Page 109 of Holiday Hire

He pauses and glances behind me. He lowers his voice even further, claiming, "Everything I said came out wrong. You're not understanding what I meant."

I scoff. "I understand everything. You were perfectly clear about where you stand." I place my plate in the dishwasher and brush past him, exiting the kitchen and returning to the dining room.

I force a smile and say, "Ace. Wilder. Are you guys ready to go?"

They jump up.

I point at their plates. "You know the drill."

They pick up their dishes and disappear into the kitchen.

I move toward the entranceway. I snatch the keys off the hook; they're for the SUV Ruby told me I was allowed to drive whenever I wanted.

Alexander appears again. "Where are you going?"

I take a deep breath. I'm going to have to deal with him. He's still my boss. No matter what happened between us, I still love my job, and the kids mean a lot to me. Plus, I'm not ready to go back to California. I have nowhere to go, and I don't have enough money saved to even put a deposit down on an apartment.

I have my gambling winnings.

No, they're not mine,I remind myself.

I meet his eye. "I'm taking the kids to town. We're going shopping."

He arches his eyebrows. "Shopping?"

"Yeah, is that okay?" I question and then cringe. I sigh. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be snippy."

He steps closer. "Pheebs?—"

"Where are you going, Phoebe?" Jagger asks, interrupting us.

Alexander's face fills with annoyance. He shoots his brother a glare.

"You two going together?" Jagger smirks.

My stomach churns so fast, I put my hand over it. The blood drains from my face to my toes. Then, heat burns my cheeks.

Jagger knows.

Goose bumps pop out on my skin. My lips tremble. I look at Alexander and mutter, "You told him?"

Alexander's eyes widen. He shakes his head. "No, of course not," he says.

I don't believe him.

He spins on his brother. "She's going to town. I'll meet you at the corral."

Jagger gives us an arrogant look, and I want to crawl into a hole.

As soon as the door shuts, I seethe, "You told your brothers? How could you?"

Alexander steps closer and grabs my arm. He pulls me into a side room and shuts the door, starting, "Pheebs?—"

"Stop calling me that," I say through gritted teeth.

"Phoebe, I did not tell them anything. I promise you."

"Them? Who else knows?"

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