CHAPTER 4

        Lance could sense a note of anxiety in his mother’s voice that always seemed to creep in when his brother was being mentioned.

“Oh, come on! You really expect me to go to their wedding and act like we are one big happy family?” he asked, trying to stay calm. “I know how my ‘dear’ brother’s brain is working. And I can say without a doubt, that the only reason Arthur wants me to be present at this ‘celebration’ is to show off… He wants me to watch his triumph. This is all that matters for him and nothing more.”

          His mother made a disapproving sound.

“‘Son, I know it won’t be easy for you… But even so, don’t you think you should finally forgive your brother? It’s obvious that he and Guinevere are made for each other. They have so much in common… Please, Lance, it would be so nice to have my whole family back together once again.’”

“Easy? Mom, please… For me, it won’t be easy or difficult. And you know why? Because I don’t care about Arthur or Guinevere. You got one thing right about these two: they are made for each other.”

“‘Lance… Sweetie…’”

          He started pacing the room back and forth, trying to find a reason to end the call without sounding too rude and without hurting his mother’s feelings.

“Listen, I don’t feel the urge to see them or be a part of this event. I’m preparing the advertising campaign for 'HL Sportswear', I’m looking for a house in Los Angeles, I have thousands of business meetings planned… I’m too busy, Mom. I really don’t have the time or the will to attend such an event.”

“‘Lance… would you do it for me?’” his mother begged him. “‘It would make me so incredibly happy to see both my sons in the same room, especially on such a wonderful occasion.’”

          Lance stopped pacing. He cursed slowly while pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers. Then he shook his head.

“Mom…”

“‘Please, my darling…’”

          How could he say no to his mother, the sweetest, most loving woman in the world?

          She was asking for so little, but it was a lot for him. Lance was asked to put his busy life on standby for three days and be part of the weirdest moment in the history of the Hamilton family: his little brother getting married to his ex-girlfriend.

          If at the other end of the phone would have been his father, Lance would have had no problem refusing this weird request. His father always took Arthur’s side, since his little brother chose to follow in their father's footsteps and be part of the family business instead of going solo like Lance did.

          Lance’s decision to build his fortune and move as far away as possible from the Hamilton family was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Their father-son relationship changed drastically until all that was left between them was just basic, polite conversation.

          If Arthur would have called, Lance would have told him to go fuck himself while laughing like a madman. But Arthur won’t do it since Lance told him to go to hell and take his unfaithful ex-fiancée with him.

          They were cut from the same cloth.   

          But the person talking to him, begging for his presence at this wedding from hell was his sweet mother, the only member of the Hamilton family that was still an active part of Lance’s personal life. Unfortunately, she was always caught in the middle of the tension between him and his father, and between him and Arthur.

“All right, Mom,” Lance said, after taking a deep breath. “I’ll be there.”

“‘Oh, sweetie… You made me so happy. Now that you’re okay with it, I’d like to talk to you about this young lady who…’”

          Lance could practically see her glowing right through the phone, and doing some sort of happy dance, planning every single step of the weekend.

“Please, stop right there. I don’t need my mother to set me up. I already have the right person in mind. A very special woman… I hope this won’t be a problem for you.”

“‘A problem? Absolutely not, sweetie… You can bring whomever you want…’”

          After a few seconds, his mother stopped the ‘celebration’. She coughed slowly.

“‘Wait a minute, mister!  Who is this ‘very special’ woman? The last time we talked on the phone, you didn’t mention you were seeing someone, not after what happened with…’”

“Mom, please, enough. I don’t need to play this one thousand questions quiz with you… I’m done talking about it. You will see her in due time.”

“‘Very well. I’m looking forward to meeting this woman in person for the first time on Friday.’”

“All right, ma’am! During the next couple of days, I’m going to be extremely busy in the office, so I might not answer your calls. Could you, please, forward all the details to my private assistant so that she can make all the arrangements for me and my… plus one?

“‘Of course, son. I’ll do it first thing tomorrow morning.’”

“Perfect, thank you,” Lance replied. “Well, I’ll be seeing you on Friday. Take care, Mom. I love you,” he added after a short pause.

“‘I love you too, sweetie. You made me really happy, I hope you know that. Now we all can have a great time at this wedding.’”

          He ended the call and stared down at his cell phone. He had to be at Cape Cod on Friday and…

“Fuck!” he exclaimed.

          Friday was the day when he was going to meet with Annalise. Their ‘business’ meeting… Lance had in mind the perfect scenario: a work-related little conversation since he didn’t want to seem overanxious, followed by a candlelit dinner in a fancy restaurant, maybe flirting a little while looking at his reflection in her eyes…

          Maybe some kissing too…  

          But all that was over now. Lance would have to cancel all this and make his mother happy by being part of a lousy family show where the protagonists were his younger brother and the woman who, at one point, confessed her love to him and promised she was going to be his forever.

          Lance cussed once again.

“I need a date… A hot, stunning date! And I need it fast!”

          Easier said than done!    

          Preferably one who would convince his mother he wasn’t secretly obsessing over Guinevere.

          He wasn’t!

          Lance had gotten over her the moment Guinevere had dumped him for his brother, the day Arthur became the new CEO of “Ethereal Creations”, the fashion house created by Robert Hamilton, their great-grandfather.

          Since he wasn’t like his brother, petty and envious, Lance applauded Arthur and his achievement. He even took a step back, giving Arthur the space necessary to show his worth and to prove that their father's trust was well placed. Lance chose to focus on his work, creating from scratch a sportswear line, a very ambitious project, an old idea of his, something totally different from what “Ethereal Creations” meant.

          Well, Guinevere preferred the glitz and glamour that haute couture had to offer, preferred the private parties and social events filled with celebrities, influencers, and paparazzi, then staying by his side. She was out, partying all the time, while Lance was working hard day and night, transforming his dream into reality. She was always complaining about his schedule, about the simplicity of his brand. Actually, she was complaining about everything.

“‘It’s all about sweaty, smelly clothes… While high fashion is about glamour, elegance, style…’” she said to him the last time they talked in his office.

          So, sometime after that, the greedy Guinevere switched sides and chose the glamour of Arthur’s world. Well, even if his mother never believed it, Lance was grateful to his little brother for being such a selfish douchebag. Arthur wanted Guinevere because Lance had her.

          Thank God he saw beyond her beauty…

          And so, thanks to that deep jealousy, Lance has dodged the bullet, choosing life as a single man. After this weekend, the two love birds will spend their lives together, making each other miserable. And when that happens, because it will, since both of them were extremely self-centered, Lance will take his seat in the front row and watch the whole show.

 “But, until then, I need a date for this wedding… And I also need to do something about the meeting with Annalise…” Lance said.

          He sat on his bed and with a shake of his head, began scrolling through the contacts in his list. Most of the women present there were now just simple acquaintances.

“Dammit!” he exclaimed quite frustrated.

          After twenty excruciating minutes, his search came to an end. He had narrowed his options to three names, when the most divine, the most wonderful solution came to him, like the sweetest of the revelations.

“Interesting,” Lance said with a grin.

          Oh, yes!

          It was absolutely brilliant!

          Lance started laughing.

“You are the biggest idiot in the world!”

          Yes, he was for not having thought of this immediately. She will be the solution to his problem. This way they will mix business with pleasure.

“A quid pro quo. She will help me and I will give her what she wants the most.”

          Finally, Lance had a way of keeping Annalise near, luring her to him. It would be business, of course, but if the setting happened to be intimate and she was for all practical purposes stranded with him in a hotel suite, at Cape Cod for three days…Well, a lot of things could happen in three days…

          A satisfied smile raised the corners of his mouth. Maybe the wedding would not be such a bad thing after all, especially if the gorgeous, breathtaking Annalise Walsh will join him at his table, and, of course, in his bed.