Page 2 of Don’t You Dare Marry Me (Love in Massachusetts #3)

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Warren snorted. “You little b?—”

“Aunt Abagail!” Estelle was always good at protecting that kid, wasn’t she? It grated on Abagail’s nerves. It drove her nuts. If her brother were still alive…who the hell was she kidding? The same shit would be happening day in and day out.

“Bitch?” Abagail said, making sure that Warren’s insult was completed.

She wasn’t going to let him get away with calling anyone that, let alone a woman, and not to mention, the woman he was engaged to.

She still remembered when he came to ask her for that damn family engagement ring and how awkward it had been.

She wouldn’t be surprised if that relationship didn’t last.

Well, maybe it would. It’d depend on how desperate for money Nicola was.

And from what she saw—Nicola was desperate.

“Is that what you were going to call her?” Abagail asked, pushing her agenda that she wasn’t going to let Warren get away with being a dickhead.

“I-I-I…” Warren stuttered.

“That’s no way to talk to your fiancée.” She crossed her arms and gave him a hard stare.

If Estelle wasn’t going to parent the boy, then she would.

Then again, as an adult, she wasn’t sure how much hope he had left.

He’d grown up drenched in entitlement and sympathy, and he knew without a doubt that he could get away with every single damn thing that he wanted to.

All he had to do was bat the long lashes of his baby blue eyes in the direction of anyone who was pissed at him.

Well, that shit had never worked on her and it wouldn’t today.

Abagail waited, the tension in the room thickening. But she was used to being in tense situations like this one. She was used to being the outsider looking in and trying to figure out what drama was happening under the surface.

“She’s not my fiancée, Aunt Abagail.”

Well, that was brand new information. Abagail flicked her gaze over to Nicola, who was looking down at her shoes. If she wasn’t engaged to Warren anymore, then why was she here? What was she still looking for from him?

Money, probably.

“She’s not?” Abagail continued to look at Nicola, eyeing her over.

The way the fabric of her clothes cut across her body, the redness in her cheeks that definitely wasn’t from blush.

She was embarrassed by this whole situation, wasn’t she?

Just what had Abagail stumbled into? “Then why is she here?”

“She’s supposed to give me Nana’s ring back.” Warren’s upper lip pulled into a sneer.

Abagail knew she shouldn’t have ever given him the ring to begin with.

But who else was supposed to have it? She hadn’t planned on getting married, and Warren was the only grandchild and the only one currently in any kind of formal relationship.

Well, not now, she supposed. It grated on Abagail’s nerves.

She really shouldn’t have handed it over to him so cavalierly.

Nicola straightened her shoulders, that diminished look sliding from her face as if she was literally picking herself up off the floor and preparing for the next round of a fist fight.

“I am supposed to give it back. We had an agreement, and once Warren holds up his end of the bargain, he’ll have the ring back in his skinny little fingers. ”

Why was that so amusing to her? Abagail could see the look of horror on Warren’s face even though she wasn’t actually looking at him. He was always such an entitled snob, and she could see him grasping for what he thought was his even if it wasn’t.

“When that happens, I’ll gladly give the ring back.” The slight sneer in Nicola’s voice may have just made Abagail’s day.

She was about to respond when a young woman walked into the house, someone she recognized, although she had to think back and tickle her memory for an answer as to exactly who she was.

Abagail pressed her lips together hard, searching her memory for the answer.

The woman walked closer to them, brushing her hair behind her ear and Abagail caught sight of the small scar just above her left eyebrow.

Chaya.

Abagail should have known, but it’d been at least ten or fifteen years since she’d seen her.

She shouldn’t be surprised that Warren would ditch Nicola for the old fling who had never gone away.

She’d been surprised he’d shown any interest in Nicola to begin with, considering they were from wildly different sides of the track.

“Sorry I’m late, love.”

Oh yeah, they were back together. Abagail cringed.

She’d never liked Chaya, though it wasn’t entirely her fault.

It was her parents’ fault. She was just as entitled and snobbish as Warren.

Abagail bit the inside of her cheek to keep her mouth shut.

The last thing she needed at this moment was to add fuel to the fire.

Abagail’s eyes were locked on Nicola, on the shame, the pain, the obvious hurt that crossed her features that she never managed to cover up.

Nicola’s face was always an open book. Abagail loved seeing her because of that.

She hadn’t been hardened by the entitlement of Warren or beaten down into someone she wasn’t. And she was a breath of fresh air.

She always had been.

“What are you doing here, Nicola?” Chaya sneered, and it sent shivers up Abagail’s spine. Who gave her the right to talk to Nicola like that? Who gave her the right to think that she had any standing in this family?

Oh right, the family relationship that had been established for years.

Abagail held back her sigh and was about to face Warren and Chaya when Nicola’s voice drew her back.

“You know? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.” Nicola tightened her grasp on her purse strap and she squared her shoulders.

Some sort of mask came over the hurt, though Abagail could still see it underneath.

She had no doubt that Nicola was trying to hide everything.

“It really doesn’t matter in the long run, does it?

Warren, I expect that check you promised me. ”

And then she was gone.

Abagail watched her leave, the way her rounded ass swayed from side to side in the thin cotton dress that she wore, the stiffness in her shoulders that Abagail had never witnessed before.

She honestly hated seeing it there. Nicola wasn’t built for that kind of stress and hurt.

She was built for smiles and joy. She’d always been the light in the center of the room when it came to this family.

And it seemed as if that light had been permanently put out.

“What check?” Abagail said under her breath, not facing Warren.

Not yet. She wanted to watch as Nicola walked completely out of the house and disappeared.

Abagail realized belatedly that she wasn’t even listening for Warren’s answer because she was too caught up with Nicola leaving.

Forcing herself to turn on Warren, Chaya, and Estelle, Abagail raised an eyebrow at them and waited for the answer.

“She uh… she just wants his money,” Chaya said, stuttering slightly in the beginning.

Had she said that already?

Abagail didn’t care. She focused on Warren. “How much money?”

“She demanded fifty thousand when I broke things off with her. Ridiculous. She won’t give me Nana’s ring back until I pay her.”

While fifty thousand dollars wouldn’t break their bank, money also didn’t grow on trees.

Abagail let that information sit in the top of her chest as she mulled through all the possibilities.

And what the hell could Nicola need that kind of money for?

She was a young, capable woman. She could very easily get a job and work to earn a living.

“And you agreed.” Abagail didn’t ask it like a question, because it wasn’t. Nicola’s understanding was that Warren would give her money in exchange for the ring. She probably wouldn’t have shown up that night if that hadn’t been the case. “What right did you have to do that?”

“What?” Warren squeaked.

“You aren’t in charge of the accounts, Warren.

You have no power except over the funds you receive from your trust, and I doubt you have that kind of cash lying around because you’re too stupid to actually do anything worthwhile with the money instead of just spending it.

” Abagail narrowed her gaze at him. “And you’re stupid enough to let a woman like that go in exchange for someone exactly like you.

” She gestured toward Chaya, who at least had the decency to look offended.

“Aunt Abagail!” Warren started, but she held up her hand to silence him.

“I’m appalled by your behavior tonight.” She flicked her gaze to Estelle, who at least looked down at her toes and shuffled her feet like she’d been the one who was scolded.

Well, good. Because she’d been as shit a parent as Abagail’s brother had been when he was alive.

They both cared far more about themselves than anyone else.

And it seemed Warren hadn’t fallen that far from the tree.

“You treated the woman you claimed to love for years like dirt.” Abagail wrinkled her nose in a sneer. “And all for what? To prove that you’re in love with Chaya?” She scoffed. “Grow up, Warren.”

“We’re engaged, Aunt Abagail,” Warren started, holding onto Chaya’s arm like it was his shield against her. “And I’d really like to be able to give her the ring that she deserves.”

Abagail’s stomach churned at that thought.

Chaya deserved it? God, she couldn’t believe he’d even said that, nonetheless believed it.

Abagail looked around the room. This was their engagement party, wasn’t it?

She remembered something vaguely about the formal invite saying engagement, but she’d assumed Warren and Nicola…

Had he just taken those party plans and literally changed the women out like they were nothing to him? Fuck, they were nothing to him, weren’t they?

Abagail breathed in deeply, making eye contact with several of the other distant family members that were blood related, the others who were business partners or long-standing friends to the family.

She recognized each of them. That’s exactly what this was.

Shaking her head, she folded her hands together.

“If you’re getting married, then you better step up and start acting like you’re grown up enough to make these adult decisions.

” Abagail bit the inside of her cheek. Why did she so often feel like more of the parent to him than Estelle was?

She hated it. He was the reason she hadn’t ever wanted children.

Well, plus the fact that if she’d had children, they would have been under the same pressures that Warren had been growing up.

And her kids would have turned out the same way.

Spoiled.

Entitled.

Non-contributing to society.

And Abagail had known for decades that this was exactly who Warren had been raised to be. He’d never been allowed to be any different, and unfortunately, she had played her role in that as well.

Abagail nodded to herself and looked between Chaya and Warren. Finally she focused on Estelle and bowed her head slightly. “You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t stay for the party. I have some urgent work business.”

“Aunt Abagail, we’d really like it if you stayed,” Chaya said, her voice carrying to where Abagail stood only a few feet away.

Just the tone of her voice set Abagail off.

She really didn’t want to be here listening to this or even witnessing this party.

Were Chaya and Warren a better match? Probably.

Neither one of them had ever really matured and they’d both had the world handed to them on a silver platter.

Perhaps even a golden one. If anything had been clear about Nicola, she’d had to work her butt off to get where she was.

But Abagail knew nothing about her other than that.

She’d always kept her past close to her heart and never revealed too much about who she was.

Abagail looked to Estelle. “Thanks for the invitation.”

She started to walk away, but Warren followed her. “Aunt Abagail!”

She cringed as she reached the foyer to the front of the house. She stopped her forward motion and turned around to face him. “What is it?”

“Aren’t you happy for me?”

There was the little boy that she’d loved, the one who was always seeking her approval in everything he did and more.

Why? Because he didn’t get it anywhere else.

Abagail frowned, debating on the right tactic to take with this.

Was she happy for him? No. She didn’t understand what he was doing or why he was doing it, and it wasn’t like he’d even told her that he had suddenly switched fiancées.

“Are you happy with Chaya?”

Warren nodded, his lips quirking slightly before the attempted smile faltered. “Yeah, I am.”

“Then I have no reason to be unhappy.” Abagail put her hand on the doorknob. “We’ll talk some other time, Warren.”

“Aunt Abagail…” Warren trailed off. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” She had to talk to him again. It wasn’t only her responsibility, but now she was going to need to figure out how to get the damn engagement ring back and untangle the mess he’d made by promising Nicola fifty grand.

She really didn’t want to step into that mess, but there wasn’t a way around it now, was there? “I’ll talk to you soon.”

By soon, she meant when she wanted to talk to him. Because she wasn’t about to have this conversation tomorrow, or even next week. She needed time to think and plot and rage in her own world before she stepped back into this one.

“Congratulations, Warren.” It burned her tongue to say those words, to even think that she could potentially be happy for him and Chaya and the way he was treating Nicola and the fact that he thought he had the right to do that.

“Next time don’t be such a dick to someone you proclaimed to love only last week. All right?”

Warren’s jaw dropped.

Abagail smirked and walked out of the house. There. That had been exactly what she’d wanted to say, and she’d finally managed to get her point across.

Rule one in her life: Don’t be a dick.