The Love of Lies

Arrangements

Cori’s POV

Ashton and I walked into the restaurant where we were greeted by a young hostess who looked like she wanted to be anywhere else in the world.

He tells the woman his name before she nervously walks us to our seats, and while I thought the joke about Jules serving as protection was true, the place cards on the table show me that Ashton was wrong.

"I'll find someone to sort this out now." The seat next to Ashton’s is reserved for Vanessa Dodson, and he’s visibly unhappy about it.

"Is that not your name miss?" The hostess asks, looking at her clipboard as though she's made a horrible mistake.

"No, my name is Cori Russo." Checking her clipboard again, the woman points to a very offset area that I start walking toward before Ashton pulls me back, tossing Vanessa's name card on the ground in irritation.

"She’ll just sit here."

“Sir, please be understanding," the hostess begs as she picks up Vanessa’s name. “Seating arrangements were made by the owners themselves. Our manager stressed that they were especially important.” I really don't want to become the subject of gossip again, nor do I want to ruin the night, so I press my body against Ashton's, reminding him that the night isn't about us.

"Ashton, I'm sure Troy didn't know about this. Let's just enjoy the evening at separate tables."

"But-"

"Please Ashton?” I interject. “This is bound to become a fight, and truthfully speaking, I would prefer to blend into the background." Rolling his eyes, Ashton walks me to where I'll be sitting, and much to his relief, not mine, Chris and Pauline are sitting next to me.

Based on the way the woman glared at me during her baby shower, I could tell she didn’t like me, so I have a feeling this will be awkward, especially since her husband will be seated between us.

"If anyone says anything to you, and I mean anyone, call me; my phone is on." I smile at the man, who looks like he's reluctant to leave, so I give him a gentle shove, not wanting Troy to enter without seeing his only brother in the front of the dining room.

I don't know where Mr. And Mrs. Lewis are, but they haven't arrived yet, and now that I think about it, they probably won't show up until their son and future daughter-in-law come in.

I'm familiar with how this restaurant holds engagement dinners, so I know they'll be a grand entrance, I just don't know what will happen afterward.

Bored, I pick up my name card, admiring the handwritten font as I note that my last name has been conveniently left off the paper. I don't know if that was meant to be an insult, because I’m sure Julia and Troy personally invited me, but I truly don't mind.

“What are you doing at this table?” I turn my body to look at Chris who’s ushering a very heavy Pauline toward her seat. The woman looks huge, not in a bad way, but it’s evident that she’s nearing her due date.

“How are you?” I ask, ignoring Chris’s question because I don’t want to get into it, nor is it something I find serious enough to keep talking about, but when the couple sits, they start scanning the room, thinking that Ashton is not too far away. “Wait a minute… did they really put you two at separate tables?”

“It’s not a problem. I prefer to sit here anyway.”

“See… This is exactly why I asked you to leave me at home.”

“Babe…”

“Don’t babe me. I told you that I didn’t like these people, and you dragged me out, making me feel guilty because Julia is ‘different,’ but I would have preferred to just…” I’m smiling as the woman rants, loving the way her husband doesn’t invalidate her feelings, but simply listens to her speak, simultaneously rubbing her back until she’s done venting.

“Pauly babe, I’m sorry, but Troy doesn’t have a lot of friends. Remember that we’re here for him too.”

“And you’re lucky that I like him.”

“I know. Just like I know I’m the luckiest man alive.” The couple's interaction makes me chuckle, and small talk starts flowing between us until Pauline takes a deep breath that looks almost painful.

“Miss Cori; I want to apologize to you for the way I behaved when you came to my baby shower.”

“You don’t have to…”

“I know that I don’t have to, but I was raised better than that.” Pauline is leaning over her husband as she speaks, so the man can hear our conversation clearly, and after all is said and done, he quickly presses a kiss to her forehead, likely knowing how hard it was to admit that she was wrong.

The night goes on, the room becomes full, and just before the entry doors close, a panting man sits next to me, muttering to himself about how close a call ‘that’ was.

“At least you made it.”

“There’s always that.” The man and I share a quick titter before Julia and Troy enter to a round of applause from the people gathered.

I don’t understand why, but I clap anyway.

They each greet their guests with a short speech, and then their father’s do the same, thanking everyone for their support. I want to pay attention to what Mr. Lewis is saying, but I can’t help but to smile at Julia and Troy who are so in love that they're only looking at each other.

When he rounds his speech, I scan the room, noticing that there are many other couples in attendance, and that’s when my eyes land on Ashton and Vanessa, who are leaning into each other as they giggle about something.

I pull my eyes away and refocus on the guests of honor, telling myself that what’s happening at another table is none of my business, and can easily be misinterpreted.

“If I didn’t know any better, I would think that you’re related to the celebrants.” I tilt my head at Chris, not understanding his meaning. “You’re looking at them like a proud parent.”

“Oh, that? I guess I’ve never really seen two people who love each other as much as they do; it gives me hope.”

“With Ashton?” I shake my head, still not over the fact that Ashton looks like he’s having fun.

“Ashton has his own idea of hope. I just want to be happy.” The conversation ends, and a meal is served, a meal so boring that I’m not interested in it.

“I can guarantee that the people at other tables have better food.” The man sitting next to me is pushing vegetables around his plate in annoyance, but I can’t imagine that his words would be true.

“You think they’d do that?”

“I know my aunt well; she’s always hated my mother, which is why I’m sitting here, and my half-brother is sitting all the way over there.” The man points to Ashton’s table, which I now realize is set aside for family members.

“What about you?” I don’t want to feel any more like an i***t, so I tell the man that I’m just a friend of Julia’s.

“I knew my cousin hid her pretty friends from me.” I shy away from the compliment, not sure why it made me feel weird. “So, you guys meet in school or something?”

“They met through Ashton.” I didn’t even know that Chris could hear the conversation, and based on the way his wife nudged him, she could also hear what I said.

“Ashton? Oh! The asshole brother. How do you know him?”

“We’re friends.” I don’t need to turn around to know that Chris is glaring at the back of my head.

“Nice to meet you, my name is Brandon Wells.”

“Cori Russo.” The man looks at my name card and shrugs, probably noting the same thing I did.

“Cool name, but who did you piss off?”

“I don’t really know anyone here.”

“That’s probably a good thing. Hell, the only reason they invited me is because they need my father’s wedding contributions. I may have been an unplanned mistake on his part, but he still loves me enough to make sure that I at least get an invitation.”

“Then… Why are you sitting over here?”

“Because… I f*cking hate his wife.” That shouldn’t have been funny to me, but I find myself laughing, knowing that the man is one hundred percent telling me the truth. “Thanks for mocking my emotions.” Again, I start laughing, turning to face the man who I’m now curious about.

“Why even come?”

“Julia is quite literally the only cousin that didn’t treat me like sh*t growing up. I'm here because of her; just like you.” That makes sense, and I start to wonder if my baby is going to face the same sort of treatment.

I can’t see Troy allowing his future children to treat his niece or nephew in an unkind manner, but when Ashton has more children, how will his future wife feel?

Again, my eyes get drawn to the man who’s still chatting with his ex about something that must be very funny.

If that woman becomes the stepparent to my baby, there’s a good chance he or she won’t be treated well, and that thought makes me nauseous.

“Excuse me,” I whisper, standing because I really do feel sick.

I make my way through the tables, noticing that like Brandon said, the plates being cleared contain bones from a completely different protein than what we were given, a petty move that probably cost more money.

I’ve never had lamb chops, so I probably wouldn’t have tried them anyway, but the fact that we were given baked chicken lets me know how the people sitting at my table are viewed.

I get to the restroom, and take a second to compose myself, taking deep breaths that help to ebb the nausea I’m feeling. Part of me wants Ashton to be waiting outside of the women’s room for me, but I know that he won’t be.

Ashton’s POV

I feel miserable without Cori, but she’s right, Troy and Julia deserve to enjoy this night without issue, and seating is something minor.

“Wow, I wonder what i***t made these arrangements.” Vanessa’s voice is irritating to me, but with Cori’s words in mind, I try to be as cordial as possible.

“You can always move if you’re unhappy.”

“Too much work.” The woman sits down, and after an awkward silence, people start clapping, letting me know that my brother is here. “I don’t get why anyone is surprised. The only shocking thing about this dinner is that they don’t already have five kids trailing behind them.” I chuckle, agreeing with Vanessa who’s been surprisingly civil considering our last interaction.

“I think they're more amazed that her father is ‘allowing’ this to happen. You know how he feels about Troy.”

“Do you blame him?” I laugh at the woman’s quip, but I don’t want her to get the wrong idea, so I turn to check on Cori, but she isn’t even looking at us.

As soon as I’m able I’ll go check on her, but by that time, she’s already gone. Afraid that she may have misunderstood, I make my way to Cori’s table, wanting to ask Chris where she went.

“Bro what are you doing?” He questions, pulling me close as he repeats something Cori said to him.

“Why did you even ask that?”

“I didn’t notice that Vanessa was beside you until after I asked. How the hell was I supposed to know that you two were together again?”

“We aren’t ‘together.’ I just don’t want her to ruin the night.”

“Looked like a lot more than that to me,” Pauline adds, rubbing her belly in a way that reminds me of Cori, and now I’m scared.