Page 98 of Mercy (The Sins Trilogy 3)
“I haven’t decided yet.” Of course he’s going to be my best man, but if I can’t mess with my best friend, who can I mess with? “But first, we need a venue.” The vast majority of the discussion yesterday was about that. Suji rejected all the current options, declaring them “less than optimal”. Thinking about it makes my head hurt, so I take a sip of the scotch. It’s very good. Smooth, with a nice heat.
“You still haven’t reserved a place yet?”
“No. I’m a bit limited here. You’d imagine you could have anywhere you want for the kind of money I’m willing to throw.” I wrinkle my nose, annoyed. “I’m not getting married at Z.”
“No, of course not. But your…” He looks away.
I take a bite of my sandwich, pretending not to know what he was about to say. My family has a huge mansion with a sprawling garden just for this kind of thing. For generations, all the Blackwood brides have married in Tempérane, including my mother.
But Ivy won’t. I’m not allowed on the property.
I tell myself it’s better this way. The killer’s probably from Louisiana. But that doesn’t mean bitterness isn’t snaking through me every time I think about it.
It’s perverse as hell. I’ve known for years. Told myself I accepted it. But now that it’s happening, it bothers me.
Ryder downs his scotch. “How about…something outdoors?”
“That’d be fine. But I’m not doing a beach wedding. It’s too exposed, and any idiot can try to plow a truck into it.”
“What?” Ryder looks at me like I’ve lost my mind.
I tell him about the incident last weekend.
“What the fuck! How come I didn’t know about this?”
“What’s the point of sharing shit news like that?”
He stares at me like we aren’t even from the same galaxy. “Because people care about you?”
Right.I plunge my fingers through my hair, suddenly feeling awkward. I guess maybe I should’ve said something, but I’m not used to it. I did my best not to get into trouble while I was in Europe and Princeton to ensure I’d earn forgiveness from my parents, and that meant not sharing anything unless it was an accomplishment or something positive worth noting. After I lost Ivy, I was out of control, then I shut myself off from feeling or caring about anything except building my financial empire.
Ryder continues, “Jesus, did they find the fucker? Bobbi should’ve run him over.”
“They didn’t find him. The SUV was abandoned. Stolen and wiped clean, so no clue from there. And Bobbi tried, but he drove off. Her job is to stick close and keep Ivy safe, not chase after lunatics.”
He pulls out his phone. “I’m calling Jim. He should be on top of this.”
His reaction warms my heart. “I already called him. He knows.”
“The Pryces have the citrus grove,” he says, referring to his mother’s side of the family. “One of my cousins got married there. I’ll ask if you can use it. It’s pretty cool. And secure. An electric fence is around it.”
“Really?” I’ve seen some pictures taken at the grove when my workers sighed over its beauty in some lifestyle mags, but I’ve never noticed anything that looks like a fence, electric or otherwise, in the glossy pages.
“You can’t really see it because my uncle didn’t want it to look like a prison, but they have it to keep vagrants and troublemakers out. Grandma Shirley absolutely hated trespassers. If she’d had her way, there would’ve been landmines, too.”
Figures. Ryder’s grandmother had definite ideas about how things should be, most of them classist and over-the-top. But this one I like.
“You should go take a look with Ivy. Make sure it’s what you both want. I’ll speak to my uncle. He probably won’t mind. I’ll just lay it on thick, appeal to his romanticism.”
“You talking about Salazar? Isn’t he one of the biggest womanizers in the world?”
He laughs. “Used to be. But he’s reformed.”
“Now that he’s a granddaddy, he’s reformed?”
“Hey, don’t judge. He does what he wants at his own pace.”
“Well, it took him long enough.” The man’s been married for like forty years or something.
“Anyway, I’ll ask and let you know.”
“Thanks.” The grove sounds perfect. Hopefully Ivy and I will think the same when we actually see it.
“No problem. But regardless of what she thinks, this means I get to be your best man.”
