Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 21582 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 108(@200wpm)___ 86(@250wpm)___ 72(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21582 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 108(@200wpm)___ 86(@250wpm)___ 72(@300wpm)
“It’s your birthday celebration, dear. The Thackers offered to host a dinner for you, and I couldn’t turn them down.” Aunt Judy waved her hand toward the mansion looming outside the limousine’s door. “They’re a very powerful family. It wouldn’t do to alienate them.”
My aunt didn’t really have friends, but she was obsessed with cultivating the right connections. She would never turn down someone she was trying to impress. I had no doubt that she fully expected me to go along with whatever she promised the Thackers. Shaking my head, I huffed out a sigh. “Why would people I don’t even know want to throw a party for me?”
“I’m not certain how you managed it when you normally don’t bother to dress up or do anything with your hair, but their son is apparently quite taken with you,” she explained, smoothing her hand down the skirt of her dress.
I tilted my head to the side, trying to come up with whom she was talking about but drawing a blank. “I don’t think I know anyone with the last name Thacker.”
Aunt Judy shrugged and angled her body toward the door as the driver pulled around the curved driveway and stopped in front of the steps leading up to an imposing mansion. “He knows you, and that’s what’s important.”
“Why should I care if some random guy thinks he knows me when I have no idea who he is?” I leaned my head back and squeezed my eyes shut, dreading the evening ahead.
I heard the driver’s door open and close before my aunt slapped my thigh hard enough that the sound echoed through the limousine. My eyes popped open, and I glared at her while rubbing my leg through the silky material of the billowy, light blue dress she had insisted I wear. “Because the Thackers are important people, and you owe me for taking you in after your parents passed away.”
I snorted and rolled my eyes. My aunt didn’t become my guardian out of the kindness of her heart. My parents’ will gave her plenty of reasons to put a roof over my head. My mom knew her sister well, but there hadn’t been any other options. She had structured my trust to give my aunt plenty of reasons to keep me out of foster care in case anything ever happened to them. It was a good thing she’d had that foresight or else my aunt would’ve shipped me off somewhere right after they’d been laid to rest.
“You will be respectful while we’re inside. Or else,” she hissed.
“Yes, ma’am.” Aunt Judy didn’t seem to notice the sarcasm in my tone, which was a good thing since she still held the purse strings on my trust for another year.
The driver opened the door, effectively ending our conversation. My aunt slid out of the limousine, her foot tapping the ground as she waited for me to join her. I took a fortifying breath before exiting the vehicle. It was bound to be a long night, and I wasn’t old enough to drink to help me make it through a stuffy dinner with people I didn’t know. As I followed her up the steps, I vowed to celebrate my next birthday however I wanted. I’d start by moving out of my aunt’s home. Three hundred and sixty-five days from now, she wouldn’t have any more control over me.
Tonight was a different story. Without any other decent options, I pretended to be thrilled to meet the Thackers after their butler let us into the house. I definitely didn’t know their son, Jonathan. He sent off all sorts of warning bells in my head in a way I wouldn't have forgotten if we’d met before. “It’s nice to meet you,” I lied as he lifted my hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to my knuckles.
“The pleasure is all mine.” After he released my hand, his gaze drifted over my face and body. The masculine appreciation in his dark orbs would’ve made most girls melt since he was rich and handsome, but it made my skin crawl. I must have masked my reaction to him better than I thought because he smiled at me and suggested, “I’d love to show you our garden while my parents and your aunt enjoy a drink.”
“Go on, dear,” Aunt Judy urged with a pleased grin. “A walk in the garden before dinner sounds like a lovely idea.”
I parted my lips, prepared to argue that it was too dark outside for me to really see anything, but then thought better of it when she glared at me. Pasting a smile on my face, I turned back to Jonathan. “Thank you.”
One of the things I loved about my dress was the pockets hidden in the folds on both sides. I had a tiny clutch with me, only big enough to hold my phone, ID, and a lip balm, so when he held out his hand, I slipped the reticule into one of the hidden slots. Then I slid my palm against his, allowing him to lead me through several long hallways and out a set of French doors. He didn’t release me until we neared a break in the wall of precisely trimmed hedges. “After you,” he murmured with a gallant sweep of his arm.