‘Rhys called an ambulance,’ Yvaine said, ‘told his father the wedding had to be delayed, asked him to pacify the guests. You should’ve seen the look on Clive’s face, Mira. He looked like he was going to tear Rhys to pieces, kept shouting “What the hell is this?” and “What will the guests think?”’
‘Yeah, that sounds like the Uncle Clive I know,’ I muttered.
‘I’m with Rhys on this one, though. I an, Catherine looked barely conscious, and the sweat on her face was visible all the way across the room.’
I nodded. ‘Go on.’
‘Rhys yelled, Clive yelled back. Louisa tried to intervene, but no one listened to her. Then Franklin and Caroline arrived and rushed straight to Catherine. All sorts of shouting followed. Everyone was scrambling. Then the ambulance ca. Rhys and his sister Willow rushed out with Catherine on a stretcher. And that’s all I know.’
She made yummy noises. ‘I’ve got to get the contact info for whoever made this cake. It’s seriously amazing.’
‘Forget the cake. You won’t believe what I’m going to tell you.’
‘That’s going to top my story?’ Yvaine scoffed. ‘Unless you tell you’re pregnant with Ashton’s baby, I’m not sure anything can shock at this point, Mira.’
‘Don’t be too sure.’ I jumped off the bed. ‘I’ll et you. It’s a long story, and you’ll want to be sitting down for this.’
‘I’m already sitting down, and I’m sitting with the best slice of wedding cake in all of Skyline City.’
‘Just co. You won’t regret it.’
‘Fine, fine. Looks like the show’s over on my end, anyway. Clive and Franklin are apologising to the guests, probably feeding them so bullshit story about a gas leak or sothing. Anyway, I’m out. Where are we eting?’
I suggested a café we both loved.
Yvaine nixed the idea. ‘No. Let’s go to a cake shop. I’ve got a craving now.’
I quickly changed clothes and headed downstairs.
Ashton looked up from his laptop. ‘Just got word from a contact on the force. Soone posted bail for Jace.’
‘Catherine? That’s fast. I thought she was still in the hospital.’ I filled him in on Yvaine’s latest scoop.
‘No, not Catherine. It was Rhys Granger.’
‘Ha.’
Ashton smiled. ‘You were right. The Grangers are going to get the surprise of their lives once they hear what Jace has to say.’
‘Wish I could be a fly on the wall for that conversation.’
‘Heading out?’ Ashton glanced at my handbag.
‘I’m eting Yvaine for afternoon tea. To catch her up.’
‘Oh, I thought we could have tea together. I asked Carn to prepare sothing.’
‘Oh.’ I glanced toward the kitchen, my steps slowing. ‘Um...’
‘It’s fine. You need a friendly ear after everything you’ve just been through. I get it.’
‘We could do dinner,’ I offered. Then I stepped over to him, leaned down and kissed him. ‘Just so you know, you were the first friendly ear I unloaded to, in case you’ve forgotten.’
This ti, his smile was genuine.
***
It took two slices of red velvet, one of chocolate fudge, and three cups of the strongest black coffee for Yvaine to fully process my story.
The telling took almost an hour, punctuated by ‘oohs’, ‘no way’s, and plenty of ‘WTF’s from Yvaine, so loud enough to draw looks from the other patrons in the cake shop.
‘So, yeah, that’s the story of Catherine Who’s-not-really-a-Vance.’ I leaned back in my chair, my mouth dry from talking for so long.
Yvaine was digging into a slice of strawberry shortcake when she caught my disapproving look. ‘I’ve got a sweet tooth and no self-control, sue .’
‘No thanks, I’ve just got out of two court cases.’ I checked my phone. ‘I need to go.’
‘But you just got here.’
‘No, I’ve been out for almost two hours. I need to get back.’
‘Back for what?’
‘Dinner.’
‘We can have dinner.’
‘No, thanks, I don’t make a habit of having cake for dinner.’
‘We’ll go sowhere else. You can’t just drop a bombshell like that and leave. I need ti to digest. I’ve got questions.’
‘But I promised Ashton I’d—’
‘Hmph.’ She pointed her fork at . ‘Ditching your girlfriend for a man? That’s against the girl code.’
‘Fine. I can stay a little longer.’ I sank back into my seat.
Yvaine shoved her plate aside and stood up. ‘Let’s go.’
‘Where? I just sat down.’
‘To a bar. I need to wash down the info dump with alcohol, not coffee.’
‘But my dinner—’
‘Yeah, yeah, your dinner with Dear Ash, I haven’t forgotten.’ She yanked up. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll get you ho in plenty of ti for your dinner and sex sess with your man.’
‘It’s just dinner. No sex.’
‘That’s sad.’ She bundled into a taxi and gave an address to the driver. ‘It’s a new bar, owned by a friend of mine. Just two blocks away. He asked to co do a tasting and give feedback. Drinks are free.’
At her suggestion, I ordered a drink called Peat & Zest, a smoky whisky with a twist of li and sothing else I couldn’t quite make out.
I took a sip. ‘It’s nice.’
Yvaine, on her third Hugo Spritz in under twenty minutes, was already buzzed. Her eyes sparkled with sugar high and alcohol, mixed with a constant stream of gossip.
‘Word’s spread already.’ She waved her phone in front of . ‘People are talking, Mira. Big ti.’
She giggled and nearly toppled off her barstool.
‘Whoa, careful there.’ I grabbed her.
‘People are saying Rhys ran away from the wedding,’ she slurred. ‘So say it was Catherine who ran. Others say they had a fight. Plenty had heard the wail of the ambulance. There are so many versions flying around, I can’t even keep track.’
‘Yet, none of them are close to the truth,’ I muttered.
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