“Come on.”
“Seriously.”
Cleo struggled against the laugh. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. When I think … If I hadn’t canceled that appointment, if I hadn’t walked in on them—”
Now Sonya pushed up to circle the room, and her legs in running-Saturday-errands cropped jeans ate up the floor. She gestured with her wineglass with one hand, shoved the other through her hair.
And dragged out the tie that held her maple-syrup-brown hair out of its long, straight tail.
“That’s what gets me, Cleo. Really, fucking gets me. I’d have gone through with it. I’d have married the cheating asshole. And I’d’ve married him his way, and that kills me. The hotel ballroom he wanted, the big, slick production of it he wanted, the stupid five-tier wedding cake with the fondant and gold sugar design he wanted.
“How the hell did I let myself get lost in there?”
“Looks like you’re found now. I liked him. I actually liked him, and that kills me. Maybe I thought the wedding was over-the-top, for you, but hell, it’s the day, right? So why not? But—and before I get to the but, let me say it’s good to see you found your rage again.”
“Oh, never lost that. I just liked seeing yours take over awhile.”
“Okay. But. You did cancel the appointment, you did walk in on them. And you’re not going to marry the asshole. The fates looked out for you.”
“If fate looked out for me, I’d have told him to get lost a long time ago.”
“You need more wine.”
“Oh, I’m going to get it. And a lot of it.”
Sonya pressed her fingers to her eyes, not against tears, but sheer frustration.
“Cleo, I have to cancel everything. The hotel, the photographer, the videographer, the cake, the flowers. Jesus, the stupid string quartet I never wanted, the band. I’m going to lose the deposits. Damn it, I just picked up the proof for the invitations. When I think of the hours and hours I worked on that design.”
“Keep it. We’ll put a curse on it, bury it and a pair of his boxers under a full moon. And every time he thinks about roping another woman in, he’ll get a chronic case of jock itch.”
“That’s your Creole granny talking.”
“Bien s?r. I’ll help you cancel everything, and maybe we can sweet-talk some of the deposits back. And you bill the bastard for half of the rest. I never liked that you laid all the money out.”
After huffing out a breath, Cleo slugged back more wine.
“And when I think about that, and I really look? I realize I didn’t like him as much as I kept telling myself I did.”
“He was paying for the rehearsal dinner, the honeymoon. Doesn’t matter. Lesson learned. I could really use some help with the cancellations. Oh God, the registry.”
Because it jittered, Sonya pressed a hand to her stomach.
“We just finalized the gift registry. And we had appointments tomorrow to look at two houses.”
“What we’re going to do is drink more wine. We’ll order pizza. You’ll lend me something to sleep in, and we’ll go over everything that needs to be done.”
“You’re going to stay?”
“Whenever my best friend, my college roomie, my partner in crime and sister of the heart finds her fiancé in bed with her cousin, I spend the night.”
For the first time, Sonya felt tears sting her eyes. But not from sorrow or pain, from sheer gratitude.
“Thanks. Just the thought of dealing with all this makes me want to crawl in a hole. No,” she corrected. “It makes me want to bury Brandon in one. I—” She broke off at the knock on the door, glanced over. “You don’t think…”
Cleo’s tiger eyes flashed. “Let me answer. I wish I had those combat boots, but a knee in the balls works.”
Chapter Two
But when Cleo yanked open the door, prepared for battle, Sonya’s mother, Winter, rushed in. She squeezed Cleo’s hand first, then went straight to her daughter.
“Honey, baby, I’m so sorry.” She wrapped Sonya tight, swayed. “Don’t cry. Don’t cry. He’s not worth it.” Turning her head, she pressed her lips to Sonya’s cheek. “I know you love him, but—”
“I don’t. I stopped. I don’t know if it’s supposed to work like that, but I stopped.”
“I don’t know either.” Winter drew back, cupped her daughter’s face, studied it. “But if it’s true, I’m glad. Anybody who hurts my girl doesn’t deserve love. I’m so glad you’re here, Cleo.” She reached back for Cleo’s hand.