Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 132097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
My heart sinks.
“Hey, boy,” I whisper, dropping to my knees so Ares can lick my face, chasing back my tears before they start. “Long time no see.”
Margot turns to Mom, her always stylish heels glittering in the yellow sunlight.
“Is Ethan here?” she demands, almost winded.
Ethan again.
I should’ve known.
His name rocks through me, and I straighten up, wiping my cheeks with the back of my hand. Only to wipe away Ares’ drool, of course.
“Ethan?” I ask.
“Yes, Ethan,” Margot says impatiently. “I guess that’s a no? If he is, do not let him back in easy.”
I don’t understand.
“Why would he be?” I’m so stunned it’s hard to speak.
“I don’t know. I just thought he’d—never mind. Honestly, I don’t know where he’s gone.” Margot rakes a hand through her hair. “He left hours ago, last night, but it was so abrupt. Someone had to stay with Ares and I couldn’t go chasing after him. I—God. After the way he acted, I really thought he might come here, but—”
“There’s no reason for that, Gigi,” I say flatly. “He hasn’t said a word to me since I left.”
“Total knuckle-brain,” she mutters. “Well, in that case, I’m out of ideas.”
“What happened?” Mom interjects. “This seems serious.”
“Long story short, I went to see him last night to tell him about Cooper Daley suing the company. He got pissed and left.” Margot’s heels click the asphalt, her words almost too fast to keep up with. “He told me not to come after him, but you know Ethan—when he’s emotional and angry, bad things happen.”
My brain whips back to the night we broke up.
The churning storm, his violent anger, and underneath it all, the hurt.
His grim determination to push me away and lock me out. Forever.
Barely sealed cracks in my heart reopen.
Margot gives us the rundown of what happened with the lawsuit.
“So you just told him? Hoping he’d grow up?” I force my voice to stay neutral.
“I didn’t have a choice. He’s the only one they’ll deal with in that contract,” Margot says. “He was ignoring everything from the office. Not even reading emails, no matter how urgent. He just quit life and decided he wanted nothing more to do with anything Blackthorn. Ridiculous.”
My heart skips.
The crushing weight that’s been piling up on me since the breakup threatens to crack through. “And what did he say? Did he freak out when you told him?”
“Yeah, but not like you’d think. It wasn’t anger, more like… icy calm. He said he was going to make Cooper pay and just left.” Margot tries to straighten her hair, which looks like she slept in it without a good brushing—a first for her. Oh, this is bad. “And now he’s gone and I don’t know where to find him. I don’t like the state he was in at all.”
What the hell would Jane Austen do with this?
There’s only one answer.
“The books can wait,” I say. “Let’s go hunt him down.”
Margot nods and takes a deep, deliberate breath. “Okay, thank God. Okay, I’ll call the local police department. Just to give them a heads-up before anything gets out of hand like someone getting their face punched in.”
“Cooper Daley,” Mom says slowly, her forehead wrinkling. “Why does that name sound familiar?”
“He’s gotten pretty big in real estate around here, Mom,” I tell her. “He was an intern for Leonidas once, kinda screwed them over. Then he said he wanted to make nice with Ethan. They were planning some big ski lodge project up north. But now I wonder, maybe he was just looking for an excuse to sue and get free land?”
Yes, my voice is bitter.
I hate that I was the one who delivered the apology that started this mess.
My clueless ass believed him when he came crawling up to me and said how sorry he was.
And I backed him up after Ethan insisted he was a viper.
It’s not my fault, no, but there’s still a guilty sting.
If I hadn’t played messenger, Ethan might’ve never taken him up on the deal. And now the entire company might suffer, the inheritance that should still be his. I mean, if he ever comes to his senses and finds a way around the whole fake marriage problem.
He won’t be torn up and crazy forever, right?
Ugh.
My stomach knots.
Mom leans against the side of the car, chewing her bottom lip as she thinks. Then she digs out her phone.
“I’m going to need some help making sure those boxes are secure,” I say. “Mom, what are you—”
“Cooper Daley. This Cooper?” she asks, holding up her phone.
I squint at the picture on the screen.
There’s a pretty, fit blonde woman, front and center, and the man holding her is—
Holy crap.
Cooper.
Is that his wife? Ethan mentioned one.
Frowning, I lean closer, scanning every detail. It must be Cooper and his wife, I decide.
She’s gorgeous and regal in that picture-perfect way rich people have, decked out in a high honey ponytail and just enough makeup to mask any flaws.