Mam was right. Mari’s decision to marry Mac was causing a ripple effect. But I couldn’t fault Mari for following her heart.
I couldn’t fault Harrison for doing what his heart told him to, either. He had built a life for Mari, hoping once he got his life straight, things would happen naturally. Something told me he was going to come clean at the party, but I was going to have to tell him before then.
The only thing keeping me sane in such a chaotic time was the show, but even then, I found myself not fully into it. I was having trouble focusing, even though I had studied my lines over and over and knew them as well as I knew my name.
Keely Ry—
Keely Kelly.
Keely Kelly.
Keely Kelly.
Yeah, try saying that three times fast.
I groaned and Mari looked at me.
She was hurrying to get ready for the party Harrison was throwing at his place. The one Cash insisted we have. I still hadn’t told her about the house on Staten Island, and because she’d just dumped the marriage news on me, I only had a little time to tell Harrison about it. I couldn’t let Mari and Mac show up together and my brother be caught off guard.
“Kee?”
“Yeah?”
Mari looked around. “All packed up. Only the things you need have been left out.” She waved a hairbrush at me.
I nodded. “I’m glad that it’s done. Not that I had much.”
Mari studied me for a moment. “What’s going on, Kee? Is it the show?”
I took a deep breath and released it. “No. The show is great. It’s just so much change at once.”
She nodded, but I could tell she didn’t buy it.
A knock came at the door and she rushed to answer it.
“Mac,” I said when he walked in behind Mari.
Everything Sierra had said about him was true. But. She had downplayed him. He was almost too good looking to be true. Black hair. Tan skin. Ocean-blue eyes that were cold and very intelligent. Model sharp features. Muscles in all of the right places. And if power could create a force field around someone, it had around Mac.
He studied me with what felt like indifference, but at the same time, he seemed to be making sure I was good enough to be around Mari.
Maybe that was why I couldn’t hate him.
There was something right about the two of them together. And in all of my years of knowing her, I’d never heard anyone call her by her full name. Mariposa. Because she never allowed them to. She seemed to brighten when he did.
Finally, he nodded at me and stood in the doorway. He wasn’t much of a talker.
Mari breezed past. “I’m going to take a quick shower. I won’t be long.”
I stood, wiping my hands on my jeans, and started toward my bedroom. “I’m going to get there a little early. Help with the setup.”
“Wait!” Mari stopped me. “Where do we go? You never said. Is it by your uncl—”
“No.” I shook my head, debating on whether to tell her that the party was on Staten Island. Given the fact that I had to deal with my brother first, I decided not to say anything. If she knew what Harrison had done, she might not even go at all. Maybe if Harrison caught Mari off guard, she’d consider his feelings without Mac around. It was a long shot, because I could feel how much Mac and Mari cared for each other, even if their feelings had developed fast, but a shot was a shot. “I’ll give Mac the directions. You go jump in the shower so you won’t be late.”
“I won’t be long!” she said again as she moved toward the bathroom.
Mac and I stared at each other for another moment before I cleared my throat. When I gave him the address, his eyebrows drew down.
“Old man Gianelli’s place,” he said.
“That’s right.” I nodded. “You know of it?”
“Yeah,” he said, and his voice reflected his eyes. Cold. “Where Mariposa grew up.”
“We were next-door neighbors. That’s how we became best friends, sisters.”
He nodded but said nothing else. Maybe Mari had already told him all of that.
After I collected my purse, I stopped next to him. “Listen. You and I haven’t had much time to talk. But I just want to tell you one thing. If you hurt her, I will hurt you. Understand?”
“Your brother is in love with my wife.”
He threw me for a second, but I hoped that I played it off well.