“Yeah, yeah, Bavaria’s got chocolate.” Zack joined his brother at the table. “So what kept you from proposing last month?”
“Mom found out right before the trip. I had told Dad and you know he can’t keep a damn secret from her.”
“Boy, tell me about it.”
Daniel shook his head. “She convinced me that I had to do it in front of her family.” His voice raised into a harpy’s tone. “Come on, Daniel, you know those Walkens wouldn’t approve of you proposing to Janet in secret!”
“That sounds like her.”
“This whole night is scripted. I’m supposed to stand up and make a grand gesture of asking Janet to marry me in front of everyone.”
“Yeah, we know.”
“See! It’s not even a surprise!”
“What’s bothering you more? Doing it publicly or losing the spontaneity?”
Daniel didn’t answer either of those questions. “Why do you care? Admit it, you came for a spectacle after Mother insisted you drag your ass here.”
“I care because…”
The doors flew open again. Evan sauntered in, adjusting his dinner jacket and shaking his head at the sight of his brothers already bickering like schoolchildren. “What a mess,” he said with a harsh sigh. “Time for the middle child to save the day again.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Janet’s panicking that you’re running out before you can finish the damn job. Get your ass out there and propose to her before her mother starts blaming this on the Venezuelan government. God! Good luck with that as your mother-in-law.”
“Why do you think I’m hesitating?”
The three of them lined up against the counter. The second French chef popped out with a large stainless steel pot in his hands. He did a double-take at the three Feldman brothers before serving dessert in the dining room. Daniel cursed beneath his breath.
“Shut up, Dan. You’re the hashtag-winner of this ragtag bunch.” It was that fast mouth that got Evan deals, but it was also the same mouth that often drove Zack crazy at these family dinners. “I’m too busy for a girlfriend and Zack here can’t be assed to get a steady one.”
“’Scuse me?” Zack said.
“Whatever, Zack. Trying to make a point to our big brother.”
“I’ll have you know that I do in fact have a girlfriend.”
Both of his brothers gaped at him. “You fucking liar,” Evan said. “You told us that you didn’t.”
“You believed me?”
“Yeah, because you never do. Who is it? The girl from the tabloid?”
“Thanks to that picture, I’m never going in that guestroom again.”
Zack scoffed. “Like you and Janet haven’t banged each other’s brains out in every room of that house.”
“Janet and me? No. But I lost my virginity in the master bedroom. With Susan Kingsman, by the way. You know, the one who’s an actress now?”
“Now you’re the liar. No way you slept with Susie, let alone lost your virginity to her.”
“Oh, yeah? Why makes you so sure of that?”
Zack crossed his arms. “’Cause when I slept with her, she acted like she had no idea who you were.”
“That’s Susie for you.”
Evan smacked his hand against the counter. “Mother must hate this girl you’re dating if you’re hiding it from the table. So it’s got to be the girl form the tabloids.” Evan nudged his brother’s shoulder. “If it’s not her, could you give me her number? ‘Cause she looks talented.”
“You shut your fucking mouth before I pop it closed for you.”
“Ah, it’s her.” Evan leaned forward and flashed Daniel a winner’s grin. “Our baby brother’s got it bad for a girl.”
“Good. You go out there and propose to your girlfriend for me, Zack. I’d prefer to wait until Janet and I get home.”
“And make Mom vomit at the dinner table?”
“Damn, she hates this girl that much?”
“When those pics came out, she hunted me down at my yacht…”
“Holy shit, she hates the marina!”
“…and demanded to know who it was. She’s never done anything like that before.” Eloise was more the passive-aggressive type, leaving terrible voicemails on her son’s phone or using the family PR rep to have a chat with the youngest Feldman boy. “Then she showed up at a lunch that was supposed to be between Dad, me, and Rachel.”
“Rachel? Nice Old Testament name there,” Evan said. “Surprised Mom’s not champing at the bit to get you two married.”
“The Feldsteins may rise again,” Daniel sighed. “’Cause I’m looking at a long road of Catholic marriage counseling and promises to only have sex to make babies.”
“Wait until Mom finds out Janet has an IUD.”
“How do you know about that?”
“You told me when you were balls to the wall drunk, Dan. Said you practically cried when you could go bareback for the first time after three years of dating her.”
Zack couldn’t stand it. Brotherly banter had never been his strong suit, no matter how much he loved some good guy talk. But that was different with his friends. These were his older, golden-child brothers. They may rib him like brothers often did, but it wasn’t out of anything but a deep love for competition. Daniel always had to be the first to do or get something, and Evan always one-upped him. Zack couldn’t stand playing those games. It didn’t help that Daniel and Evan were only separated by three years while Zack was a distant five years behind Evan. They were practically a different generation from him.
“Anyway, check it out, Dan. Our baby brother is hiding his girlfriend from Mom. And probably Dad, since Dad narks.”
“I can’t imagine you having an actual girlfriend, Zack. Thought you were going to be the Uncle Roy of our generation.”
Zack drummed against the counter. “It’s not serious with her. We’re more like friends with benefits.”
They both studied the way their youngest brother kept his face as complacent as possible. “You’re a dirty liar,” Evan said. “You’re going to get married before I do.”
“Fuck that, he might get married before me.” Daniel narrowed his eyes into a scowl. “Because he has the luxury of fucking off to Vegas, whereas I’ll have to drag out my engagement for a whole year so we can do the society rounds and plan the biggest wedding of summer ’18.”
“It’s going to be a great year for the Met!”
“I’m not getting married,” Zack insisted. “And I’m not…”
A commotion erupted in the dining room, summoning all three boys from the anteroom and into utter chaos.
Uncle Roy, remarkably dressed in pants and a plain T-shirt, had been shown into the dining room by the head maid. Why wouldn’t she let him in, when this was a big family night and Eloise had proclaimed more than once that she would not turn her husband’s brother away?
Uncle Roy wasn’t really the problem. The commotion was because of who he brought.
Lorelei Weathersby, the long lost illegitimate sister of Isaiah and Elroy Feldman. Apparently, he had chosen tonight to make the big announcement. To everyone. Including Isaiah, who had yet to hear about this.
At least Daniel got one of his wishes. While everyone was distracted by big news and bigger scandals, he covertly slipped the vintage Bavarian ring onto Janet’s finger and got her out of there as quickly as possible. The Walkens soon followed, turning their noses up at the scandal erupting beneath the Feldmans’ roof.
Before Eloise could demand that her youngest son tell her what the hell was going on, he received a text from Rachel. “I’m going out with this woman tonight. I’ll check in at ten one way or another. I gave Parvati the same info. Hope you’re having a good night.” It was followed with a picture and the address of where they were going.
Zack couldn’t wait to bail on this party.
Chapter 24
Ten minutes late. Rachel’s date was ten minutes late, and she started to worry that she was stood up.
They had agreed to meet at a wine bar on the boundary of downtown. The place was so trendy that Saturday night boomed with quiet conversations and subdued lighting that forced Rachel to use her cell phone light to check how well-groomed she was. I wore a dress for the first time all year. It was the nicest outfit she had in her closet: a dark blue strapless dress accentuated with a brown leather belt. Nothing fancy, but it highlighted her shoulders, cleavage and lean legs. She hoped it was good enough for seducing a woman for a change.
Her date showed up at fifteen after eight. It was all downhill from there.
Rachel’s first inclination that this was not going to go well was the look her pretty date gave her the moment they made eye contact. Where before a pleasant smile rested, now Rachel caught the look of disbelief. Her date slowed her steps until she came to stand behind the chair in front of Rachel.
“Are you Rachel?”
“Yes. You must be Gretchen.”
A slim hand pulled out the chair. Black lace sashayed across the long, pale legs sitting across from Rachel. Oh my God. She’s so pretty. They almost had matching dresses! Just in different colors! And Gretchen was so much better at accenting with delicate pieces of jewelry. Her black hair was swept up in a generous coif that showed off the back of her slender neck and highlighted the beautiful cheekbones gracing her heart-shaped face. Oh my God. She’s so pretty, and I’m going to die.