Page 4 of Heir

Perhaps it was my jealousy that made me dislike him so much, but then I remembered all those instances of him sneaking around my bedroom growing up, or how I had come out of the shower once at fifteen with a towel wrapped around me because I didn’t think anyone was home, only to find him standing in the hallway.

Almost as if he had been waiting for me.

I might not be very well versed at reading social situations—in fact, Blue had called me oblivious a time or two—but I didn’t miss how he had leered at me then.

I never told anyone how Kenton made me uncomfortable, not even my mom. I was already certain she would choose him over me at any moment.

“I bought you a dress to wear for the dinner,” Mom said absently, reading the nutrition information on the box of graham crackers.

I nodded and finished my bagel. “Is it being delivered to my apartment?” I asked.

Mom’s lips thinned at the mention of my small apartment. It was more of a rabbit hole than anything else, and it was in a not-so-great neighborhood, but it was all I could afford at this time. There were some benefits to being Fiona Gallagher’s daughter, I supposed. From years of watching her, I knew better than to live beyond my means.

“Yes.”

I hopped off the stool and grabbed my bag. “Great! I’ll get ready at my place and be back in time for dinner tonight.”

“I don’t know why you don’t just move back home,” she said. “You know there is more than enough room, right, Kenton?”

“Yes, of course. You know you’re always welcome here,” Kenton murmured, his eyes flashing. I resisted the urge to take a step back. At least he took time to swallow his food before answering.

“It’s more convenient where I am. You know that,” I said, moving toward the threshold. “I’ll meet you guys here tonight, and we can drive there together, yeah?” I said when it looked like she was going to say something else.

Mom closed her mouth and nodded, and I turned and ran out of there, not wanting to say anything more.

* * *

“What the hell?”I muttered, taking in the skimpy baby-pink dress Mom had sent. It had been waiting for me in the leasing office by the time I got home, and I had spent most of the day watching TV, trying to get my mind to relax.

I didn’t look at the dress until now, and I was regretting it.

I should have, but it wasn’t like Mom to buy me something so…sexy.

I didn’t know if that was the right word, but it was a world away from all the outfits she had picked out for me growing up. Most of the clothes had been designed to hide my body. To make me look as small as possible.

This dress showed off almost everything, from my legs to my arms, to the low sweetheart neckline that would no doubt draw attention to the swell of my boobs.

I grimaced, thinking maybe she wasn’t the one who picked out the dress, but Kenton.

That would be so much worse.

I looked down at the clock on my phone.

I didn’t have time to buy another dress.

And I was not a dress-wearing kind of girl, so I did not own any dress fancy enough for dinner at Frank Gallagher’s house.

I took a deep breath.

Maybe I was looking at this all wrong. What if the dress only looked revealing because I wasn’t wearing it yet?

I didn’t know, but I hoped that was the case.

I quickly took off the T-shirt and sweatpants I was wearing and slid the dress on, moving over to the body-length mirror hanging on the door.

I examined myself from head to toe, unable to stop the grimace from forming on my face.

I tried to pull on the hem of the dress, but the fabric could only stretch so far.

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