bsp; “You’re a funny one, Audrey,” she said. “But I agree: Evie does love Todd, at least right now. Right now she’s a bride, and they’re the center of attention, and they’re having wild sex. She’ll get bored eventually. In a normal situation, that could be a problem. But I’m here. And I can take care of her.”
“Don’t you think Todd’s capable of taking care of her? And himself?” I probably shouldn’t have been so blunt, but I was following her lead.
She shook her head. “Not Todd,” she said. “Todd’s too nice. He needs to be with someone that I can take care of for him. I haven’t told her yet that I know about the incident with James, but I can dangle it over her head if and when I need to.”
“But if Todd already knows, who are you going to tell?”
“Everyone else,” she said and smiled. “Their children. Her cousins. Her mother. Her friends. And I’ll tell them all that James refused her and said she was a bony, disgusting whore.”
“Well, hopefully you won’t ever have to do that,” I said, mildly appalled.
“We’ll see,” Celia said and shrugged. She sounded as if wasting that information might be a disappointment.
“Mrs. Preston, I appreciate you being forthcoming with me… but why are you telling me all this?”
“Because I don’t want you to take this personally,” she said. “I can tell that James has feelings for you.” I started to protest but she held up her hand to stop me. “You might not see it, but I’m his mother, and I know him best. Even if he wishes that weren’t true.
“Now, you’ve been very direct with me, and I appreciate that. So I’m doing the same for you. Your relationship with my son can’t go on past the trip to the Bahamas. You have to call it off with him after that. I can tell that you’re good for James. But that isn’t the only thing that matters in my world. I have an enormous responsibility to my family. James’s children are going to be some of the wealthiest people in the country. They have to be able to handle the duties that come with that sort of privilege—and their parents have to be able to help them do that.
“James needs someone who can help him, Audrey. Someone who can guide him and make his life easier. He doesn’t need someone to babysit.”
I swallowed hard. She was actually making sense to me, and that was scary. I could only imagine what she had said to Danielle, so many years ago. Celia Preston was being polite right now. Her actual wrath would be terrifying. That poor girl, I thought. James had been her first love, and she’d been so young.
“I know you care about James, Audrey. You want what’s best for him. Think about what I’m saying to you.”
She paused for a beat and turned to me. “And between you and me? If you go quietly, I’ll make it worth your while.” We watched as Todd and Evie knelt in front of the priest.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said.
“You do that, dear,” Mrs. Preston said.
* * *
“What was my mother whispering to you about?” James asked me as we headed toward the car.
“Oh, you know. This and that. Stuff. Things.”
“What sorts of things?”
“Things that would make you mad,” I said. I grabbed his hand. “Things that we should only talk about while we’re having alcoholic beverages.”
He slid into the car next to me and scowled. “Was it the same stuff? About how exclusive our family is?”
“Sort of,” I said. Since Celia had ended her diatribe, I’d been struggling with how much to tell James. I decided that the whole truth might push him over the edge right now. He was still so raw from telling me about Danielle. I would tell him everything his mother had said, but not the night before Todd’s wedding. He would be too angry. Tonight and tomorrow needed to be about the happy couple, not crazy, vindictive, and cunning Celia Preston.
“She was just talking about Evie. Why she thinks Evie is a good fit for your family.” James snorted, and Kai drove through the Financial District on the way to the waterfront. The rehearsal dinner was at Il Pastorne, one of the most exclusive restaurants in Boston.
After a few minutes sitting in traffic, Kai pulled up outside of the restaurant. As he went to open the door for us, I saw something on the sidewalk that made me pause. A flash of a familiar blond head, badly in need of a root touch-up. “Oh, shit.” I turned to James. “That’s my mom out there.” Kai opened the door, but I didn’t get out. I watched her for a second. She was smoking and pacing out in front of the restaurant, inspecting all the town cars pulling up to the curb.
She was waiting for me.
“I’ll deal with her,” James said, but I stopped him.
“No, let me.” I jumped out of the car.
The last thing I needed right now was for Mr. and Mrs. Preston to see that my supposedly dead mother was alive and well, smoking like a fiend outside of their son’s rehearsal dinner. “Hey,” I said, rushing up to her and looking around, nervously. “What’re you doing here?”
“Nice way to greet your mother,” she said. I grabbed her elbow and dragged her to the car, shoving her inside. “Ow.”