Maileah made a face. “I’ll be on my best behavior until after the wedding.”
The rear door swung open, and Knox stepped in.
Junie turned and kissed him. “Hi, honey. I made homemade ice cream for dessert—with extra to take home.”
“You spoil me, sweetheart,” Knox said, sweeping her into his arms.
“I’ll leave you two,” Maileah said, stifling a yawn after she greeted him. “I’m exhausted.” She wasn’t, and she liked Knox, but they needed their privacy. Around them, she felt like an extra in a sweet romance novel.
It wasn’t their fault. They were just madly in love.
She needed to find a life—and another place to live.
Junie would insist she was welcome to stay as long as she wanted, but that’s how her younger sister was.
Maileah needed her space, especially before she said something about their perfect lives she might regret.
On the way to her room, the dating app she’d been using dinged. She flung herself onto the bed and flipped her phone screen to the app, How About a Coffee? An alert pulsed at her.
You have a message from John:Hey, cutie. Want to meet?
She inspected his photo. Not bad, she thought. Clean cut. He looked like he could have been class president in school. She tapped a reply:How about the Majestic?Everyone knew the old hotel.
Sure. I’ll be the guy in a green shirt with a Ferrari phone case.
Make that class president with rich aspirations, she thought.
After confirming the time with Ferrari John, Maileah turned off her phone and opened her laptop to work on Junie’s gift shop website. The lilting sound of her sister’s laughter through the door should make her happy—and it did—but it was also a stark contrast to her mess of a life.
Junie and Knox seemed serious about each other. He was truly a great guy, and they were well suited. Knox had tried to buy Junie’s house for his parents before she moved in. If they married, Maileah imagined his parents would take this houseto be close to their granddaughter—and the children Junie and Knox would probably have soon.
Maileah didn’t belong here, but it had been a good place to land for a few months.
She had to get her life sorted out—and fast. Creating Junie’s new website and marketing material had kept her busy, but she was nearly finished.
That was easy work compared to her former position at a technology company in Seattle. She’d worked with a team of intelligent, driven people, all intent on improving the world—or, at least, achieving their quarterly financial goals. The pressure had been intense; perform and move up, or don’t, and they’d show you the door.
Luckily, she was a fast learner and produced results.
Maileah managed the marketing efforts on new technology products and services. Her salary was enviable, but she hadn’t managed to save much. She’d bought a new Range Rover and a fabulous wardrobe. She dined at trendy restaurants and jetted off for ski trips, marathons, and mountain climbing around the world with other adrenaline-seeking aficionados.
Essentially, she’d had a blast, partying as hard as she worked and thinking it would last forever.
And then, when the company’s quarterly profits slipped and the stock price declined, the layoffs were swift and merciless.
The party screeched to a halt, and reality hit her like a cold splash of water. Now, she realized how much time and money she’d wasted on frivolous relationships and worthless items.
Frankly, she was embarrassed by it. She’d blown her chance to set herself up financially.
But there was more to the mess than that. Junie, her mother, her grandmother—none of them understood what was in her heart.
She’d spent her life dancing as fast as she could, desperatelyvying for her father’s love and attention. When that failed, she’d transferred her desire to cool, edgy guys like her father and went through them like lipstick.
Yet, no one was there for her when everything fell apart. Not even her father.
After taking the crumpled notepaper with Todd’s number from the pocket of her jeans, she smoothed it out on her desk. She’d woken up with no prospects, and now she had two. Ferrari John and Perfect Todd.
Maileah washed her face and changed for bed. Tomorrow might be different, she told herself, sliding between soft, worn sheets her grandmother had given her to use.
