Page 98 of Lush

Dad’s voice echoed in my head, that cold, clipped tone he used whenever he addressed me.You’ll never be anything but a disappointment.

I stared at the spoon in my hand, at the way my knuckles had gone white from holding it too tight. Maybe he was right. Maybe that’s why Laurene couldn’t look me in the eye when I told her I loved her. The way she rolled out from underneath me, like I was the fucking plague. The way her lips had pressed into that thin line.

I’d laid my heart bare, and she hadn’t said a damn thing.

Maybe she thought I was too reckless, too much like myfather. That thought burned more than anything. I wasn’t him. I’d spent my whole life trying to prove I wasn’t him. But the longer I stayed here, stuck in the same cycle of anger and failure, the harder it was to believe it.

“Have you looked at the quarterly reports for the clubs yet?”

I glanced at her, surprised by the shift in tone. “Not yet. Why?”

“I’ve been combing through the resort accounts, and something’s…off. There’s a discrepancy in the numbers. Not huge, but noticeable.” She chewed on her bottom lip.

My stomach tightened. “How much are we talking?”

“About fifty thousand, give or take.” She swallowed.

I needed to step up investigating this missing money. “You’re not imagining it. I noticed something similar with the distilleries last month. I’ll get Nathan to speed up his audit.”

Jennie nodded and I handed her back the pint. “You notice anything strange about Dad lately?”

“Strange how?”

“Just, you know. He’s been acting different.” She hesitated. “He took the jet last minute without telling anyone where he was going. I had a meeting in Arizona planned, and suddenly it was gone.”

I raised an eyebrow. “The more he’s gone, the better it is for all of us.”

“I’m serious, Reese. I called him, and after ten times he finally answered. When I asked where he was, he hung up on me.”

I scraped the empty ice cream container, my mind wandering. “What do you want me to say? That he’s a selfish bastard? That he doesn’t give a damn about anyone but himself? You already know that.”

“This is different,” she insisted. “Mom told me he’s been leaving the house for hours and days sometimes. I called the investors in Phoenix, and he never showed for the meeting.”

“Your primary concern should be having a safe pregnancy, not worrying over that asshole.”

“Forget it. I shouldn’t have brought it up.” Jennie’s eyes searched mine. “Did Laurene tell you what happened?”

That made me look at her.

“I feel so guilty, but the bridal shower, it didn’t go as planned. Nothing awful, just…not well. We gave her the wedding dress.”

I frowned. “Wedding dress?”

“I guess it just unsettled her,” Jennie said. “I mean, now that I’ve thought about it, it was wrong.”

“Whatwedding dress, Jennie?”

She finally met my eyes, guilt flickering across her face. “The one she was supposed to wear when she was going to marry Conrad.”

A sharp, angry heat flared up inside me. “You gave herthatdress?”

That dress would have painfully reminded me of the past. A sick, aching reminder I was always second place, second choice, never the one who was supposed to matter.

“Yvonne suggested it. She thought it might give her some closure.”

“Closure?” I scoffed. “It’s not ‘closure’—it’s a damn slap in the face to her, and to me. Did you even think about how I’d feel?” I snapped, my voice rising. “That was a hell of a thoughtless move, Jen.”

No words came from her.

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