“Yes, if that’s what she wants to do, and apparently it is. I don’t like it either, and hearing stories like this disturbs me too. But your hands are tied.”
“I hate this.” She was fiercely upset by Gracie’s marrying him. But she didn’t want to lose her relationship with her sister over this, and she knew she could. Harry had her sister blackmailed into silence, aided and abetted by her youth and neediness and their father’s narcissism and greed. He wanted his daughter married to a Wilkes, at any price, so he could show off. And Gracie was afraid to lose Harry. Victoria was afraid her sister was about to lose herself, which was worse.
The next jolt after that was a call from Grace a week later. As maid of honor, she wanted Victoria to plan a “destination bachelorette weekend” in Las Vegas for her, with all ten of her bridesmaids, including Victoria, which sounded hideous to her. When Victoria inquired, Gracie said everything was great with Harry and changed the subject. She had been threatened into the silence he wanted, even with her sister. If Gracie was worried, she wouldn’t admit it. All she wanted was for Victoria to organize what sounded like a ghastly weekend to her. She really didn’t want to organize it or go, and she didn’t want to enable her marriage to a jerk, but she didn’t have the guts to refuse either.
“Don’t people just go out to dinner anymore for a bachelorette party? Who has time for a destination weekend?” Only people with a lot of money who didn’t work, which was not the case for her.
“No, people do destinations now. Harry had his in St. Bart’s last week. They went for five days,” Gracie said, and Victoria didn’t want to imagine what had gone on there.
She sighed loudly, unhappy with the plan. “Send me a list of what you want, and I’ll see what I can do. Isn’t there someone else who can do this? I work, Gracie, and I’m dealing with the time difference. You’re all on the West Coast, and none of you work.” All of her bridesmaids were spoiled rich girls being supported by their parents, or still in school.
“You’re the maid of honor, you’re supposed to do it,” she said stubbornly, and Victoria felt guilty. The relationship as sisters was strained to the max these days over this wedding.
“When do you want to go?” Victoria asked, sounding discouraged.
“In May,” Gracie said happily, oblivious to her sister’s discomfort.
“Okay. I’ll take care of it. I love you,” Victoria said sadly, and hung up. Gracie had promised to send her all the names and details. And she said their father was paying for that too. He was shelling out big time for this alliance, and would have done none of it for Victoria, she knew. He had even said so to her and told her to elope if she ever found a husband.
Fortunately, in spite of all the stresses over the wedding, things were going well with Collin, but Victoria didn’t consider it good news when she got a call from her mother, saying that her father had to see a client in New York and they were coming in for two days. That was all Victoria needed, and they knew about Collin, so she knew they’d want to meet him. And she had met his parents. She hated the things she knew her father would say about her. She told Collin that night.
“Will you have dinner with them with me?” she asked him with a woebegone look, and he smiled and kissed her.
“Of course.”
“And while we’re on the subject, there’s something I want to ask you.”
“The answer is yes,” he teased her. “What’s the question?” He knew how upset and anxious she was these days, and he felt sorry for her. She was worried for her sister, justifiably, from all he’d heard.
“Will you go to my sister’s wedding with me?” she asked, and he smiled at her.
“I thought you’d never ask.”
“Everyone else looks gorgeous in the bridesmaid dress, and I look like shit in it. Be prepared. You won’t be proud of me,” she said with tears in her eyes.
“I will be proud of you, and to be with you. And you couldn’t look like shit if you tried. When are your parents coming, by the way?”
“In two days.” She made it sound like the end of the world, and it was to her. Her father would make a fool of her in front of the man she loved and prove how unlovable she was. And what if Collin believed him? It didn’t occur to her that it would make her father look bad and not her. Collin knew just how lovable she was.
She made the calls for Vegas the next day, although Dr. Watson reminded her that she could refuse to if she wanted to. But she didn’t want to disappoint Gracie. She never did.
And her parents arrived in New York the day after. They were staying at the Carlyle, and invited her and Collin to the Bemelmans Bar for drinks. As it turned out, her parents had to dine with her father’s client and didn’t have time for dinner with them, which was a blessing. Drinks would be enough. She knew her father could destroy her in five minutes-he didn’t need a whole evening to do it.
She could see immediately how impressed her father was with Collin, and how surprised he looked, as though he couldn’t believe that Collin would be with someone like her. Victoria couldn’t believe it either, but he wanted to be with her and had proven it abundantly for the last four months.
Everyone was on their best behavior, and they’d been chatting for half an hour when her father commented that he hoped she was watching what she ate so she’d fit into the maid of honor dress her sister had ordered for her. Victoria stiffened when he said it.
“I’ve lost weight, Dad,” she said quietly, “and we go to the gym every day.”
“I’m sure you’re a good influence on her,” he said, smiling broadly at Collin, who looked guarded as he waited to see what would come next. “Watch out for the ice cream, though,” he said with the laughter she hated. Neither he nor her mother had noticed the weight she’d lost, nor her new nose, which Collin didn’t know about either. She’d never told him. She didn’t think he needed to know. He turned to Collin then and told him what a great guy Harry was, and how pleased they were about the marriage.
Victoria spoke up in a clear voice then. “No, he’s not a great guy, Dad. He cheated on her, and you know it.” Her father looked startled for a minute, to be called on it. He looked at Victoria intently.
“Just some harmless high jinks,” he said blithely. “All boys do things like that before they get married. It takes the pressure off.” He winked at Collin, as though he would agree with him. Collin did not return the wink.
“How can you let her marry someone who is already cheating on her before the wedding?” Victoria said, looking upset, as her mother pretended not to hear her and sipped her drink, staring into space. She had checked out.
“Just a little lovers’ quarrel, and a misunderstanding, I’m sure,” her father insisted, still smiling. Victoria wanted to blow a gasket, but she didn’t. She knew there was no point arguing with him. He wasn’t going to agree with her, and he fully approved of the marriage, no matter what Harry did. And Collin looked undismayed by the scene. He looked pleasant and strong, and his whole demeanor conveyed the fact that he was Victoria’s ally and no one else’s. Her father got the message that she had an ally now, and anyone who attacked or belittled her would be dealing with Collin too. It came across loud and clear, even without words. Her parents left shortly after, and told Collin it had been great to meet him.
“They weren’t as bad as usual,” Victoria said as they left the Carlyle and walked toward her neighborhood. It was a balmy evening, and they were holding hands. She was stressed just from seeing her parents, and everything else that was happening these days, over which she had no control.
“They didn’t fool me,” Collin said quietly. “I heard him about the dress, the weight, the ice cream, and he doesn’t give a damn if Harry cheats on your sister. He wants her married to a rich boy. He thinks it makes him look good. Just like my parents thought all of my brother’s accomplishments made them look good, so they could brag about him, and mine were never good enough. I know exactly what these people are like,” he said as he looked at Victoria sympathetically. He could see what she had dealt with all her life, and the toll it took on her. She looked unhappy and uncomfortable in her own skin as they walked along. And she seemed tense and withdrawn when he kissed her on the way home. It was as though she was pulling away from him too. He could see it in her eyes. He stopped walking, and he looked at her.