“I think she’s probably embarrassed. I don’t know,” Paris said as she sipped her wine. “Maybe the realization that she has to spend the rest of her life with a man-child is setting in.”
“Violet shouldn’t have let Ralph carry those bottles into the reception.” Missy glanced at us over her shoulder, letting us know she was listening to the conversation.
“You know what, Mother?” Paris said as Missy turned around to look at her daughter. “Aren’t you tired of blaming Violet for everything? Because I know I’m tired of hearing it. She’s the only reason this wedding has been salvaged. Ralph’s mom is lucky to be alive, and that’s all thanks to Vi. And Velveteen ignored Violet when she begged her to move the ceremony into the tent. You did too. So stop blaming someone who has stepped up for your daughter on her special day. We all know you don’t like her because Dad had a child with another woman before he met you, but come on, enough is enough. It’s appalling, actually.”
The table was silent, and William squirmed in his seat.
Such a weak man.
“I agree. Vi’s the best,” Huntington said.
“Yeah, Mom. We all talk about it. It’s pretty awful the way you’ve treated her,” Brenton chimed in, and then he looked back down at the table quickly as if he was terrified of his mother’s wrath.
“What is with this attitude. And now you’ve got your brothers brainwashed. William, say something to your children.” She glared at her husband.
“I think your mom wishes Velveteen was my first child too.” He shrugged. “It’s hard on her that I had a life before her.”
Missy gaped at him. “That is not true.”
Everyone just stared at her. Me included.
The jig is up, Pissy Missy.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Violet
“You all right?” I asked Velveteen after I’d cleaned her hands and put some clear bandages on her palms so they wouldn’t show in the photos people would be taking tonight.
Montana had already taken the bridesmaids back to the reception, but Velveteen had several cuts on her hands and two on her left leg where she’d slipped.
That fucker Ralph was going to get a piece of my mind.
She nodded. “I’m sorry.”
“Hey, this wasn’t your fault,” I said, pushing to stand and setting the box of bandages on the desk beside the chair.
“I’m sorry for being such a bitch to you all the time.” She shrugged. “When you were talking about that hotel room in New York, I didn’t know that’s what happened, Vi. Mom had told us that you didn’t want to stay in a room with us.”
“Listen, that’s not on you, and this is your wedding day. We don’t need to deep dive into why your mother doesn’t like me.” I chuckled.
“Please, my husband hasn’t even come to check on me. I’m in no rush to get back. He’s living his fraternity days out tonight, and I knewwho I was marrying when he proposed. He’s a good guy when it’s just us. When the party is going, that’s another story.” She smiled and then pointed at the bottle of tequila sitting on the desk beside the box of bandages. “Can I have a sip?”
My eyes widened. My sister was always a little uptight, and this was out of character. I handed her the bottle, and she took a long pull before handing it to me.
I shook my head. “I’ve got a wedding to oversee. And believe it or not, it’s one that’s important to me. It’s my sister’s special day.”
I sat in the chair beside her as she took another pull. “Why’d you keep coming around when my mother was so cruel to you?”
“Because I wanted to know my siblings. I don’t have a lot of family. My mom is no walk in the park,” I chuckled. “I guess I just wanted to fit somewhere.”
“Shit. I’ve been such a jerk to you.” She took another swig from the bottle, and I couldn’t believe that we were actually having this conversation.
On her wedding day.
“We were kids, Velveteen. We were pitted against one another at a very young age.” I shrugged.
The truth is, she was pitted against me.
