Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 109608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 438(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 438(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
“That didn’t cost him any money.”
“Right. That makes sense,” she mumbled. “So that’s all Paloma in a bid to fuck with you?”
“Perhaps.”
“Therefore, what we have is maybe AJ accidentally killing his son in an insurance fraud scam that also ended with the tragic deaths of four magnificent horses. And Paloma manipulating Roland and Chester Lynch for the sole purpose of screwing with your happiness because you made her persona non grata at a couple of Prada stores.”
“I also made sure she was struck off every list for every event that’s of any consequence in New York City, which is her preferred hunting ground.”
“Oh yeah, and there’s that.”
There was that, and that was at the heart of it.
I didn’t regret it. She was trying to harm Tom for falling in love with Mika. If a lover moves on, you take it like a woman.
But it had certainly made things inconvenient.
I had no idea when Jamie would arrive in our room. I’d left them down there nearly an hour ago. But I had one more thing to bring up with Mika, so I needed to do it fast.
“Have you noticed anything…mm… curious between Dru and Sully?”
“You mean that they’re totally in love with each other and for reasons unknown aren’t acting on it?”
I sat blinking at my fabulous shoe.
“In love?” I forced out.
“Totally. Tom and I have discussed it, and we think Sully believes Dru needs to get some life under her belt before he goes there. They met when she was still quite young, and so was Sully. Or he doesn’t want to go there at all just in case it doesn’t work out and it makes things awkward for the rest of us. I like to think it’s the first, even if that’s foolish, and risky, because Dru might find someone else in the meantime.”
I thought about Sully, and suggested, “It could be he’s waiting so he can have time to deal with his own issues.”
“What issues?”
“I don’t know. But it always struck me as odd, in getting to know him, and how close he is with his father, his brother, and how quickly that family melded when Duncan and Genny got together. You’d think Chloe, Matt and Sasha were his blood, and he’s known them since he was born, when he’s known them what? Perhaps four or five years?”
“This is true,” Mika mumbled.
“So why did he get a job far away from all that when he graduated? Gage didn’t. He went right to work with Judge, doing something that doesn’t even use his degree. And Sully told us today that the firm in New York that has been trying to recruit him for ages just upped their offer. And he’s seriously considering taking it. Which leads me to believe he’s escaping something, and that something isn’t in our posse.”
I paused to listen to her chuckle.
Then I finished, “Because half that posse is in New York. He’s escaping something else, my dear. Did he have a bad break with a girlfriend?”
“Not that I know of.”
“Hmm,” I hummed.
“Should we make subtle queries to investigate?” she asked.
“Dearest, what a silly question. Of course we should,” I drawled.
I listened to her laugh again.
We didn’t talk much longer before we hung up, and I sat there, upending my phone on my knee, wondering if I should go down and check on Jamie, and I did this until the door opened.
I set my phone aside, took my feet and turned to Jamie.
He looked emotionally worn out.
So I used my feet to take me to Jamie.
He wrapped his arms around me, and I did the same to him.
“How did it go?” I whispered.
“It was a lot,” he replied.
“I can imagine. Do you want to talk about it, or do you want some time away from it?”
He shook his head, guided us both to the couch, and brought us both down, pulling me into his arms again so I was twisted to him and resting my chest against his.
“He’s headed home, and he’s going to talk to his wife. They’re going to figure out how to share about me with their boys. He asked me to give it some time just in case it didn’t fly very well with them.” When he saw my expression change, he went on hurriedly, “Not that he thinks they’re going to pitch fits. But you have to agree, you reach your forties, and your dad tells you that you have an older half-brother, and he’s me, they might need some time.”
Yes, I had to agree to that.
“All right, darling,” I murmured.
“Once that’s done, we’ll come back. So will Judge and Dru, though Dru might be difficult because she got the gig with Ashe. But that tour won’t be running for a while, so hopefully they won’t take that much time to get used to the idea of me.”