Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 155405 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 777(@200wpm)___ 622(@250wpm)___ 518(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 155405 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 777(@200wpm)___ 622(@250wpm)___ 518(@300wpm)
I haven’t checked my phone in a while, so while Hannah is in the bathroom, I take it off the folded stack of yoga clothes I sat on the table in front of the white couch facing the hot tub area and check my notifications. Some social media stuff I don’t care about, but there’s a text from my mom that just came through two minutes ago.
“Hey honey, how’s your day with Hannah going?”
“Amazing,” I text back. “She’s an angel on earth and we don’t deserve her. How are errands going?”
“Good,” she texts back. “You know Kara, Kayleigh’s mom from the 8-9 ballet class? She’s a member at the club, too, and I ran into her at the store. She invited me to play tennis with her. I was thinking maybe you could bring Hannah as your guest and we could all play together, then maybe we could have some lunch before Hannah has to go home.”
“That’s a great idea,” I tell her, remembering what Hannah said about the rest of her household likely eating while she’s out.
“Hannah can borrow something of mine if she needs a tennis outfit. Tell her to take whatever she likes.”
“We were just about to hop in the sauna and then probably take showers. Do you think we have time?”
“Sure, just make them quick showers, lol. Kara and I will have a cocktail and catch up while we wait for you.”
“Perfect. I’ll run it by Hannah, but I’m sure she’ll—”
Before I can finish my message, I hear the bathroom door open and Hannah emerges in a white fluffy towel like mine and a stack of yoga clothes in her hand.
“Hey, perfect timing. After the sauna, do you want to meet my mom at the country club for some tennis and lunch? One of the dance moms wants to play, so I think it would be us vs. them.”
“Sure,” she says, bending gracefully to drop the stack of clothing on the table next to mine. “I haven’t played tennis in a long time, though. I may be rusty.”
“That’s okay,” I say, quickly tapping out a message to Mom while I talk. “Mom said you can raid her closet for tennis clothes, and she has some really cute club outfits. We can take my car if you’re coming back here, or we can take yours and then I can get a ride home from Mom if you have to leave.”
“We can take my car. I haven’t started any of my weekend homework, so I should probably go home and take advantage of no one else being there for a while.”
I nod. “I kinda figured. I wish we could do sleepovers more often, even if just to get you more breaks.”
She nods, her pretty face tugged into an expression of regret. “They’re kind of hard to arrange. I have round-the-clock duties and they’re not used to doing anything for themselves.”
Irritation flares up again, but I force it away from me. We are being relaxed. Peaceful. Serene. We will not give up our peace to all the evil forces at work in this godforsaken town.
“Oh! Maybe Javi will be working and you can meet him, too.”
Hannah’s eyes widen slightly, then her expression turns conspiratorial. “Who’s Javi?”
“Oh, just this super-hot valet that Landon now hates with every fiber of his being,” I say innocently as I drop my phone back atop the clothing stack. “He reads, too.”
Hannah makes a show of dropping her jaw. “Oh my god, does Parker Johansson like a boy?”
“I don’t know,” I say, feeling my face flush and almost regretting bringing it up. “We haven’t talked much or anything, but he is very cute, and he seems really nice.”
Hannah clasps her hands together. “Aww. I love that. There aren’t enough nice boys.”
I laugh. “Ain’t that the truth.” Feeling much more hopeful, I approach the sauna and open the glass door for her. “After you.”
Chapter Twenty
Parker
After soundly defeating Mom and Kara at a game of tennis, Hannah and I head inside to get a table for lunch while Mom says her goodbyes to the dance mom.
Hannah’s stepmom has a membership here, but I don’t know if Hannah has ever been. We’re allowed to bring a guest on a day pass, but bringing her along doesn’t seem like something Jackie would do. Like Anae, she seems to get more joy out of excluding Hannah from things.
“Well, well, well. Look who it is.”
As if I summoned dark forces by thinking about them, I hear the smug sound of Arden Prince’s voice and sigh, turning to face him.
He’s not looking at me, though. His appreciative gaze is moving down Hannah’s body, admiring the way she looks in my mom’s white top and tennis skirt. Because Hannah wore a sweater to my house last night and she’s going home after this, she wanted to bring her clothes inside to change into before she left. Her soft blue wool-blend cardigan is draped over her shoulders, her leggings unseen in her purse, and I have to admit, she looks exactly like the type of person who belongs here.