could answer, dad came into the room with a very tall man who looked to be about my age, someone I’d never seen but who looked vaguely familiar. And then Sam made the introductions, and it all fell into place.
I hadn’t meant to blurt out what I did. Hadn’t meant to divulge the fact that I knew anything about her past because she had no idea that I’ve been looking. After I started coming to my senses, some of the things others, like my parents, my closest friends, and, of course, my sister had said, started playing over and over in my head.
Words of advice and warnings that I’d ignored because I was so sure that I was right came crashing down on me, and I decided it wouldn’t hurt to look. The PI was still on the job, but one of the things he’d found was her prior engagement. We weren’t sure that the Jared Macalister from her past was the reclusive billionaire and had no reason to believe that he was, but what are the chances that this guy standing in my parents’ great room isn’t him?
All eyes were on me now, but Sam, as usual since we were little, saved me; she saw the look of panic on my face, I guess. “I told him.” Only three people in the room knew she was lying, and thank heavens, one of them wasn’t Tessa. Jared didn’t change expression, but it was obvious he knew and, of course, Sam and I.
Mom looked confused for a minute, but then dad whispered something in her ear that seemed to calm her down, and I remembered doing that very same thing with Deidre. We used to have our own secret code, something we shared when we were among others. Things our friends used to find cute and adorable when they deemed us the perfect couple.
But wait, why is this guy here? For a second, I felt a sense of relief that he’d come to take Tessa off my hands, though I couldn’t imagine what someone like him would want with her. She isn’t exactly the nicest human being, something I’d come to notice once I came out of the fog. But Sam’s words finally registered. “Fiancée?” My mouth was almost to my chest. Not only was my sister marrying one of the wealthiest men alive, but he was once my soon to be ex’s ex.
Oh yes, I’ve been planning for some time now to end things, but a few things stood in the way. First, there was the guilt I felt for leaving her high and dry since she was totally dependent on me. Though she has a degree, she refuses to work because I pay my ex alimony. Money that Tessa has no idea has never been touched.
I think Deidre might be leaving the money in the account for the girls’ future. That’s something else that had plagued me recently, the fact that if she was the scheming, conniving bitch Tessa made her out to be, that money would’ve been long gone. That and the fact that in all this time, Deidre has never dated anyone else.
The PI is looking for that Troy person who seems quite frankly to have disappeared off the face of the earth. I have a burning need to get to the truth even though I might have to accept that I’ve been totally wrong. The thought of that hurts me more than the betrayal had because it would mean that I’m the one who had betrayed Deidre and my kids. I felt like I was going to pass out.
The more Sam and her fiancée clung to each other, the more agitated Tessa became. I wonder what the hell is wrong with her. Sure the situation is a bit uncomfortable, to say the least, but nothing that should have her in such a panic, unless…
SAMANTHA
I change my mind. I absolutely love the fact that Jared has shown up a few days early. The look on Tessa’s face right now is priceless. Tom, to his credit, is redeeming himself more and more in my eyes. The fact that he knew about Jared from someone else other than Tessa spoke volumes as I’m sure Deidre would never have mentioned it to him at this point, so I saved him since he didn’t look like he’d meant for that little nugget to be exposed.
Once the introductions had been made, Jared made his excuses for taking me away, something I was