Page 333 of Tormented Billionaire Romance Series

“Grace?” Mrs. Taber says.

“Yeah,” I say. “We do have a Louis XV armoire. It’s a reproduction, but I think you’ll find it much more to your liking.”

“Do you price match?” the old woman asks, reaching into her purse and pulling out an ad from the local paper.

“If the price isn’t already lower than what’s advertised, of course, I’ll match the price for you,” I answer.

She seems surprised. Part of it is that I feel guilty knowing how much people paid for all those castoffs. I didn’t know any better, but I never tried too hard to find out, either.

The way they made me the focus of their every emotion makes it so I don’t feel guilty enough to try to pay them back the difference over time, but the least I can do is come to terms with what and who I am. I am Eleanor (Grace) Shaye Michaels. I am the queen of the town’s junk store, and I’m going to start selling things for what they’re worth, damn it.

To the locals, that is. People from out of town can pay a bit higher markup. Maybe it sounds underhanded, but it’s the only way I can ease my conscience with locals and still afford to feed and house my sister.

Mrs. Taber heads off to look at what I’ve managed to put together, and I sit back behind the counter. The old woman doesn’t buy anything, but as she’s on her way out of the shop, she stops in front of me, saying, “I’m glad to see everything’s much more affordable now. I know what people have been saying about you, but I want you to know I never believed it.”

“Thanks,” I say. “Out of curiosity, whathavepeople been saying about me?”

“I wouldn’t worry about it, dear,” she says.

“No, it’s fine,” I smile. “If nothing else, it’ll be good to know the specifics about why everyone hates me as much as they do.”

She purses her lips. “Please don’t be mad,” she says. “This isn’t how I feel. It’s just what I heard.”

“I won’t be mad at you,” I tell her. “I’m just curious to know what they’ve been saying about me.”

Ten bucks say none of it’s true.

“Well,” Mrs. Taber starts, “I suppose there have been a lot of things said. The most common things I’ve heard, though, have been about how when that wealthy gentleman came to town, he was planning on hiring the townspeople for the new building, but you convinced him not to do it.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much what I figured,” I say. “By the way, it’s not true. I never gave Zach business advice, and even if I did, it wouldn’t have been against Mulholland.”

If I had that kind of opportunity now, though, I’d probably do what they’ve been saying for spite.

“Oh, it can’t be right, dear,” she says. “Even when I heard it from your sister’s mouth, I knew it wasn’t true.”

“What?” I ask.

“Like I said, I wouldn’t worry about it, dear,” she says.

“You say mysistertold you all this?” I ask.

Mrs. Taber shakes her head. “No,” she says. “I heard most of the rumors from my neighbor, Joyce. She and I trade gardening secrets. Ididhear your sister telling a few people about it when I was out for my afternoon at Bert’s Café.”

I take a slow breath. “Well, thank you for coming in, Mrs. Taber,” I say, my cheeks already hurting from my forced smile.

“Of course, dear,” she says and exits the store. I don’t wait for the old woman to get past the front of my store before I’m grabbing the keys and locking up shop.

From the beginning, I blamed Zach for the way the townspeople have been treating me, glaring at me, leaving me dead pigeons on my doorstep …

After I lock up the store, I start walking. Pulling out my phone, I send Naomi a text, telling her there’s something I want to talk to her about and I need to know where I can meet her.

She doesn’t respond.

Whether she knows what I want to talk about and she’s taking the cowardly route, or she’s nowhere near her phone, I bet I know where I can find her.

Walking up to Bert’s Café, I spot Naomi around the same stupid group of friends she had in high school. They only ever meet at Bert’s, and only ever for lunch, but week in and week out, this is where Naomi goes for her social hour when she should be working.

As soon as she glances up, noticing me, I can see her mouthing the words, “Uh-oh.”

---