“A divorce? That’s rectifying his mistake? Seriously?”
Percy sighs as though he’s tired of dealing with an unreasonable child. “It isn’t like you to be getting all worked up over a girl. You didn’t care much about Tiffany, although she’s a delightful young lady.”
His tone says Skittles can’t be that good of a lay, and it raises my hackles. “Fuck off.”
“Ain’t about me fucking off.” He flicks invisible lint from his suit. “Your father’s very much aware of your current infatuation. He’s ready to offer her a job and pay to relocate her if that’ll help.”
Anger explodes inside me like a fireball, followed by icy fear. I cling to the anger because it’s more useful, although the idea that Dad might do something to hurt her, the way Mom did to Ivy, is terrifying. Percy is talking all smooth, doing his Mr. Teflon thing, but there’s no way I’m taking anything he says at face value. “You and Dad both stay away from her. She’s not a pawn. If he thinks I’m embarrassing now, imagine what it would be like if I really put my mind to it.” I give him a nasty smile. “I’ll make him wish I was never born.”
Surprise flashes in his dark eyes. He knows how messy things are, although he wasn’t there when Mom basically said I was just a stand-in for Tony and our dead sister Katherine. He doesn’t know Mom would’ve been more than happy to sacrifice me if it would have meant getting Katherine back.
“Harcourt,” Percy begins. “Your parents—” He swallows the rest when our server appears with our entrées.
I toss the napkin on the table and stand. “I’ve lost my appetite. You can pick up the tab and bill my dad for it.”
“He loves you, you know,” Percy says.
A bitter smile twists my tightly pressed mouth. When my parents say they love someone, it comes with more fine print than a box of anxiet
y meds. It’s just that other people don’t realize that. How easy it is to speak of love, especially when it makes you look good. Why, I can do the same. After all, all good sons do, don’t they?
I shoot Percy a thin smile. “I love him too. You should let my dad know that as a token of your resounding success.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Pascal
I spot Curie at our favorite pizza joint. Normally we would’ve seen each other at some point since the dinner, but she’s been very busy. The price she has to pay for such a long honeymoon.
She looks fabulous, as always. A huge grin, bright eyes. I swear she’s glowing like love is radioactive. The diamond ring and plain wedding band glitter on her finger as she waves from the table.
“Wow. This feels so weird,” she says when I sit opposite her. “You never have a real lunch break during the week.”
“I know. The benefits of unemployment, right?” I force a smile.
She peers at me. “Did you get any callbacks, interviews…?”
I squirm. “Nothing yet, but hopefully soon.”
“That’s just weird. You have a lot of experience, and you graduated from a fabulous university. I don’t understand how you wouldn’t have an offer by now. Or at least a few interviews.”
“Yeah. Me either.” Although Dad said something about how hard it was to get a job. The market isn’t that bad. I wonder briefly if I’m wrong about Dad. Has he been calling around, blocking my attempts to get a new job?
“Are you applying to places in other cities?”
“No. I’m sticking to L.A. so far. Don’t want to move if I can help it.” My family’s here, my friends are here. And so is Court. I hate the idea of leaving everything and everyone behind. But at the rate things are going, I wonder if I need to expand my horizons.
“You could always come home for Thanksgiving and Christmas,” Curie says, as though she understands exactly why I’m hesitating.
“Maybe. But I don’t want to think about that right now. It hasn’t even been full three weeks yet.” I muster up a brave front, doing my best to hide my unease. But it really is odd that I haven’t received any responses, even from the contacts I made in college. “So how are things with you and Joe? Got the new place already?”
She sighs. “No, still looking.”
“I thought you’d already found one you like.”
“We did, but someone else offered a higher price. We couldn’t match it.” Her mouth quirks down. “I even had a dog in mind to go with the house.” Although she adores Nijinsky, she prefers bigger dogs, the kind that thrive with some space. “Then we saw this place yesterday. It looks amazing, better than the one we lost out on. I want it so bad. Look.” She taps her phone and hands it over.
I flip through the photos. They show a great home with three bedrooms and a den, plus sizable living and dining rooms. The yard is beautifully fenced with pristine white pickets, and there’s a large pool as well. It’s exactly the kind of place I’d want if and when I settle down and start a family. “This is fantastic. Did you make an offer?”