The NYCE Girls!

by Raquel Belle

  Now that we’re all seated at the breakfast table like one big happy family, she seems to have recovered herself. Still, she’s intent on not making eye contact with me, which is pretty damn amusing. Well, let her freak out. For the moment, I just want to enjoy this rare time with my family. I look around the table appreciatively, these are the most important people in my life, even if I don’t see them often. Susan has decked out the brunch table with heaps of food—eggs, bacon, French toast, the works—and sunlight is streaming in through the white curtains at the dining room windows. I run my hand briefly over the solid oak table we’re seated at—Pops carved the piece himself. It was an anniversary present to Susan, years ago. Even though he’s not working in construction himself anymore, Pops still likes to work with his hands.

  “So, Jason, we haven’t seen you here in so long. How are you, my dear?” Susan asks. “Here, have another piece of toast with your eggs. I really think you’re looking too thin.”

  “Careful, mom, you don’t want to ruin Jason’s physique,” Jared cuts in with a guffaw. “You on one of those fancy New York City diets? No carbs? No dairy? No sugar? No gluten?”

  “Nah, you know I’m just hitting the gym more than you are, little bro.” I punch Jared’s arm lightly.

  “Well, try not to upstage me on the big day looking like James Bond in your tux.” He grins and takes another bite of his eggs.

  “Oh hush, you two are both handsome as ever,” Susan, sweet as always, responds, before adding absentmindedly, “and don’t hit each other at the table.”

  “You two actually look very alike,” Laura remarks, staring oddly between Jared and myself. It’s true. Jared and I do look similar. We’re both pretty tall, with dark hair and the same strong jaw. Even though we aren’t blood relations, we could easily pass for biological brothers.

  “Yep, these two might technically have different bloodlines and be quite a few years apart, but they do share some looks. And neither of them knows how to behave— they share that trait too,” Pops cuts in with a big laugh.

  “Hey, we’ve gotten better. And I don’t have nearly as much grey hair as Jason,” Jared literally sticks his tongue out at me after this comment. Pops is right, we don’t know how to behave, no matter how old we get. I grin. Good to see some things don’t change with age.

  “You just wait, buddy. One day you’ll wake up and half of that pretty head of hair of yours is gonna be speckled with grey, too.”

  Cara remains completely silent throughout this conversation, probably digesting the fact that she unconsciously not only slept with a guy who resembles her sister’s fiancé but also that that guy happens to be her soon-to-be brother-in-law.

  Susan, ever the attentive mom type, seems to notice her silence and tries to draw her in. “So, Cara, Laura tells us you’re a lawyer in New York City?”

  “Yes,” Cara gulps down a sip of orange juice and clears her throat. “A small law firm of my own. Conley Law.”

  Damn, I think to myself, she didn’t mention she was running her own shop. I’m impressed, I have to admit. I assumed she was a corporate drone in one of New York’s many huge firms. At Levine & Associates, we have our own attorney on retainer with one of the big corporate firms ourselves. New York is full of them. But of course, I only work with the best. In fact, I just recently switched over to ‘Davis Michael Parker’ and my go-to guy is Nicholas Parker, a name partner.

  “Oh, that’s wonderful, dear. Good for you. That must be quite stressful though.” Susan is giving her a sympathetic smile.

  “It can be a lot of work,” Cara replies, “but I mostly enjoy it.”

  “She works a lot,” Laura cuts in. “That’s why it’s taken so long for you all to meet her. She barely takes time off. This is the first time she’s been back in Boston in…what? Two years?”

  “About that,” Cara nods. “It is a lot of work running your own business. But to be honest, I worked in a few law firms and found that working under other people just wasn’t for me.”

  Pops lets out a laugh next to me. “Sounds like this one over here,” he jabs his finger at me. “He tried working for some other guys, some of the really big names! Top construction companies, respected engineering firms! And his ego just couldn’t take it so now—”

  “I don’t think Cara wants to hear all the boring details of my construction work, Pops,” I cut in hurriedly. I don’t want him to blow my cover. Cara still thinks I’m a construction worker and doesn’t realize I am actually the owner of Levine & Associates. The owner…and a billionaire.

  “Alright, alright, Mr. Modest.” Pops beams at me with pride.

  “Yes, well, this brunch is certainly not to discuss work, it’s to celebrate,” Susan chirps, combing her hand through her silver bob. “So you leave your boy in peace, Bob.”

  Pops reaches his hand across the table and squeezes Susan’s in response, not saying a word. Jared and I make eye contact and smile. We were both pretty happy about Pops and Susan getting together. My birth mom died when I was pretty young and Dad was alone for years. From what I know, Susan’s first husband was sort of a stinker—just not a nice guy. Finally, when Pops was in his fifties, he met Susan. I was well out of the nest by then but thrilled to see my Pops happy with such a caring woman. And getting a little brother in the process was pretty cool too.

  “Laura, Cara, when will your parents be joining us?” Susan turns to the girls.

  “Closer to the wedding. They had to finish overseeing some home renovations at their place,” Laura tells her.

  “Oh, that’s nice. Well, I look forward to seeing them again.”

  I glance at Cara and see her staring at me, her face white. She must have just realized that her parents are going to be meeting her one-night-stand. Well, far from a one-night-stand if I’m going to get my way—which I usually do.

  “Cara, can I get you anything else, dear?” Susan turns to her, seemingly also noticing her pale face.

  “Just some more juice, please,” she croaks out and lifts her glass.

  “I’ll get it.” The pitcher is standing right next to me. “Here, give me your glass.” I reach across the table and take the glass from her hand. Our fingers touch in the moment and I swear I feel her tremble ever so slightly at the skin contact. Maybe she’s remembering last night? I grin, holding eye contact with her as I fill up the glass and hand it back over to her. “Drink up.”

  “You know, what we really need is some bubbly. We’ve got to have one proper cheers and toast!” Jared says. “It’s a rare occasion that Jason is back. And now we’ve got Cara here, too.”

  “That’s true,” Susan nods.

  “Sounds like a reason to celebrate to me,” Pops says. “Jason, why don’t you head to the kitchen and grab the bottle of champagne that’s chilling in the refrigerator.”

  “Sure, Pops. Maybe someone else can grab the glasses. Cara, care to lend a hand? I can give you a quick tour of the house while we’re at it.”

  “Oh, that’s a good idea,” Susan cuts in and seals Cara’s fate before she can protest. “I also want to show her my azaleas later.”

  Without a word, Cara gets up and follows me to the kitchen. She’s walking with purpose and I can tell her fiery spirit is awakened. Sure enough, the second we’re out of earshot, she turns to me and starts whispering furiously.

  “What are you doing here?!”

  “Same thing you are, Cara. Just celebrating my sibling’s nuptials.” I hold up my hands in mock defense but can’t help smiling. “It’s good to see you again by the way.”

  “Did you know?” She asks.

  “No, I swear I didn’t.” I touch her arm briefly, trying to calm her. “Look, it’s not that big a deal, is it? It’s actually kind of funny—”

  “It is not funny. Laura absolutely can’t know about this. This is supposed to be her time and I’m already a shitty maid of honor. I stained my dress for the rehearsal dinner while we were out last night and almost forgot to get her a present and now I�
�ve slept with…with…”

  “Your future brother-in-law?” I finish the sentence for her.

  “Yes.” She nods grimly. “Nobody can know what happened. And it can’t happen again.”

  “Why not?” I edge closer to her. She’s leaning on the marble-topped kitchen counter, practically gripping it to hold herself up. Her face still looks pale and her blonde hair is down today and sort of curly, waving around her face.

  “Because. What I said this morning was true, I need to focus on Laura and her wedding in the weeks ahead. I’m not here to hook up with hunky construction workers.”

  “So you think I’m hunky?” I grin and take another step towards her. At least she still thinks I’m the average construction worker. That brief comment from Pops didn’t blow my cover. Not yet, anyway.

  We’re now standing right across from each other. The sun is streaming in through the kitchen window, reflecting across the white marble countertops. Cara looks like a goddess in that long blue dress of hers, standing against this background of white. The dress is loose and flowing but I know well the body that’s underneath it. She gulps and doesn’t respond, looking up at me. I can’t let this moment slip away.

  “Come on, Cara, you can’t tell me you can just ignore what happened last night. That was…something. Out of the ordinary.”

  “It was just sex,” she says firmly. “I mean…” She pauses. “It was great. But I hadn’t had sex in ages so that’s probably why it was so amazing.”

  I can’t help chuckling. “Good to know.”

  She stamps her foot slightly on the kitchen floor, clearly annoyed that she let that detail about her sexual record slip. “Look, Jason. The bottom line is it would be too weird. You need to drop this now.” She takes a step back and crosses her arms firmly but I can see her shaking. “It would make the entire family dynamic too weird. I mean, does this count as incest?”

  I burst out laughing. I can’t help it. I do agree with her that the family might be a bit thrown by me and Cara having hooked up—and there’s really no need for them to find out about it—but incest?

  “What’s so funny in there?” Jared’s voice drifts over from the next room.

  “Yeah, come on you two, bring on that champagne!” Pops bellows after him.

  “Coming!” Cara calls hurriedly while shooting me a death stare.

  “We’ll be right there.” I open the fridge and grab the bottle of Tattinger inside. “The glasses are in that cupboard,” I nod to Cara. Now is not the time to debate this further… But the discussion is far from over, whether Cara realizes that or not.

  “Let’s go.” I stride back into the dining room, Cara following. “Sorry about that, we were just comparing notes about living in the Big Apple,” I say to Susan.

  “Of course, you two must have a lot to talk about, both living in New York.”

  I glance at Cara, who is purposefully avoiding my attention as I pop open the bottle. “Everyone having a glass?” I ask, looking around the table.

  “None for me, thanks,” Laura shakes her head. “I’m driving. Cara and I are headed to a cake tasting after this. I’ll cheers you with orange juice.” She pours some into one of the delicate crystal champagne flutes as she’s talking.

  “I’ll have OJ myself,” I say. “I still have some work to do after this.”

  “Alright kids.” Pops stands up from his chair once all the glasses are filled. “Now. Good to have you all here under our roof,” he nods at Susan. “It’s always good to have family together.”

  “Yes, we always have to celebrate family,” Susan nods.

  “Well then, here’s to family!” Jared raises his glass and we all clink. I swear Cara is visibly cringing at every mention of the word family. She drains her glass and then immediately turns to her sister.

  “What time is that cake tasting?”

  “We’ve got one hour—but it’s across town so we should probably get going.”

  “Which bakery are you headed to?” I ask casually.

  “Sarah’s Cupcakes in the Seaport District,” Laura responds.

  “Well, let’s get going, sis,” Cara says through gritted teeth.

  “Yep, let’s roll.” Laura is already standing. “The rest of you please stay and enjoy. Susan, I’m sorry we have to dash. There’s just so much to do before the wedding.”

  “Of course, dear. You two drive safe. And have fun.”

  Cara and Laura head out of the dining room and into the front hall. Seconds later the front door slams.

  “What lovely girls,” Susan says. “That Cara is really something, too. Such an ambitious young woman.”

  “Seems like a nice girl,” Pops agrees gruffly. “Something for you, Jason?”

  Jared laughs aloud. “Yeah right. Jason is busy sowing his wild oats in New York City.”

  “Yeah, yeah, you know me” I reply, absentmindedly. I’m thinking of Cara’s fiery blue eyes. As she left the room, she gave me one last look and the message in her eyes was clear… You better not show up at the bakery. That’s fine, I don’t have to bother with the bakery anymore. Now I know I’ll have plenty of other opportunities to see Cara in the weeks to come.

  Chapter Nine

  Cara

  When it comes to brunch, I’m usually the last woman standing. I love to enjoy a long and lazy breakfast. But today, brunch couldn’t end soon enough. Every time I looked at Jason, or worse, caught his eye, that stone of guilt in the bottom of my stomach just seemed to get heavier and heavier. Of course, I couldn’t have known who Jason was… Or could I? Beth’s text messages are already haunting me… “But didn’t you ever hear his name? How did you not put this together?”

  Maybe if I got away from the office more and spent more time in Boston with my family, I would have known. I would have already met Jared’s parents and maybe even Jason too. Or I at least would have known about his stepbrother and known not to sleep with the guy just weeks before the wedding.

  The wedding. With a shudder, I suddenly realize there is a good chance that Jason and I will have to walk down the aisle together. That’s the way it goes, right? Maid of Honor and Best Man? Shit.

  The fact that Laura is being incredibly sweet makes this all the worse and makes me feel like a total bitch.

  “Are you feeling okay?” She asks as we drive off and leave the white-paneled house—and the brunch from hell—in our wake. “You were kinda quiet during brunch. And you look a little pale.”

  “Oh gosh, I’m fine. I think maybe just a bit worn out from work in general. I’m really ready to cherish this time in Boston.”

  “Good! I’m so glad you’re here for more than just the wedding. There’s so much to do and I’m already feeling overwhelmed.”

  “Well, that’s what I’m here for. To help with all those odds and ends and make sure you’re feeling fantastic and totally ready for the big day.” Looking over at her from the passenger-side, I see her brow is furrowed with worry. With a pang in my heart, I realize suddenly that under Laura’s light and breezy attitude, she’s stressing about her wedding—big time. It’s understandable. Last I heard, they had invited about two-hundred people.

  “Thanks, Cara. I already feel calmer with you here now.”

  “Hey, I’m always happy to help with jobs like tasting cake.”

  “Oh, we’re doing way more than that today.”

  “Uh oh, what else is on the agenda?”

  “Well, first there’s cake tasting, then we have to run by the florist, and then I’d love it if you would help me review the guest list and seating arrangements, and check the RSVPs one last time to make sure I didn’t miss anything.”

  “Whew, sorry I asked!”

  “Cara!” Poor Laura almost wails the word at me.

  “I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” I give her arm a squeeze. “We will get through it all. Okay? And after we’re done, we’ll grab a coffee and have a real one-on-one catch up, just us. My treat.”

  ***

  By the tim
e we make it to the promised sister coffee date—five hours later—we are both utterly exhausted and the caffeine is absolutely necessary. We don’t even bother scoping out one of Boston’s cute hipster coffee shops and just slink into the nearest Starbucks to get our fix.

  “You sit and relax, and I’ll go grab something. What do you want?” I ask Laura, who is already collapsing her body into one of the huge plush purple chairs.

  “Iced coffee, please. But just a tall size with a single shot.”

  “Whew, must be nice to be young! I need at least three shots after this day.”

  Laura just gives me a tired smile in response. I leave her to go get our drinks, one iced coffee and one huge cappuccino for me, and then I also happily plop down into a chair. Before I’ve even settled in, Laura begins grilling me.

  “So how is everything in New York? Not just work, work, work I hope?”

  “Well, there’s definitely a lot of work.”

  “And no guys.”

  “No guys.” I gulp down a sip of my cappuccino, hoping to hide my face in the over-sized coffee cup.

  “What about your girlfriends? How are they all doing?”

  “Beth is doing well at the paper, she’s a bit worried about making a name for herself but I honestly think she’s worried about nothing. Jazz is kicking ass as usual in the finance world. I guess Grace has the biggest news at the moment… She’s engaged.”

  “Oh, that’s so exciting! Is she super happy? Is the guy nice? How’s the ring? When did this happen?” The questions come flying at me. It seems that a single shot of espresso is all Laura needed to regain her energy.

  “Super recent. Like less than a couple weeks. And yes, Nick is amazing, we all love him. Actually, Nick’s her boss so, uh, it was complicated for a bit. I’ve known Nick for years and years. We all knew it was bound to happen sooner or later—them getting together. Well, everyone knew but them…let’s put it that way. But she’s happy now and that’s what counts. And the ring is gorgeous. Three big cushions.”