She followed him out of the reception hall, feeling like, although this was foolish, she wanted to be someone else, even if for only one night.
3
The sun was hot, like so damn hot it was almost unbearable for Lake to sit out by the pool. But she was in desperate need of a tan, because looking at her almost luminescent white skin any longer was going to be the death of her.
Yeah, a little overdramatic, but wearing skirts that showed off her legs, which were as white as the paper she wrote her notes on, was not attractive to her in any sense.
She pulled her sunglasses down and saw Ginny and her father in the pool. Her dad had Ginny in his arms, and the way the other woman giggled told her that whatever her dad was saying was not something Lake wanted to hear anyway.
“You guys want something to drink?” Lake yelled out.
“Yeah, thanks, sweetheart,” her father replied, but didn’t turn to look at her.
Lake got up, grabbed her cover-up, and slipped it on. In the last several months she’d lost a little bit of weight, not because she saw herself as fat, but she couldn’t deny the more active lifestyle made her feel healthier. She wished she had better self-confidence, but in a society where looks and being perfect were thrown in your face, it was hard not to let it sink in and shape how you saw yourself.
But she was working on not caring.
Lake would never be a Ginny size two, and that was okay with her. She had her mother’s form, a curvy size that made Lake happy that she looked a lot like her mom.
Stepping into the house, she made her way through the living room and stopped when she saw her reflection in the large mirror hanging across from her. The cover-up she wore was sheer, so it still showed off the fact she wore a tankini underneath.
She had her glasses off and a pair of contacts in, and her long dark hair was in a messy bun.
Even through the cover-up she saw her shoulders were turning red, and her cheeks were becoming the same shade.
Turning away from her reflection she went into the kitchen, grabbed three bottles of water, and just as she was about to head back out to the pool she heard arguing. It was low, but definitely heated, and the woman currently bitching out the guy sounded extremely familiar.
Moving toward the kitchen window, Lake leaned forward and saw Reese and his wife Brittany standing by the front door. His wife looked pissed, so mad that her face was red, and she had her hands in tight fists by her sides.
“I hate coming here, hate pretending like your sister isn’t a bitch, and that I give a shit about the other two.”
That had Lake’s head cocking back and shock filling her. Brittany had been nice enough whenever she’d seen her over the last few months since they’d moved close to them after the wedding, so hearing Brittany say she didn’t like them was a surprise. It also pissed Lake off.
“Stop talking like that, Brittany,” Reese said in a low, but hard voice. He sounded angry and looked annoyed as well, but he stayed still, wasn’t flushed from his annoyance, and kept collected.
“The only reason I’m even here is because you all but demanded it. I had plans tonight, Reese, plans that didn’t revolve around hanging out with your family.”
“I didn’t fucking demand. I asked my wife to come with me today. They’re your family, too, Brittany. Once you married me they became that,” he said, harder this time. “I’m not fucking arguing about this with you, and you know what?” He pointed to the car. “If you don’t want to stay then just go. I’m not going to try and make you stay.”
And then he turned from her and headed to the front door. Brittany stared at his back, glared at him, and, surprising Lake even more, turned and headed to the car. She got in and a second later drove off.
Lake leaned over the sink even more and saw Reese standing at the front door, his head hanging low, his eyes closed, and his jaw clenched.
She swallowed, feeling empathy for the man instantly.
Leaning back and blinking, she tried to process what she’d just seen. The doorbell rang, breaking her thoughts, and she left the kitchen and headed for the front door. The glass covering the front panel of the door showed her the outline of Reese, but the flows, stained coloring, and blurriness of the decorative glass made it impossible to make out his actual appearance.
Opening the door, she stared at him and saw the way he smiled, but how it was tight, forced.
“Hey, Lake,” he said. She stepped to the side, allowing him in, and smiled herself.