We waved at Brooke on our way out, and I filled Lyria in as we drove to the Lux Couture Bridal Boutique in downtown Chicago. Even the name of the store sounded expensive. Austin’s wallet must be crying.
Or, thinking about his riches, most likely not.
Lyria fed me my gyro while I drove, as though we were married, and she took bites in between to feed herself.
“We’re going to what?”
“Follow her,” I repeated.
“Does it have to be this way?” Lyria whined. “I mean, can’t we just tell Alec?”
I reeled back. “Alec would never believe me. He puts her up on a pedestal.”
He was whipped over this woman to the hundredth power. In Alec’s eyes, Brandy could do no wrong, which was exactly why I needed to get to the bottom of things.
“We’ll tell him when we have more solid proof.”
Time was a-ticking. There was less than two weeks till the wedding.
CHAPTER4
SYDNEY
“There has to be a better way.”Lyria got out of the car but was careful not to be seen as she stuffed the last of her gyro in her mouth.
“I wish there were, Ly, but we’re running out of time. As much as I think Alec can do a million times better, I hope what I saw was a figment of my imagination.” Because my heart would break for my brother if it wasn’t.
And we were just in time. Brandy’s silver Mercedes, courtesy of Austin, was parked in front of the upscale bridal boutique. We watched her get into her car and tailed her to, of all places, the mall.
I rolled my eyes. I swore she lived here. When I called Alec to check if he was going to be late for dinner, he was frequently with Brandy, and they were almost always at the mall after he left the agency for work.
Alec worked for the agency, and I knew what his weekly checks were. I also knew that he couldn’t afford her habits, so Austin must have been fronting the bill.
“Maybe you got it wrong. Maybe she’s not cheating on Alec. I mean, they’ve been together for years. Why would she tell him she’s going to marry him, just to cheat on him? And there is no evidence that she’s leaving him …” Lyria’s voice trailed off.
“Who knows? But we’re finding out today.” I grabbed her hand and pulled her through the parking lot because we were losing the culprit as Brandy disappeared through the mall doors.
Lyria was reluctant in every way. “I can’t believe we’re doing this, Sydney. This is high school–level petty. Like following the boyfriend that you suspect is cheating. And maybe that’s fine, but we shouldn’t be doing this to Alec.”
I narrowed my eyes at my sister, practically dragging her through the doors and past the jewelry store. Would she rather have our brother marry a cheater? Everyone thought I was crazy, and I was fine with that. And if I was wrong, I’d be more than happy with that too.
“It wasn’t just seeing her kissing another guy. I have proof, Lyria.”
She stopped mid-step, jerking me to a stop. “What proof?” Her eyes went saucer wide.
Brandy entered the nail salon, and I nearly groaned out loud. Now, we would have to wait for her to get her nails done.
“Sydney, cough it up,” Lyria said impatiently. “What proof?”
Watching from the middle of the mall, I saw Brandy follow the nail technician until she was seated in one of those fancy nail chairs. Great. She was getting a pedicure too.
Lyria pinched my inner arm, making me squeal.
“Okay. I’ll tell you, but will you promise you won’t get mad?”
Lyria didn’t promise, and she did get mad. After a beating of words and me just taking it, resigned, she said, “It doesn’t matter.” Even after I told her about the locket, which had me flipping mad.
“It doesn’t matter?” The bubble of words got stuck in my throat like a bad case of phlegm. I pulled out the locket and opened it up to show her. “These are not Alec’s initials by hers.”