a perfect match for Ty. It’s so good to see him finally settling down.”
“Yeah.” I cut into the pie, the flaky crust crumbling under the knife’s pressure like the cheap pile of shit it was. Following Mom back into the dining room, I placed the pie in the middle of the table and started serving. As I did so, Tyler caught my eye. His lips curved in a faint smirk, then he glanced at Misty, and she smiled at him. If there had been any doubt that he had engineered this whole thing, it died right there. And Misty knew. She really was his perfect match.
“Misty, you’re right. This really is the best pie.”
“Oh, Gregory, you’re too kind.”
I picked up my fork, tears stinging my eyes. So stupid to let this stuff get to me, after all these years.
CHAPTER 3
Rhett
“At least she’s hot.”
“Jackass.”
I ignored Wolfe and the sweat trickling down my back as I did a few practice swings with my golf club. She was hot. No point pretending otherwise. All fire and passion. About frogs, no less. Imagine what she’d be like about something that really mattered.
I swung and the follow through was fucking perfect. Grayson let out a low whistle as we all watched my ball sail through the air and land on the green. “Not bad, if I do say so myself.” I turned to Grayson, who was up next, and grinned. “Looks like I’m still the king of the course, brother.”
Grayson rolled his eyes. “It’s the first hole with seventeen to go. And we all know that focus isn’t exactly your strong suit.”
That was no lie, but I said, “Get fucked,” anyway.
Grayson chuckled and let rip with a swing so perfect I had to actually bite back a groan. It landed about a foot away frommine. He shot me a look of amused satisfaction and right there, I had to admit that his engagement had been good for him. If you’d told me my older, stoic, brooding, colder than ice brother would fall for a punk rock chick with blue hair, ripped jeans and enough sass to terrify mere mortals,I wouldn’t have believed you. But here we were. “Wedding plans all on track?”
“Sure. On the home stretch now, which is getting Mom all het up.”
“How so?”