Cruel Fortune (Cruel 2)

I laughed softly at their attention. “Nope, just one from Bergdorf.”

“But it was such a good opportunity,” Etta said.

“Maybe another time,” I told them.

“Give her some space, girls,” Nina said, ushering them away from me.

My eyes slipped up to Lewis’s mother’s, and I froze at the sympathy there. She knew. She knew about what Edward had done. She knew about my humiliation. I was instantly uncomfortable. I didn’t want to be pitied.

“Natalie, such a pleasure to see you.” She pulled me into a hug as Lewis slid into the booth next to his sisters. Her voice lowered significantly. “I heard about what happened with my husband. I am sorry about that. It will never, ever happen again. It should have never happened in the first place, and I’m horribly embarrassed that he said those things to you. To be clear, I do not think that at all. You’re a beautiful, dedicated, charming young woman, and I’m thrilled that you’re dating my son.”

“Thank you,” I whispered. My voice was choked. I didn’t realize until she’d said it how much that actually meant to me.

I darted away from her before she could say anything else and make me relive that horrible moment. Especially since Edward was standing at the other end of the pew, speaking with a man in the row behind us, who I didn’t know. I hoped he didn’t try to say anything to me.

Lewis slid his arm around me. “I’m glad that you’re here with me.”

“The survey is still out,” I said softly.

He frowned. “Regretting coming?”

“No, but this isn’t easy for me either.”

He pressed a kiss to my knuckles. “It’ll get easier.”

“People keep saying that, and it hasn’t proven true yet.”

“It will,” he assured me.

I shrugged indifferently and turned to survey the scant pews in front of us. We were right at the front of the church in reserved seating for friends of the bride, which was really debatable.

Addie and Rowe were seated right before us along with two sets of parents and a slew of other young siblings I didn’t recognize. I had to gather that their parents were divorced and remarried with step- or half-children. Addie and Rowe were the oldest.

Penn was seated in the row in front of them with his mother, Mayor Leslie Kensington. Just seeing her set my teeth on edge. She’d been the one to throw me out of my job at Katherine’s request, and I still hated the way she had treated Penn in all of it. Next to them was Jane, who caught my eye and fluttered her fingers at me and then gestured for me to come to her pew.

My eyes darted to Penn’s mother and then back to Jane. This was going to be fun.

“I’m going to go talk to Jane,” I told Lewis.

He frowned when he saw who Jane was seated next to. His jaw clenched, but he just said, “All right.”

I stepped out of my pew and slid into the seat next to Jane. “Natalie, oh wow, look at that dress! I am so glad that you wore it here.”

“Well, thank you for getting it for me. It’s good to see you.”

“Girl, I have been so busy. I thought the soft opening would be the hard part. It’s the New Year’s opening that’s going to be insane. It’s a masquerade, and the lineup is already out of this world.”

“I’m sure it will be sensational,” I assured her.

“Worth the work.”

I glanced down the rest of the pew, looking for the missing Kensington. “Where’s Court?”

“Oh, he’s the best man,” Jane said with a grin. “Those boys have been drinking all morning. The texts I’ve gotten.” She laughed. “You wouldn’t even want to know.”

“Jane, who is your friend?” Leslie asked, turning toward us.

Our eyes locked together. The last time we’d seen each other, she had fired me. It gave me a small bit of pleasure when her eyes widened with recognition.

“Oh, Leslie, this is Natalie. She’s a New York Times bestselling novelist. And she’s hard at work on the next one.”

I loved how smoothly Jane had said that all. She had to know that Leslie and I were connected prior to this, but she had given me a blank slate.

“And, of course, Leslie is the mayor of New York City.”

“Natalie,” Leslie said in surprise. She offered me her hand. “It’s good to see that you’re doing well for yourself.”

No thanks to you, was what I wanted to spit at her.

But, instead, I played nice. I took her hand, and we shook amicably. I saw Penn’s eyes dart to that handshake and then away. Part of me knew that most of Leslie’s ire that day had been focused on her son, and I was the unfortunate person who had gotten in the middle of it. It didn’t make it hurt any less.