Kamille
“I don’t think your mom likes me very much,” Kamille told Chase. “She was giving off this weird vibe at the wedding shower.”
The two of them were at Cartier on Rodeo Drive, checking out wedding bands. Hank and the crew were in the background, filming. They were the only people in the luxurious store, which made Kamille feel like royalty. She and Chase had looked at dozens of bands so far. It was hard to choose, especially since Kamille kept getting distracted by a gorgeous emerald necklace and matching earrings in a nearby case.
Maybe for our first anniversary, Kamille thought with a smile.
“No, babe, Mom loves you,” Chase reassured her. “She’s not always good at showing her feelings, that’s all.”
“Why, did she say something?”
“Yeah, she said we’re a great couple. And she can’t wait for lots and lots of grandchildren. Hey, check out this silver wedding band. Or is it platinum? What’s the difference, anyway?”
“Platinum is way more valuable. And lasting. And it matches the amazing engagement ring you gave me.” Kamille held up her left hand for him to see.
Chase took her hand in his and kissed each of her fingers tenderly. “Well, we’re definitely going for platinum, then. Besides, you deserve the best. Always.”
Kamille blushed. “You’re so sweet.”
“And you’re my princess. I love you, babe.”
“I love you, too.”
Kamille wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. In three weeks, they would be married. Mr. and Mrs. Chase Goodall. She couldn’t wait!
The wedding plans were proceeding on schedule. Both the ceremony and reception would be at a dreamy oceanside resort in Rancho Palos Verdes. The minister from her family’s church, Pastor Rodd, had agreed to marry them. Thanks to Courtney Powell, who was the world’s most talented, together wedding planner, everything was set: the RSVPs, the flowers, the decorations, the music, the vows . . . all of it. And of course, there was Kamille’s incredible Vera Wang dress. She had kept the design top secret, even from her mother. Courtney and Kass (and of course, Hank and the TV crew) were the only ones who had actually seen it so far.
It was going to be the happiest day of her life.
But first, she had to survive Chase’s bachelor party. Which was happening this weekend.
“So. You looking forward to your big boy bash?” Kamille asked him casually. She had no idea what insanity Chase’s friends had planned for him. Her own, relatively intimate bachelorette party was happening at the same time: a girls’ trip to a Palm Springs resort with Kass, Kyle, their mother, and Simone.
“Honestly? I’d rather spend the weekend with you. In bed. If you know what I mean.” Chase grinned.
Kamille gave him a look. She wished he wouldn’t talk like that to her in front of the cameras. “Uh-huh. So where’s the party going to be, anyway? Vegas? Or are you staying local?”
“No idea. Patrick and Dom and the other guys on the team have been planning it. And my brothers, too. Like, totally hush-hush stuff.”
“Okay, well . . . try not to get too crazy.”
“Babe, I’m already a married man as far as I’m concerned. I don’t need these rings to tell me what I already know.”
“What’s that?”
“That I’ve got the most beautiful, fantastic girl in the world all to myself, and I am never going to do anything to screw that up. Ever.”
“Really?”
“Really. You can trust me.”
Chase pulled her closer to him and kissed her on the lips. Kamille pressed her body against his, feeling his desire for her. They needed to go home. Immediately.
Besides, if she wore him out now, he would have nothing left over for any lap-dancing skanks he might encounter this weekend.
The bachelorette party was a disaster.
“Kat, you must see my surgeon, he’s a miracle worker!” Pippa Ashton-Gould lay back on the poolside chaise longue, sipping a pomegranate margarita and eyeing the Speedo-clad waiters in a not-subtle way. “My va-jay-jay lips were practically hanging down to my knees!” she went on. “And it’s not like I’ve had a dozen babies—just my darling Parker! Anyhoo, Dr. Marcelo cut off all that extra meat and now I’m as neat and trim as a virgin!” She spread her legs slightly and pushed the crotch part of her bikini bottoms to the side. “Here, let me show you what I’m—”
“No!” Kamille, Kass, and Kyle all shouted at the same time.
“Well, I want to see!” Simone said. She was so drunk that she’d taken off her bikini top and was drawing smiley faces on her boobs with a tube of lipstick.
“I want to see, too!” Kat agreed. She was almost as drunk as Simone, which was truly horrifying. Kamille hadn’t seen her mother this wasted since that time several years ago when the three of them—Kat, Kamille, and Kass—had gone to a birthday party in Benedict Canyon. Kat drank too many cosmos, so Kass drove them all home via the twisty, windy canyon roads—but not before Kat threw up all over Kamille’s brand-new shearling coat, which she’d bought herself for five hundred dollars saved up from an entire year of babysitting. Kamille had sobbed her eyes out and screamed at Kat for being “gross.” Once they were home, Kat woke up Beau on the intercom (it was 3 A.M.) and told him that there was vomit all over the car. He dutifully got out of bed and cleaned it up so the acid wouldn’t damage the interior.
Why had Kamille thought it was a good idea to have a bachelorette party with family members?
At least the resort pool was relatively deserted at this late hour—just a few couples trying to enjoy some romantic time (and who kept shooting their little group dirty looks) and an older guy who couldn’t seem to take his eyes off Simone’s bare boobs. (He was wearing a big, fat gold wedding ring; where was his wife?) Hank and the cameras were long gone. They had filmed all day—the fancy lunch, the lingerie gifts, the long afternoon of luxurious spa treatments—before driving back to L.A. Thank God. How embarrassing would that have been, seeing clips of Pippa blathering on about her labioplasty on the Life Network?
And why was Pippa even here? Kat had brought her along at the last minute, insisting that she needed her girlfriends at the party, too. “I’m sorry, Mommy, is this your bachelorette party?” Kamille had sniped at her. It was not a happy scene.
The party really hit rock bottom around midnight, when Pippa and Kat started teasing each other about their “double-decker bus” vaginas and having a contest to see whose was bigger by stuffing ice cubes into them. By the time Kamille left (or rather, ran out of there as fast as she could, pleading exhaustion), Kat was winning, with twelve cubes and counting. Kyle and Kass had excused themselves and gone up to their rooms long ago. Simone had disappeared, too, with the older, married guy who’d been checking out her boobs.
Hurrying through the ornate black-and-white Deco-style lobby, trying to delete the last few awful hours from her memory, Kamille reminded herself to return to the beautiful resort sometime with Chase so she could actually enjoy herself. Chase was at his bachelor party now, wherever it was. She wondered if he was having fun. As long as he wasn’t having too much fun . . . and as long as there weren’t too many slores there. Kamille clenched her fists and forced herself to exhale. He’d said she could trust him. She wanted to believe him. She had to.
Back in the room Kamille was sharing with Kass, Kamille found her sister snoring away in bed, her big belly protruding like a small island under the elegant down cover. Kamille took off her flip-flops and lay down beside her.
“Kassie!” she whispered. “Kassie, are you awake?”
Kass’s eyes flickered groggily. “Wha . . . ?” she mumbled.
“Oh, good, you’re awake! How are you? Weren’t Mommy and Pippa totally disgusting tonight?”
“Hmm.”
“I mean, do we really need to hear about Pippa’s droopy vag lips? And God, after you left, she was totally hitting on our waiter, who looked like he was about fourteen. Oh, and God, you wouldn’t believe it, she and Mommy started stuffing ice cubes up their—”
“Ew, shut up!” Kass lifted her head and glanced around. “What time is it, anyway?”
“I don’t know. One, one-thirty? Anyway, I wish this was a cozier bachelorette party—like, just you and me and Simone. We could have gone to Vegas or something. Hey, maybe we still could?”
“Me partying in Vegas, that’s hilarious,” Kass said sarcastically. “Besides, there’s no way in hell I’d spend an entire weekend with you and Simone. The only reason I came today was because Kyle and Mom were here, too.”
“I know Simone can be a bitch sometimes,” Kamille said. “And I know she can be kind of . . . um, nuts.” She thought about the peeing incident at Hyde. “But she’s a lot of fun! And she’s one of my oldest friends.”
“Whatever. I can’t stand being in the same room with her.”
“I know. But try to make an effort, okay? For the wedding?”
Kass didn’t reply. She gazed up at the ceiling and stroked her belly.
“Is he . . . kicking?” Kamille asked her curiously.
“Yes. What makes you think it’s a he?”
“You’re my sister. I know everything about you. Can I touch him?”
“I guess?”
Kamille placed her hand on Kass’s stomach. Nothing. Still nothing.
Then, all of a sudden . . .
“Ohmigod!” Kamille cried out. It was the most amazing thing she had ever felt. A gentle rolling sensation, like waves undulating under Kass’s skin, followed by a pounding, pulsing kick. “There he is! Oh my God, it’s incredible! He’s doing jujitsu!”
“Actually, I’m kinda thinking he might be a she,” Kass admitted.
“Really?”
“Really. I had this dream that she was a girl.”
“Ohmigod, how cool is that?” Kamille nestled closer to Kass. “It’s all so miraculous. Isn’t it? All this? I mean, last year this time, we were just . . . I don’t know, us. And now you’re having a baby . . . and I’m getting married . . .”
“Yeah. Miraculous,” Kass said quietly.
Kamille reached for Kass’s hand and squeezed it tightly. “Promise me something? That no matter what, and no matter how busy and crazy things get, we’ll still be sisters? And best friends?”
Kass squeezed Kamille’s hand back. “I promise,” she whispered. “But you have to promise, too. No matter what.”
“No matter what. I love you, doll.”
“I love you, too, doll.”
Kamille closed her eyes and felt herself melting into sleep, her head cradled against Kass’s shoulder. It was the most peaceful and contented she’d been in . . . forever.