Passion Play

Chapter 1

“Ben is on my panel.” Rose Beharie dropped that bombshell on her two younger sisters during their weekly Wednesday family dinner. What kind of perverse wench was Fate that she’d pair her with her snake of an ex-fiancé on her law school reunion’s legislative presentation panel?

“Are you kidding me?” Her youngest sister, Iris, recovered from the surprise first. Seated beside Rose, Iris stared at her, wide-eyed.

Rose had met Benjamin Shippley during their first year of law school at the University of Michigan. She’d thought he was The One. Instead, he was one of the biggest mistakes she’d ever made. She must have been insane to register for her ten-year law school reunion without first learning whether Benjamin would be attending. Temporary insanity—or more likely hubris.

She’d read in their alumni e-newsletter that Benjamin and his bride of almost one year lived in Los Angeles. He was an entertainment lawyer. Whatever. Rose was now a partner at one of the most prestigious firms in Ohio. Since they practiced such different types of law, Rose would never have pictured them participating on the same reunion panel. Had someone deliberately put them together? If so, who? Why? And did that person have exceptional health insurance?

“What are you going to do?” Her middle sister, Lily, paused with her glass of iced cucumber water halfway to her mouth. She was seated across the table from Rose.

After their parents had died, Lily had suggested the three of them continue the weekly Beharie family meals. Rose and Iris returned to their family home—now Lily’s home—every Wednesday for dinner, conversation and sibling support.

That’s what Rose needed now. “I have to find a date for the reunion.”

“Why?” Lily finished her tilapia.

“I’ve already registered and agreed to serve on the panel.” Rose moved her green beans to another side of her plate. A deep breath carried to her the savory aroma of seasoned tilapia. “I can’t back out now. Ben will think I’m not over him.”

“But you are over him. You’re so over him.” Iris, her youngest sister, glowered as she stuffed a green bean into her mouth.

“I know.” Rose glared at her half-full plate. Instead of the wonderful meal Lily had cooked, all Rose tasted was the anger, hurt and bitterness of her words. “I want Ben to know it, too. That’s why I need a date.”

“Someone to make Ben eat his heart out.” Iris grinned with evil intent.

Rose stared at the original artwork on the wall behind Lily. It was of a scarlet vase of wildflowers. “Someone handsome, successful, charming.”

“And rich.” Iris sipped her cucumber water.

“I don’t understand.” Lily slid aside her empty dinner plate. “You’re going to bring some stranger to your reunion and pass him off as your fake boyfriend so Ben will know you’re over him? What is this, some sort of low-budget TV movie of the week?”

“No, it’s revenge.” Iris drained her glass of water.

“Ben was cheating on me even before he proposed.” Rose shoved aside her half-full plate and leaned into the table. “Do you have any idea how that made me feel?”

“No, I don’t. But I know how it made me feel.” Lily’s voice was quiet. “And I know how it makes me feel to see you still so hurt and upset. Rose, you don’t have to miss the reunion. You don’t have to bring a fake boyfriend to it, either. There’s a third option.”

“What?” Rose regarded her sister closely.

“You could go by yourself.” Lily folded her hands on the table.

Rose’s eyes widened. “I

can’t go to the reunion by myself.”

“Come on, Lil.” Iris added her voice to Rose’s. “It’s been sixteen months. Ben can’t know that Rosie hasn’t even had a date in more than a year.”

“Thanks, Iris.” Rose’s response cracked with sarcasm. Having her youngest sister put her fears into words made Rose feel worse. But Iris was right. She didn’t want Benjamin to know she hadn’t had anyone else in her life since she’d kicked him out.

A sudden restlessness overcame Rose. She stood and gathered Lily’s and Iris’s dishes and silverware, in addition to her own. She sensed her sisters behind her as she carried the load into the kitchen. Rose’s eyes moved over the familiar pale gold walls, blond wood furnishings and stainless steel appliances. Lily had done little to redecorate their family home. Was it because, like her, Lily found comfort in the surroundings?

“Rosie, you’re a successful, intelligent and beautiful woman.” The impatience in Lily’s voice took away from the compliment. “You don’t need a boyfriend—fake or otherwise—to be complete.”

“You’re not getting it, Lil.” Iris returned the place mats to the marble kitchen counter.

“I appreciate the sentiment.” Rose stacked the plates and silverware into the dishwasher. “But if I show up to the reunion alone, people will talk. Some will even snicker.” Her skin grew cold just imagining the negative reactions: stares, whispers, condescension.

Lily carried her step stool to the counter. She mounted the stool, then dug out a plastic storage bowl from the honey-wood cabinet above the stainless steel stove. “You’re acting as though none of your former classmates would be supportive of you. What about those friends you get together with every month?”

“They would be supportive.” To a point.

The Constant Classmates—they hadn’t changed much over the years—were three of Rose’s closest friends from her law school class. They were smart, successful, ambitious, condescending, narcissistic and competitive.

“I don’t know why you’re still friends with them.” Iris returned the pitcher of cucumber water to the side-by-side refrigerator. “You don’t really like them.”

“You guys have only met them once.” Rose continued to carefully load the dishwasher. Lily was very particular about the arrangement of the dishes. “I know they come across as a little full of themselves.”

“A little?” Iris snorted.

Rose gave her youngest sister a look. “We were study partners in law school. I wouldn’t have made it without them. And they were very supportive when I found out about Ben.”

Lily blew a dismissive breath. “You shouldn’t allow other people to make you feel bad if you want to go to the reunion on your own.”

“But I don’t want to go alone.” Rose faced Lily. “I want to go with a date.”

“Then I hope you find someone before the reunion.” Lily carried the dirty pans to the sink and filled them with soapy hot water. “Just let it happen, though. Don’t plan to bring a phony boyfriend.”

Rose straightened from the dishwasher, shutting the appliance’s door. “I don’t have time to depend on chance. The reunion is the weekend of September 18. That’s only three months away.”

“Those three months will just fly by.” Iris carried the baking pan to the sink and began cleaning it.

“Thanks, Iris.” Rose cut her baby sister another look.

“What are you going to do?” Lily propped her hips against the counter. Her blue terry-cloth shorts hung to midthigh. A purple tulip featured prominently on her white cotton T-shirt. “Put an ad in a newspaper?”

“I was hoping you or Iris knew someone suitable.” Rose rested her hips against the counter, facing her sisters. “I don’t know any men outside of work, and I don’t want to invite someone from the firm.”

“I’m dating the only handsome, successful, charming, wealthy guy I know.” Iris’s smile was satisfied.

Iris’s boyfriend, Tyler Anderson, was vice president of product development for Anderson Adventures, a family-owned computer gaming company. They’d met three months ago when Tyler hired Iris’s solo marketing and public relations consulting firm, The Beharie Agency, to help launch his company’s soon-to-be-released game, Osiris’ Journey.

“This is a bad idea.” Lily shook her head. “You’re giving Ben too much power. It doesn’t matter what he thinks. You know that you don’t need a man to validate you.”