Series: Webs We Weave Series by Krista Ritchie
Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 145038 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 725(@200wpm)___ 580(@250wpm)___ 483(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145038 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 725(@200wpm)___ 580(@250wpm)___ 483(@300wpm)
“As endearing as a root canal.” I lean back.
“You do love pain.” Love is a strong word for what Jake is to me, but I’ve surprised myself today with the swiftness with which I’d defend the guy.
“You’ve never even met his entire family,” my mom tells me.
“And you have?” I ask, prying.
“Yes,” our moms say in unison, and Elizabeth explains, “We’ve had a luncheon with Claudia and her oldest two sons to pick their brains about Jake and Phoebe.”
“For Eros,” Elizabeth adds, naming their fake matchmaking company.
“So let’s get this straight, you’re both in Claudia’s ear,” I say, “and you despise her. So she sounds like the perfect mark to me for a long con.” I explain our plan to help Jake claim the Koning crown.
Elizabeth shakes her head as soon as I finish. “We can’t be in Connecticut.”
“It’s a nonstarter,” my mom says more pointedly.
No one pinches a piece of sushi, but hands are untightening on glasses. Cloth napkins are being uncrumpled in my dad’s loosening fist. Tensions might be high, but they’re interested. The job is tempting.
“You don’t need to be in Connecticut,” Phoebe says gently. “Just do your thing from afar. You already established Eros in New York. You can be a socialite without matchmaking me and Rocky.”
“How much is Jake offering us?” my father wonders. “After we secure him his title and inheritance?”
“One million,” I say.
“That’s it?”
“Each.”
“For all nine of us?” Elizabeth asks.
“Yeah,” Phoebe says. “Nine mil total.”
My mom careens backward in the chair while cupping a wineglass. Her wide, covetous eyes shift over to Elizabeth. “Bethy?”
It’s been a while since we’ve seen a multimillion-dollar payout.
“No,” Elizabeth says coldly. “No money is worth being in Connecticut. We made a promise, Addy.”
“We have to, Beth,” my father counters. “If Jake Waterford knows what we do and who we are, then he’ll be a better asset to us when he’s an heir. Right now, he’s a liability.”
I’ve called Jake a liability before, but hearing it from my father—it makes me angry. Mad that he’d think Jake wasn’t on our team. Maybe it’s just the pettiness in me that wants to run when my dad says walk.
Elizabeth drinks from her water goblet, and Phoebe and I are careful not to hyperfocus on her lips touching the rim.
My mother says, “It’s a risk.”
“Until you tell us why it’s a risk,” I refute, “it’s one we’re going to take. With or without you.”
“With us,” Elizabeth says quietly, placing her glass down. “If you try to pull this off, you’ll need us involved.”
* * *
—
Dinner is over. After we see our parents out of the mansion, Phoebe and I return to the dining room. Wearing medical-grade gloves, Nova slips a lipstick-stained wineglass into a plastic bag, and Phoebe begins clearing the unused silverware.
She disappears into the kitchen.
I pluck two blue gloves out of the box on the table, but Nova says, “I’ve got it.” He seals the baggie. “Let me handle this.”
I glance at the staircase that leads to the second floor. The surveillance room. My family.
“Trevor passed out,” Nova says, following my gaze. “Hailey has been on Ancestry.com, and Oliver has finally convinced her to lie down. He’s trying to read The Grapes of Wrath to her so she’ll fall asleep.”
I could thank him for the update, but I don’t. “And you’re down here. A one-man cleanup crew,” I say. “The fail-safe. Nova Graves.”
He glares like it’s an insult.
It wasn’t one.
Some days, I think our worlds would all fall apart if Nova were gone. If any of us were gone…this wouldn’t work. We need each other. I just don’t want to need the godmothers and godfather, too.
To: Helldiver101@hotmail.com
From: Essex Genomics
Subject: Samples Successfully Submitted
Date: 11/15
Dear Miss Hart,
Thank you for mailing DNA samples for paternity and maternity testing. Attached is a confirmation that they have been received. You will be notified in 3–12 weeks about the results.
Best,
Essex Genomics
To: Helldiver101@hotmail.com
From: Essex Genomics
Subject: Results Ready
Date: 2/5
Dear Miss Hart,
The paternity and maternity tests you have requested have been completed and your results are ready. Please follow the link and choose your preferred method of delivery.
Best,
Essex Genomics
To: Helldiver101@hotmail.com
From: Essex Genomics
Subject: Confirmed Mail Delivery
Date: 2/5
Dear Miss Hart,
Thank you for confirming mail delivery. Your results will be mailed to you in 5–7 business days.
Best,
Essex Genomics
Burner Phone Chat
(Hailey): Shiiiit. I clicked on mail delivery by accident. I meant to get the results emailed, and now they’re getting sent to us via post
(Phoebe): Where are they going?
(Hailey): my PO Box
(Rocky): Get some sleep. Jesus.
(Oliver): DNA results party postponed. Slumber party instead?
(Nova): No
(Trevor): I’m down for a sleepover if there’s vodka
(Rocky): Sleepover canceled
To: Helldiver101@hotmail.com
From: Victoria Postage
Subject: Packages Incoming
Date: 2/13
A package will be arriving at 8:00 PM EST on 2/13 and will be available for pickup.
Thank you,
Victoria Postage
Your local one-stop shop for mailboxes, shipping, and printing!
SEVENTEEN
Phoebe
I struggle to capture oxygen in my lungs. Lying sweaty, naked, but not yet exhausted under black, damp sheets, my whole body still hums from his touch.