Angela's face fell into a horrified look.
I followed her gaze to where my mother was letting Phil hug her. Our young neighbor, his bride was standing next to him gushing all over my mother.
I gagged a little bit seeing him. Daniela also followed her gaze, "Let me guess—that is your ex that Mike told me about?"
I nodded, helplessly.
She took my hand in hers, leading me away. We got to the kitchen where the men were reloading trays.
Daniela clapped her hands to get their attention, "We have a situation."
They all stopped. She looked at Mike, "Phillip is here, with the young girl he married."
Luce, Mike, and Will all made a face. She pointed, "Luce we need you to pretend you are dating and madly in love with Jacqueline."
Mike opened his mouth but Daniela shook her head, "He is a catch, world wide." She grinned and I could see her enjoying his pain.
I shook my head, "I can't ask that of you."
Luce put down his tray and swept my arm into his, dazzling me with his green eyes and thick lashes, "I am honored to be asked." He looked at Mike, "We cool?"
Mike looked broken momentarily and then snapped back, "Do it. Make Phillip look like a chump. It's better than me beating the piss out of him again."
I didn’t understand why Mike agreed, but Luce was dragging me out into the great room before I could argue.
We walked back over to Angela, Helena, and Diane. I pointed, "Diane, Angela and Helena, this is Lucian."
They all blushed and instantly became silly girls. I loved that about them. A rich man made them crazy.
My mother noticed the way we were standing and motioned for me to come over. I smiled, "I have to go see my mother."
The girls all giggled, "Of course. It was lovely to meet you."
Luce laughed, "Yes, you ladies as well." We walked to my mother, "Are you sure?"
He stopped me from walking and looked at me like I was the only girl in the room. He tilted my chin and pressed his soft lips against mine. My head spun as he pulled me into the kiss. He let me back to earth slowly and smiled, "I want nothing more than to make you happy." I felt giddy. I was blushing and grinning like a fool when we got to my mother.
Luce made Phil look like he was mini-sized, and he was not a small man. Luce was Mike's height and just as thick. My mother beamed when she introduced us, "Phil this is Lucian Nooruddin. His family is the Nooruddins of Bahrain. Friends with the Bush family, if I'm not mistaken."
Luce laughed, "Guilty as charged—and the Kennedys. He held a hand out for Phil, "Pleased to meet you." Phil's wife couldn’t take her eyes from his face. I looked up at him and smiled, "Phil is my ex-fiancé and his wife Ashley was the neighbor girl at the home we bought together."
Luce pointed at the young girl, "Red Jimmy Choos and a cape?"
I slapped his chest, "Yes. That is the story." Ashley's face was bright red and my mother was confused. Phil looked furious but before he could speak, I cut him off, "Ashley, I owe you big time. I might have married this giant asshole if you had not let him fuck you like a dog on my bed, in my shoes. For that, I will be eternally grateful."
She gasped and my mother started to laugh. Phil leaned into me, but Luce stepped in front of me. "I think it's time for you to leave. Your being here is disturbing my fiancé."
I was nervous, giggling into Luce's back when my mother grabbed my hand, "We are going to be the laughing stock from the Upper East Side all the way to the Hamptons."
I shook my head, "Who gives a damn? You have all of Daddy's money, Mom. Have fun with it."
I kissed her on the cheek and sauntered back into the kitchen with Luce. Daniela raised her eyebrows, "Well, how did it go?"
I shook my head, "You really are a crack team of evil people. I thought the girls I grew up with were bad, but damn. I think, besides the girl who once tossed a full milkshake in my face, you have redeemed me to everyone I know."
Daniela winked at me, "I owed you one."
Tex wrapped his arm around her shoulder, "She really was a mean girl in modeling. This is her stage and these people are her props."
Daniela kissed his cheek, and I had no idea how they made their relationship work, but they did. The cheating and the weird drama was like foreplay.
Tex gave me a grin, "Well Jack, we better be heading to the hotel. This has been really fun and all, but we have an early flight."
I hugged the four of them hard, "Thank you so much for coming."
I hugged Daniela, "Thank you for not making me a prop any longer."
She whispered, "You have always been one. That'll never change. You are fun to play with, Jacqueline."
I gasped, “You are awful.”
She shrugged, “I detest being bored.” She waved and let Tex lead her from the room. I shook my head and looked around to find the kitchen was nearly empty. Will had vanished, no doubt upstairs to see my sister. So when the four of them left, it was Luce and I in the kitchen with the staff. I didn’t know where Mike had gone. I turned to go and find him but Luce walked towards me. He wrapped his arm around me, "There is something I want to talk to you about."
I shook my head, "No. Don’t ruin it. Just wait and see if it happens. You never know and I like the surprise of it."
Mike came walking into the kitchen, looking exhausted. He put the dishes he had picked up into the sink. He cleaned like he knew how, because he did. He was the only one who had grown up cleaning and cooking. He glanced at Luce and I. The look was the most painful thing I had ever seen or felt. I could see the defeat on his face and it broke me inside. I looked up at Luce, "I better start cleaning up as well. Thank you for everything."
He bent and kissed my cheek. I heard Mike growl something. Luce grinned from ear to ear, "See you tomorrow, buddy. I'll get your mother to see me out." He waved and left the room.
When he was gone, I walked up and shoved Mike, "You have something you need to tell me?"
He leaned on the huge sink, "I have a lot of somethings I would like to tell you."
I poked him in the ribs, "About Tex's wife, by any chance?"
He turned around and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Jack, what in the ever-loving hell? Are you bugging me?"
I folded my arms, "She told me you two hooked up. Spill."
He shook his head, "It's not what you think. She came to my place in Jersey, I wasn’t there. A friend was staying there. He called to let me know she was there. I drove out to end this, once and for all, and never have it come up again." I could see the guilt all over his face.
I winced, "So while I was sleeping and depressed, you were doing Daniela?"
He shook his head, grabbing my hands, "NO! I swear. She attacked me, started undoing my pants and kneeling and…"
I put a hand up, "Ewwwww. Stop. Okay, look—this is who you are—I get it. I don’t want you to feel bad about yourself. I just don’t want to hear any more details. I want to go upstairs, and pretend my house isn’t full of a bunch of people I don’t like, and sleep. Will you come with me?"
"I never touched her. She tried and I ran away like a little girl, I think I even screamed."
I laughed, "Okay. Sleepy time?"
He sighed, "You don’t believe me, do you?"
I shrugged, "It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t change the way I feel about you. You’re my best friend, Mike. You have slept with far worse than her."
His eyes grew heavy, "I know. But I didn't this time, I swear it. All I thought about this whole time was you. I’ve been here all along." He wrapped around me and steered us to the back stairs where no one would see us slipping to my room to hide.
We stripped to our underwear, locked the door and climbed into the bed.
I curled into the crook of his arm. He kissed the top of my head, taking in a deep smell of my hair, "What did Phil's face look like when Luce and you went to talk to him?"
I smiled against his chest, "He looked humiliated. Luce made him look like a giant tool and I made Ashley look like a ho. I am going to try to feel bad for it tomorrow, but I don’t think I can. It was so evil, and yet, so fun."
He kissed my head again, "Those people deserve everything they get. If you mess with them and make them think you and Luce are getting married, then good."
I nodded, "I know. They do deserve it. Especially Phil."
"I told you he was a douche."
I nodded again, "Shawn too."
"You gotta start listening to me, Jack. I know assholes when I see them. I spent a lot of years trying to blend into that fucking school. It was a nightmare."
I nodded, “I know. You always spot the guys, and yet, somehow end up with the wrong women.”
He laughed, “I can’t always be right.” He held me closer to him, “If this is all we ever are, it’s okay with me. I’m sorry I let you down so much, Jack.”
But he hadn’t, not really. He was the only person who had made my father’s funeral possible. He was the reason my house had functioned. He didn’t even see what he had done. He didn’t have to be asked. He just came and did it because he loved me. I could have cried but I didn’t. I just let him hold me.
May 9th at the Gallery of Ancient Art in Rome at 7 pm
I had changed my mind a thousand times on whether I should go or not. It seemed like an adult decision and he was the choice I would make, if I freed myself to make one. If I got my fifteen-year-old heart back from Mike, it would tell me Luce was the right choice.
I got out of the cab and walked along the ancient street to the front of the building. I didn’t go inside. It was exactly 7:00. The sun was getting ready to set and the romance of Rome was starting to hit. The city was stunning in the evening.
I walked to the place we had agreed to meet—the pillars. He wasn’t there yet. I leaned against them and wondered for a second, if I had made a mistake. My love for Mike was never going to go away. No matter how much I fell for another person. I pushed the thought away and leaned my back against the pillar. The marble and stone arches were stunning with the cobbled road.
