Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 92708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
When she opened it, she gave me her fake smile. “Oh, hi. What a pleasant surprise.”
“Can I come in, please? I want to talk to you.”
“Be my guest.” She stood back so I could enter, closing the door behind me. “I’m just unpacking.”
I followed her into her bedroom. “I heard you were on a trip.”
“Mmhm.” She tossed some clothing from her suitcase into a laundry basket.
“Where’d you go?”
“Boston.”
Leaning against the doorframe, I folded my arms. “What was going on there?”
“I had some business.” She hung up a little black dress. “I stayed at the most amazing hotel. Five stars. Every possible amenity. My suite had an incredible view. Thank God I didn’t have to pay for it—it would have been way outside my budget.”
“Sounds nice. Was it a collaboration for your blog?”
“Nope.” She giggled. “I had a generous benefactor who took care of the bill.”
“Tabitha. Tell me it wasn’t Bob Oliver.”
“What business is it of yours?” She placed a pair of black heels in the closet. “Are you the only one in this family who’s allowed to have a little fun?”
“He’s engaged. Did you know that?”
She shrugged. “He says that’s all for show.”
“He’s getting married for show?”
She pinned me with a stare over her shoulder. “Look who’s talking.”
I took a breath and tried again. “Okay, fine. Your personal life is your business. But I don’t think this guy can be trusted.”
“And why’s that? Frankly, everything he’s told me has turned out to be true.” She folded a sweater and tucked it into a drawer.
“What has he told you?”
“That I’m worth a lot of money and I shouldn’t be cheated out of it just because you up and married some random guy who only proposed in order to spite the guy who replaced him.”
“That’s not true, Tabitha.”
“Oh no?” She zipped up her suitcase and tried to shove it on the high shelf of her closet but couldn’t quite reach.
“No.” I went over and reached for the suitcase, easily pushing it onto the shelf.
She spun around and faced me with a furious expression I recognized from childhood. “I could have reached it! You’re not better than me just because you’re taller!”
“Sorry, I just thought you needed help.”
“Well, I don’t want your help. I just want my money so I can get out of here and go somewhere I’m appreciated.”
“You’re appreciated here, Tabitha.” I sat down on the foot of her bed. “Tell me what you want to do at Snowberry and we’ll make it work. If you don’t want to be involved at the spa, that’s fine. I just thought you’d be good at it. But you could do PR or social media or whatever else you’d like.”
“I want my own business,” she snapped. “It’s not fair that you get everything and I get nothing! And it’s been that way my entire life.”
“Tabitha, that’s not—”
“Don’t tell me it’s not true, because it is!” Her eyes filled with tears. “I’ve never been anyone’s favorite. It was always Lexi, Lexi, Lexi. You were the better skier, the better student, the better person. Everyone loved you more, even Gran and Grandpa. I could tell. Everyone felt sorry for you when your parents died—and I did too—but it was like I didn’t exist after that! No matter what I did, I could never compete with you. And I still can’t. Because you’re perfect, and I’m just in the way. Even my mom and dad didn’t want me around. Do you know what that feels like?”
My jaw was hanging open. “Tabitha, I had no idea you felt that way. I’m—I’m sorry.”
“And now I’m an asshole again for making you apologize that you had to grow up without parents,” she said, wiping her eyes.
“You’re not an asshole, I just don’t know what else to say. But believe me, I’m not perfect. I’ve . . . I’ve done things that I’m not proud of.”
“Like get married just so you can inherit early?”
“I’m not sorry about that,” I said, lifting my chin. “I was willing to do anything so Snowberry wouldn’t be sold and torn down. I only regret that it involved lying to Gran.”
“Lying to everyone!”
“Fine. Lying to everyone!” I jumped up, throwing my hands in the air. “You’re right, Tabitha. The truth is that Devlin and I eloped so that I could inherit and he could stick it to Bob Oliver. We agreed to stay married just long enough to secure ownership, borrow the funds for the renovation, and get construction going.”
“I knew it!” Her eyes blazed with triumph.
“Now what do you want from me, Tabitha? Money? You want me to pay you off so you don’t tell Gran?”
“I don’t need your money,” she huffed. “I’ll have my own just as soon as your little sham marriage goes bust.”
“What do you mean?”
She cocked her head. “Obviously you don’t know about the five-year clause.”