Page 52 of Belle Amour
“It's okay, Darling.” Francesca patted her hand comfortingly. “I was thinking the same thing.”
“Alright, clue number two.” Eleanor continued reading. “This popular pizza chain got its start in Ann Arbor. No idea.”The rest of them shook their heads or shrugged. “Number three: We're not looking for Hugh Jackman's comic book persona, but a rock-hard version of his namesake.”
“Obviously, a Wolverine statue.” Lila grinned.
“Sure. Obviously.” Caroline poked her in the ribs as she teased her, making everyone chuckle.
“Listen. Hugh Jackman is hot. Don't come at me.” Lila poked Caroline back. Eleanor chuckled at her cousins and read out the rest of the twelve clues, but other than figuring out that “Choo-choo! All Aboard!” meant a train station and Oprah liked Zingermans, they had no idea about the rest.
“Well, unless we come across something that makes sense, it looks like we have seven bars to find.” Mirabelle grinned. “I'll get us a selfie stick, and let's begin our walk-about; we're the last ones here.”
After making a quick pit stop at the bathroom, they left and wandered down the sidewalk. They hadn't gone very far when Francesca pointed down an alley. “Wasn't there a clue about graffiti?” The walls on either side were covered with graffiti, and one had what looked like chewing gum all over it.
“Yes, there was.” Eleanor quickly consulted her phone. “Let's take a picture, but let’s not get too close; the gum wall is gross.” They took the picture, and Eleanor uploaded it to the app. Lila nodded to their left.
“There's a bar just down that street. Let's drink first and cross another clue off the list.”
“I'm okay with that idea.” Mirabelle grinned as everyone nodded in agreement. An hour and a half later, they had pretty much forgotten about the scavenger hunt and were mostly touring the downtown area bars. By the fourth bar, they were all pretty giggly.
“Are we supposed to go back to the cafe when we're done?” Lila asked as they walked around, keeping an eye out for things that might be the answer to a clue. “Cause I'm not sure how well our tipsy states will go over with the bride.”
“Look, we're coming in last place, so we're not gonna get any prizes. We'll sit quietly in the back and have my hot firefighter husband pick us up.” Caroline linked her arms through Lila’s and Eleanor’s. “I'm having way too much fun to be concerned about the Princess. Just cause she got herself knocked up doesn't mean we all have to abstain.” She pointed excitedly at a building. “Hey, look, a little person door! We got three pictures! Woo! Go, Team Manhattan!”
Chapter Thirty-Six: Hacker
Robert
Robert and Peter were sitting in the lounge area talking quietly as the halftime show started, and people began coming in for more drinks and food when Eddie approached them, clearly a little drunk and looking upset. “Hey. Where are my father and the other two?”
“Bast and Benji started feeling really sick. They both had the soup in the restaurant and thought it might be food poisoning. Your father went with them to the hotel; he should be back any minute, though.” Robert explained, wrinkling his nose as Eddie belched and opened the can of beer he was carrying.
“Oh, that sucks,” Eddie smirked and dropped down in the chair. “We were thinking about going to a strip club after the game; I was coming to invite you guys to join us.”
“Casey is okay with you going to a strip club?” Robert asked, raising his eyebrow. “She hardly seems the type.”
Eddie nodded as he finished drinking. “Yeah, surprisingly, she suggested it. Of course, there’s only one close by, and her friends work there, so that might be why she’s okay with it. She said since I missed out on it when I married Mira, I could do it this time,” He visibly shuddered. “Although I would completely understand if Bastian didn’t want to go, there’s something about going to see a stripper when you’re dating thedaughter of one that just makes it feel wrong.” He looked around as someone called his name and answered their question as Robert and Peter glanced at each other. Robert could see Peter was just as surprised as he was. Greg made it sound like both Casey and Eddie wanted to get back at Mirabelle and Bastian, but it sounded like Eddie was in the dark.
“I'm surprised you're being so accommodating to Bastian; we thought he ruined your life.” Peter sipped his lemon-lime soda and regarded Eddie over the rim of his glass as he faced them again.
“Yeah, well.” Eddie flushed and ran his hand through his hair. “I don't have much choice, seeing how you've all taken to him despite knowing what he did to me.”
“I mean, you did technically cheat on his best friend.” Robert pointed out. “Who was very close with your entire family. Eleanor was devastated when Mirabelle pulled away from her.”
Eddie sighed and shuffled, clearly uncomfortable with discussing how his actions led to his current situation. “Look, I’m not denying I could have handled things much better than I did. I should have been honest and upfront with Mira when I realized I was starting to get feelings for Casey instead of letting get to the point of cheating. I knew what Mira did when Bastian's wife cheated on him. That bitch deserved it, don't get me wrong, trying to pass off another man's baby as his; that's just all kinds of fucked up. But yeah, I should have expected Bastian to come in swinging for her.”
“What this?” Peter's eyes widened in surprise. “Bastian’s ex tried to pass another man’s kid off as his?”
“Yeah, I actually met Mirabelle while she was representing Bastian during his divorce.” Eddie chuckled ruefully. “She was fucking ruthless; it was actually whatattracted me to her in the beginning.” He recounted what Mirabelle had done to make the woman pay and her affair partner pay.
“Holy shit.” Peter sat back, looking both impressed and a little scared. “They really don't hold back.”
“Not when it comes to each other.” Robert smiled, glancing at Eddie, who looked a little irritated that they were admiring how far Mirabelle and Bastian would go for each other. “I honestly pity anyone who tries to mess with them; they solidly have each other's backs.”
“I get it.” Peter nodded slowly. “I'd destroy anyone who came after Caroline, and I'd like to think she'd do the same for me.” He glanced at Eddie and also noticed the look on his face. “But hey, you got to be with Casey, and now you’re having a kid! Are you nervous about the whole fatherhood thing yet?”
Eddie slumped in his seat, running his hand over his face. “More like dreading it. This was not what I wanted. I never wanted kids, and neither did Casey, but when she found out “Daddy” had knocked up his child bride and was having a boy, she and her sister came up with the idea of having babies too, so he'd focus on his grandchildren instead of the new kid.”
“Child bride?” Robert scoffed. “She's what, thirty-five?”