Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 124923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
“Technically, we’re having Christmas Eve dinner.”
“I didn’t even know you could cook.” I absently scratch my stomach, making my way over to where Valen stands. She stiffens when I approach, but she still won’t look at me.
“I can’t,” Shayne says, oblivious to her best friend’s discomfort. “And the service is shit here, so I barely have the help of Google.”
“That’s comforting. Got one for me?” I ask, nodding my chin toward the mimosas.
“Nope.” Valen slides two of them in Shayne’s direction for her and Thayer, keeping one for herself.
“Fine.” I shrug before reaching over her to grab the champagne, chugging it straight from the bottle. There’s not much left, so I polish it off, then drag my arm across my mouth and let out an exaggerated ahhh. “Refreshing.” It’s not exactly the breakfast of champions, but it’ll do.
“Pig.” Valen rolls her eyes before walking to the opposite end of the counter. I frown at her, wondering what crawled up her ass. Is she mad about last night? Does she regret it?
“Any word from your brother?” she asks Shayne. At the mention of Grey, my already shit mood takes a nosedive. I catch Thayer’s eyes and he gives a slight shake of his head, silently telling me to let it go.
“He said he’s going to try to make it, but I haven’t heard from him today.” She tries to sound unaffected, but I know she’s hoping he’ll show up and we’ll all bury the hatchet and be best friends forever. But he won’t show. He’s been dicking her around for a year, giving her little pieces of hope but never actually following through. “Then again, I’m barely getting any calls or messages here.”
“Same here. It’s still early,” Valen reassures Shayne. “Maybe he’ll just show up even if he can’t get a hold of you.”
“Let’s be honest. He’s not coming.”
“Fuck him,” Thayer says what I’m thinking. Shayne shoots him a glare, and he pinches the waistband of her sweatpants, pulling her toward him.
“I just feel bad that he’s going to be alone for Christmas.”
“When does your mom get back?” Valen asks.
“The twenty-ninth, I think? She said she’d be back in time for New Year’s. Apparently, August invited her to the gala himself.”
Valen’s eyebrows shoot up. “August and your mom? Is that not…weird?”
“It’s not like that,” Shayne clarifies. “They’ve been talking more since everything came out about Grey being his, but she swears there’s nothing else going on.”
“Better not be,” my brother mutters.
“Sounds juicy,” Valen says. “Report back with details.”
“I never said I was going,” Shayne points out.
“Why not?”
“Yeah, why not?” I ask. “We’ll be there, too.” There’s a New Year’s party every year, but the difference is this year, our uncle is the one hosting.
“Who is we? Because I sure the fuck won’t be there,” Thayer says.
“Then I’ll go solo. We’ve let our dear old uncle live in peace for too long. This is his event. It’s the perfect chance to make him sweat a little in front of his new friends. Let him know we’re not going to forget what happened.”
Thayer narrows his eyes at me. “What are you planning?”
“Nothing’s set in stone.” I shrug. “Rumor has it, the governor will be there. According to Dad, one of the current associate justices is set to retire, and Samuel has his eye on the position.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Shayne asks.
“In Massachusetts, associate justices are nominated by the governor. Samuel will want to be on his best behavior if he’s going to be there.”
“Things never go well when you go rogue,” Shayne reminds me.
“Relax. I just thought we might be able to corner Rebecca. Maybe get some answers out of her. She has to know something about Christian, and I’m willing to bet she cares about him more than Samuel.” Our dad has assured us that he’d handle it, but he’s clearly not in any kind of hurry to get answers.
“Rebecca is Christian’s mom,” Shayne supplies for Valen who looks slightly confused.
“It’s not a bad idea,” Thayer concedes, crossing his arms over his chest. “Then we can put this shit behind us.”
“What do you think happened that night?” Valen voices the question that all of us are thinking, but no one answers. We all exchange looks, silent for a beat.
“He pussied out. Probably got cold feet about spending time in prison and used my uncle to cover his tracks.”
“That, or Samuel intercepted him before he could turn himself in.”
I huff out a sardonic laugh. We all know he didn’t plan on turning himself in. It was the guilt and alcohol talking. Once he sobered up, he had no intention of taking responsibility for what he did.
“Do you really think your uncle is capable—” Valen’s voice cuts into my thoughts.
“Yes,” Shayne answers, her tone resolute. “He’s capable of whatever you’re thinking and worse.”