Page 105 of Taken By Storm

“Again,” Kasi muttered. “I didn’t accept the proposal.” Nor did she plan to. But that was a conversation she needed to have with Scottie, not his bitch of a mother.

Mrs. Grover talked over Kasi, ignoring everything she said. Kasi was starting to see where Scottie got his arrogance and his inability to hear the word, “no.”

“As you know, Scottie is running for mayor again in a few months and we felt it would increase his chances of being reelected if he had a wife.”

“Isn’t he running unopposed again?” Kasi asked, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

Mrs. Grover glared at her. “Since the wedding will take place at our home, we can hold the ceremony as soon as we want. I’ve been in touch with a caterer and?—”

“A caterer?” Kasi said, shocked by Mrs. Grover’s tenaciousness.

“Don’t interrupt me.”

Kasi wanted to point out that Mrs. Cuntcake had interrupted her first. “When did you talk to a caterer?”

Mrs. Grover sighed heavily. “Last week.”

“He only proposed the night before last.”

“I know that Scottie has raised the idea of marriage prior to this week, and given your family’s unfortunate situation, it’s clear to me that the wedding was imminent.”

Kasi’s temper flared, pissed that Scottie had shared her family’s private information with his mother. Sadly, it didn’t shock her, but that still didn’t calm her fury.

“You’re a very lucky girl, Kassandra.”

Kasi gritted her teeth, hating the way this nasty woman used her full name, saying it like it was an insult.

“I tried to talk my son out of this proposal, considering the wide disparity in our…” Mrs. Grover paused, either for effect or to add some punch to the next affront. “Social standings.”

“You know, it seems to me that your family has just as much if not more to gain from a marriage between us.” Kasi refused to let Mrs. Grover intimidate her.

Fuck this bitch.

Mrs. Grover tittered. “Don’t be ridiculous. We were going to get your family’s land regardless. Once the farm was foreclosed on, we would have bought it. However, if my son has one flaw, it’s that his heart is too generous.”

It took everything Kasi had not to mimic one of Remi’s fake “bullshit” sneezes.

“He couldn’t stand the thought of your family losing their home, especially now.”

“Now?” Kasi asked.

“Scottie told me about your father’s breakdown, his failing mental health, and the issues with your brother’s imminent arrest.” Mrs. Grover attempted—and failed—to give her a sympathetic look. Primarily because the woman looked very much like a shark who’d smelled blood in the water. No doubt, Mrs. Grover was busy spreading those vicious rumors all over town as well as the false ones about her and Scottie getting married.

Kasi had tried to shield her father from the general public because it was none of the town’s business if he was dealing with crippling grief. Obviously, Daddy’s close friends knew, but they hadn’t spread it around, respecting her father’s privacy.

“My father is fine,” Kasi said, recalling last night’s conversation and the way her father had been up and waiting for her in the kitchen this morning, grinning and asking for his honey-do list. “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with his mental health. And Keith isn’t getting arrested. The Storms aren’t pressing charges.”

Mrs. Grover smirked, and Kasi got the sense the woman knew Scottie had lied about that. “So about tea. I’ll need you to come to my house at three next Saturday.”

Kasi shook her head. “I didn’t accept his proposal.” Kasi was starting to feel like a broken record.

“But you will. You have no other options. So…Saturday.”

This entire conversation was exhausting. Since Mrs. Grover refused to hear what she didn’t want to hear, Kasi decided to just brush her off. “Can’t make it. I’ll be working here, in the stand.”

“Get your brother to run the stand. Or just don’t open. You’re going to close it down once you and Scottie are married anyway because there will be no need for you to work. Your duties as the mayor’s wife, as well as the raising of your children, will keep you too busy.”

“It’s Gracemont, Mrs. Cu—Grover,” Kasi said, unable to temper her tone or guard her words. “The mayor’s wifehasno duties.”

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