Page 5 of Jilted

Chapter Five

A my clutched her stomach and groaned. She shouldn’t have had all those margaritas last night.

Of course, it wasn’t just the hangover that was making her sick – it was the knowledge that Brett would be arriving shortly, and she’d have to tell him what she was going to do. He probably wouldn’t take it very well.

“Good morning,” Brett said as he entered the studio.

As usual, he looked like he’d walked off the page of a high-end fashion magazine. Amy knew she looked like hell – hair carelessly thrown into a ponytail, face pale, skin clammy, eyes bloodshot. “Hey.”

“Is everything all right with Lucy?” He dropped his bag to the floor and kicked it into the corner.

Amy clenched her teeth. “Seriously, Brett? Walk the damn bag into the office and set it down,” she snapped.

“Whoa, hey, no reason to bite my head off.” Brett picked up his bag and took it into the office. When he returned, he said, “Is everything okay? You seem a little agitated this morning. Is something wrong with Lucy?”

“Huh?” Oh, right, she’d lied about Lucy needing to see her last night. “Yeah, you know her, boyfriend troubles.” Amy laughed nervously. She wasn’t a good liar by nature but was even worse when she tried to lie to Brett. Time to change the subject. “So, Vanessa seems nice.”

“She is.” He smiled broadly.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to get to know her a little better last night,” she lied.

“Well, lucky for you, we’re having a small engagement party tonight. Please tell me you’ll be there.”

Amy felt another round of nausea threaten to send her rushing to the bathroom. She swallowed the bile rising in her throat and shook her head. “Sorry, I can’t make it.”

“What? Why not?” Brett put his hands on his hips and looked at her. She hated it when he looked at her like that. “C’mon, Amy, this is my engagement party. I’m getting married. You have to be there.”

“I know, and I’m sorry, but I’ve got an appointment with the realtor to look at new studio space in Morris County. It’s a prime location that’s priced to sell. If I don’t jump on it, we’ll lose it.”

“Are you serious?” Brett’s eyes narrowed at her, and his jaw hung slack. “You’re ditching me to go look at real estate?”

Well, when he put it like that, it sounded pretty rotten. She sighed. “It’s not like you gave me much notice.” Okay, that came out a lot snottier than she’d intended.

“What is up with you, Amy? You’ve been acting weird ever since I got back from the show.”

“I’ve only seen you once since you’ve gotten back.” She walked out of the practice room and into her office. Brett followed and stood in the doorway, arms crossed. “And then that was to tell me about Vanessa.”

“Is that what this is about? You’re upset about Vanessa?”

“No,” she lied again. “I’m upset that you’ve been back for almost a month now and I’ve only seen you once. I’m upset that I thought we were going to hang out, just the two of us, only to find out you’d invited Vanessa.”

Oh, crap! She shouldn’t have said all that. She was walking too close to the line of telling him the truth, and if she wasn’t careful, that’s exactly what she would end up doing.

“You’re my best friend, Amy. I thought you’d be happy for me.”

“I am.” She reached up and tightened her ponytail. “I guess it just took me by surprise is all.”

Brett straightened and came toward her. He pulled her into a hug, which, normally, she’d openly welcome, but this time, she remained stiff.

“I’ll tell you what,” he released her and held her out at arm’s length, “instead of a traditional bachelor party, you and me will hang out. Just like we used to.”

Oh, great, so now he wanted to celebrate marrying another woman by hanging out with her. Then another thought struck her. “When is the wedding?”

“This weekend. Late Sunday afternoon to be exact.”

“This weekend?” Today was already Wednesday, which meant that in less than five days, Brett would be a married man. The thought had her stomach rolling again.

“Yeah.” Brett nodded. “Neither of us wanted to wait. It’s going to be a small ceremony just for immediate family and close friends.”

“I guess,” Amy bit out. She reached up and tightened her ponytail again – a nervous habit of hers. “I’m sorry. The whole thing is still a bit of a shock to me.”

“No, I’m sorry. I should’ve told you differently, given you some more notice. So, are we on for Friday night?”

Amy smiled. She never could tell Brett no – especially when it came to spending time with him. “Yeah, of course we are.”

“Great! I’ll pick you up at eight. We’ll go to that little taco place near your house.”

“Sounds good.” She nodded.

The longer he stood there talking to her, making plans to spend what would undoubtedly be their last night together, the more her heart broke. What would she do without Brett? He was the one she called on for everything. How did anyone survive losing their best friend?

“And I’ll see you tonight, too, right? My mom is having it at her house.”

Amy sighed. “Yeah, I’ll be there.” She’d rather get a root canal by a dentist with a hook for a hand than go to Brett’s engagement party, but she couldn’t tell him no. “What time?”

“Seven. Mom’s making her homemade sauce.” He licked his lips and smiled.

She tried to share his enthusiasm but couldn’t even force a smile. Looked like tonight she’d have to face reality, no more running from it. At least she’d have his brother to talk to, to distract her from watching Brett fawn all over Vanessa.

That was one thing she both admired and abhorred about Brett – he wasn’t afraid to show his affections in public.

Amy always wanted a man to dote on her, kiss her, hold her hand, caress her lovingly without caring who was around to witness it.

She wanted a man like Brett who was open with his affections.

However, knowing she wasn’t the object of his affections made it difficult to watch him shower others with it.

“Should I bring anything?” she asked as an afterthought.

“Just yourself.” Brett grinned.

Amy arrived at Brett’s parents’ house a few minutes after seven. She took a deep breath, climbed the steps to the front door, and knocked. The door swung open, and she was greeted by Craig.

“Amy!” He hugged her. “Finally, someone sane.”

She laughed. “What does that mean?”

He raised a brow and shook his head. “Brett has gone out of his mind marrying a woman he hardly knows.”

“My thoughts exactly,” she muttered, following Craig through the house and out into the backyard.

Brett’s father, Dean, was manning the grill while Brett sat in a patio chair. Vanessa was on his lap. A sharp pang of jealousy shot through Amy, but she shoved it down deep. Brett wasn’t hers, and he never had been. Not really.

“Look who’s here,” Craig announced, flinging his arm around Amy’s shoulders and giving her a playful kiss on the cheek.

Brett looked up, and the smile faded from his face. He glanced back and forth between Amy and Craig, his angry gaze settling on Craig’s arm, which was still around her shoulders.

“Amy, I’m glad you made it.” Brett’s voice was tight as he patted Vanessa on the lower back, signaling for her to get up off his lap. She did, and Brett stood.

“I told you I’d be here.” Amy smiled weakly. Just a few hours, she told herself. Just a few hours, and then she could leave.

“Amy, dear.” Mrs. Hudson walked up and hugged Amy. “Oh, it’s been ages. How are you?”

“I’m fine. You?”

“Never better.” She smiled. “I’m trying a new sauce recipe,” she whispered conspiratorially. “I could really use your opinion.”

“Lead the way,” Amy said as she followed Mrs. Hudson into the house.

At this point, Amy would scrub the bathroom just so she wouldn’t have to watch Brett and Vanessa together.