LITMIR.BIZ

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      Hopes falling, I recognized her polite comment for what it was. She was definitely not welcoming me into her group.

      “Right.” I pasted on a smile I hoped was civil. “Later, guys.”

      “Definitely,” Gabe returned.

      I gave a nod to Charlotte as I passed but she dropped her eyes.

      I did my best to walk calmly inside and out of view.

      Once I had privacy I collapsed against the nearest wall and struggled to draw in breath. I felt shaky, my face was tingling and my breath was trapped in my throat.

      I felt like I was dying.

      Recognizing the impending panic attack, I struggled to get control over it.

      Eloise had made it clear she didn’t really want to be friends, and I didn’t know if it was because she hated my mother—if it was about not wanting a replacement or not wanting her father’s attention divided—but I did know I was being left out in the cold.

      School on Monday was going to be just delightful.

      Trembling, I slumped to the ground and pressed the heels of my palms to my eyes. I was used to feeling alone in a room full of people who liked me, but I wasn’t used to actually being alone.

      I was surprised by how much that terrified me.

      * * *

      I almost hyperventilated again trying to find my new bedroom. I got lost in the myriad hallways, stairways and rooms in the mansion.

      When I finally found my room I was stunned.

      Spacious didn’t even cover it.

      In the middle of a grand room that had French doors that opened onto a beautiful Juliet balcony was a massive four-poster bed with champagne drapes. The wall the bed was situated against had been wallpapered in gold damask. I had white French-style furniture—bedside tables, a dressing table and mirror with a matching stool. A desk with a Mac sitting on top of it, school supplies piled next to it, a flat-screen TV hooked on the wall opposite my bed with a little shelf holding a DVD player. On the wall by the door was an iDock so I could play my music and hear it through the small speakers that had been fitted high up in every corner of the room. To finish there was a generous dressing room/walk-in and a private bathroom with a rainfall shower and huge claw-footed tub.

      It was a suite for a princess.

      I loved it. And I hated that I loved it.

      It was the kind of room I’d dreamed of escaping to when I lived with my dad. The kind of room I’d never imagined I’d ever get to sleep in.

      So I loved it.

      I just wished it had come to me in a different way.

      “So what do you think?”

      Hayley stood in the doorway, smiling gently at me. She was alone.

      Eloise’s words from earlier came back to me and I turned around to fully face Hayley. “I think you’re either ashamed of me or ashamed of yourself.”

      She stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. “What are you talking about?”

      “I’m talking about the fact that Theo wanted to come to California to meet me, get to know me, before hauling me across the country into this strange place with strange people. You didn’t want him to meet me...not until it was too late.”

      A guilty-looking Hayley shook her head. “That’s not true.”

      “Eloise told me that Theo wanted to meet me, but you said no.”

      She stared at her feet and said nothing.

      It never failed to surprise me that she could still hurt me. Angry, I pushed. “So...what was it? Ashamed of me or ashamed of you?”

      “I...” She shrugged and looked up at me, seeming helpless. “I didn’t want to take the chance that you’d tell him the truth. I haven’t told him and I know how angry you still are with me, and I... I didn’t want to lose him.”

      I laughed bitterly at her confession. “Isn’t that always the way with you, Hayley? Always doing what’s best for you. Not giving me time to get to know this guy, for him to get to know me... No, that doesn’t work for you, right? So who cares if you rip my world apart again and toss me in with these sharks? As long as you’re okay.”

      She rushed toward me suddenly, gripping my biceps hard as she pleaded with me. “This is the best thing that will ever happen to us. I know you don’t believe me but Theo is a good man and he can take care of us. No one can hurt us here.”

      “No one but each other.”

      Her grip fell away. “Are you going to tell him?”

      I looked around at my room, knowing that a guest room would never have been tricked out like this—with the laptop and speakers and school supplies. Whatever Theo’s true character, he’d gone to great lengths to make me feel welcome in his home. “You know, I almost feel sorry for the guy.” I turned back to her. “Marrying a woman he doesn’t really know.”

      As I stared into Hayley’s tortured eyes I crumbled. The truth was this could be my perfect revenge, taking him away from her by giving him cold hard facts. But I didn’t have that kind of spitefulness in me. “I won’t tell him.”

      Hayley sagged with relief. “It’s the right decision, sweetheart. I promise. I am trying to make this up to you. I’ve been trying for six years. What else can I do?”

      “Stop trying.”

      I flinched as she raised her hand and brushed her thumb across my cheek. Her eyes were wet as she whispered, “Never.”

      I held strong and silent until she left me alone in my room. That’s when I finally let my tears fall.

      * * *

      “This is exciting,” Theo said. “Our first dinner as a family.”

      Hayley beamed at him while Eloise and I looked anywhere but at each other as we sat across from one another at the eight-seater dining table.

      After being forced from my new bedroom by Theo and Hayley I discovered Theo employed a driver, a cook, three maids and a groundskeeper. Apparently I’d missed the tennis court and badminton court situated beyond the swimming pool.

      They had “staff.”

      Staff.

      Seriously?

      I felt like Cedric Errol in Little Lord Fauntleroy.

      As we were served dinner by said staff, I ignored Hayley and Theo as they twittered lovingly with one another until Theo said, “Eloise, why don’t you join Hayley and India tomorrow? They’re shopping for a new wardrobe and could use you as a guide.”

      Eloise smiled at her father. “I would, Daddy, but I have a chemistry lab paper to write with Charlotte tomorrow. The paper is due Monday.”

      “Oh, well, your education comes first.” He looked disappointed but didn’t push her on it.

      I slumped with relief that she wouldn’t be joining us.

      “Charles Street has some very nice boutiques,” Eloise said warmly to Hayley. “And of course there’s Newbury Street. You’ll find everything you need there.”

      “Thank you.” Hayley turned to Theo. “I’ve never been shopping in Boston.”

      “Gil will drive you but Back Bay and Beacon Hill aren’t an easy place to get lost. That’s where your new school is, India. Beacon Hill,” Theo said. “Gil will drive you and Eloise there in the morning and pick you up after school. If you and Eloise end up with different schedules we’ll work something out. Your mother tells me you’re a great soccer player. Tobias Rochester, unfortunately, doesn’t have a girls’ soccer team but we do have a lacrosse

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