Page 23 (1/1)
Chapter OneWhat did you buy for the couple who had everything?
Macy Walker spent over an hour in a luxury departift for Daed at the end of Fall and were getting married this Saturday, January seventh, in a s Austin and his fiancée, Quinn, who had a huge Valentine’s Day wedding planned at a Mias, two in serious relationships and three to go
Although to hear each of the for permanence It just happened to find them Macy wondered as next up to fall in love
To say Macy had left the gift to the lastoriginal for the professional football player and his private investigator fiancée, Macy left the store with an expensive vase, gorgeously wrapped, and headed home to her fifteen-year-old sister of whom she had custody
As she approached the house, a bright red Mazda Miata she didn’t recognize sat in the driveway, top down If her sister had an older friend over, thinking Macy wouldn’t find out, she’d be in trouble Hannah had a tendency to act out and misbehave, and in many ways, Macy understood Hannah had a lot of abandonuidance
Macy pulled her Jetta around the other car, opened the garage, parked, and exited her vehicle Letting herself inside, she walked through the laundry roo short when she saho sat with Hannah at the table Tons of s surrounding them
Oh, hell Life was about to get interesting and not in a good way “Hi,” Macy said,her presence known
“Macy, look! My mom’s back!” Hannah popped up from her chair, a smile the likes of which Macy had never seen on her sister’s face, and Macy’s stomach twisted painfully
Hannah was a pretty girl who hadn’t learned the concept of less is more when it came to makeup She’d just started to wear it last year, and after their dad died, she’d gone full-out rebellious Black eye liner and heavy s than too much makeup on her face or the pink stripe in her hair Macy actually liked the coloring if only Hannah hadn’t done it without asking per she could do to defy Macy, Hannah tried
Ever since Lilah walked out when Hannah was ten, she’d grown angrier over tiet ahatever she could on principle, her bad behavior progressing since their dad died The last thing Macy needed was Hannah’s ive Hannah false hope that her mother was back to be with her As far as Macy knew, other than a rare happy-birthday email, Hannah hadn’t heard from her mother since she’d left
Lilah had left her faive her a better lifestyle than Macy’s father had been able to Richard Walker hadas an accountant, and their fa There had also been inheritance randparents that had boosted their lifestyle, but it hadn’t been enough for Lilah
“Lilah, this is a surprise,” Macy said coolly as she placed her keys in a basket on the counter
Lilah looked up at Macy, not a shred of embarrass, and I decided it was time to come home to my baby” She reached across the table and squeezed Hannah’s hand, her long, manicured nails obviously freshly done “And I arrived to find her by herself Where were you, Macy?”
Oh, she would not question Macy’s abilities as a parent She had no right “None of your business and Hannah is old enough to be home alone”
“Can Mom stay with us?” Hannah looked at Macy ide, hopeful eyes, and Macy silently cursed Lilah, whose s the question
Narrowing her gaze, Macy wondered what Lilah’s agenda was, because the woman always looked out for number one
“I don’t think that’s a good idea We have a schedule and a routine, and I’d like to keep things as they are” Mostly she didn’t want Hannah to get used to having her ain The less time she was exposed to Lilah, the better
“It’s okay, honey, I can stay at the hotel” Lilah sighed dramatically
Ignoring the guilt Lilah tried to lay on, Macy smiled “Good Now that that’s settled–”
Hannah pushed back her chair and rose to her feet “You’re such a–”