She had the upper hand, plain and simple, and whenever he tried to stretch his wings, she clipped them right off.
Some man he turned out to be.
Harley must have sensed his tension because he moaned and whined, staring up at him with his large, sad eyes, exposing the whites underneath.
How could he not be calmed by the big basset hound, who still thought of himself as a lapdog and cuddle bunny?
“Grady’s one hundred percent right,” Larry said to his dog. “I need to make up my mind and put my foot down hard. If Jenna really loves me and respects me, she’d do what I say. According to the Bible, men are supposed to rule their households. Mr. Luca was right all along.”
“Waarooahhh!” Harley howled in agreement.
Jenna directed the placements of her mannequins and lobby furniture, snapping orders right and left.
Her assistants scurried around like scared chickens, but she wasn’t in the mood to mollify anyone. They’d been with her long enough to know she was a fair boss, and they all witnessed what had happened to her.
Not one dared to offer their opinion or soothe her in any way, and that was just as well with her. She wasn’t the type to be overly familiar with people she might have to lay off if times got tough.
Once the studio was back to spic and span, Jenna pushed the mannequin with her former wedding dress back to the fitting room. There were still a few loose threads, and one of the panels could use resetting. The train was off-center and she should make a matching veil.
Her heart ached at both the loss of the dress and the fight she’d had with Larry. If he couldn’t tell her the truth about how he really felt about her dress, how could he be honest about how he really felt about Shelly?
He was saying things he thought she wanted to hear.
I’m over her. She doesn’t affect me. I’m only going sailing with her to make her sick.
Right.
“I heard everything.” A voice in the darkness startled Jenna and she almost pushed over the mannequin. It wobbled on the doily, and she righted it.
She’d forgotten all about Shelly and had thought she’d left the studio long ago.
“What are you still doing here?” Jenna switched on the light and blinked at Shelly, who had changed back to the clothes she came with.
“I want you to fix my dress.” She held up the remnants of the ostrich feathers.
“Not now.” Jenna’s temples throbbed with the beginning of a tension headache. “If you don’t mind, just leave it here and I’ll add a stretch panel in the back so you can do all your dance moves.”
“That would be great. I want to wear this dress for the master class.” Shelly placed it with care on the design table. “If you could make any changes, could you add mesh sleeves with a fringe attached to the bottom of the sleeves. Also, alternating black and white tulle coming down in zigzags past my knees. I do have big thighs, as you know.”
“I thought you hated the dress.” Jenna huffed, exhausted with having to be nice to Shelly.
“I do, the way it is, and your little trick of making a weak seam was unprofessional.” Shelly’s nostrils flared, making her face resemble an angry and lathered horse. “However, I think we can work out a deal. I’m the one who gets to pick out your real wedding dress, and you’re going to turn this dress into a stunning dress worth thousands of dollars. Add the elastic where you need, the flowing fabrics, and I’ll make sure your dress isn’t a complete disaster.”
“There’s no way anyone could stitch up a dress for me in a week,” Jenna sighed. “I take it you’re ordering from a catalog?”
“Amy provided me with a few, yes, but I’m not going to say anything more. By contract.”
“Sure. By contract I don’t have to improve your dress either, just stitch it back up so you can wear it for the finale.” By being tough now, she’d show Shelly her strength, and hopefully cow the woman into not going overboard on the hideousness of her catalog-picked wedding dress.
“Like I said, you give me a dress I can use for the master class, and I’ll make sure you don’t look like a cow on your wedding day.” Shelly preened, flicking her spikey jet black Elvira hair. “Seems I have to get ready for my date with Larry. He thinks I’ll get sick, but I’ve enough time to get a patch from my doctor.”
“I’ll be in touch.” Jenna escorted Shelly to the door.
“You don’t have to be so upset with me,” Shelly said, giving her parting shot. “You think I enjoyed having my dress split on TV and getting embarrassed like that? You think I had a ball dancing with my ex and showing the world what a cruel bitch I was to dump him in the burn ward?”
“Why don’t I feel sorry for you?” While Jenna didn’t have Cait’s red hair, she still had her full portion of Irish blood.
“No, you don’t have to feel sorry for me, because I feel sorry for you. You’re the one who’s going to be stuck with that passive-aggressive man. Everyone will think you’re the bitch, while he’s so nice and agreeable. But let me tell you something. That oh-so-sweet man has a mean streak a mile deep. I’m making the best of this entire situation, trying to be positive and excited about the master class and putting up with the sailing trip.”
“Give me a break. No one forced you to do the show. That was all on you.” Jenna snarled, exposing her teeth.
“No one except Larry. He put me up to it.”
“You’re lying, and it isn’t working. Why would Larry want your sorry ass in his wedding?”
“That, I don’t know. You’d better ask him, because when he proposed this to me, he promised he’d reconcile with his mother after the wedding if I went on the show. You know how close my mother is to his mother. They were best friends growing up, and I was born a few years later, so Larry’s mother took turns babysitting me while my mom worked. We’re very, very close.”
Jenna could care less about her family history. Her head was ablaze, and the pain in her temples intensified, squeezing her crown like a vice.
“Hold it. I’m not getting this. You’re saying Larry blackmailed you into doing this show? I don’t believe a word you’re saying.”
Shelly got into Jenna’s face so close her bad breath fanned over, hot and steamy like garbage behind a restaurant dumpster. “Then you don’t know Larry very well, do you? They say it’s the nicest guys who are the meanest bastards. I suggest you peel off that mask of scars that’s blinded you to the truth.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Larry and Harley walked by Jenna’s apartment. It was the one passed onto her by her sister, Melisa, who had shared it with her until her marriage a few weeks ago.
The building was old and didn’t have gated security with doormen, so he simply held the door for an old lady who had punched in her code to enter the building and followed her in.
He held the plastic bag of takeout food in front of Harley’s nose to motivate the lazy dog up a flight of stairs. He’d better get used to it, because once they were married, they would be moving from his rent-controlled unit to this one.
Hopefully, Jenna had calmed down after their confrontation. Besides the food, he also came bearing a box of chocolate and a box of long stem roses. Valentine’s Day, their wedding date, was only a mere week away, and by then, they would be too busy to celebrate.
Unfortunately, Grady answered the door.
“Uh oh,” he said, letting Larry in. “What did you do now? Flowers, candy, and food?”
Harley sniffed suspiciously at Grady’s shoes and moved his way up his legs, giving him the once over.
“Your dog doesn’t like me either,” Grady said when Larry didn’t answer. “Jenna’s not here, in case those flowers aren’t for me. Let me guess, she failed out of the show for you, and she regrets it and is mad at you.”
“No, actually, she took the dare and she’s mad at me.”
“What was it?” Grady pulled on the legs of his tight jeans and sat down.
“Can’t tell you. By contract.”
&nbs
p; “Okay, so you’re going to the finals, that’s great, isn’t it?” Grady clapped Larry’s back a little too heartily.
“Yeah, I’m going to go see the priest tomorrow about arranging the TV crew and everything else. I can’t see turning something that’s supposed to be sacred into a media circus.”
“Then you should put your foot down and tell the TV cameras to stay out. Let them do the reception. Shut the church door and lock it.”
“Except if we lose, we won’t get the grand prize.” Larry wavered between wanting the perfect wedding and the opportunity of getting out of this ancient building where the pipes sang and the fuses blew.
“You’re the man. You have to decide what you want and stick to it. I’m telling you, Jenna will push and push and push. But she’ll feel frustrated if she doesn’t have a wall to lean on.”
“You know that sounds sexist, don’t you?” Larry was mortified that he had been thinking the same thing only a few minutes ago.
“Yeah, it is, but men are also the guys who jump into the smoke behind a wildfire. Men are the guys who drag heavy firehoses and gear up ladders, and carry two-hundred-fifty-pound guys to safety.”
“A woman could do that if she’s strong enough.”
“True, but most women aren’t. We had some female probies who passed with flying colors, but there was this one woman who threatened to sue, even though she failed all her attempts.”
“I know many guys who failed the physical test, too,” Larry said. “Besides, we’re talking my marriage, not firefighting.”
“Yeah, well, I know Jenna best, and believe it or not, I want her to be happy.” Grady rubbed Harley on the back and the dog actually purred, low and rumbly, or was it a muted growl?
“I do believe you want her to be happy. It’s what I want too, but somehow, whatever I do isn’t good enough. She told me she wanted me to be happy and to do whatever I wanted for the wedding, then when I did, she got mad.”
“She’s using anger as a weapon to get her way.” Grady nailed it. “To get you to turn tail and give in. You got to stand firm. Look at me. She doesn’t boss me around.”
“That’s because you’re her brother.”
“Right, and I tell her everything without pulling any punches. I’m not afraid of her, and if she punches, I punch back harder—figuratively, with words.”
“Yeah, but you could always walk away.”
“So could you.” Grady gave Larry a man-am-I-sorry-for-you shrug.
Larry rubbed both palms over his face. “All I ever wanted in life was a dog, a wife, a family, and good buddies.”
“You got a good dog here, buddies all around, and our family is your family.” Grady couldn’t seem to get enough of Harley’s affection as he massaged the hound’s loose skin. “Jenna will make a good wife. You just have to get control of her.”
That advice was getting old, and obviously not something he would ever excel at. He couldn’t picture Jenna knuckling under to any of his demands, and frankly, it wasn’t the way he was wired. But then, he didn’t like being controlled either.
Grady seemed to have that raw confidence of a guy who’d never been in a serious relationship with a strong woman.
Larry got up from the couch. “Let me go to the kitchen and take back the empty food containers.”
When he’d packed the plastic boxes, he snapped his fingers at Harley to get the dog to go, but Harley had his snout on Grady’s knee and looked like he was enjoying his massage.
“You want to stay, don’t you?” Grady spoke directly to Harley. “I bet you miss Jenna, too. There’s no way Jenna can stay mad when you’re around.”
Okay, okay. Larry got the hint. For some reason, Grady wanted to keep his new buddy, Harley, and he did have a point about Jenna.
Maybe Harley could calm Jenna down also and give him a chance to make up with her.
“I’ll be by if you need me,” Larry said. His shoulders slumped, and he let himself out, minus his dog, his woman, his family, and his buddies.
There was only one place to go, and that was to the parish to get advice.
“Larry, you are in so much trouble,” Jenna shouted over the phone. “And you’d better not be lying to me.”
She paced back and forth in the lobby of her empty design studio after kicking Shelly out. Hopefully the witch was lying, but from the way Larry danced so eagerly with her, Jenna wasn’t sure.
“I’m on my way to see the priest.” Larry’s voice sounded shaky.
“You’re going to need him.” Jenna couldn’t stop her voice from quaking. “Because you set up this entire Shelly Sweet fiasco. She told me everything. How you dangled reconciliation with your mother to get her to be in the show. You have exactly ten seconds to confirm or deny her version of the story.”
Ten, nine, eight, seven, Jenna counted down under her breath. Each second that went by, torpedoed her heart deeper into the pit of certainty that Larry had betrayed her.
“Four, three, two,” she counted aloud.
“Okay, she’s right. I did recruit her for the show. But I can explain—”
“There’s no need to.” Jenna’s veins froze ice cold. “I’m calling the show and canceling the wedding. Enjoy your date with Shelly, or for an added twist, why don’t you let her buy my wedding gown and marry you for the show?”
She ended the call.
Her fingers trembling like mad, she keyed in Amy Suzuki’s direct line.
“This is Amy,” the chirpy, saccharine voice said. “What’s going on?”
“This is Jenna Hart. I’m going to have to drop out of the show.” She let out a sob as tears burst from her eyes. “I can’t do it anymore. Whatever I lose, I lose.”
“Okay, then. I’ll get our lawyers to go over the contract. I’m really sorry,” Amy said.
“No, you’re not. Your ratings are going through the roof, but it’s my life that’s ruined.” She cut off the call and shut off her phone.
There would be cancellation fees to pay, and people to notify, but right now, in the darkness of her studio, Jenna only wanted to be surrounded by her dresses.
Soon, too soon, she’d have to face her family and let them know what a muck up she’d done with her life. She’d chosen the wrong guy, and worst of all, they might even take Larry’s side.
Connor was Larry’s best friend.
Cait and Brian loved Larry like a brother.
Dale looked up to Larry.
Melisa and Larry were good friends and former coworkers. He’d even had a longstanding crush on her before Melisa started dating Rob.
When Jenna first started going out with Larry, Mom and Dad were on his side, fearing she would hurt him.
Well, huh, the tables had been turned, and it was their buddy boy Larry who had hurt her. Cut her so deep she’d never recover.
There was only one person who wasn’t thrilled with Larry.
Her twin brother, Grady.
Jenna picked up the phone and called home. In between sobs, she said, “Grady, could you come pick me up from the studio? Call Cait and tell her to cancel all the arrangements for the wedding, but keep Mom and Dad and everyone else away from me. I don’t want to see or hear from anyone, especially Larry.”
“I’ll be right over.” Her brother’s firm and strong voice bolstered her. “I’ll take care of you, sis.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Jenna was in bed, alone and heartbroken. Larry had crushed her heart when he’d made a deal with the reality show to feature Shelly. She almost couldn’t believe he could be so underhanded, but that was Shelly’s point—he was nice on the surface and passive-aggressive inside.
“You want something to eat?” Grady knocked on the bedroom door and opened it a crack. “Larry brought takeout. I think it’s Boston Market.”
“Why did he even bother to come by?”
“He cares about you. He’s afraid he screwed up.” Grady sat on the edge of the bed. “You saw the flowers and chocolate. He wanted to be prepared f
or Valentine’s Day.”
“There’s never going to be another Valentine’s Day for me, ever.” Jenna wiped her eyes. “My life is ruined. I can never lift my head again, and I’ll never be with another man for the rest of my life.”
“Wow, such dramatic flair. They should be filming this.”
Jenna threw a tissue at her brother, and it landed on Harley who’d been lurking behind Grady’s legs, like he was afraid of her.
What was this world coming to when that sweet little basset hound puppy she’d adopted first had also turncoated against her?
As if Harley could read her mind, he let out a little whining moan. “Aaarooohh.”
“Why do you have to stand there reminding me of all that I lost?” Jenna waved her hand at the dog.
He took it as an invitation to jump on her bed, all sixty-plus pounds of him, and when he licked her face, she hugged him.
“Why are you torturing me? Pretending you’re my dog when your heart belongs to that black-hearted betrayer?”
Lick, lick, lick. Harley burrowed himself into Jenna’s arms and slathered her face, licking away her tears.
“I’ll leave you and Harley to your lovefest,” Grady said. “But I’m hungry and I’m going to dig in. Holler if you want anything.”
“You’re supposed to be comforting me, not letting me wallow in my misery,” Jenna yelled as he left the room. She punched and kicked the bed in all her fury. Harley only watched her. He wiggled to the opposite side of the bed and lay his belly flat on the bed so that he bounced and jiggled along with her tantrum.
Larry’s heart was in a tumult as he knocked on the heavy wooden door of Father Gonzales’s office. Jenna had broken up with him and shut off her phone. He’d called her brother and was told she didn’t want to be disturbed.
Everything he’d wanted and dreamed of was gone, and he had no one to blame but himself. Perversely, he’d put Shelly into the wedding to get Jenna to quit the reality show. He’d thought she would rather be a proper wife to him than a reality show queen.
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