Page 61 of All for Love

MERCEDES

Stunned didn’t even begin to cover how I felt as I watched Kody walk in with a date. Not just any date either. A gorgeous, slim, tall, badass named Marissa that he’d just introduced us to.

Seriously, the woman was not even just a looker. She was something special. Like one of those women from the movies where the camera zoomed in, wind started blowing through her hair, and music swelled in the background.

Compared to her, I was the girl about to plant her face in her lunch tray when I tripped because of how intently I was staring at her. To add insult to injury, she seemed genuinely nice.

“You’re a cop?” Mom repeated for the second time, grinning as she made a show of looking Marissa over. “I’ve heard about you from my husband. He said you were one of the best assistants he’d ever had and that you were like a daughter to him. I just didn’t realize you were seeing Kody now. Who knows? Maybe you’ll end up being a daughter-in-law to him someday.”

Marissa blinked hard, sent a weird, questioning glance at Kody, and then shrugged as she turned back to Mom and smiled. “Well, Mr. Wagner was the best boss I’ve ever had. I can’t tell you how much I miss him. Just don’t let any of my current bosses know about that.”

“It wouldn’t matter,” Kody said proudly. “Marissa isn’t just any cop. She’s one of the best. She’s even going to be a detective soon.”

I grappled with shock as Kody bragged about her. Who is he right now?

“Oh, hush.” She bumped her shoulder playfully into his. “Don’t jinx me.”

“It’s impossible to jinx you, babe. You work hard and you know as well as I do that it’s going to happen. You just told me while we were getting ready.”

“You shouldn’t believe everything women tell you in your bedroom, Wagner,” she joked, and my stomach tightened as my extremities went cold.

Nausea rolled through me. They were in his bedroom together?

Instantly, my mind conjured up pictures of these two in bed, all that golden-haired, blue-eyed beauty and tall, toned frames entwined on the mattress. It would be a sight a lot of people would pay a lot of money to behold. That was for sure.

I kept glancing at the door, hoping that Ellora was going to show up soon. I was drowning at this swanky party without an ally and I was desperate for an excuse to get away from the Golden Couple of the night.

Mom laughed at their banter and squeezed Marissa’s forearm. “You tell him, honey. Please help yourself to some appetizers. I’ve got to greet some more guests, but I’m looking forward to talking more later. It’s nice to see Kody has found a girl who gives as good as she gets.”

With that, she winked at them and hurried off toward Mr. Wagner, who was standing at the entrance, and Marissa smiled at me. “Do you want to grab a glass of wine with me? Kody has to go schmooze and do the obligatory rounds to wish everyone a merry Christmas. I’d rather have a root canal.”

Kody’s eyes widened, but then he schooled his features and shook his head at her. “Traitor. I should’ve known you were going to dump me as soon as the formalities got started.”

“I hate formalities,” she retorted with humor shining in her eyes as she took my arm. “You go do your thing, and I’ll get to know your stepsister. Come find me when the tequila starts.”

He sighed, but there was silent laughter in his eyes too as he looked back at her and nodded. “I also should’ve known you were only using me for the free tequila.”

“Do you blame me? It’s damn good tequila. Think we can convince your dad to take shots with us again later?”

Kody groaned. “I don’t think so. He’s still pissed at me about that time we cornered him at the company retreat. He had a hangover for, like, a week.”

“He had one shot,” she said disbelievingly, then waved her free hand dismissively. “Never mind. We’ll just catch him for a drink later.”

While they had their easy back and forth, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and hearing. She wasn’t just a date. They clearly had history, and judging by what my mother had said earlier, she’d worked for Mr. Wagner before.

Which meant that he’d known her while he’d been hooking up with me. More bile pushed up the back of my throat. I knew he hadn’t cheated on her with me because I knew he didn’t do relationships, but these two clearly had something I’d never have with him. She might even be the girl they all thought he was eventually going to settle down with.

Kody leaned in and smacked a kiss to her cheek, and she laughed as she shooed him away. “Go do your schmoozing, Wagner. There’s a nice spot at the window where you can find us when you’re done.”

As she said it, she pointed a manicured finger at the Christmas-light-trimmed window and the two vacant chairs in front of it. I studied her hand as she brought it back to her side. She sure doesn’t look like any cop I’ve ever seen before. There’s not even one chip in those nails. How are they so perfect if she’s been arresting bad guys all day long?

The answer that came to mind was the obvious one. She was one of those women who did it all without skipping a beat and who looked stunning while they were doing it. She could probably dive into a trash-filled dumpster, beat up the criminal, and then emerge looking as perfect as she had when she’d gone in, with not a single hair out of place.

As I thought about it all, Marissa steered me to the spot she’d pointed out, snagging a whole bottle of wine and two full glasses from the tray of a passing waiter as we walked. All without breaking stride or spilling a single drop as she passed me one of the glasses.

Yep, definitely one of those who can do it all.Jealousy shot through my veins like a bright green wildfire, making me feel sick and ashamed as the girl sat me down.

“How’s being a Wagner treating you?” she asked, her tone curious, friendly, and light. “They’ve been nice to you, right? If not, let me know and I’ll kick their asses for you.”