Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 99313 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99313 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
I love my mom, but she’s a bit of a head case. The last time she blew into town, I overheard Uncle Craig mutter under his breath that she was a flake. And that’s putting it nicely. In Lydia Bellamy’s world, husbands are dispensable, and marriage doesn’t last forever.
For two months every summer, I pack up and fly to wherever she’s currently located. Last year was Monte Carlo. The summer before that was London. And it was Tuscany the year before that.
I know…boo hoo, poor me.
It’s not like I can complain. The scenery is always magical, and she takes me shopping, buying me whatever I want. We lunch and fill our days with spa dates. I always come back to school feeling well-rested and pampered.
If our relationship is more superficial than intimate, I try not to let it bother me. When she treats me more like a girlfriend she just met yachting in the South of France and confides details I’d prefer not to know about the men in her life, I let it go in one ear and out the other before it can do any permanent psychological damage.
She’s been with Frederique for two years. I suspect their relationship will reach its expiration date shortly. Even though I really liked husbands number two and three, I don’t bother getting attached. Just when I let my guard down, they’re headed for the door and she’s moving on to greener pastures.
Or men with bigger bank accounts.
It blows my mind that Marnie and Mom are related, let alone sisters. They couldn’t be more different. Unlike my mother, Noah’s mom is down to earth and sensible. She has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and works in the emergency room at the local hospital. My mother has a degree from a fashion institute and spent a few years employed by a well-known design house before deciding the working life wasn’t for her.
Last summer break, I cajoled Noah into spending two weeks with me in Monte Carlo. After three days with my whirlwind of a mother, he told me flat out that Lydia was—and I quote—“fucking nuts.”
It’s difficult to take issue with that statement because he’s right.
She’s a wackadoodle.
“Hey, Aunt Marn.” Carter’s deep voice resonates throughout the spacious kitchen.
She flashes him an affectionate smile.
Marn.
His pet name for her sets my teeth on edge. It annoys me that Noah’s mom has a soft spot for Carter.
Then again, everything about Carter Prescott annoys the hell out of me.
“She’s not your aunt,” I snap, not able to block out his irritating presence after his antics the other night. “You are in no way, shape, or form related to these people.” If my aunt weren’t here, I would bare my teeth at him.
See?
This is what Carter does to me. He turns me into a raging bitch. Not only am I pissed at him, but now I’m angry with myself for allowing him to get under my skin.
Surprised by my outburst, my aunt shoots me a sharp, disapproving look. “Daisy, that’s not very nice. Carter is practically family.”
I wince at her tone. The fact that she’s chastising me is embarrassing enough. But doing it in front of Carter makes it even worse and has me simmering while silently plotting his death. Aunt Marnie has a strange affinity for the goon. Personally, I can’t make heads or tails of it.
“He’s Noah’s brother from another mother,” she quips while giving Carter a wink.
“Ewww.” Noah wrinkles his nose. “That’s gross, Mom. Don’t ever say that again.”
I grumble under my breath and avoid looking anywhere in Carter’s vicinity. He’s probably smirking in delight for getting a rise out of me.
The big jerk.
Aunt Marnie knows that Carter and I don’t get along. I’ve groused about him on several occasions. Multiplied by infinity.
Noah and Carter met during football camp before freshman year and have been tight ever since. Even though Noah has skills when it comes to football, he’s not good enough to turn pro. He loves it but doesn’t live and breathe it the way some of the other guys on the team do. Noah has already taken the LSAT and is working on completing his applications for law school.
Carter, on the other hand, lives and breathes football. It’s his passion. His focus. He and I don’t talk about his future, but I hear the gossip floating around campus. Most guys are more than happy to boast about their prospects if they’re heading to the NFL. But Carter isn’t one of them. He’s guarded and private. He doesn’t discuss his family or brag about his post-college plans. I may live with the guy, but I know next to nothing about him. Which is just fine by me.
Thankfully Aunt Marnie doesn’t say anything more on the subject. The last thing I need is to get my butt chewed out in front of Carter. He’d probably pull up a chair, munch on a bag of popcorn, and enjoy the show.