After her parents' admission, she wasn't sure who she could trust anymore.
You only have to get through the next couple of hours. Hang in there.
"Dad, I'd like you to meet Commander Gray, who runs the base I work on." He motioned to the CO. The two men exchanged handshakes.
"Mari, you look so pretty, and this house has come a long way from the photos you showed me at my birthday party," Gray said.
"Thanks. I couldn't have done any of it without Brody's help. He's a man who gets the job done fast."
The CO nodded. "Yes, he is. One of the best I have on base."
Mari glanced up to see Brody's eyebrows draw together. The CO just paid him a compliment, he should have been happy.
"Brody, can-" She'd started to ask him to take them to join the other guests when an alarm suddenly screeched.
They stared at each other for a second before they took off running for the kitchen. Smoke billowed out of the oven.
Brody grabbed the extinguisher from the pantry. "Get back," he ordered as she tossed him the hot pads she pulled from the nearest drawer. He used one to open the oven door and then sprayed inside.
White foam flew all over the kitchen as the smoke continued to billow. She ran and opened the back door. "Everyone on the patio until the smoke clears," she said to the guests. "Dad, do me a favor and start a fire in the pit in the backyard to keep people warm. Better a fire out there than in here," she said, trying to joke about the situation. Mortified didn't begin to describe the sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach.
"Tell me what I can do to help," Commander Gray asked.
"Get a broom from the closet and use the handle to punch the reset button on the alarm, please," Mari asked, barely keeping it together. "Mom, I need you to open all the windows."
People rushed to do what she'd asked. Mari swallowed over the frog in her throat.
"Sorry, folks. Technical difficulties," Brody said as he pulled the burned roast out of the oven. He started laughing. "I've had blackened fish and seafood, but never roast."
And that was it. The last straw. It just hit her wrong. She couldn't take it anymore.
"How can you laugh?" Even though she was being foolish, she couldn't stop. This wasn't his fault. "I mean, really? Now you have to decide to be a jerk?" For someone who never yelled, she was doing a lot of it tonight. But there was no stopping her tirade. Anger roiled through her body. "Everything is ruined. I wanted one special night. One. This would have been the first time that Valentine's Day would have actually meant something to me. The first time I was going to share it with you. And then you laugh when you know how important this is to me."
"Mari, I'm sorry." Brody moved toward her, his face tense. She was a terrible person. "Tell me what else is wrong."
For a moment she let his arms wrap around her and she leaned into him. Then she remembered his CO was still standing there. Was it an act? And how would she ever know? Were there no more honest people in the world?
Tonight was a complete and utter failure and it hadn't even begun.
She couldn't breathe and it had nothing to do with the smoke that had filled the room. Backing away, she shook her head. "I have to get out of here," she said. When she turned, her parents stood there with worried looks.
"Leave. Go back to your lives, whoever you're spending them with. I can't believe this has happened"
"Mari, wait," Brody called after her.
She sped through the house and threw open the front door only to slam into a wall of a man.
Chin lifted, she found herself in the arms of Brody's friend Ben, and he was with Carissa. "Of course it's you. Because what else could happen to make this nightmare worse than for you to show up right now."
"What's that smell?" Carissa asked, making a face.
"Carissa," Ben said, "it's obvious Mari's upset. Are you okay?"
Mari was about to lose it, although she'd done enough damage by being rude. "Please," she said through gritted teeth. "Enjoy the appetizers. Everyone is out on the patio."
She hurried past them and started walking down the block.
"Mari!" Brody's tone was sharp. "Stop. Where are you going?"
In a fraction of a second he'd caught up to her. "I need a minute, okay? I'm sorry I yelled. I know that doesn't make it right, but I am sorry. You can't fix what's wrong right now. If you care about me at all, you'll leave me alone. You'll go back in there and make sure people have fun and see the great work we did on the place, okay?"
"I'm sorry about the roast. I shouldn't have laughed."
He thought this was because he'd laughed. She closed her eyes and took another deep breath. "I'm not mad at you, Brody. I swear. I had some upsetting news from my parents and I'm not dealing with it very well. It just... I don't know what I believe anymore. Who I trust. I don't know anything."
Tears spilled down her cheeks. "It's funny, two hours ago I thought I finally had done something right. That's what I get for being cocky. I had you, the house in good shape. And the party was going to be my chance to show everyone that I finally had it together.
"But I don't. I never will. I don't even know if you're a real boyfriend or still the guy I just have sex with. How sad is that?"
"Mari, you know I care about you."
"That's what I'm trying to explain to you. I don't know that. I know we have fantastic sex and we get along, but do you love me? I do love you. But even now, I can't be sure if you hugged me in there because you cared, or because your boss was watching."
"Mari! How could you even think that?"
She let the tears flow. "I told you in the beginning I was a mess. Listen, if you care about me, if you ever did or do, please go back in and try and entertain them. Or just send them all home. I don't care anymore."
Then she started walking again.
She had no idea where she was going, but she had to get away.
Far, far away.
14
IT TOOK EVERYTHING Brody had to leave her and return to the house. That's what she wanted, and that's what he'd do. But her words shredded him. He'd tried the last two weeks to show her how important she was to him. He'd shared his demons, and she'd made him whole.
And yet she still doubted if what they had was real. What was he supposed to do with that? What else could he do to prove to her that she made him think about them being more than temporary lovers.
Where the hell was she? The smoke was gone, and it had been a good thirty minutes with no sign of Mari. If she didn't come back soon, he'd go out and search for her.
Her mother had helped him get the rest of the appetizers heated in the microwave and they'd put the potatoes in the oven at his house. From Nikki's Italian Bistro, he ordered chicken marsala and a veggie pasta dish just in case someone didn't eat meat. The owner had become friends with Brody since he visited the cozy family restaurant at least once a week.
"Everything okay?" Mari's father asked. He'd been making sure they all had drinks. Brody nodded. After the initial excitement over the smoke, everyone had pretty much laughed it off. They were all talking, nibbling and mingling. It had become a proper party.
Except the hostess was MIA. What had happened with her parents? She'd been fine before that.
He glanced around. Things seemed to be under control for the moment.
Even his dad was behaving. He'd come without a date. There was a first time for everything.
There was something going on with his dad. Something in his eyes, sadness. Except for the two years right after Brody's mother died, his dad had always been the life of the party. But throughout the evening, Brody had seen him standing outside, staring up at the stars.
"I'm worried about her," Mari's mother said quietly to her father. "You should go look for her. It's been a rough night."
"I doubt she wants to talk to either one of us," her father said. The man approached him. "Brody, would you mind seeing if you can find her? We, uh, probably aren't her favorite people right now."
Brody set aside the salad he'd been preparing at the counter. That was one of the many things Mari had taught him in the last week. He could make a mean salad. "What were you all talking about? She has you two on a pedestal."
"Not anymore," her mother said. "I'm afraid we are well and truly knocked off that."
"Permanently. We should have held off tonight," he said. "She was right about that. It was stupid."
"Tell her what?" Brody was confused. Was one of them not well? That would explain her stress.