Page 13 of Hitch Me

“You stayed on the line.” My stomach drops even though I knew this was coming. "Mom, this is a nightmare. You stayed on the line and listened in. Why would you do that? It was none of your business and I didn’t know you were still on the line. I wouldn’t have done that. Ever.”

She meets my eyes in the mirror, her smile sharp with triumph. "The Kingridge family's little sister-secret is out there for everyone to enjoy. You should hear the engagementnumbers. People are eating it up. I may run a Meta Ad to it. It’s time for the podcast to expand on a national level."

The salon starts spinning around me. Hearing her gloat about using information that came from my night with Geoffrey makes me physically ill.

“You heard the entire, private conversation between brothers and then you broadcast it.” My throat threatens to close.

"Every delicious second." Her smile widens. "From your little romantic interlude to those brothers spilling family secrets like they were discussing the weather. It was better than Christmas morning."

She continues, but all I can hear is the casual cruelty in her voice. The way she's savoring the destruction she's caused. Finally breaks something inside me. For years, I've told myself she was just lost, just hurt, just trying to find her place in the world.

But listening to her gloat about ruining Geoffrey's trust in me is too far. She’s exploiting the most intimate moment of my life for content. I finally see her clearly. She's not a wounded dreamer. She's a predator who feeds on other people's pain.

"Geoffrey thinks I betrayed him," I say, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Well, you did provide the information, darling. Just not intentionally." She waves a dismissive hand. "Besides, men get over these things. Give him a few weeks to cool off. Or consider the fact that I did you a favor. I know you’ve been pining over him since high school. That’s fine. Sugar, you could do so much better than Geoffrey Kingridge. Always could."

I stand so abruptly that my chair spins. "Mom, I have never met another man who can hold a candle to him. He treats me better than anyone I’ve ever met. I love him whether you like it or not. And now he'll never trust me again. You've destroyed everything I care about."

She rolls her eyes. “Consider it a blessing and let's find you someone outside of Sagebrush Creek. Come on, I’ll take you to dinner and get you a contact.”

The casual dismissal of my pain and of Geoffrey's pain. The ignoring of everything I've sacrificed to protect her secret is the final straw. For the first time in my life, I'm done being the good daughter who enables her mother's destruction.

"No," I say quietly.

She pauses, mid-examination of her cuticles. "Excuse me?"

"I said no." My voice gets stronger with each word. "This ends now."

"Brynn Rose, you're being dramatic?—"

"You're going to stop the podcast." I take a step toward her, surprising us both with my resolve. "You're going to find a way to fix this, or I'm going to tell the entire town exactly who's been spreading their secrets."

Her face goes pale, then flushes red with fury. "You wouldn't dare. After everything I've done for you, everything I've sacrificed?—"

"Sacrificed?" The laugh that escapes me is bitter. "The only thing you've sacrificed is other people's privacy for your own entertainment."

"I made you who you are, Brynn Rose. This salon, your reputation, your entire life. I built that for you."

"You helped, yes. But you didn't build my life so you could use it as cover for destroying other people's." I pull out my phone, my hands steady now. "I’m cancelling the yoga event at the farm. You have until tomorrow to figure out how to end this, or I will."

We stare at each other for a long moment, and I see the exact second she realizes I'm not the compliant daughter she's always counted on. Not anymore.

"You'll regret this," she says finally, gathering her purse with sharp, angry movements.

"Maybe. But I'll regret losing Geoffrey more."

After she leaves, I sink back into my chair and scroll to Geoffrey's number. My heart is pounding, but for the first time in years, I know exactly what I need to do.

CHAPTER 10

GEOFFREY

Word camethrough Priya late last night that the Goat Yoga Event has officially been postponed until next week. The pressure is off and yet I’m up at the new goat pen with the sun and I haven't slept a damn minute all night.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her face. By three in the morning, I was pacing my living room like a caged animal. By four, I questioned everything I thought I knew about what happened. By five, I sent her a text message asking her to meet me here. By six, she tells me she’ll be here.

Now I’m staring at the road, ready to talk to my girl. The weight of this conversation sits heavy on my chest. After I hear the whole truth, it’s either forever or never again.

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