LITMIR.BIZ

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it was light by the time I took off.” She opted to not mention the creepy feeling she had of being watched, nor the sounds of breaking twigs that she’d been afraid might have been some unseen trespasser. Her imagination had always been on hyperdrive, a byproduct of having her nose in a book since she was a kid. Her reading tastes ran the gamut of genres, but her favorites remained thriller and horror.

      “Sabrina thought it was a safe place, too.” Mara’s mention of her niece and Phoebe’s cousin hit Phoebe square in her heart. She winced, wishing the pain would somehow ease and then immediately felt guilty. Sabrina Gilford hadn’t been given a chance to escape the pain and suffering of her murder. What right did Phoebe have to even consider complaining about her own life?

      “I’m not going to win this conversation, Mom. Let me get something to eat and I’ll see you in the ballroom later.”

      “Wait a minute, sweetheart.” Mara’s normal businesslike tone was tinged with concern.

      “Yes, Mom?”

      “You need to be prepared. If this is one of Skye’s more prolonged relationship-grieving periods, she might not be back in time for tonight. I’ll need you to step up.” Mara’s words made Phoebe’s heart stutter. Skye wouldn’t leave them in the lurch, not with the opening gala tonight, would she?

      Her clenched jaw told her the truth. Skye could take breakup misery to a whole new level, and there was a good possibility she’d back out of tonight if she truly didn’t feel up to the task. But it wasn’t something Phoebe wanted to reveal to her mother, who always bore the brunt of the festival’s pressure each year. She forced a smile, made her stance more relaxed and put a hand on her mother’s shoulder.

      “Mom, we’ve been through this. Skye is the face of The Chateau’s marketing. She’s a natural at dealing with the public and especially the press. I’m the depth of our team. Like when I ran cross country in high school and college. I never was the fastest, but Coach could always count on me.” And she never wanted to be in front of a television camera, not willingly. The thought of having to stand in front of the gauntlet of reporters, all craving the latest and greatest gossip on the featured actors, was more frightening than the scariest novel she’d ever read. “Trust me, Mom. You don’t want me doing one bit of her job.”

      “Coltons don’t quit, Phoebe.” Mara clearly had her teeth sunk into the idea that Phoebe could instantaneously replace Skye, and she balked.

      “Wait a minute—I’m not the one who took off with a broken heart. I’m right here, Mom, standing in front of you. Please don’t put this on me. If on the very tiny chance Skye isn’t here in time, we can ask one of the hotel management interns to step in. It’d be the best training for them, and we can let the press know we’re giving an intern from another part of the country a great opportunity.”

      Mara’s mouth gaped. “You’ve had your nose buried in our financial books far too long, Phoebe. There is no way on earth I’d allow an intern to do Skye’s job. Not during the festival, anyhow. It’s too risky, even if we’d taken the last month to train them.”

      “Mom, we’re wasting time here. Skye will be back on time—we can count on her for professional commitments.” And they could. Skye never missed a work appointment.

      “Let’s hope you’re right and she shows up in time to get ready for the red carpet. For now, I’d feel much better if you’d plan on handling the press briefing at three. If Skye is back by then, great, no problem. If not, however, you’ll be ready to go.”

      Mara wasn’t budging, and Phoebe couldn’t really blame her. More like her mother when it came to planning, Phoebe preferred a sense of direction and purpose. With no surprises. Once again, her heart cracked a little, seeing her mother’s anxiety during what was normally a time of year they all looked forward to.

      “Fine.” She blew a long breath out of her mouth. “I’ll look over her notes after my shower. Just in case.”

      “Thank you, sweetheart.” Mara turned and walked away, and Phoebe wished for once she was the more outgoing sister. The one who’d tell their mom that no way in heck was she going to talk to the press or corral the VIPs into the ballroom. She’d honestly be content to play the shadow sister for the rest of her life. It might mean she didn’t get the accolades that Skye enjoyed, but she’d have peace of mind.

       Are you sure? Maybe this is a chance to show your mettle.

      “Whatever.” Phoebe grumbled to herself as she went to her apartment, a collection of rooms in a private residential wing of the hotel. Skye had better show up sooner than later. Otherwise Phoebe was going to be pretending to be her sister, something she hadn’t done since high school, when Skye skipped two classes to go skiing with her boyfriend of the week. Because, ultimately, she knew that she’d never be able to stop her mother from getting what she wanted. Mara Colton was a force of nature all to herself.

      Before she stepped into the shower, Phoebe sent off a quick text to Skye. She’d give her sister until noon to get it together and come back to work. Skye knew how important the next several days were, and no matter how shattered her heart was, she’d never put the Colton family in a rough position.

      Unless something really wrong was going on. Phoebe’s twin radar wasn’t firing off as it had earlier, but it wasn’t giving her any warm fuzzies, either.

       It’s because Skye’s upset over being dumped.

      “Well, two can play at this game.” Phoebe spoke to herself as she got under the hot stream of water. Closing her eyes, she focused on her gut and envisioned the invisible cord that connected her to her twin. Once she had a solid mental image of the thread, she yanked on it, as if this would alert Skye to the fact that her twin needed her. “It’s your turn to feel my pain, Skye. Get back here now.”

      * * *

      Skye did feel Phoebe’s mental nudge, Phoebe assumed, because when she got out of the shower, her twin’s response was on her phone.

      Sorry but still can’t come back. Need more time. Thanks for handling it all for me. Xx

      Phoebe’s wet hair dripped water onto her phone as she fired a quick text.

      No choice—we need you. Be here by noon, no later!

      Her finger wavered over the emoji keyboard, wondering if their tried and true symbol would work its magic this time. She hadn’t used it since freshman year in college, when she’d found out her roommate was sleeping with the boy she’d hoped to spend the weekend with. Phoebe looked at herself in the steamy mirror and realized that Mara would have to take her from her current nondescript style to Skye’s over-the-top motif. That would mean cutting at least nine inches off her hair and wearing tons of sparkling makeup and equally glittery clothing. No, thanks. Without further hesitation, Phoebe texted back, Get back here or Mara’s going to be the end of me.

      She added the barfing emoji symbol and pressed the send arrow. Skye would know how stressed Phoebe was because she’d referred to Mom by her first name, something they never did to her face.

      * * *

      Prescott had to admit that if he had to deal with his business manager’s constant pressure to make it appear that he was leading the life expected of a successful actor, it was best done from the balcony of his VIP suite. The warm air was dry and the colors of the mountain sharp.

      As was his tone with Jon, his manager, but he was determined to be himself as much as possible, without falling prey to the trappings of celebrity.

      “I’m here to promote the premiere of the film we’ve worked so hard on.” Prescott didn’t want to add the implied period at the end of his statement. Jon knew the deal.

      “We’re only saying that it’s been a year since your big breakup with Ariella, and it would be nice if your fans saw that you’d moved on. Plus it will underscore who was the villain in that relationship.” By we, Jon meant not only Prescott’s agent and the business staff but

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