Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 106298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
“I’m giving anyone spying on us a show.”
He’s ridiculous. His heavy steps rattle the staircase outside as he rushes down to the parking lot. I turn to the mail to sort through it, but stop on the third letter. “Way to ruin my day.” The property management company’s return address is bolded in the corner and the envelope is stamped with the word reminder, as if I needed one. It’s what I worry about most of my day.
I rip it and open the letter inside just to further irritate myself. Scanning over it, it’s the same thing I already knew. Decision due. Ludicrous rent increase. Sign here. The same as all the emails that Josten guy has sent. Though admittedly, I haven’t received one this week, which is odd, considering how frequently he was emailing prior.
Does he really think I’m going to just sign this? He’s a fool. This isn’t even the full agreement. I’m sure some buried clauses won’t benefit me in there, and he just wants me to sign my rights away without a care. I scowl when I see his signature and the management company bolded under his name again. But then I catch a phrase I overlooked the first time. Representing Greene Ventures.
The print under it is small, but it’s legible. I wrap my arm around my waist and take a deep breath as I study it closer.
Greene Ventures.
Everything from the county to the family to my new last name is spelled the same. I’m used to seeing and hearing it all the time in Peachtree Pass, but that’s an odd coincidence.
New York, New York.
There are millions of companies in that city. It’s huge. This doesn’t confirm anything. It also doesn’t deny it.
The phone number listed.
I can’t excuse that away when I know it by heart. Baylor. Why would Baylor’s number be listed as the contact number? Unless it is.
Dropping the paper on the counter, I jump when Baylor returns. “I have two surprises . . .” he says, but I don’t hear the rest.
My gaze lowers to the letter again. Does he own . . .? No. He wouldn’t do that. Why would he trick me into marrying him? That makes no sense. It was my plan. He was just going along with it.
“Shortcake?” My gaze lifts, and I turn around with my hands gripping the edge of the counter. He says, “I have something for you.”
My gaze travels to the manila envelope he’s holding up, but my mind is still on the letter behind me. Shooting him a glare, I stand tall, and ask, “Do you own this shopping center?”
CHAPTER 32
Baylor
“Why do you ask that?” Feigning innocence was never a strong suit. Although it feels justified since I walked out of the sunshine and right into the dark of a situation. I’m going to need some guidance to find my way out.
With her arms crossed over her chest, Lauralee’s fingers dig into her skin, whitening the tips. This isn’t looking good for me. “Baylor, what have you done?”
I foolishly glance at the door like I entered the wrong apartment. “I was gone for two minutes. What did I miss?”
She reaches for a letter on the stack of mail behind her and rattles it in the air. “Please tell me you aren’t Greene Ventures.” Her voice is steady but too controlled, as if it could go off the rails at any moment.
Fuck.
Keeping my voice as composed as I can, I set the manila envelope on the coffee table, and reply, “I can’t tell you that, but I can say that—”
“You raised my rent?” Beelining to the other side of the room, she smashes the paper to my chest when she passes, putting as much distance as she can between us. Five feet wasn’t enough, I guess. “You were behind this all along.”
Taking the paper, I glance down, but then tell her, “I was cleaning up a mess I didn’t intend to happen—”
“Everything is always good intentions with you, isn’t it? Yet I’m always on the negative receiving end of it.”
“It seems that way, but it’s not plan—”
“My God, Baylor. Where does it end?” she shouts, the words cutting like a razor.
I take a breath, but it doesn’t calm my heart thudding in my chest, knowing I’m in trouble here. “It was ending today. I promise. That’s what I was trying to tell you.” I point at the envelope on the table between us. “That’s what this is. The end of it.”
She takes a deep breath, but no exhale follows. Instead, her shoulders rattle with a sob that breaks my heart as much as I’ve broken hers. “Please, Lauralee. I promise—”
“Your promises no longer mean anything. You dole them out like candy and still expect me to believe you after breaking every one of them.”
When she turns her back to me, I worry there’s no changing her mind about anything other than what she’s already convinced herself. But I won’t give up. Not on her. Not ever. In my fool’s heart, I still believe we can find a way back to happiness.