day of the week over this. “No, Daddy.” I’d used my most syrupy sweet voice, the one that almost always made him soften.
Not today.
“You lost, Delilah,” he snapped. “You failed. I sent you to do one little job for me, and you came home a failure.”
I kept my gaze down, my eyes burning. “I got Brandon—”
“You did nothing. You were making out with that farmhand friend of his when you were supposed to be working Brandon. Don’t think I forgot about that.” A silence fell that felt loaded. I braced myself for what he would say next. “Jack.” My father bit his name out and it ripped through the air like a gunshot. “Jack Carlton is his name, isn’t it?”
My insides dropped, and my hands began to shake. If he knew who Jack was, then Jack was on his radar. Which meant…he wasn’t safe.
When did he learn Jack’s name? How?
I shot a quick sidelong look at Tess, but she too was staring at her plate, moving food around but not eating. She looked almost as uncomfortable as I felt.
My father’s words kept coming, raining down on me like nails. But I tuned him out, focusing instead on anger. Of course it had been Tess. Daddy’s favorite. She’d sold me out. After we left Pinedale she’d told me it was Amber who’d told Daddy about the kiss, but he hadn’t known Jack’s name. And Amber knew better than to get on my bad side any further than she already was. She wouldn’t have reached out to Daddy with more information against me.
So that left Tess.
And here I’d thought we were starting to be… well, not sisters, but I’d felt like we were on the same side, at least.
I was an idiot for trusting her. She’d do whatever it took to be Daddy’s favorite.
I gripped my fork tight and forced a meek nod and a quiet “Yes, Daddy” whenever there was a pause.
“You’re useless,” he muttered when the tirade was done. His chair scraped against the tiles of the patio, the lights of the pool behind him casting his face in shadows. For the best, most likely.
I knew that look of disappointment well. I didn’t need to see it again.
“All you have to do is make people believe that the leading man wants to sleep with you.” He threw his napkin down on the table. “Hopefully that’s something that even you can achieve.”
The silence that followed his departure made me want to throw up. I could feel Tess’s gaze on me. Even Vivien, the plastic, soulless monster, was eyeing me with something like pity.
It probably was pity and she just couldn’t move her face muscles enough to show it.
“I have to go,” I said, not even bothering to look at the other two before I slipped away, down the steps of the veranda to sit inside one of the cabanas by the pool. It was nicer out here than in my bedroom.
Inside, I might run into Daddy. Out here… well, I was getting very good at staying hidden out here or at Brandon’s place.
The only problem with my cabana break was that it gave me too much time alone. Time to think.
Time to remember.
Every time I had too much alone time, I found myself obsessing over Jack. Every word he’d said, every kiss we’d shared, every sweet, dumb little romantic gesture. When I had well and truly tortured myself, I left my little hut of isolation and headed back to the main house.
I stopped short when I reached the outdoor dining area. Tess and Vivien were still there. Not a big surprise, I supposed, since I’d left during the first course. But they weren’t just eating.
They were talking.
Which meant… something was up.
I know, I know. Calm down there, Nancy Drew. So they’re talking. So what? What’s the big deal?
The big deal was, they didn’t talk. They were so not friends. Neither me nor Tess was a fan of the latest Devereaux bride, and we regularly rolled our eyes behind her back. So, what was with this pow-wow?
I took another step closer, and they were so caught up in their conversation that they didn’t even hear me coming. Their voices were lowered, practically whispers and their expressions…
Well, to be fair, Vivien’s expression was the same as ever. Immovable and creepy. But her eyes flashed with more emotion than I’d ever seen from the life-sized doll. And even from this side view, I could tell Tess had her game face on. It was the