The Wedding Pact Box Set - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,152

twenty minutes.”

“Oh shit.” Blair groaned. “I really can’t face them tonight.”

“Maybe you can pretend to have a headache so you can leave early.”

Blair perked up. “Great idea.”

“I know. I’m full of them. See you tomorrow.” She walked out of the office and closed the door behind her.

Blair scanned the mass of files piled on her desk, but instead of cases, she saw women who had been cheated, used, and then dumped. Women like her mother, who’d lost everything in the divorce—her house, her identity, and her dignity. Not to mention the fact that she’d been thrown back into the work force without any experience after nearly twenty years, at her ex’s insistence. Her attorney hadn’t given two shits about her and had done the bare minimum to settle the case. And then Blair’s father had gone and died five years later, leaving nothing to either his ex-wife or his daughter. Blair hadn’t wanted anything of his, but her mother had deserved more.

But it was partly because of him that she had her career—a career she loved at the end of the day, in spite of the pettiness and sexism of her bosses. If she lost her job, she’d be forced to start from the beginning and probably in some other city. Neil’s practice was in Kansas City, and he’d already let her know he loved his position and had no intention of moving if another opportunity ever came her way. She was stuck.

Neil’s mother, Debra, had picked a hole-in-the-wall barbeque joint on the Kansas side of the city. Someplace Blair would feel totally out of place in with her business attire. She considered going home to change, but there wasn’t time with rush hour traffic, and besides, this was who she was. Take it or leave it. She was already trying to placate her bosses. There was only so much supplication Blair was capable of in a month, let alone a single day. But she was sure to get an earful of disapproval from Neil’s mother. For a woman who sold Tupperware and lived in a double-wide trailer, she was one of the most judgmental women Blair had ever known, and she’d made no secret of the fact she didn’t approve of Blair’s career. Blair would love nothing more than to tell her off, but she didn’t want to make things awkward for Neil. He was caught in the middle enough as it was, what with all the back-and-forth about the wedding arrangements. As an afterthought, she pulled the pins out of her hair and let it tumble down her back. It would definitely be hotter, but she could suffer through some discomfort to appease Debra. Besides, she was already plotting when to execute her headache excuse.

Five minutes after six, she pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant and was blasted by a wave of hot, humid air as she opened the car door, adding to her irritation. Neil’s parents had insisted the rehearsal dinner on Friday night take place in the outdoor seating area of a local restaurant. She was going to miss her own wedding due to dehydration from profuse sweating.

Neil and his parents were already seated at a rectangular table when she walked into the room. It was hard not to feel annoyed at the irritated glance Neil gave her as she approached the table.

“There you are. I told you six sharp.”

He was being shorter with her than usual, which only added to her brewing annoyance, but she knew he must have caught an earful from his mother. “I’ve had the day from hell. Then I hit rush hour traffic.”

Neil’s mother pursed her lips in disapproval. “Language.” The woman held a small plastic piggy bank shaped like a cat, with the words “Curse Kitty” handwritten on a piece of copy paper and attached with mailing tape. Coins rattled as she shook the container. “That will be one dollar.”

Blair put a hand on her hip and cocked her head. “What the hell is that?”

Debra’s eyes narrowed. “Now it’s two.”

Now Neil’s expression morphed into an apologetic cringe. His eyes pleaded with her to not flip out. “Mom knows your tendency to swear, and she’s bound and determined to make the wedding as stress-free as possible, so she’s created a swear jar. She plans to carry it around all weekend.”

Blair wanted to point out that it was her wedding and curse words relieved her stress, but she decided to focus instead on the one point she had a chance