Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 96752 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96752 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
“I was all for it because at least this time you’re on the same page,” Ivy concedes. “You both like all the home stuff. He can pick out wallpaper and you can install it. It’s kind of perfect.”
“That’s what I’m saying,” Lydia insists. “They’re a great match. I don’t think Reid is a player. If anything, I suspect he could get caught in a relationship he can’t get out of. He doesn’t necessarily think about himself. He needs someone who can have his best interests at heart and be strong enough to make the point that he should do what’s right for him. And by him, I mean for them. He’ll be better at making decisions that forward himself if he truly believes he’s making the decision for his partner.”
That doesn’t sound like the playboy CeCe described. Nor does it make me think of the arrogant ass I first met. I was caught up in the romance of the wedding. That’s what I decided around two a.m. the night before. It wasn’t Reid himself. Any gorgeous, charming guy would have done the same thing for me.
He got rid of me mighty fast the minute Britta showed up.
“It doesn’t matter,” I tell this found family of mine. “I’m not interested in a relationship with him.”
Ivy shifts, leaning toward me. “Are you sure you’re not interested in him? You laughed more last night than you have in forever.”
I don’t have a choice. Beyond my own self-respect, there are other things to consider. “He’s got a fiancée, and I don’t need to bring a bunch of drama to the set. This is Ani’s first big project, and she’s taking a chance on me.”
I don’t like the thought that Ivy’s right and last night was the first time in forever that I relaxed and enjoyed myself. Right up until the moment I realized he was keeping things from me. Important things.
Ivy nods and sits back. “All right, then. I’ll handle the moms. You concentrate on making Banover Place pretty. I wonder what it’ll sell for when you’re done?”
Millions. Millions that will help Ani’s new country.
I try to relax and think about the good I’ll be doing. Whatever it takes to get my mind off that man.
Chapter Eight
I sit at the desk I keep in the small office where we handle all the administrative things that come with running a construction company. There’s a larger warehouse outside the city where we keep equipment, but this space is where we do things like payroll and meeting with potential clients.
And worrying about the fact that I have a board meeting coming up in a few months and half the family is irritated with me because I won’t give them money we don’t have.
Like my cousin, Claire, who sits across from me wearing more designer wear than a single person should own. It’s a mishmash of brands. Chanel bag. Prada shoes. A Dolce and Gabbana jacket. Dior sunglasses. I don’t even want to think about the jewelry. “But the sorority fees are due. What am I supposed to do?”
She’s a college student. I think she’s studying fashion, but what she mostly does is whine.
“You can’t allow Claire to be out on the streets.” Unfortunately, she knows how to get under my skin since she brought my mother along.
“She won’t,” I point out. “She’ll be in a dorm, or better yet, she can live at home and commute to school. Her mom lives across the river. It’s literally three subway stops away.”
This brings out a gasp in both my cousin and my mother. Like I’ve asked her to battle her way through a pack of werewolves to get her higher education.
“I stayed in a dorm last semester,” Claire says. “I’m not doing it again. I need to be in Tau Alpha Kai. It’s for my career.”
“It’s for her career,” my mother parrots.
Where was she when I wanted to study architecture? She hadn’t cared about the career path I wanted to take. She told me my father didn’t work all his life to have me turn my back on him. “She can be in the sorority and not live in the house. Look, I know our dads used company funds for things like this.”
“It’s called dividends,” Claire protests. “Daddy used to say it was all our money.”
“Yeah, well all our money is now going to the IRS.” I’m tired. The last eight days have weighed on me. I tried to get to Banover Place to do some prep, but I’ve been forced to put out fire after fire here at work.
And I got a peek at a European gossip sheet. It had a picture of Reid and Britta in a café in Ralavia. I think it was taken the next day. The paper’s headline said it all. It’s Back On.
I have to see him soon, and I am not looking forward to it.