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“Bastien, it’s not like I’m going to blow the stripper.”
“Oh God.” Bastien closed his eyes and then opened them quickly before he cracked up the car. He parked a few blocks from the restaurant. He’d trudge through the snowbanks and slush to get out of this conversation.
Kitty had to hurry to keep up with him.
“I think you and Jace got off on the wrong foot,” she said. “It was wrong of me to come crying to you last year when he was being an asshole.”
“No, I’m your brother. If some dude is being a dick to you, I want to know about it.”
“He was a dick. And we broke up. But then we got back together, and he’s no longer being a dick.”
“Once an asshole, always an asshole,” Bastien said darkly.
“He’s not Gina,” she said, exasperated.
Bastien stopped short and Kitty almost plowed into him. “I know he’s not Gina. If he was like her, the wedding plans would have never gotten this far.”
“People can change. Just because Gina couldn’t—”
“She didn’t want to,” he corrected.
“But Jace did. We worked out our problems and our relationship is stronger than ever. Do I think that could have worked with you and Gina? No. But it worked for us.”
Bastien took in a deep breath.
“I need you to be happy for us,” she begged.
It was hard to look her in the eye. “I’m scared for you, Kit-Kat,” he said, using the nickname he gave her when she was born.
“I’m not a little girl anymore. I know what I want and I can take care of myself.” She crossed her arms in front of her chest.
“I don’t want you to be hurt.”
“You can’t stop that from happening, if it even does.” She reached down and held his hand. “But you can be there for me. I’m always going to need my big brother.” She stood on tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “I just know once you get to know Jace better, you’ll be all right with everything.”
That was the plan. Bastien couldn’t shake the feeling of doom that was hanging over his head, though.
They sat down in their usual booth and ordered without looking at the menu.
“You had the right idea going somewhere warm,” Kitty said. “I don’t know what the hell I was thinking. If I wanted to ski so bad, I could have gone water-skiing. I see that’s on the schedule. So, tell me more about this Mikelina. Is she smart, funny? Inquiring minds want to know.”
“Yeah, I guess. She’s easy to talk to. I liked her ideas.”
“But you didn’t get her last name?”
“I didn’t ask. Why would I?”
“She just signs her emails off with Mikelina? Who is she? Madonna? Cher? Beyoncé?”
“Maybe it’s a South Beach thing.”
“Is she married?”
“I didn’t ask,” he said again.
“Well, why not?”
“It wasn’t relevant.”
