His eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”
“I didn’t put you in the damn wedding to mess with Debra and Neil.” She grinned and shrugged. “That part was a bonus.”
“Then why did you make me a groomsman?”
Her eyes flew open in exasperation. “And you just called me senile. I know who she is, Garrett Michael Lowry. I know she was the one who broke your heart back in law school.”
“What? How?”
“I read the damned invitation, you fool. It said Blair Myers Hansen. I knew she was an attorney. It wasn’t hard to figure out.”
He shook his head. “You set this up for me to see her again?”
She whacked him in the head. “I did this for you to win her back, you fool.”
He stared at her in shock, rubbing his head. “I had no idea you could be so devious. It’s not usually your style.”
She grinned. “Sometimes you have to mix it up a little.” Then her eyes narrowed. “Now what are you going to do to fix this?”
He wished to God he knew.
Chapter Eighteen
Blair walked into the office the next morning knowing that she looked like shit. She wasn’t a crier, but she had shed more than a few tears the night before. She felt duped by both Neil and Garrett, but it was Neil’s behavior that had really shocked her. It seemed so out of character. She walked past Melissa’s desk without acknowledging Melissa, so she wasn’t surprised when her assistant followed her into the room and shut the door.
“What happened?”
She set her purse and laptop bag on her desk, and then sat in her chair. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Melissa perched in the chair in front of her desk. “O-kay.” She paused. “The caterer called to confirm the crab legs.”
“Shit.” Why had she not considered this part? There were a ton of details to deal with now. She took a deep breath and let it out. “I called off my wedding last night.”
“You did what?” she gasped. “What happened?”
Blair rubbed her forehead, trying ease the pounding in her head. “I can’t deal with this right now.”
“Do you want me to . . .” Melissa was flustered. She had never once seen Blair like that, not in the four years they’d known each other.
“No,” Blair sighed. “Let’s wait until after the deposition, and we’ll deal with it together.” The deposition. She’d considered stalling it, but she’d already made Brian Norfolk delay his trip home. She couldn’t very well cancel it and reschedule, particularly since she wasn’t sure how much more time she had with the firm.
She leaned back in her chair, tears pricking her eyes again. What would happen to all her clients?
“Do you want me to get you something?” Melissa asked, sounding worried. “Water? Coffee? Something for your headache?”
Blair was about to ask Melissa how she even knew about the headache, but Melissa always knew everything, anticipated everything. And now she was going to lose her.
“Blair?”
How did her life turn to shit in so short a time?
Blair sat up in her seat and took several deep breaths. A cold sweat broke out on her forehead, and she felt like she was suffocating. “The deposition is in twenty minutes. I need to get it together.”
“Maybe we should postpone.” Her voice faltered as though she expected Blair to dress her down.
“I can’t.” And to her dismay, her voice broke.
Melissa leaned forward. “Blair, there’s no shame in needing personal time. This is a big deal.”
She blinked her tears away. “I can’t. If I want to be the one who takes this deposition, it has to be today. Otherwise someone else will be doing it, and I don’t know that they’ll fight for Mrs. Norfolk like I will.” Her nerves pinged, and she stood and moved to the center of the room, needing space, needing something . . . if only she knew what. “I’m going to lose my job.” That was the biggest bitch of all. Marry an asshole or lose her job.
“You don’t know that for sure.”
Blair stopped moving, and her gaze pierced her assistant. “Melissa. Neither one of us hides from the truth. It’s not the time to start.”
Melissa stood. “I’ll get us both a glass of water.”
Blair knew she should be getting ready for her deposition. She should be preparing to face Garrett in the conference room, but all she could do was relive her kiss with him in the Vandemeer kitchen. How she’d thrown herself at him. How he’d been just as eager to kiss her. But that was before she’d overheard him and Neil fighting over who would win the contest. Was that his true motivation? So why had he told her he still loved her? To try to earn points in some pissing contest with his cousin? She knew they had a rivalry, but this . . .
Her office door opened, and Melissa walked in with a huge bouquet of flowers. “These were just dropped off.” Her eyes flashed with anger as she set them down on Blair’s desk.
“Who are they from?”
Melissa hedged. “I didn’t open the card.”
Blair stomped over and snatched the card from the middle of the flowers. It was a beautiful bouquet of red roses and white lilies. They were her wedding flowers, so she knew who’d sent them before she even read the card.
Blair,
I’m gutted. Please let me explain.
Forever yours,
Neil
“Blair?”
She spun around to see him looming in the doorway, a wary expression on his face.
Melissa hurried over and began to shove him out of the room with a surprising amount of strength for someone so slight. “I told you that you can’t come in here.”
Blair sighed and shook her head. “He can come in.” No matter the outcome, she needed to talk to him. There were too many complications to walk away without ever seeing him again. Melissa left the room, but she gave Blair one last significant glance before shutting the door behind her.
“Blair.” Neil rushed to her and tried to pull her to his chest, but she pushed him back.
“No.”
He took several steps backward and raised his hands in surrender. “Okay. Your rules, Blair. Just tell me what to do so I can fix this.”
She shook her head. “I don’t even know where to start.”
“Can I explain what you saw? Please?”
“I have a deposition in fifteen minutes, Neil. Fifteen minutes.”
“Blair.” He reached for her hand. When she didn’t pull away, he continued. “I know things got out of hand last night, and you have no idea how sorry I am. I confronted Garrett about cornering you in the kitchen and . . . Let’s just say I couldn’t stand by and let him insult you like that.” His brow lowered with indignation.
“What are you talking about?”
“He was bragging about how he could win you from me.” He took a deep breath. “He was rude and disgusting about how he planned to go about it, and I refused to listen to him talk about you that way.”
“What way?”
He moved closer to her and slowly slid an arm around her back. “Darling, don’t make me tell you. I had enough trouble listening to him say it. So I hit him.”