Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 108165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 541(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 541(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
“Five hundred?” I correct.
She nods. “I have a few things. Let me show you.” She retrieves several displays from behind the glass counter.
“Did Molly mention I saw her at a coffee shop several days ago?” I ask.
“No. But I don’t talk with her that often. She’s busy, and so am I.”
“Her new boyfriend seems nice.”
Corinne pauses her motions, carefully setting the last display onto the counter while eyeing me. “She doesn’t have a boyfriend. She’s still grieving Steven.”
My lips twist while I hum. “That’s interesting. They seemed to be together.”
“What do you mean by together?”
Inspecting the necklaces and bracelets on the displays, I shrug. “Molly was touching him in a way that I assume only a girlfriend would touch her boyfriend.”
“Touching him how?”
I try on one of the bracelets. “Intimately.”
“Holding hands?”
I shake my head.
Corinne spins the rings on her fingers like her daughter did when I visited her at their house. “Kissing?”
Another headshake. “It’s not my place to share the details. And maybe I’m wrong.” I hold up a necklace to my chest and glance in the mirror. “Perhaps times have changed. Maybe teenagers do more with or for their friends than we did years ago. If that’s true, then Molly must be Colin’s best friend.”
“I don’t know what you think you saw, but you must have mistaken it for something else. And I don’t know who this Colin boy is. Believe me; I would know if my daughter had a boyfriend.”
“You said it yourself. Molly is busy, and so are you. I’m sure she doesn’t have time to give you the finer details of her life.” I shift my gaze toward the door at the back of the store where the man in a suit escaped. “Just like I’m sure you don’t have time to share the finer details of your life with your daughter…” I smile “…or your husband.”
She’s screwed, and it’s all over her face. On the one hand, she wants to threaten me and kick my ass out of her store—out of this town. On the other hand, she knows I’m here because I lost my nephew, whom her daughter was dating. And you can’t threaten a grieving person.
“Are any of these going to work for you?” she asks through gritted teeth.
“I fear not. But thanks for showing them to me. Nice seeing you again, Corinne.”
I need to know who the guy was in the store with Corinne. There’s a hundred percent probability that their relationship is as innocent as Colin’s and Molly’s. In the meantime, I text Archer Sanford. I don’t plan on killing anyone, but I’m not leaving until I’ve thoroughly fucked up their entire family.
Will it get Steven and Lynn back? Of course not.
Do I think it’s what my brother would have wanted me to do? Absolutely.
That letter poisoned me, and it would have poisoned John too. And I can’t just shake it off and leave town like it never existed.
Me: It’s Iris. The red dress?
Archer: What a pleasant surprise. Can I take you to dinner?
Me: I’d love that
Archer: What’s your address?
Me: What’s the address of the restaurant?
Archer: Fair enough
He sends me the address.
Archer: 7?
Me: Perfect
Archer: Wear that dress again
Me: Boring
Archer: Don’t wear anything underneath it and I promise you won’t be bored
The Sanfords are despicable. I need to figure out how far I’m willing to go to make them pay. Am I ready to sell my soul?
Molly humiliated Steven and then destroyed him. I’m going to humiliate her in every possible way.
I arrive at the restaurant ten minutes early. Then I slip into the ladies’ room and slide off my panties. Yes, I’m wearing the red dress. After tucking them in my purse and checking my makeup, I return to the entrance just as Archer arrives with his bodyguards. Why all the protection? Is he running for president?
He removes his sunglasses, tucking them into his suit jacket while a triumphant smile bleeds across his face.
Here we are in another public space, and he unapologetically fucks me with his eyes. Sadly, I’m not immune to it. Archer’s older than me, but it doesn’t detract from his sex appeal. He’s fit and tan with a head full of blond and gray hair. He has a sinful smile and a custom-tailored suit. His confidence alone would make the average woman do about anything for his attention.
I’m not the average woman, but I’m willing to play the part to regain some sense of control and right in the world again.
Before I can speak, he saunters past the dining room attendant. His bodyguard nods for me to follow Archer. We enter a private dining room, fit for a party of twelve, but there are only settings for two and champagne is already on ice. His bodyguards don’t join us in the private room. I tamp down my nerves with Molly’s words. That’s all it takes because I have every single word of that letter memorized.