Page 96 of Fake Dating Mr. Prince
“What the hell, Stella. You broke into my place. You could’ve called first. Of course, I thought someone was breaking in.”
“Ashlyn Nicole Thomas.” She started to tick off my transgressions one finger at a time. “One, if you answered your phone or checked your texts, you would’ve known I was coming over. Two, if you hadn’t shut me out of your life, you would’ve known I was coming over, and three, you gave me a damn key for emergencies. And this,” she waved her hand wildly at me, “is an emergency.”
“I'm fine,” I responded stubbornly.
She shut the door and stepped around the mess in my living room until she got to the couch. With a frown, she pushed away the empty bags of food to find a place to sit. “Ash, you’re not fine.”
Tears blurred my vision. “Damn it, Stella. I don’t need to hear that. You pointing out that I’m a total friggin’ wreck reminds me I actually am.”
“Honey, come here.” She held out her arms, and just like a small child, I dove into them. Tears burst forth, hiccups sounded, and I thought neither would ever end. Finally, when both had subsided enough that my words didn’t sound like a garbled mess, I tried talking.
“Stella, I hate feeling like this. It’s like my life is just one big fucking mess."
“I know it feels that way.”
“You don’t understand. I’ll never start this business. Elaine has a permanent hold on me. Dean believes I was the one who betrayed him, and—” I paused and looked up at the ceiling. I’d heard it helped keep tears at bay. It didn’t work as well as I needed it to. Although, it did give me a chance to calm down and regain control of my emotions. “I told him I loved him,” I whispered. The hurt flooded through me again at his refusal.
“And he was a jerk and didn't take it well? Do you need me to kick his butt?”
I gave her a wry grimace. “Not taking it well is an understatement. He told me to leave. I broke the rules of our agreement, and he thinks I stole from him. I’d told him I was ready to do this and not let my heart get involved. I lied. I’ve been falling for him since day one.”
“I’m sorry, Ash. I really thought it’d be different with him. When I saw both of you together, he looked at you the same way you looked at him.”
“Yeah, well, it was more lust than love, I guess.” My never-ending tears just wouldn’t quit. “I need to stop crying over this.”
“You will, eventually. Heartbreak feels terrible at the moment, but soon it’ll get easier.” Stella and her long-term boyfriend had broken up five months ago. She’d been sure they would get married and had been shocked when instead of proposing on Christmas, he’d dumped her.
I’d always thought the guy was a total asshole and was happy to see her without him, but it had taken Stella a while to recover from her heartbreak.
“I’m telling Elaine I’ll be in tomorrow,” I said.
“I saw the designs. She was gloating to Adelise that she’d convinced you to come back and sew them. What did she do to get you to say yes, Ash?”
“She threatened me and said if I didn’t do it, she’d spill to the newspaper that Dean was the one to give the designs to her.”
Stella gasped. “I had no idea she’d stoop that low. This takes the cake even for her.” Sadness flashed across Stella’s face. “I realize you didn’t know mother long before she became this horrid person, but before that, she was sweet and wonderful. I wish you’d met her then. My father would’ve been so disappointed in her.” Stella’s dad had been much older than Elaine, but from the memories my sister had shared, he’d seemed like an incredible guy and father.
“Yeah, and I can’t let her do that to Dean. Honestly, I could live with him hating our family, not wanting to be with me because of what Elaine did, but to know he’ll always think I was the one who stole those designs, that I would betray him in that way, kills me.”
Stella bit her lip. “What if I told you there was a way you could prove it?”
I leaned back from her. “What did you do?”
Stella grinned. “Perhaps I had a key to mother’s office she didn’t know about. When she and Adelise went out to lunch, I snuck in and searched for evidence.”
“You did not.” My sister was a rule follower and feared her mother’s tirades.
“When I didn’t hear from you, I was afraid she’d make it look like you’d been the one to steal the designs. I didn’t find anything at first. You know how neat mother keeps her space."
“Cleanliness is a mindset.” We chanted together.
Stella giggled. Elaine had always said this while we were growing up.
“Exactly. So when I found nothing, I decided to check her emails.”
My jaw dropped. “How did you manage to get her password?”
“Mother underestimates me. She couldn’t find a document on her computer and asked me to help her a few weeks ago. She typed in her password right in front of me.”
