Grace broke off from Asher and walked over to stand next to her. “I’m still working on the first one, so maybe ask me again in a couple of years.”
“No, I don’t mean with Asher. With me. We have Fiona, but is it too soon for another?” She glanced at me. “She’s such a precious little teacup. I like her.”
“Oh,” Grace said with a smile. “As many as you want.”
“Well let’s not get ahead of ourselves. You know I hardly like anyone besides you. And our Fiona, but she’s such a sparkly ray of tattooed sunshine, how could I not?” She slipped her arm through mine and tugged me close. “But I really like this one. Can we keep her?”
“Definitely.”
Cara let out a long sigh. “This makes tonight even more meaningful. Speaking of…”
“Speaking of what?” Grace asked, but Cara had already swept away.
I wasn’t quite sure what had just happened, or where Cara was going, but Gavin’s arm brushed against mine and suddenly that was all I could think about. He didn’t move away and for a second, the little bit of my skin touching his captured every bit of my focus.
The music quieted and Cara held her hands up to get everyone’s attention.
“Ladies, gentlemen, and…” She paused for a second, her eyes briefly landing on Logan. “Others. I invited you all here tonight for a very special watch party, dedicated to my newest cupcake, Skylar. With, of course, a special shout out to my boo, who’s my one and only true love.”
Grace and Cara raised their glasses to each other.
“Tonight’s show requires context,” she continued. “I recently learned that our Skylar comes to us after the demise of a long-term relationship with a man who was not only her boyfriend, but her literary agent. It also came to my attention that her relationship ended due to the fact that he’s a lying, cheating, piece of maggot-infested dog shit who was sleeping with another one of his clients, a married author named Pepper Sinclair.”
Gavin slipped an arm around my shoulders and I wanted to shrink into him. Even better, bury my face in his chest and hide. A few people murmured their surprise and displeasure.
“I’m not bringing this up publicly to make you feel worse about it,” Cara said, looking at me. “He’s the asshole here, and you have nothing to be ashamed of. I think we can all agree you’re much better off right where you are.”
Gavin squeezed, pressing me closer to him.
“And he deserves everything that’s coming to him.” Her tone remained light, but her smile grew cold, and there was something in her eyes that sent a chill down my spine.
“Cara…” Grace said.
She waved us closer. “Have a seat.”
Gavin put his hand on the small of my back and led me to one of the couches. The others took seats or stayed standing nearby where they had a view of the large TV. Cara got a remote out of a drawer and turned it on.
“The show aired earlier, but I assume you didn’t watch,” Cara said, and I wasn’t sure who she was talking to. Me? Or maybe everyone. “I recorded it. I haven’t watched yet either and I’m absolutely dying.”
“Cara, what show?” Grace asked.
She didn’t answer. Just pressed a button on the remote and the screen came to life.
It was a national morning show that featured in-depth interviews with celebrities. Sometimes they featured authors if they were big names, and right there on the couch was freaking Pepper Sinclair.
Her hair and makeup were flawless, as usual, and she wore a stylish blouse and slacks. A small table next to her white upholstered seat held a stack of her latest book. She’d made a name for herself writing inspirational women’s fiction, but her new release was a memoir.
Barf.
But the perfectly tailored, smiling Pepper wasn’t what made my stomach drop. Seated next to her was Cullen.
Double barf.
I could see the foundation and eyeliner they’d used on him to make his face camera ready. His hair was poofier than usual, styled in a slick pompadour, and he wore a light gray suit.
I met Cara’s eyes, wondering why she would possibly think I’d want to watch this interview.
The corners of her lips turned up ever so slightly. “Just wait for it.”
I leaned into Gavin, not worrying about whether or not it was a friend thing or a girlfriend thing to do. The interview began and after thanking Pepper and Cullen for being on the show, the host started in on questions about her new book.
The book was titled The Marriage Secret, and Pepper claimed it was both a story about her journey—whatever that was supposed to mean—and a reflection on how to have a happy and fulfilling marriage. Cullen had been invited to the show to talk about how he’d helped take her career to the next level and the big publishing deal he hoped to secure for the follow-up to this release.
A follow-up? How many books was she going to write about herself?
“Pepper, this book delves into your ingredients for a happy marriage,” the host said.
“Wait, I have a question.” Fiona held up a hand, like she was in a classroom, and Cara paused the show. “Let me see if I have this straight. He’s your ex?”
“Yes,” I said. “Unfortunately.”
“And he’s banging this bitch.” She gestured to the screen.
“Yeah, he left me for her.”
Was it just me, or did Gavin just growl?
“But she’s married to someone else?” Fiona asked.
“She was. I thought she was leaving her husband for Cullen.”
“But she wrote a book about how to have a happy marriage?” Fiona asked. “Was she writing about her actual husband, or that guy?”
Cara produced a copy of Pepper’s book, seemingly out of thin air. “Oh it’s about her husband, all right. It’s a bunch of absolute fucking bullshit. She wrote an entire book about how to be a good wife and have a blissful marriage, all while she was being a goddamn home wrecker and sleeping with another woman’s man.”
“Do you mean she and Cullen didn’t go public with their relationship?” I asked.
“No, they most certainly did not,” Cara said, tossing the book on the coffee table. “She wrote the most condescending book ever written, all about marriage. It would be a terrible blow to her career if anyone found out the truth.”
“Holy shit, Cara,” Gavin said.
Cara smiled again and pressed play.
The host continued. “Did you write this book before or after your marriage to your husband ended?”
Pepper’s lips parted and she blinked a few times. “Excuse me?”
“You’ve written a four-hundred-page memoir and instruction manual for achieving a happy marriage, but within the last year, you began an adulterous relationship with your agent, Cullen Bell. Isn’t that right?”
A chorus of “whoa,” rose around me.
Pepper’s mouth dropped open and Cullen shifted uncomfortably, his eyes darting around as if he were looking for someone to get him out of this situation.
“No, that’s… I don’t…” Pepper sputtered, tripping over her words, her face flushing. “No, I’m happily married to my husband and—”
“What?” Cullen’s face whipped around.
“So are you or are you not having an affair?” the host asked.
Pepper put a hand to her chest, as if she were finding it hard to breathe. “I was not prepared for this line of questioning.”
“This isn’t what we agreed to,” Cullen said, anger in his tone. “You can’t spring these questions on us with no warning.”
“On the contrary, I think these questions are very relevant, given the content of the book.”
“Ouch,” Asher said.
“She’s not wrong,” Grace added.
Pepper fanned herself. “My book speaks for itself and my personal life is just that, personal.”
“Except you wrote a memoir offering aspects of your life as examples to live up to. You’re putting yourself forward as a model for other wom
en, and yet most of what you wrote here is potentially a lie.” The host’s voice never wavered. “So I’ll ask the question again. Are you two having an affair?”
Cullen glanced at the floor. “Yes. We are.”
Pepper shot to her feet. “This is outrageous. How dare you. We talked about this. We agreed.”
“We should have made popcorn,” Gavin said.
“I told you to change the book.” Cullen stood, facing off with her. “If you had listened to me, we wouldn’t have had to hide. This never would have happened.”
“Why, because you think I’m fucking in love with you?” The show beeped out her curse word.
Everyone in the room gasped.
“You don’t get it, do you?” Pepper asked. “This book wasn’t a lie, and I’m not leaving him for you.”
“Ms. Sinclair, Mr. Bell, if you’ll please take your seats,” the host said. “We’ll give you both an opportunity to speak, but we need you to remain calm.”
“Remain calm?” Pepper asked, her eyes wide and crazed. “How can you expect me to remain calm when you’ve just ruined me on national television?”
“Pepper, sit down,” Cullen said.
“No,” she snapped, pointing a manicured finger at him. “This is your fault. You were supposed to get me ten million, but you’re as useless at your job as you are in the bedroom. Get this microphone off me.”
The camera quickly cut to the host. “We’ll be right back.”
I gaped at the TV as Cara fast-forwarded. After a commercial break, the host gave a brief summary of what had happened, then moved on to the next segment. Pepper and Cullen were nowhere to be seen.
“Cara, how the fuck did you do that?” Gavin asked, his voice awed.
“What are you talking about, Gav?” Grace asked.
“I told her about what that asshat did to Skylar, and she said she was going to do something about it. Is that what that was? That was you?”
“People really shouldn’t mess with my friends,” Cara said sweetly, then turned to me. “That went even better than I’d hoped. Oh, and since the show first aired this morning, his agency fired him and dropped her as a client. I also have it from a reliable source that her book is being pulled from all bookstores, and it’s no longer available on Amazon.”
“You told the host about her affair with Cullen?” Grace asked. “How?”
Cara gave her a self-satisfied smile and lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I have contacts.”
“Oh, Cara…” Grace said.
“Don’t you worry about a thing, boo. Do you see me getting revenge on anyone from my own past? Believe me, I have a list. But I only use my powers to help others.”
“Yeah, you’re a real saint,” Logan said.
Levi leaned closer to him. “Dude, I wouldn’t get on her bad side.”
“Besides, I’m not the one who cheated on the beautiful and talented Skylar Stanley. He had it coming. He’s lucky all I did is ruin his career from afar.”
“Dude, that was amazing,” Gavin said. “Cara karma at its finest.”
Feeling a bit dazed, I slowly stood. “That was…”
Cara raised her eyebrows.
“That was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. He made me feel so awful when he broke up with me, and I never thought I’d see him get his due. Did you see his face? That was…” I trailed off again and launched myself at Cara, wrapping her in a tight hug.
She put her arms around me, hugging me back. “I’m so glad you liked it. Wow, doing a good deed really does fill the soul. I should do that more often.”
I stepped back and swiped beneath my eyes. Maybe it made me a bad person for being so happy at seeing someone else’s life crash and burn. But I wasn’t just emotional over Cullen. It was the sudden realization that I had so many people in my life who cared about me. For a shy girl who had a hard time making friends, that was priceless.
32
Gavin
Ever since Ginny had told us she thought the Montgomery treasure was real, the idea that maybe she was right had been swirling around the back of my mind. I’d grown up hearing stories about it. Everyone in town had. But everyone also knew that this town loved its tall tales as much as the squirrels loved stealing our snacks. You couldn’t really believe any of them.
But Ginny was an outsider. She had a different perspective. If she thought the treasure might be real, maybe Harvey Johnston wasn’t as crazy as everyone thought. Although the tin can episode at the murder cabin didn’t exactly support his sanity.
But still. Maybe there was something out there.
What really got me going was the implication that someone—maybe the Montgomerys—had been trying to hide it. I wasn’t going to jump to the conclusion that there was a conspiracy that went back generations. But someone had hidden that stuff Grace had found. People didn’t randomly put shit beneath the floorboards of a house for no reason. Did that mean there was a reason to hide it? And had a Montgomery done it?
There was just the smallest whiff of intrigue, but it was enough for me. Plus, who wouldn’t want to be the guy to find an old town treasure? That sounded awesome.
Although if I was being totally honest, mostly it was just an excuse to do something fun with Skylar.
I picked her up and drove us over to the Haven House. It had a stupid name, but I had an idea.
She looked out the window at the old house. It was a big Victorian home with a pitched roof, a front porch, and a round tower on one side.
“If it was painted black, it would make the perfect haunted house,” she said.
“That’s what I’ve always thought. I feel like it’s a missed opportunity.”
“I don’t think it’s open today.”
“No, it’s not.”
Her eyes moved to me. “Uh-oh.”
“What? It’s not our fault they’re only open two days a week.”
“You’re about to tell me we’re going to break in, aren’t you?”
“Nope,” I said with a grin. “We don’t have to break in.”
“Because you arranged for a private showing?”
I pulled the key out of my pocket. “Because I have this.”
“Where did you get that?”
“The fire department has keys to certain buildings around town in case of emergency.”
“Don’t even tell me whether or not you asked my dad before you took it.”
I gave her my best wide-eyed innocent look. “I left a note.”
She put her hand on her forehead. “Oh my god.”
“We’re not going to steal anything. I just want to poke around without someone from the historical society looking over my shoulder. Plus, I’m about ninety percent sure there’s a secret basement in there.”
“Why?”
“A lot of these old buildings have plans on file with the fire department. It’s a safety thing. We have to inspect them once in a while and it helps us in emergency planning. After Ginny mentioned her theories about the Montgomery treasure, I got curious. I checked out the plans for the Haven House—which, for the record, is still a stupid name—and there’s a section that doesn’t make sense. Unless there’s a secret basement. I just want to see if I’m right.”
“And you need me for this because?”
“You’re my favorite partner in crime.”
She laughed, her smile lighting up her eyes. “I don’t know how you talk me into these things.”
“It’s not your fault, I’m really convincing.”
“You are very convincing.”
“Ready for more adventures of Gav and Sky?”
“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”
We got out and I walked right up to the front door. I didn’t look around or make a big deal out of it. Just used the key, acting like I had every right to be here.
Skylar slipped her hand in mine and I led her inside, closing the door behind us.
The air had a musty tinge to it, like a lot of old houses did.
The interior had been restored over the years, made to look like it had in the early 1900s. It was a cool house, with thick trim around the windows and doors, and dark beams on the ceilings. Fancy wallpaper decorated the walls and the furniture was ornate. The rooms were roped off so visitors could look but not touch. But I wasn’t interested in what the historical society had on display, anyway.
“This is like a Scooby-Doo house,” Skylar said, glancing around.
“Who would I be as a Scooby-Doo character?”
She grinned at me. “Shaggy.”
“Hey.” I reached over and grabbed her ass. “Does that make you my sexy Velma?”
She laughed. “What are we looking for exactly?”
“I’m not sure. Bookcases that open, secret passages, hidden trap doors, that kind of thing.”
“Definitely Scooby-Doo.” She took slow steps forward. “I guess we should just look around then.”
Right off the entryway, there was a living room with upholstered furniture and a piano. Across from it was a big dining room with a large chandelier over the table. It was set with plates, silverware, cloth napkins, and wine glasses, like there was going to be a dinner party.
We walked deeper into the house. There was a study or library with lots of bookshelves, leather furniture, and thick carpets on the floor. We ducked beneath the rope and poked around.
Skylar bent over to look at something on a low shelf. I couldn’t help myself, I grabbed her hips and pressed my groin against her.
“Hey.” She laughed and stood up.
“What?” I asked, feigning innocence. “You can’t just go bending over in front of me with that cute ass of yours.”
She playfully smacked my arm, so I grabbed her ass again when she walked by.
“If there really is a secret basement in here, don’t you think someone would have found it already?” Skylar asked as we ducked under the rope again and made our way to the kitchen. “Especially if people have been looking for the Montgomery treasure for so long.”
“Maybe. Although the stories all say the treasure is buried out in the mountains somewhere. No one’s been looking in town. Of course, if none of the stories say it’s here, maybe there’s a reason.”
Rushing In: A Small Town Family Romance Page 26