Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 58442 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58442 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
Making money, losing money, running away from nightmares. Eating expensive meals. Occasional dates.
She sighs. “Perhaps I should just come out with it.”
“That might be for the best.”
“Before I do, however, I want you to know I’m saying this because I want the best for you. This isn’t just for me. It’s for the whole family.” She waits to see if I’ll say anything else. When I don’t, she goes on, “I want to see you settled and happy at the next Annual Grand Masquerade Retreat.”
It takes me a moment to register what she’s saying. “You want to see me settled and happy, whatever that means, in a week’s time?”
“Please don’t get sarcastic, Raiden.”
“If I don’t do this, you’ll cut me out of the will, I assume?”
“I’ve already provisionally removed your name from the will,” she says firmly. “If you prove you’re willing to cooperate, I’ll put you back in.”
I shake my head, chuckling without humor. “I’ve never danced for my supper, Grandma. I don’t plan on starting now.”
“You’re going to have to try.”
“I can’t just magically find a woman and fall in love.”
“You’re going to have to try that too.”
For all my talk of standing on my own two feet–and I have, dammit, even when the bullets were flying–this stings.
“I’ve lost my appetite,” I say, standing.
I get to the door before Grandma speaks again. The pain in her voice makes me turn back.
“If you can’t do it for your inheritance, do it for me. I want to see you happy.”
“I can’t make any promises,” I say, leaving the room, walking down the hallway.
Sebastian walks at my side like a ghost. He opens the door and looks straight at me with none of the tact a butler should possess. “I’m sorry, sir,” he says.
“What’ve you got to be sorry about?” I grunt.
“Evangeline mentioned her plan to me. I was the one who suggested that she go all the way and remove you from the will to prove that she was serious. I hope I haven’t caused any discomfort.”
It’d be interesting to grab his shirt, give him a shake, hear his teeth rattle and see if he’s still got that mocking glint in his eyes when I finally put him down.
Instead, I just smile. “Don’t sweat it. I never wanted that money anyway.”
He frowns. Like he’s disappointed. Like he was expecting to gett a rise out of me.
I walk down the wide stone stairs, pass the frozen fountain, and climb into my car. When the butterfly door falls closed, I slam my hand against the steering wheel.
I’ve never wanted to be the entitled rich jerk, but I’m part of the Blackwell legacy. It’s more than that. I thought Grandmother cared about me.
I shake my head. I sound like a child.
Fuck this.
Starting the car, I let my tires burn and smoke for a second before snarling out of the drive.
CHAPTER 3
AURORA
“Grandma, press the button,” I yell from the bottom of the stairs.
No reply.
“Grandma!”
“What?” she screeches.
“Press the freaking button!”
The bell in the shop rings right on cue. I walk up the stairs and into the apartment. Grandma is on the pull-out bed, reluctantly watching TV. I’ve never seen someone so angry at having to rest and recover, but it’s what the doctor ordered, so it’s what she’s going to do.
“If anything is wrong, you press that button. Even if nothing’s wrong and you just need me, press the button. Nothing is too big or too small, okay?”
She folds her arms and stares at the TV, which is switched off.
“And stop pouting,” I chastise her.
“There is a plethora of silliness in this situation; I would just like to inform you of that.”
“Noted.”
“It is absolutely and unforgivably obscene.”
I kneel next to her bed. “Look at me, Grandma.”
She swallows and turns to me.
“You need to accept that you’re not going to be able to tough through this. The doctor said you need to reduce stress. You’re risking another stroke otherwise. I know this isn’t how you want things to be, but it’s how they are, okay? Meet me halfway.”
“I’ll try,” she says quietly, fidgeting with her hands.
“Please. That’s all I ask. And don’t be proud with that button. You press it anytime you need me.”
“If you need me, you be honest too,” Grandma requests. “There’s a lot to be done today. A full appointment book. Lots of costumes. The people of Cedar Rock rely on us.”
“Are you forgetting who you’re talking to?” I say with a smirk. “I’m a student at FIT, remember. The best of the best.”
“You say that with irony, but it’s true. You are the best.”
“Okay, I’m going to get started. Love you. And…”
“Press the button. I know!”
I head downstairs, leaving the door to the apartment open, and turn the closed sign around. The storm has gone, leaving Main Street blanketed in a shining sheen. The Johnsons arrive first, two little boys aged seven and nine with their mother in tow.