“Mrs. Woodson’s settlement was changed, too,” she insisted.
Luke’s eyes looked sightlessly past her shoulder.
“Why would he do that?” Cara asked. “According to Declan, he trusted her most of all because he only wanted her to handle his food.”
Luke shook his head. “Unless she’s lying. People lie for all kinds of reasons. Mrs. Woodson always adored Declan. Maybe she’s telling him what she thinks he wants to hear.”
Cara arched an eyebrow, and he chuckled before his brow furrowed again.
“Courtney wasn’t the only one who benefitted from the new will. Matt would never have become CEO if Courtney hadn’t inherited the shares necessary to push Declan out, and I’m sure she’ll be just as generous with Trey,” Luke pointed out. “Keep in mind, she didn’t have to kill him to get what she wanted. She might have simply poisoned his mind against us and had him rewrite the will in her favor. That’s far more plausible than that she’s a murderer.” He shook his head. “She is significantly younger; she wouldn’t have had to wait long.”
Cara opened her mouth to object, but Luke held up his hand.
“I can see why what Mrs. Woodson said made you take another look, but it just doesn’t make sense. Declan is angry.Soangry. He can’t accept what Dad did. He’s destroying himself going down this path. Don’t let him take you with him.”
They finished the last hundred yards in silence, as Luke walked her to her car.
“I love you,” he repeated, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “And call Mom?”
Cara promised and with a quick squeeze she slid into her seat. Was Luke right? Was Declan projecting his anger at their father onto Courtney?
* * *
Later that afternoon,Cara stared at her hands covered in aloe vera as she attempted to answer her phone with her elbow.
“Hey, babes!” She heard Amara’s faint voice through the phone. “I have the best news!”
“Hang on. I’m covered in goop!” Cara quickly washed her hands and pushed the button to put her friend on speaker.
“Okay, what’s the news?” Cara asked, picking up a jar of honey and pouring it into the bowl with the aloe vera gel.
“I’m coming to Atlanta for a week!”
“When?” Cara was excited about the prospect of seeing her friend, but there were also nerves. What would Amara make of her new life? She looked down at her pajama shorts and T-shirt that she’d put on after her shower, both now spotted with the concoctions she was working on.
“Next week! There’s a birthday party for some business associate of my parents at an art museum, and since they can’t be there, I have to put in an appearance for the family. A couple other meetings, but nothing major.”
Cara wrinkled her nose. “That doesn’t sound fun.”
“No, it won’t be.” Her voice was matter of fact. “Buuut, it means I get to see you and meet the ridiculously hot roommate. How come you never put him on your Insta? You’d get more likes.”
“I’m sure my loyal Russian bot friend would like him. It seems to be reaching the limits of its English vocabulary.” She laughed. “Every picture, it writes ‘so talented’ or ‘great job.’ It’s ridiculous.”
“How do you know it’s a bot? Maybe it’s someone who just likes what you do. The pictures you’ve put up recently from the set are gorge! You should be proud of yourself.”
“I am,” Cara said, but Amara’s comment bothered her. Of course, it was a bot. The responses were too quick, too automatic. The ‘like’ and comment always appeared within minutes of her posting. No one was sitting around with her account as part of their notifications, unless… Her heart started to race, and she felt lightheaded.
“Hello? Cara?”
Cara licked her lips. “Sorry. What did you say?”
“I asked if you’d banged your roommate yet?”
Cara quickly took her friend off speaker and cast a nervous glance at Wes’s shut door. She had met Luke early so that she still had time to play what Wes had begun calling ‘kitchen chemist’ before it was time for dinner.
“Stop! We’re friends. That’s all it’s ever going to be. Remember? Melody?”
“Pfft. He’s just confused. After what you told me those movie people said, I don’t think he even knows her.”
