“And the devil’s a-brewing, ain’t he?” He took another drink.
Neil’s mouth hung open, and Blair suspected it was because he hadn’t seen his father defy his mother for years, if ever. Garrett started to chuckle. “Uncle Gene, we should hit up a couple of breweries this week before you go home.”
Gene finished off his bottle and grabbed the sleeve of a passing waiter. “I’ll take another one of these.”
“Get me one too,” Garrett said.
The server looked confused. “I’m sorry, but I’m not your waiter.” But then he scanned the chaos at the table and patted Gene’s shoulder. “Not to worry, sir. Coming right up.”
“Gene!” Debra shouted. “Stop this nonsense right now!”
“If Garrett can drink, then so can I.”
Debra must have decided her husband was now the lesser of the evils. She picked up the plastic cat and shook it as she swung her attention to her nephew. “You had this in mind all along! You’re here to cause trouble! First you claim the ring, then you encourage my poor gullible Gene to drink.”
“You can’t blame Uncle Gene’s newfound independence on me, although I would gladly accept some of the credit, and I’m only here because of Nana. Until now, I didn’t care about the ring, but seeing it on Blair’s hand has given me second thoughts.” His gaze found Blair’s. “Now I know what I want, and I intend to fight for it.” There was no mistaking the true meaning behind his statement.
A wave of desire washed through Blair, and she fought it back into submission. There was no doubt Garrett was all fire and passion, but she’d found out firsthand how badly it burned. She’d rather take practical and sensible. Safe and reliable were exactly what she needed. So why was she struggling to convince herself?
Chapter Six
The shock on Blair’s face matched his own surprise at his out-of-nowhere declaration.
Nana Ruby was going to kill him.
He’d had no intention of laying claim to the ring, and in truth, he couldn’t give a rat’s ass about it. But damned if he was going to stand by and let his punk cousin marry Blair, let alone with that ring.
Now, instead of defusing the situation, he’d ratcheted it up to DEFCON 1. Jesus, he had to get things under control.
“I won’t rip the ring off the bride-to-be’s hand, if that’s what you’re concerned about,” he said, dropping Blair’s hand and trying to control his racing heart. “We’ll wait for Nana to come tomorrow night. She can help make the decision.”
This brought on a new round of shouting and dismay. Whiny Neil tossed out the phrase “you’re her favorite.” While that was probably true, he doubted Nana could help him get the girl, which was his real goal. That one was all on him.
Blair looked on in confusion, making it abundantly clear they’d kept her in the dark about the questionable ownership of her ring. But soon her bewilderment turned to anger as she narrowed her eyes at him.
“It’s time for all of you to pay up,” his aunt said, shaking the plastic cat jar. “Blair, you got off easy this time. You only owe a dollar. Neil, you owe two, and you, Gene Neilson Fredrick, must owe at least five between the drinking and the cursing.”
Uncle Gene and Aunt Debra had a stare-off for several seconds before Gene caved. He must have decided to choose his battles because he dug out his wallet and sheepishly stuck a five-dollar bill into the jar. Neil put in his money, and Garrett handed over a dollar when Debra shoved the jar in Blair’s direction.
His aunt scowled at him. “Surprisingly, you don’t owe anything.”
Garrett tucked his money into the jar and winked at Blair. “Oh, this is for the bride. Call it an early wedding gift. But if this is for cursing, as the label suggests, you owe some money yourself, Aunt Debra.” His eyebrows rose with mock recrimination. “And I do believe I need to have a discussion with my mother about my true parentage. No one ever told me I was a bastard.”
Debra’s face turned red, although Garrett couldn’t tell if it was from embarrassment or anger. Probably both.
He’d earned a scowl from Blair for donating the money on her behalf, but now he could tell she was trying to hold back a grin.
“That was an unfortunate loss of self-control.” The woman’s face twisted into disgust as she slipped her wallet out of her purse and pulled out one dollar. She screwed an indignant expression on her face. “The Lowrys seem to bring out the worst in me.”
Blair tipped her head, her eyes dancing with mischief. “Actually, Debra, you owe two dollars. One for informing your nephew of his illegitimacy and the second for spelling out the home of you know who.”
Debra’s eyes widened in shock.
“Blair!” Neil cried out in horror.
Garrett knew the Fredricks liked to tiptoe around his aunt’s self-righteous attitude. He was glad to see Blair hadn’t kowtowed like the rest of them.
“You know who?” Garrett asked in amusement. He couldn’t help but take pleasure in riling up his aunt and irritating his cousin. Especially since Blair seemed to find Debra as obnoxious as he did. “Dare I ask who that is?”
Blair lifted her eyebrows. “Why, the prince of darkness himself.”
“Lord Voldemort?” Garrett teased, shooting his aunt an amused look.
She wasn’t so pleased. “Who is this Lord Voldemort you keep talking about? Do we need to add him to the kitty list?”
Garrett burst out into laughter. He was surprised his aunt didn’t already know about the notorious villain.
“No, Mom,” Neil said. “He’s a character from a children’s book, which explains why Garrett is so enthralled with him.”
Garrett noticed he left Blair off the naughty list, but it didn’t stop him from giving her a look of reproach. She glanced away, trying to hide her grin.
So his Blair was still there, lurking below the prim and proper exterior. Just like he’d found her years ago.
Their original waiter appeared with Gene and Garrett’s beers—apparently the other guy had wisely handed the task off to the poor man who’d been assigned to them. Gene gave the beer a longing look, but one glance from his furious wife was enough for him to push it to the middle of the table.
Garrett had no such qualms. Taking a drag from the bottle, Garrett wondered if he should leave. An already tense dinner would be all the more so after his bombshell and after the way he’d teased his aunt, but one look at Blair helped him decide. He had five days to win her back, and he was going to make every second count. He asked the waiter to bring him another beer.
“Really, Garrett,” Aunt Debra mused, pressing her hand to her chest. “Haven’t you done enough?”
Garrett grinned at the waiter. “Make sure it’s extra cold.”
Neil ordered water, although he gave his father’s drink a longing glance, and his mother ordered iced tea. When the waiter turned to Blair, she looked torn, her previous steely presence returning. She cast a glance at Garrett for several seconds, then looked up at the waiter. “Hard lemonade.”
Garrett nearly laughed at her order. From the look on her face, it had to be killing her to order something fruity. She was more of a beer and hard liquor kind of girl, but she was obviously trying to make peace with his non-worldly aunt, who would likely miss the fact that she was ordering alcohol.
Neil tensed. “Are you sure you don’t want tea? Or water?”
Garrett leaned forward, unable to stop himself. “Let the lady have her lemonade, Neil. I knew you were a stuffed shirt, but I never figured you for a tightwad.” He turned his attention to Blair. “Does he make you buy bargain brand toilet paper too?”
Neil’s face turned red, and Blair glared at him, but he could tell she was fighting a grin.
“Of course Blair can have whatever she wants.”
Garrett’s grin spread as he looked up at the waiter. “Then a hard lemonade for the lady it is.”
“Lemonade does sound good on a hot day like today,” Aunt Debra said, chewing on her lower lip. “Maybe I should
change my order.”
Blair’s eyes widened slightly, but not enough that anyone would notice unless they were watching her closely. Like he was now. A blind man could see the two women didn’t get along. This would be one more log tossed onto a fire that Blair now seemed eager to put out. “Maybe I should change—”
“Don’t be silly,” Garrett said. “Neil just gave you his blessing to spend another dollar or two. But Aunt Debra,” he turned to his aunt. “I’m not sure you’d like their lemonade. I hear it’s really bitter.” He shot the waiter a pointed glance, letting him know not to counter him.
The older woman shook her head and pursed her lips. “I’ll get whatever I want, Garrett Michael Lowry.” She turned to the server. “Why are you still standing there? Go get our drinks.” Then she made a shooing motion.
Garrett tried to keep from laughing. “On second thought, I think a glass of hard lemonade is exactly what you need, Aunt Debra.”
Neil shot Blair a look of dismay, then turned his attention to Aunt Debra. “Mother, I think you should get something else.”
She gave him a pointed glare. “Why?”
Neil shook his head. “Never mind.”
While they waited for their drinks, they all sat stewing in uncomfortable silence. Aunt Debra was fuming, and Uncle Gene was sneaking sips of his second bottle of beer behind his menu. Neil was outright surly, his shoulders tense as he tried to decide whom to shoot angry looks at, Garrett or Blair. Even the always-in-control Blair seemed slightly off kilter now that the dust had settled. Garrett didn’t regret throwing down the gauntlet with the ring, but in hindsight, he should have waited until later to do it. He didn’t want to cause Blair any additional stress. Since he was the one who’d stirred up this round of conflict, it was on him to make it more bearable.
The waiter brought their drinks and took their food orders, then hurried away. Not that Garrett could blame him after the way Aunt Debra had quizzed him about the various barbeque sauces, wanting to know which ingredients were in each. Thank God she hadn’t been so inquisitive about her lemonade.
Blair had started to drink in earnest while Debra gave the waiter the third degree, and her hard lemonade was half gone by the time he scurried off. His aunt eyed her with disapproval. “Really, Blair. That’s so unladylike.” But she then took a sip of her own drink.
Neil’s attention was glued to his mother, and Garrett waited for her reaction. Blair bit her lower lip.
“This is delicious.” Aunt Debra took another sip, then glared at Garrett. “Why did you tell me it was bitter? It’s actually very sweet and quite refreshing on a hot day.”
“My mistake,” Garrett murmured, lifting his beer bottle to his lips. “I must have confused this place with another one.”
His aunt took another long drink and turned to his uncle. “We should see about having some of this at the rehearsal dinner barbeque.”
“Rehearsal dinner barbeque?” Garrett asked, trying to keep a straight face.
Blair’s brow lowered. “It’s a western theme.”
Garrett fought to keep from laughing. Blair was hosting a western-themed dinner? “Will there be square dancing?”
Blair’s eyes narrowed. “No.”
His aunt’s mouth pinched with irritation. “As you can see, Blair put her foot down.”
“Come on, Blair,” Garrett teased. “Everyone loves a good do-si-do or an allemande, right?”
Blair’s eyes lit up with challenge. “You know how to square dance, Garrett?”
“Oh, you know me. I like to see the skirts flying.”
Neil pounced on his words. “How would she know that, Garrett?”
Something in his tone caught Garrett off guard. It was almost as if he knew about their past together and was challenging Garrett to admit to it. And he wanted to. But Blair’s eyes were wild with panic, so he vowed to himself that he would keep quiet about it, at least for now. He’d stirred up enough trouble for the moment. “Oh, just something from the deposition, right, Blair?”
She looked torn. It was a lie, and she hated lies, preferring omission as her word-weapon of choice. So she gave him a haughty look and took another drink of her lemonade.
Garrett needed to steer the conversation away from Blair. “Neil, Mom tells me that you’re a doctor here in town.”
Neil studied him for several seconds as if gauging whether he was serious. “I work at St. Luke’s in infectious disease.”
“So do you spend more time in the hospital or in an office?”
Neil’s eyes narrowed. “You just laid claim to my fiancée’s ring and now you want to make polite conversation?”
His cousin only had it half right, but then he’d always been an idiot. Garrett had no idea how the guy had managed to fumble his way through medical school. “I said we’d wait for Nana Ruby to help decide. It’s about time she got involved in this anyway, don’t you think?”
“She says she doesn’t want to get involved,” Uncle Gene said. Everyone looked over at him in surprise. He wasn’t one to give his opinions. Obviously the beer had loosened his tongue.
Aunt Debra frowned. “Yes, Mother says we need to work it out ourselves.”
Garrett loved his mother, but she was one of the most stubborn women he’d ever met. His Aunt Debra was a very close second. Nana Ruby was no fool, so it was understandable why she’d tried to extricate herself from the situation.
“Is anyone going to tell me what the hell is going on with this ring?” Blair demanded, fire in her eyes.
He’d expected the question minutes ago, but the Curse Kitty and the hard lemonade must have distracted her. That, or she’d wanted to wait for her drink before dealing with the mess.
Neil shot Garrett a glare and gave her a condensed version of the story.
“Why am I just now hearing about the controversy over this damned ring?” she asked, her jaw set.
“It wasn’t something you needed to worry about, dear,” Aunt Debra said, then lifted her jar and shook it. “You owe the jar a dollar.”
Blair shot Neil an exasperated glare, then dug out a dollar before flagging down the waiter so she could order another hard lemonade.
“Give me another one too,” Debra called after him. “It’s really very good.”
Their food arrived, and Debra became more and more uninhibited. Garrett had a hard time hiding his snicker, but Neil looked worried.
Neil got in multiple digs at Garrett over the course of the dinner, but it was easy to ignore him, particularly because Blair was at the table. He was dying to find out more about her life. He thought about waiting, but it would be considered normal for him to ask a new acquaintance questions about her career.
“So, Blair,” Garrett said as she cut her pork with a knife and fork. “When did you start at Sisco, Sisco, and Reece?”
“Blair is a career woman,” Debra said, slurring her words. She leaned her elbow on the table. It slipped on the surface, and she nearly fell face first into her baked beans.
Garrett grabbed her upper arm and helped her upright. “There you go.”
She gave him an exaggerated look of confusion as she patted the top of her head. “I’m feeling a bit dizzy.”
Neil shot daggers at him across the table. “I blame you for this, Garrett.”
Neil’s mother shook her head, almost falling out of her chair. “Garrett’s being a perfect gentleman, Neilson.” Then she added, “For once.”
His cousin looked furious.
“Blair doesn’t like to keep house or cook,” Debra continued. “She hires someone to clean.” His aunt spat out the sentence as though she’d just declared that Blair drowned puppies for sport.
“After watching Blair in action, I’m certain she’s exactly where she needs to be,” Garrett said.
Blair’s eyes widened at the compliment, but Neil’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “And where’s that, Garrett?”
Blair tensed, confusion flickering in her eyes.
“As a practicin
g attorney, Neil. What else could I be referring to?”
Blair took a deep breath and released it, her resolve returning. “I love what I do and have no intention of giving it up.” She gave Garrett a withering glance. “And while Mr. Lowry is trying to appear gracious, I have no doubt that this is just a tactic to throw me off before our depositions tomorrow.” Her upper lip curled. “But I can assure you it won’t work.”
Is that how she saw this? An elaborate attempt to sabotage her strategy? She should know better than to think he’d employ such tactics. He’d always preferred a fair, equal match. It was the only way he could know he’d won fair and square. But he’d let her down in almost every way possible, so maybe she didn’t believe him capable of anything good.
He suddenly felt like he was fighting a hopeless battle.
Chapter Seven
Garrett backed off the rest of dinner, and Debra got more and more inebriated. When she ordered her third hard lemonade, Garrett pulled the waiter aside and requested that he deliver her a regular lemonade instead. But she noticed the difference with her first sip.
“This tastes different.”
“It’s the water,” Garrett said.
“The water?” She waved her glass and sloshed her drink over the side onto her hand.
“They ran out of hard water. Thus its name. This batch was made with soft water.”
“Oh.”
Blair grinned when she bought it, but Neil didn’t look so amused.
As soon as they were done with dinner, Neil pulled out his phone and sighed. “I have to take this. It’s the hospital.” He got up and walked toward the front door, his phone pressed to his ear, although from Garrett’s angle, his phone had a blank screen—no incoming or missed calls or texts. Not that Garrett would have believed it anyway. The timing was too convenient.
But Garrett decided to take advantage of his absence and turned to Blair. “So how long have you and Neil been together?”
She gave him a frosty gaze. “Two years.”
“How did you meet?”
Modern Fairy Tale: Twelve Books of Breathtaking Romance Page 138