by Mia Carson
“Hugh, can we steal your fiancée for a few minutes?” Bridget asked.
“That’s up to her,” he replied.
“What’s it about?” Blair asked.
Bridget hesitated, but when Blair refused to budge from her chair at the table, she gave in. “Very well. There have been pictures in the paper recently, and I must admit they are not very flattering.”
“Pictures, Mom?” Hugh fought the urge to roll his eyes. Bridget had been civil so far. He wanted to keep it civil if possible.
“As you well know, we are going to be in the public eye as it grows closer to the election—and your wedding, of course,” she explained, smoothing her hands over the tablecloth. “That means reporters will have their eyes on you two, photojournalists and our locals. Everyone wants their own shots of the Gordie and Fraser couple to be.”
“And?” Blair asked sharply.
“And, bearing that in mind, it’s important that you dress for the part, my dear. Image is everything at this point. Any small issue can be blown out of proportion. You don’t want to ruin Hugh’s good name as a Gordie, do you? Soil his traditional, conservative, family man image?”
Blair’s face was drawn when Hugh glanced over, and her hands fell to her lap.
“Mom, you’re being a little ridiculous, don’t you think?” he said, worried about Blair’s lack of kickback at his mom’s words.
“No, I do not. If you ruin your image while you’re young, you ruin your chances at having the future we’ve planned for you in this city.”
“Here we go again,” he grunted and pushed back from the table. “We’re leaving.”
“Where have you been staying, Blair?” Devin asked suddenly, and the air thickened with tension. “I swung by your house the other night, but Jean said you weren’t in.”
“Do I have to be home twenty-four seven? I do have a part-time job.”
“I’m sure you weren’t there at ten at night.”
Blair shook her head. “Wow, you’re a piece of work, you know that? Why were you at my house so late? Don’t you have a husband and kids you’re supposed to take care of?”
Devin tossed her napkin on the table, but before she could speak, Blair stormed out of the dining room. Hugh couldn’t believe his family. “Why are you here tonight?” he asked his sister. “It’s a weekday.”
“Mother asked me to be here so we could discuss the issue with the reporters.”
“There’s no issue with the reporters, and you two are getting out of hand.” He stood, gave Kella a kiss on the head, and glared at the rest of his family. “We’re leaving.”
“You haven’t had dessert yet,” Bridget argued. “Please, stay.”
“Why? So you can give her more shit for being herself? And why, may I ask, do you feel the need to only attack her? I do the same shit she does, but it’s Blair you go after.”
“Don’t yell at your mother,” Kenneth warned.
“Or what? You haven’t been home, so you don’t get to tell me anything.”
“If you’re going to speak with such disrespect, you should go home,” Kenneth said, making it to his feet and pointing towards the front door.
“With pleasure.” Hugh caught up to Blair on the front porch, slamming the front door behind him. “I can’t believe them.”
“I can. I saw the pictures yesterday. I wondered how long it would take them to say something.”
She tugged at her sweater and he saw her nostrils flare. The spring was growing warmer, but Blair insisted on wearing her baggier clothes, most of them sweaters. A crazy idea formed in his mind, but she would tell him if that was the case, right?
Unless your family’s scared her into keeping secrets, he mused worriedly.
“Can we get dessert on the way back to Mom’s?”
He jangled his keys, studying her face. “You don’t want to stay at the apartment tonight?”
“You heard Devin. She knows and she’ll use it against me.”
“So what? Let her say what she wants. I don’t care what they think.”
Blair sucked in a deep breath, and he hardly believed the next words that came out of her mouth. “But I do.”
He pressed his hand to her forehead. “Are you feeling all right, because that does not sound like the Blair I know, the Blair who is carefree and doesn’t take shit from anyone.”
“But I should, shouldn’t I? I mean we’re both from legacies, Hugh. What if how we’re acting messes up a future for you?”
“Listen to me. The only future I care about is the one with you.”
“I know, but—”
“No, no buts.” He silenced her worries with a gentle kiss. “Once this wedding is over—our wedding, not hers—we’ll be free to do what we want.”
“After the election, you mean,” she corrected. “What happens if she loses?”
“It’d be good for her.” He draped his arm around her shoulders on their way to the Corvette. “Maybe humble her a bit.”
“That’d be the day.”
He almost asked her then if what he thought was bothering her was true, but she looked tired and stressed out again from dealing with his family. He chose to wait. She would tell him when she needed to.
A few days later, Hugh walked down the sidewalk to pick up dinner for him and Blair when a hand snaked around his shoulder. The manicured nails were definitely not Blair’s and he pulled away.
“Bethany?”
“It’s been so long,” she purred. “I was hoping to catch you.”
“How did you know I was even here?” Paranoid, he looked around for Devin or Justin, but she appeared to be alone. “What do you want?”
“To catch up with you. You haven’t returned my texts.”
“Why would I? I know what you’re after and it’s not happening, no matter what impression you make on my sister or my mother.” He searched for an escape, but aside from rushing back to his car and taking off, he was stuck.
“I like your mother. She’s offered me a position on her staff.”
“She did? Why?”
“So I can get some experience under a great woman who will be an amazing political figure,” she said in awe. “Your mother is quite a woman.”
“She’s something, all right,” he muttered. “Look, I have to get dinner.”
“Great, I’ll join you.”
He stepped out of her reach. “That’s not what I mean. Dinner for me and Blair.”
Bethany’s laugh grated on his ears. “Oh, Hugh, when will you to see that she’s not the woman you need in your life? Don’t you remember how great we were together? Besides, she’s not interested in helping you achieve your goals.”
“And what would you know about my goals? You don’t know me.”
“I know we could be amazing together,” she urged. “I know your sister believes your parents are mistaken in having you be with Blair.”
Hugh turned around and stalked to his car without saying a word. Devin. All of this fell back to Devin. He ignored Bethany as she chased after him, but he moved faster thanks to her four-inch heels slowing her down. He was in the car and pulling away from the curb when she caught up to him. He drove around the city streets and found himself parked outside his family’s house. Devin wasn’t there, but Bridget was. If she was alone, he had a chance to talk some sense into his mom.
“Mom?” he yelled when he opened the front door. She didn’t respond, but he went to her office and found her on the phone with the glass door shut. He opened it and she spun around in her chair with a glare.
“One moment. My son has decided to surprise me. Yes…I’ll call you back.” She hung up the antique phone and picked up a pen without giving him another glance. “Is there something I can help you with, son?”
“You could stop working for five seconds.”
“You know how it is. Busy, busy, busy.”
“Yeah, busy ruining my life and letting your daughter manipulate you,” he snapped.
Bridget slammed
her pen down. “Your sister is doing what she feels is best for you and our family.”
“Is that why she’s pushing Bethany on me? Why she convinced you to hire her? She’s hitting on me in public. In full view of all those reporters you’re so worried about.”
Bridget leaned back in her chair. “I’m sure she wasn’t hitting on you.”
“Yeah, she was. What message do you think that will send to your locals when they see your son with another woman? Grabbing dinner, shooting the breeze?” He flattened his hands on her desk as he watched her pinched cheeks redden. “Get control of your daughter, or you’ll have fun putting out fires over the next few days, if you catch my drift.”
“Devin is a grown woman. I can’t tell her what to do.”
Hugh nodded slowly. “You know, it’s funny you don’t see the irony in those words.”
“Where are you going?” she yelped as he walked out of her office. “We’re not finished here!”
“Yeah, we are. I have to meet my fiancée for dinner, somewhere no one will see us being a normal couple.” As he sat in his car, the backup plan he tucked away presented itself. It would be so easy to swing by the apartment, pick Blair up, and take off. Disappear. His level of caring what his family expected of him diminished drastically.
But Blair deserved a proper wedding. Not the fiasco his parents planned, but the one they had planned in secret. A few more months. They only had to hold on for a few more months. He started the car and drove around until he found something that sounded good for dinner.
Blair shuffled through the photographs on the coffee table at Hugh’s apartment. She needed to focus on them, but her mind was elsewhere, replaying her latest conversation with Devin. Hugh had been gone most of the day, working at an internship he’d picked up for a few weeks over the summer, and she was content to spend the day getting her latest pictures in order while taking care of a few more wedding decorations.
What she hadn’t expected was Devin to show up and shove her way inside the apartment.
“How clear do I have to make this?” she stated loudly. “You are not good enough for Hugh.”
“Wow, you really do hate me. Can I ask why?” Blair had asked.
“It’s simple. You don’t care about our family or our name. You care nothing for your own name. Gallivanting around the city as if you don’t have a care in the world when there is so much more you could be doing.”
“Like what? Getting into the tangled mess of politics?” she’d argued. “Thanks, but no thanks. I have my own plans.”
“Plans that don’t involve Hugh.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I heard the rumors about you,” Devin had hissed, getting in her face. “You flitted from one man to the next while Hugh wasn’t with you. For all we know, you still have a few boyfriends on the side.”
Blair’s fists curled but she didn’t hit Devin, as much as she wanted to. She was pregnant and starting a fight was a bad idea. “Whatever you heard, it’s not true, and I can tell by your face you know it. If you want me out of Hugh’s life, that’s too bad. He loves me and I love him. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Greatness is expected of him. It won’t end once you’re married. Your lives will always be in the public eye, more so than now.” Devin grinned, but it bordered on creepy, and Blair backed away, worried what she might do. “You’ll break within the first few months.”
“Says you,” Blair said, but the words sounded weak.
“You don’t have what it takes to live this life. You never grew up.”
“You know nothing about me.” She tried to stand taller, but Devin cast a large shadow, and she shrank beneath it. “I think it’s time you leave.”
“Why? This isn’t your place. It’s my brother’s,” she said and strolled around the apartment. Her eyes lingered on the photographs, and when she saw the treehouse and the pond, she paused, lifting her fingers to brush the glass. “Interesting. I wonder who took these. Not a woman focused on building her business career and being a supportive wife for her husband.”
Blair had hurried to the door and flung it open. “Please leave.”
“Oh, did I touch a nerve? Maybe you realize you’re not the daughter Brody Fraser would be proud of after all.”
“You bitch,” she whispered hotly. “Don’t you dare talk about my dad.”
“Why not? Are you worried I’m telling you the truth? He wanted you to carry on his great legacy. This?” she said, pointing to the framed photos. “This has nothing to do with what’s expected of you. My brother was better off without you. He’ll figure that out soon enough.”
Tears brimming her eyes, Blair had tried to hide her face, but Devin’s satisfied chuckle said it was too late.
“This is what’s going to happen. You are going to fall in line and do exactly as Mother and I tell you. Otherwise, I will expose you for the wretched excuse for a Fraser you really are. Wasting your time with photography and who knows what else.” She strolled to the door but didn’t leave. “And keep in mind I know about your current relationship status with Hugh. That you’re living with him. Certain aspects might be leaked to the press if you don’t follow through. We all know how much the press likes to latch onto juicy tidbits.”
“We’re a couple,” she’d said. “What does it matter?”
“It matters when he is supposed to be upholding the values of his family and setting an example for others. Really, Blair, don’t you know anything?” She’d walked out humming, and Blair was alone with tears streaming down her cheeks.
Hours had passed since her visit, but Devin’s threats had rattled her. Add that to strange moments at the gallery and around the city when Justin randomly bumped into her. He would get too close and try to hold her hand and had even attempted to kiss her cheek the other day. Bridget’s words of upholding an image and having photographers watching her and Hugh closely made her paranoid that they would catch the wrong moment and cause problems. Seeing a headline saying she was cheating on Hugh would ruin more than merely her morning. And Justin and Devin seemed to know about her photography, which could be bad for business. Who wanted artwork from a woman the media claimed was a cheater? She’d worked on getting up her courage all morning to tell Hugh about the baby, but after Devin’s visit, she was lost in a river of worry again.
Steps sounded in the hall and she jumped up to open the door, needing a hug to ground her, but it wasn’t Hugh back from his long day out. “Justin?”
“Oh, hey, I didn’t even knock yet. Are you one of those peepers? Watching the hallway all day?”
“No, I was waiting for Hugh. He’s not home yet,” she said and tried to close the door, but his foot blocked it.
“That’s all right. He told me to come over and join you for dinner.”
Bullshit. Not without texting me, she thought. “Are you sure it was tonight?”
“Yeah. Mind if I come in?”
Hell yes, was what she wanted to say, but Justin was Hugh’s friend, and lately, they seemed to get on better. Her cell was tucked in her butt pocket, and she pulled it out, ready to text Hugh if need be. “Sure.” She walked in first, covering up her photographs in a hurry.
“What were you doing in here all day?”
“Dealing with wedding plans. They’re never ending,” she said lightly. “Did he say why he wanted you to come over tonight?” She avoided sitting on the couch and moved to the kitchen to put some distance between them and the eerie vibe she got from him.
Justin followed and corralled her in the kitchen. “Nah, you know him. He doesn’t give much away.”
“Do we know the same Hugh?” She meant for it to be a joke, but Justin was suddenly very serious as his gaze raked over her body. She stiffened and started to text Hugh, but Justin reached for the phone. “Let go, please.”
“You don’t have to hide them, you know,” he whispered.
“Hide what?”
“Your feelings for me. You hav
e to fake it for him because of the whole arranged marriage thing, but you don’t have to with me. You could leave him and we could be together, be free of that crazy ass world he and his family live in.”
Her pulse spiking and palms sweaty, Blair’s eyes darted around the kitchen, searching for a way out. Hugh, where the hell are you? “Justin, I don’t have feelings for you. I love Hugh. I always have.”
“Liar.”
“No, I’m not lying. I’m sorry if you thought I flirted with you, but I never meant to lead you on.”
“Lying again. You and I are better for each other. Let Hugh and some other woman deal with the political ambitions of his family.”
This wasn’t happening. How could he believe she would fall for his bullshit? “Hugh said you threw a fit when he told you about us getting back together. That you didn’t like me,” she challenged.
Justin rested his hand on the wall beside her head as Blair considered her options. She had to be careful. If anything happened to the baby, she’d never forgive herself. “I lied. I was upset I never had a chance to show you the type of man I could be for you.”
He leaned in and tried to kiss her, but she shoved him back hard. “Get off me! I’m engaged to your friend!”
“He doesn’t have to be my friend and you don’t have to be his fiancée.” He went in for another kiss, but she ducked under his arm and backed into the living room. He had her cell phone in his other hand. “Don’t be like this, Blair. No one’s watching.”
“You need to leave or I’ll start screaming.”
His jaw clenched but he held up his hands. “If that’s what you want.”
“It is,” she snapped. “Out—now.”
He turned and headed to the door but snapped his fingers and spun back around. “Your phone. I almost walked out with it.” He was across the room too fast for her to move and wrapped his arms around her like a vice. She screamed, but he muffled the sound with his mouth.
The door opened and an angry bellow echoed around the apartment. A second later, Justin flew across the room and Hugh’s body stood between Blair and him. “What the fuck, man?” Holding his head as he pushed to his feet, Justin glared at Hugh.