Page 102 of Don't Bet On It
That felt too simplistic. “Ronan is part of it. Olivia is part of it too. Rex, Ruby, and Zach are all part of it. We’ve kind of formed this little group.”
“That’s called friendship.”
My laughter was wan. “I’m well aware what friendship is.”
“I think you’re only fully understanding it now, which is okay. We all come to things in our own time.”
“Sharon always taught me that art couldn’t be a career,” I explained. I couldn’t look Candy in the eye. She didn’t act as if she was expecting me to. “She said that I needed to use my looks—she made sure she stressed how pretty I was—to get ahead in life. She’s always believed that the only way to find true happiness is with a man.”
“And you misunderstood the lessons she was trying to impart when she told you that,” Candy guessed.
I could’ve argued with her, but I was beyond that. “You’re good.” I laughed and finally met her gaze. “I always said that I didn’t want to be my mother. That was the only thing I cared about when I was growing up.”
“So you wouldn’t allow yourself to get too close to a man, I’m guessing,” Candy volunteered.
“I assumed I would always be alone. Recently, however, it’s come to my attention that I was doing it all wrong … and for a long time.”
“How so?”
“I wasn’t looking to find the right guy. I was trying to avoid the wrong guy. Somehow in my head, they all became the wrong guy.”
“And then you met Ronan.”
“Not met,” I said with a half laugh. “I knew him in high school.”
“Okay, you were reintroduced to Ronan.”
“I was. We didn’t like each other to start, though.”
“Are you sure?”
“I…” The thing was, I wasn’t sure. “I guess maybe there was a spark between us right from the start,” I acknowledged. “It doesn’t really matter. Now, we’re pretty happy. I think we can stay happy if we work on it.”
“But Sharon is rearing her ugly head again,” Candy said. “Just when you have finally acknowledged that you’re happy, which is a big step for you, your mother has shown up and you’re worried she’s going to ruin everything for you again.”
I was worried about that. However, Candy was being too simplistic. “It’s more than that.” I searched for the best way to communicate what was really going on. She needed to understand. “Ryder Stone is a bad man. My mother is a bad woman. He’s trying to weasel his way back into the hotel, and my mother would like nothing more than to benefit from it if he manages to do so.”
“So you think they have a plan?”
“I do.”
“Why are you here and not with Olivia if you believe that?”
“Because sometimes I fly off the handle. I thought maybe you could help me talk to Olivia and Zach.”
To my utter shock, Candy smiled. “I would be happy to help you.”
“You would?” I was suspicious.
“If you believe it’s important, I believe it’s important. I’ll call upstairs to see if I can get us a sit-down.”
I smiled, relieved. “Thank you.” Something occurred to me. “I think Ronan needs to be there too.”
“For emotional support?”
“No, because…” I didn’t finish. The last part was not for me to share. That had to be up to Ronan.
“There’s more?” Candy guessed.
