Daughters Of The Bride(116)
“Who are you?” the woman asked.
“Courtney.”
The woman glared at her. “I don’t care about your name. Who are you to Quinn? Why are you here?”
OMG! Was she really going to have a mean girl moment? Could someone video it so she could enjoy it later?
“Shouldn’t you be asking Quinn that?” Courtney asked, hoping she sounded slightly bored instead of superexcited.
“I’m asking you.”
“I’m his lover,” she announced, then did her best not to spoil the haughtiness in her voice by giggling.
The other woman sniffed. Actually sniffed! “You’re not his type.”
“And you are?” Courtney sipped her champagne before giving her best dismissive smile. “I don’t think so.”
The brunette took a step back. “You can’t speak to me like that. Do you know who I am?”
This was fantastic. It was like live theater. Okay, bad theater, but still. “I have no idea who you are. Nor do I care.”
“Bitch.”
Courtney held up her free hand. “Seriously? Bitch? That’s the best you can do? At least put a little effort into this. Call me the C-word or something. Come on. I’m never going to attend a party like this again. You’re the best thing to happen to me all night. Let’s start over. Tell me how horrible I am. Oh, I know. Tell me I’m ugly and that I won’t last a week with him. That’s always good.”
“He’ll come back to me,” the other woman told her. “He always does.”
She turned and walked away. Courtney trailed after her. “You’ll never steal him from me. You’ll see. I’m going to have it all.”
The other woman gave her the finger before retreating to the house. Quinn appeared at one of the other sliding doors. He raised one brow. “Want to talk about it?”
“I had a mean girl moment. It was fantastic, although she was disappointing. She didn’t tell me I was ugly or that you were using me. Doesn’t she watch teen movies? There’s a way to do that sort of thing right.”
He stared at her.
“What?” she asked. “Are you mad? Was I supposed to take it seriously?”
He laughed. “No, Courtney. You did everything exactly the way you were supposed to.”
“You all right?” Greg asked quietly as the rest of the people at the table talked.
“Great.” Rachel smiled brightly.
She was still playing catch-up. Her mother had called the previous day with a last-minute dinner invitation. Lena had taken Josh for the evening so he could hang out with his friend. Maggie had mentioned Sienna and David would be joining them at the hotel’s restaurant. Courtney was still in LA. The one person Rachel hadn’t expected to see was Greg.
“She really did run into me at the grocery store yesterday,” he said in a low voice. “This wasn’t an ambush.”
“I believe you.”
She did. It was just so strange. She and Greg were divorced. Why would her mother invite him to what was meant to be a family dinner? Sure, David was there, but he and Sienna were engaged.
“Do you want me to leave?” he asked.
“What? No! Of course not.” She leaned toward him. “Greg, I’m fine with this. Despite the divorce, you’re still family. Don’t worry about it.”
“You’re sure?”
“Of course.”
The problem wasn’t that she felt awkward around him, she thought ruefully. It was that she didn’t. They’d spent more time together this summer than they had in the past six months. They’d also gotten along better than they had in years. He was different, but maybe she was, as well. Overhearing that conversation at the engagement party had been a real wake-up call for her.
Maggie waited until their server had poured them all wine, then she raised her glass. “Thank you for joining us tonight,” she said. “I’m sorry Courtney isn’t here, but we’ll toast her in her absence.”
Everyone raised their glasses and drank.
They were at a round table for six. Neil was on one side of Rachel, with Greg on the other. Sienna was between Greg and David.
“Josh’s baseball game was very exciting last weekend,” Maggie said, putting down her wineglass. “He’s quite athletic.” She smiled at Rachel. “I’m sorry, my dear, but I suspect he gets that from his father.”
Rachel held out both her hands, palms up. “I’m not going to argue, Mom. I was never interested in sports.”
“Oh, he gets all the good stuff from me,” Greg said with a wink.
“Not all,” Maggie pointed out. She turned back to Rachel. “You have a lot to do at the games. I saw you with the water and the snacks. There should be more than one team mom.”