Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 69534 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 348(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69534 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 348(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
She kept stealing glances at Searcy and her fake ring, looking like every time she did, she’d break down and cry.
I pretended not to notice and instead focused on explaining everything that there was to know about Searcy.
Though, I’d made sure that I had Searcy’s permission first.
By the end of dinner, Paul was talking quietly with his wife, Harrington looked ready to bolt, and the food I switched with from Searcy to my stepsister sat untouched.
“Was dinner not to your liking, dear Juliet?” Paul asked.
“Oh, I’m a vegetarian. I’m allergic to red meat,” my sister lied.
She wasn’t allergic to red meat.
She was allergic to watching cow videos and how they were mistreated.
She’d given up all meat a few years ago and hadn’t looked back since.
Oh, and also, she wasn’t a lesbian.
My stepsister was a very straight woman that had a best friend that was overly friendly.
One day my stepfather had caught them doing their overly friendly thing, and he’d said she was a lesbian ever since.
“Do you mind if I have a bite of your steak and a dinner roll?” Paul asked.
I’d literally watched Paul take every single extra dinner roll out of the basket, as well as have two helpings of salad. How that man kept putting food into his mouth, I didn’t know.
“Oh, sure.” Juliet handed over her roll.
“Show time,” I whispered into Searcy’s hair.
“What?” she whispered back.
“Watch,” I instructed. “This is a commonly used tactic of my mother’s.”
“Oh, no, Mr. Brussard. I’ll get you a fresh one from the…” My mother trailed off as Paul took a healthy bite of the dinner roll.
Then promptly made a face.
He chewed for a long second before he scolded, “Holy fuck. What the fuck is in this?”
Did I mention that I really liked Paul?
For a lawyer, he was okay.
Too bad he was about to be representing Searcy’s mother.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” my mother replied.
She’d, of course, caught me switching the plates, and had only made a face that quickly disappeared because she didn’t want everyone to catch her frowning.
Hosts never frowned.
This went better than I expected.
Paul spit his food out. Seconds later he was reaching for my sister’s full drink—which I’d also switched.
He took a healthy swallow, and immediately spit that out, too.
“What the fuck is wrong with this food?” Paul cried out.
“Mine was perfectly palatable,” Elisha said, knowing this was a tactic my mother used.
“So was mine,” Harrington drawled as he took in Paul.
“Mine wasn’t seasoned at all,” Searcy admitted. “I had to add a lot of salt and pepper to make the meat have any taste at all. Oh, and I also kind of wanted more steak.”
Because my mother constantly commented on Juliet’s hips.
She would never give Juliet food with salt or lots of meat.
She had given her extra salad. No dressing, though.
“Mine was just okay, too,” Paul’s wife commented. “Paul, have some of my beer.”
Paul did, then shook his head. “I’m thinking we’ll need to stop past McDonald’s on the way home so I can eat one of their happy meals to get the taste out of my mouth. Ready?”
Paul stood up and grabbed his wife’s hand, pulling her as well.
He made it halfway out of the room before turning back and saying, “I won’t be representing you, Deiondre. I don’t represent people that are suing for stupid reasons.”
With that, he left, and my mother waited until the company was gone, door solidly closed, before turning to me and saying, “You bitch.”
“Are you using crass words, Mother?” I asked. “And are you calling me a bitch?”
“I’m calling her a bitch.” She pointed at Searcy.
“What did I do?” Searcy asked.
“You’re ruining a relationship,” she sneered, still aiming her words at me, yet addressing Searcy.
It was weird, even for her.
“I don’t feel like I am,” Searcy said. “Honey, am I ruining our relationship?”
“You know that’s not what I mean,” my mother sneered.
“Listen,” Harrington interjected. “She’s rich as fuck now, Mom. She’s not out to steal Posy’s imaginary money. Honestly, this is getting really old. Also, Elisha and I are getting married.”
That shocked the shit out of me.
“What?” My mother couldn’t have reached a higher octave.
“We started talking last month, and well, we’re not interested in waiting. We’re getting married over Christmas break in Vail,” Harrington said. “Also, why are you inviting Searcy’s mother here? She’s suing Searcy because Searcy isn’t sharing that money. Which I told her not to do. That’s directly contradicting my recommendation.” He stood up and walked to Elisha.
Quickly, he slammed his mouth down on hers, and I finally understood why she’d stopped pursuing me over the last few weeks. She had a new target.
Or maybe she wasn’t actually targeting him. Maybe they were actually in love.
I didn’t find it all that weird, either, because Harrington and Elisha spent more time together than Elisha and I had.
“So what’s the plan?” I asked. “Can we go now?”