Love Is Louder (33 page)

“I have to take this. Excuse me.” She takes her wine and answers her phone while walking out onto the patio.

I hope it’s her date, so she can finally direct her attention on someone else rather than my husband.

“I don’t like her. I didn’t like her the moment she walked into my salon.” Ava looks at me with suspicion as James returns with two glasses of red wine. “What do you think of her, Brie?”

I observe Ava’s expression as James hands me my glass.

“Annoying,” I answer, taking a sip of my wine.

Ava takes her glass from James. “What about you, James? What do you think of Lisa?” She takes a drink of wine, delicately placing her glass onto the counter and looking out toward the patio at Lisa.

“I work with her. She’s a colleague, just like everyone else that was invited.”

“She’s early,” Ava counters.

“No, everyone else is late,” James argues.

I turn my gaze over to Ava who looks at me with a tight smile on her lips.

“Okay…can we just enjoy the day?” I grab my wine and take a large gulp.

I know Ava and James are not on good terms like they used to be, but I wish she would refrain from the attacks. The tension in the room is stressing me out. I want this day to go off without a hitch. No drama.

“No worries. I’ll be on my best behavior,” Ava says, picking up her glass of wine. “I’m gonna spend a little more time with my new friend.”

I quickly clear my throat and say, “Be nice.”

James scratches his head as his face twists in annoyance, and that just incites Ava some more.

“I don’t know. She seems very forward. Right, Brie?”

“Ava, it’s just...” I say with James standing by my side.

“Who she is…a bitch,” Ava says under her breath as she turns on her heels to join Lisa as the doorbell rings.

“Just do me a favor,” he directs his demand to Ava.

She stops mid-step and turns to glance over her shoulder at James with hard eyes. “I’m not doing you any favors, James. The only reason I do anything at all is for Brie. I couldn’t care less about you and what you want.”

My fingers nervously fidget with a napkin on the counter before I say, “Guys, let’s just have a good time.”

“That’s all I want,” James whispers as he kisses me on the forehead before he leaves to answer the door and Ava walks away in a huff.

I check the clock. It’s that time. My palms suddenly feel clammy as I watch James disappear. I rest my hands on my stomach, controlling the nerves threatening to ruin another night for me. I glance out on the patio where Ava is now chatting with Lisa. I can’t worry about her. Not now. I take a deep breath and finish of my glass of wine before the rest of the guests arrive.

Two hours into the party, the wine is making me feel warm, and I’ve been able to stomach Barbara Fleming and even Lisa. James told me I should relax and enjoy myself, but I can’t. Without thinking, I grab my camera and start snapping pictures of everything and everyone. I never want to miss an opportunity to capture the unexpected.

Click. Flash.

The smell of barbecue saturates the air as I head out onto the large patio that is covered with a red pergola. We have a table that seats eight, and off to the side several chairs circle a fire pit. There is a small bar area with a built-in grill that we use minimally. Dusk has fallen, and James is lighting the tiki torches around the patio as the sound of fireworks can be heard in the distance. I continue my assault on them, inconspicuously snapping candid shots and stopping to chitchat if necessary. I believe James will appreciate this. We can look back at our first house party that has gone off without a hitch.

“Brie, darling, why are you hiding behind the camera and not mingling and socializing with your guests?” Her voice drips with disdain, a brittle harsh noise like metal crashing against metal.

I spoke too soon.

I slowly drop my camera and raise an eyebrow at my mother-in-law.

“Oh, it’s always so good to see you,” I return the contempt in abundant amounts. I’m not in the mood for conversation, specifically with James’ mother. Barbara, the stoic, good wife, is impeccably dressed in a white sheath dress, diamond stud earrings, and a pair of white Jimmy Choos, nursing a large glass of red wine. I want to smack her, say the words, ‘You’re such a royal bitch,’ but I can’t. Not now, but someday I will, because precious, beautiful Barbara deserves it from me.

The three glasses of wine have done wonders in bringing me out of my shell. I’ve learned since being married to James I have to appear tougher around her or she’ll poke holes in me, so that by the end of one of our interactions, I’ll look like Swiss cheese. The relationship I have with James’ mother is quite different from the one I have with him. I can and will hold my own with
her
.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you’ve been focusing on one person in particular.” She turns her beady eyes to Lisa. “She’s pretty. Isn’t she? Blondes. James always had a thing for blondes,” she says as I watch my husband chat with Lisa and several of his colleagues around the fire pit.

“Barbie, I think you’re low on wine,” I snip, glancing at her glass. “Why don’t you have Mr. Fleming fetch you some more since you can’t seem to fend for yourself?”

She ignores my jab and continues to twist the knife a little bit more because we all know that is what Barbara does best, possibly to divert the fact that all she’s managed to accomplish in her own life is land a very rich and successful husband.

“I believe she’s a Harvard grad, too. Lisa Conner. She’s very ambitious.”

Game on, Mother.

“What about you...” I pause, locking eyes with her. “Do you have a Harvard degree? I would love to know about your ambitions growing up? Was it just to marry a man so that the only time you have to lift a finger is when you need to pull out the credit card to pay for another
Chloé
bag?” I drop my eyes to the pricey leather handbag hanging from her thin shoulder.

“It seems that you have a close relationship with your camera rather than with actual people.”

Barbara loves these confrontations because she believes she has the upper hand with me. I’m not feeling so accommodating or agreeable tonight. Barbara reaches for my camera, and I immediately swat away her hand, causing her glass of wine to splash onto her dress. I hate to admit it, but I’ve imagined doing something like this to her a million times.

I can’t quite tell whose hand clutches my arm and pulls me away as Barbara stares down at her white dress now bleeding with red wine.

“Brie, what ‘s going on?” Ava whispers into my ear.

“Nothing. It was an accident.” I shrug my shoulders in indifference.

Barbara glares at me, her face scrunched up in distaste. “Look what you’ve done.”

“I’m sorry, Barbara. I’ll pay for the dress.” There is no sincerity to my words.

“Don’t bother.”

My eyes connect with my husband’s from across the patio. One of these days James will not be around to intervene. He gulps down his beer when he notices what just happened. James rolls his broad shoulders and somewhat calmly walks over to us before the fireworks really ignite.

His mother huffs and puffs as Ava hands her a napkin, so she can dab at her ruined dress. I advise Ava that everything is under control, and that I can take things from here. I don’t want her to get caught in the middle of a Fleming fiasco. Barbara brings out the spiteful bitch in me, so I’m not sure what I’m capable of.

“What happened?” A small smirk teases at the corner of his mouth, but his glare is insistent as he stands by my side, wrapping his arm around my waist. Like always, his touch consoles me. Slipping my hand in his, I notice Lisa watching us from across the patio with a smug grin on her face. A mixture of emotions consumes me, with anger at the forefront.

“It’s nothing…” His mother starts, tipping her head to the side as we both look at her.

“I’ll pay for the dress,” James says.

“No, it’s all right. This is old anyway.”

“I wish you would both try to get along.” His tone is full of concession.

“It wasn’t like that, James. It was an accident.”

Inwardly, I feel like doing a happy dance around his mother.

Several guests are looking on, but they don’t intervene or take much interest. Nobody knows the relationship I have with Barbara, so it looks like it was nothing but an innocent spill, which Barbara has seemed to have quickly forgotten as her attention is pulled toward the patio doors.

“James, what are
they
doing here?” I hear his mother’s distressed voice, but my eyes hover in Lisa’s direction. Her eyes are unreadable as she tips the glass of wine to her lips.

What the hell is her problem
?

James’ body tenses against mine, and I turn around suddenly and watch his eyes flair. His tone is stern. “I haven’t seen them in years.”

“They need to go, James. Whatever it is they came here for, this is not the time.”

“I know, Mother,” he spits, anger lacing every syllable.

“Who is it, baby?”

James wants to get away. I can read it in his posture and the bulging veins in his forearms as he clenches his fists at his sides.

“Nothing to worry about, baby. I’ll be right back.”

I follow his gaze toward the patio doors before he walks away.

What are the Foster brothers doing here, and how does James know them?

The last of the guests left a little after midnight, later than I planned. I’m so exhausted I can barely keep my eyes open. Ava offered to help clean up, but I planned on having the cleaners come in the morning to take care of the chaos downstairs. I just want to relax, but my mind is on overdrive, contemplating how James knows the Foster brothers. Once they showed up, Lisa became the least of my worries.

I finish brushing my teeth and applying moisturizer to my face, returning the tube to the cabinet next to a crystal bottle of James’ favorite perfume that he gave me this past Valentine’s Day. Unthinking, I pull off the cap and inhale the citrusy scent of Satsuma as James turns off the shower and opens the shower door. I have to stay on course. If I don’t get my answer now, I won’t be able to sleep through the night.

“How do you know them?” I falter, returning the perfume to the cabinet as James steps out of the shower. I hand him a fluffy white towel, and he wraps it around his waist as rivulets of water trickle down his tanned skin.

“Know who?” His brows rise as he pushes his black hair away from his tired face covered in more than a week’s worth of stubble.

“Those two guys that crashed the party? Your mother didn’t seem too happy to see them,” I reply as I tighten the sash of my black silk robe around my waist. I have my own ideas, but I want to see if he will confirm my suspicions. I’m curious to see what he says, trying to put the pieces of a puzzle together on what James has to do with Cole and Caleb.

“Brie, of all people, you should know my mother is never happy with anything. Nothing or no one is ever good enough.” He presses his chest against my back as he catches my eyes through the slightly steamed mirror. “You both put on quite a show tonight.” He smiles, dragging my hair to the side, exposing my neck for his satiny lips to caress. He drops his large hand over my robe to my waist and slowly slides it down my thighs, nipping at the shell of my ear.

“True.” I giggle, lifting my chin for a kiss. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you’re trying to deflect my inquiry, counselor.”

“Shit.” He pulls away, slightly miffed. “I haven’t seen those guys in years. Not since high school.”

“What did they want?” I turn to face him and trace the line of his strong jaw.

“Free legal advice.” He chuckles softly. “Same old shit with those two.”

“Custody?”

He pauses at my question, and his eyes grow inquisitive.

“Yes, how do you know?”

“They showed up at Lily’s party today. It had to do with Lily, didn’t it? The legal question?”

He rubs his chin and frowns. “Yes, it’s complicated.”

“It always is when a child is involved. Isn’t it?”

He stiffens, sensing where this conversation may go. His brief silence tells me he’s going to deflect.