Series: Webs We Weave Series by Krista Ritchie
Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 126927 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 635(@200wpm)___ 508(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126927 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 635(@200wpm)___ 508(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Ever since Hailey taught me about the mountain Alcon blue butterfly, I remind myself to mimic the queen.
It’s what I do when I arrive at the country club. I barely lift a finger while the unsuspecting ants let an imposter inside their colony.
My new identity in Victoria, Connecticut, has more truth than I’d like, but I’ve already established I’m Hailey’s brother, so I’m obligated to play within that parameter.
Name: Grey Thornhall
Occupation: Investor (of what, to be determined)
Why I’m Here: Considering moving to Victoria
Relationship Status: Divorced
I contacted Carter to forge a marriage certificate and divorce papers. Phoebe’s lie cost me four grand to make indisputable. Just another day at the office.
A cobbled patio frames a wide pool, but most of the outside area is grass. My lounge chair even rests on the lawn like I stepped onto the English countryside. Dark sunglasses shade my eyes, and I watch a manager corner a couple college-aged guys on the other side of the pool.
She gesticulates angrily with her hands.
Before she arrived, the guys were doing cannonballs in the water. A toddler could piece together why she’s upset.
I hate rich pricks. Ironic enough, since I spend most of my life pretending to be one.
With a tightness in my face that I’m trying to relax, I glance at my phone in my fist.
Trevor: They said they needed me here. I can’t desert Mom & Dad.
I keep rereading the text, and my jaw aches the longer I grind my teeth. Why he cares about them is a question for a therapist that none of us go to. But regardless of our mommy and daddy issues—that only I seem to be harboring, out of everyone—I hate that I left him in Seattle to do their bidding without me. I hate that we’re not all together.
That does include Phoebe’s brothers, even if I’d enjoy stranding Nova on a remote island for forty-eight hours. She gave me the reins to talk to them on her behalf, and I know her. She’d never lie to them. Never manipulate them. I don’t want to either. But I haven’t fully decided what I’m going to tell them.
I did make a decision about my own brother. I told Trevor: We’re in Connecticut. I’ll give you the coordinates to come out here. This stays between us.
Will Hailey and Phoebe be happy I outed their location? Probably not, but I trust Trevor won’t say anything to our parents. Having him here will also be good if things go sideways. And really . . . I need him out here and away from our mom and dad. It’s enough reason for him to have the truth.
I send another text to my brother: I want you here. If you ever change your mind, I’ll come get you myself. Our parents will be fine on their own.
“It’s that time of year.” A girl steals my attention. She’s in the chair beside mine, watching the manager lecture the douchebags. Sunglasses are perched on the top of her head, and her brown eyes flit to mine. “The Caufield undergrads are back.”
I pocket my phone in my swim trunks. “They can afford this?”
The dues are a hundred thousand a year.
A bill I paid this morning on the contingency I’ll be prorated what I don’t use if I decide not to move to Victoria. But I had enough money from my last job to swing the cost.
“Their parents can. And believe me, this place is important for networking if you want to secure interviews and internships with the best companies after college. Their parents will front the bill, no problem.” She swings her legs to the side of the lounge chair to face me. Her white bikini contrasts with her warm brown skin. “I’m Valentina.” She holds out her hand. “I don’t love my name, so I usually just go by Val.”
I lean forward to shake it. “Rocky.”
Her eyes light up. “Please tell me that’s your actual name. We can commiserate together.”
“Nickname,” I tell her in a husky breath. “And your name is beautiful, Val.”
She blushes, then smiles. I can tell it’s genuine. The zygomaticus major muscles on either side of our cheeks are some of the hardest muscles to control consciously.
Hailey reads books.
I read people.
All I want from Val is information about this town. And I’m forcing myself not to do a sweep of the patio. I haven’t seen Hailey or Phoebe, and that’s primarily why I’m here.
To spy on my sister and her best friend on their first day being “normal”—whatever the fuck that means.
“You’d be the second to like it,” Val tells me. “Right behind my mother.”
“We have good taste, then.” I smile over at her. “Your mother and I.”
She laughs brightly.
No ring on her finger, but she’s reading a business textbook. The way she referred to the students as undergrads means she’s already earned her undergrad degree.