Page 55 of Lush

“I used to think you weren’t like this town, Laurene. You didn’t do the bullshit lying, manipulating, and cheating, like everyone else here does. But now I see you’re the same. Youarethis town.” He paused, then added, almost to himself, “I need time.”

Shit, why did I tell him?

Reese walked out, and I gathered my things in a daze, ready to get the hell out. I told the staff to pick a cake as I brushed past them. When I stepped into the lobby, I paused, taking a deep breath.

I thought we were in this together.

I felt a rush of uncertainty and anger coursing through me. Blair was playing a dangerous game, and now it was clear I had to be ready to fight back.

The lilies in the bridal suite.

I didn’t get to bring them up with Reese. Without thinking, I turned on my heel and headed back toward the bridal suite. Each step amplified my frustration. I entered the suite, the familiar scent of the lilies hitting me.

My gaze flicked around the room.

The hairpin and the bracelet—they were gone.

I moved toward the couch, flipping the cushions up. Nothing. I opened drawers, sifting through the contents. Nothing but tissues, cotton pads, and thank-you notes. The neatness of the room was almost unsettling.

Frustration bubbled inside me. I crouched down and yanked at the edge of the plush rug, pulling it back. Nothing but polished wood. I tossed the rug back as I stared at the vase of lilies on the table. I stepped back and immediately lost my balance, my foot caught in the overturned rug. I reached for the table, but my elbow slammed against it instead.

Pain shot through my arm, and the vase teetered.

Shatteringglass echoed through the room, and lilies scattered across the floor.

“Damn,” I muttered. I knelt down to collect the broken shards when I noticed something—something small and metallic nestled among the remains of the lilies. My heart thudded louder as I pulled out a lens with wires.

Wires?

I turned it over in my hand. It was a spy camera.

CHAPTER 12

Reese

The airstill smelled like oak and citrus from the test last night. What did I miss?

Apparently quite a fucking lot. Blackmail for blackmail? What else were the women in town doing—plotting murder?

Sighing, I reviewed my whiteboard notes. Blackmail or not, business went on. But Blair? She’d been right there the whole time. This town prized dishonesty. Laurene and Blair disliked each other more than I thought.

All the years Blair and I had been friends, all the parties and business deals, and she hadn’t said a word.

Blair unexpectedly became a friend. When you’re the black sheep, the group of people who’ll stick by you is small, and most of them don’t exactly invite you in. Despite what others thought, she was loyal—and more than once she’d helped my business out with contacts she met in her modeling.

She was one of my few supporters after the accident. At least, I thought she was. And now? I wasn’t sure.

“Clean, modern, but not pretentious. Something that feels like a damn good time.” I mumbled, tapping my marker against my palm.

The board was empty where my new liquor name should be. Ideas swirled around it—tequila with lime and basil, whiskey with smoked honey, vodka with wildflowers. The taste was perfect, but now I had to sell it.

I quickly grabbed my phone and started recording a voice memo. “Target market: rooftop parties, music festivals, late-night bonfires. The kind of bottle you reach for to bring to a party.”

My phone buzzed, cutting me off midsentence. An email from the board. I knew what it was about without even opening it. The subject line: Production cost concerns.

I frowned, deleting it without even reading it. The same damn thing every week. I’d been making all the right decisions, or so I thought—risky, sure, but this was how you grew the brand. But the numbers weren’t lining up. The balance sheets were off. Production costs were high, but they weren’t supposed to be this high. I’d have to deal with it later, maybe after the wedding, when things calmed down.

When Dad found out, he would have a fucking fit, but he didn’t need a big reason to come down hard on me. It’s how it’s always been.

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