Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 71165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
“If I may ask, what do you do for a living, Rex?”
“I run one of the top hedge funds in New York.”
She was clearly impressed. “Oh! Sounds complicated.”
“Not really,” I said.
“Well, it’s nice to know my daughter has found herself a man who can take care of her financially. I love them to bits, but all my daughters are high maintenance.”
What kind of mother would say that to a man her daughter had brought home for the first time? A mother who was trying to put that man off. I bet she didn’t say that to Steven when he declared his intentions towards Tiffany.
We both turned to look at Willow. Noticing us turn to look at her, she excused herself from the aunt she was talking to and came to join us.
I slipped my hand around her waist and kissed her cheek. Just talking to her stepmother for a few minutes had made me feel bad for Willow. Poor thing. She had put up with this subtle maliciousness all her life. Willow looked up at me, adoration gleaming from her eyes. It looked so real that for a few seconds, I felt disorientated.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. I fished it out and glanced at the screen. It was my PA. “Excuse me, I won’t be long.” I smiled at Willow then, weaved my way through her relatives and out of the house. Shutting the front door, I called my secretary back.
“There’s an urgent email that you need to respond to,” she said crisply.
“Thanks.”
Disconnecting the call, I logged onto my email account, and for the next few minutes, was engrossed in responding to the email. The front door opened just as I hit send. I looked up, thinking it was Willow, but it was Caroline.
“Hi,” she greeted with a friendly smile.
“Hi.” I dipped my hands into my pockets.
“Just wanted to say welcome to Wisconsin,” she said, coming to stand where I was. “Is it your first time here?”
“Thank you, and no it’s not. I’ve come once for business.” I didn’t mention that it was a conference and I never left the hotel.
“Oh nice,” she said. “You and Willow are really in love.”
“Your cousin is very special to me.”
“She is to all of us even if she doesn’t believe it,” Caroline said. “She was always very close to her father and when he passed on, it just broke her.”
I kept my voice mild. “That must have been tough for all of you.”
“It was. Then came the issue of Steven and Tiffany. It tore the family apart.”
I nodded, not wanting to make a comment just yet.
“That was very difficult for all of us,” she said and wrapped her hands around her waist.
I cocked my head to one side. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because you’re the one who is closest to Willow. We want her to know that she’s loved… and that we didn’t take sides. We miss her and want her back in our lives.”
“Have you tried telling her this yourself?”
“She doesn’t pick up my calls, and when she does, she refuses to discuss it,” Caroline said.
“Maybe this is your chance to talk to her face to face,” I suggested. I didn’t want to be drawn into that dispute especially as I knew how hurt Willow had been and was.
I was on Willow’s side. Period.
14
WILLOW
“How are you feeling, dear?” Nicole asked, as soon as Rex moved away.
“I’m fine, thanks.”
“Yes, of course, you’re fine, but that’s not what I’m asking,” she insisted. “I’m talking about the wedding.”
How the hell do you think I’m feeling? But I didn’t say the words out loud. Instead, I grabbed a glass of wine from the tray that Olivia carried as she passed by. I was drinking too much, but honestly it was the only way I could cope with being cooped up in the same room with this many of my relatives.
I took a gulp and smiled at my stepmother. My jaw ached from all the smiling I’d done since I arrived. I hadn’t reckoned on how exhausting it was pretending to be happy. No, not just happy, ecstatically happy.
“How can I feel bad when I have Rex?” I asked sweetly. “He’s a million times the man that Steven is. Breaking up with Steven is the best thing that ever happened to me. I’ll make a point to thank Tiffany for taking him off my hands.”
A startled look came over Nicole’s face. “That’s not necessary.”
“You don’t think I should tell her?” I asked innocently. “She might be feeling guilty for stealing my man. It would be good for her to know she is actually the architect of my good fortune.”
Nicole frowned. “Please, Willow. Just leave it. This is a happy occasion. We don’t want to spoil it with any bitterness from the past.”
“All right. As you wish, Nicole. Clean slate for everyone.” I glanced around as if I’d just become aware that Rex was not in the room. “Rex must be wondering where I am,” I murmured and turned away quickly.