Two sets of eyes are shocked to see me come through the door. I barely make it past Lamar without crying before retreating to the bedroom. With the dress off and nicely hung, I take the pins out of my hair and wash my makeup off. I’m better off as Cinderella before the fairy godmother tried to make me something I’m not.
“Why are you back?” Lamar asks as I enter the kitchen. I pour myself a glass of wine and keep my back to him.
“It wasn’t my scene,” I tell him. “You can go now.” I refuse to look at him for fear that I’ll start crying. As soon as I hear the door shut, I let the tears fall. Little hands wrap around my waist, hugging me tight.
“What happened, Mommy?”
“Nothing, little miss. Nothing at all.” But she knows better because the tears tell a different story.
26
Finn
I breathe a sigh of relief when Brandy excuses herself. Finally alone with her father, I motion for one of the waiters to bring us another round of drinks. With my hand on his shoulder and a half-empty glass in my hand, I motion for us to move over to the side where I feel we can discuss business without an audience.
“Mr. Kramer, you know that your support means the world to me—”
“Finn,” he says, interrupting me. I’m actually put off by this. I have only a small window in which to tell him that he can take his money and stuff it before Brandy comes back. With her hanging on me constantly I haven’t been able to get a word in edgewise. And if I have to hear “oh Daddy” one more time I’m going to blow my own eardrums. “Brandy tells me that you’re making great strides with the new hotel. Tell me what you need.”
And there it is, the golden fucking ticket, except this ticket comes with a price tag that I’m not willing to even turn over to see the cost. I already know it’s out of my range. I don’t want to be with Brandy, this much I know. I’m not sure I want to be with anyone because I’d rather spend my time with Macey and Morgan. It’s purely selfish to include Macey because she deserves better than what I can offer her right now.
“Yes, Mr. Kramer, and that’s why I wanted to talk to you. You see, I won’t need your—”
“Oh, Daddy, there you are.”
I roll my eyes at the sound of Brandy. When I glance at her, she’s almost out of breath, making me wonder where the fuck she ran off to. I’d ask, but I don’t care enough to know. Hopefully, she dropped down on her knees in the bathroom to give the waiter a blow job. I’ve been watching him eye fuck her all night.
“Are you telling Daddy the good news?”
“What news might that be, sunshine?” Brandy shrugs her shoulders as if she’s meant to be cute while Mr. Kramer dotes on his conniving little girl.
“No, I was about to tell your father—”
“That we’re engaged!” she says excitedly, holding up her left hand. My mouth drops and my hand goes slack, allowing the glass I’m holding to slip and crash to the floor. Both Brandy and her father look at me as if I’ve done something incredibly horrible. Fuck, maybe I did.
“Finn, it looks like we’ll be family.”
“Actually, sir—”
“Daddy, I want a big wedding.”
“For fuck’s sake,” I say, irritated by the facts that my phone continues to vibrate in my pocket and the Kramers keep interrupting me. I pull my phone out and see two texts. One from Morgan, which makes me smile because she’s thinking about me, and one from Lamar. I open his first.
Macey went to the fundraiser. Came back crying. I thought you wanted her to go?
Daddy, why is Mommy crying?
I read both texts over and over, and look at the door even though I know she’s not in the room or even waiting for me at the door. I look at the time stamp and calculate how long it would’ve taken her to get back to the hotel from here and how long Brandy was gone. Pocketing my phone, I step to Brandy and her father to interrupt their wedding plans and pull her aside.
“Brandy, did you happen to see Macey tonight?”
Her face pales before the mask is put back into place. “I let her know our good news.”
“Right, except I didn’t ask you to marry me, so the fact that you’re telling people is bullshit.”
“It’s a matter of time, Finn.” She reaches for me, but I recoil. I don’t want her to touch me, not now, not ever.
“I’m not marrying you, Brandy.”
Her mouth drops open briefly before shutting as her eyes turn deadly. “You listen to me, Finn McCormick. You will tell everyone that we’re getting married and that last night under the stars you proposed with this ring. I will not be made a fool of. My father will destroy you and everything you’ve built. Everything will be gone. Is that what you want?”