Page 58 of An Inconvenient Plan
Josh’s nothing grew to a gaping maw of nothing as Phillip sent her a huge bouquet of roses every morning for a week. No note. Just roses, roses, roses. Obviously the prince was begging her forgiveness, even though she’d already thanked him and told him everything was fine. Maybe she’d sounded so despondent he hadn’t believed her. Because the truth was, even with all the lovely attention from Phillip, her heart hurt. She couldn’t keep doing this thing with Josh when she got nothing in return. Maybe this was the natural end to their relationship. They’d burned bright and hot, and then they burned out.
She drooped through Friday, relieved to finally be done slogging through work. She put her laptop away and sighed. The chime for the front door of Ludbury House rang. She wasn’t expecting anyone. Was it possible Josh was finally showing up with a peace offering?
She left Rose in her office and rushed to the front door. Her stomach dropped the moment she opened the door. “Mom! Is everything okay?”
Her mom was dressed in the clothes she only wore when she was ill—a ratty pink cotton shirt with gray sweatpants. A blue kerchief covered her hair, and she wore large sunglasses. “I need to get out of here,” her mom said urgently. “My wedding’s only two weeks away and I just can’t. Tell Joe I’m visiting my sick aunt Jane or something, okay?” There was no Aunt Jane.
Her mom turned to go.
Hailey ran out on the porch. “Mom, wait!”
Her mom kept walking.
Dammit! She knew this would happen. Her mom was flaking on Joe just like Hailey had predicted all along. She raced down the steps and grabbed her mom’s arm. “Cold feet are perfectly normal. It doesn’t mean you’re not meant to be. I know you’ll have a long and happy life with Joe.”
Her mom stared at the ground. “Just tell him about Aunt Jill, okay?” There was no Aunt Jill either. Her mom was an only child just like Hailey.
“It’s Aunt Jane. Keep your story straight. When will you be back?”
“I don’t know.” She pulled out of Hailey’s grasp and quickly walked toward her car parked crookedly in the driveway. It was still running, the driver’s side door wide open.
“Mom, don’t do this to him. Please. He’s going to worry.”
Her mom ignored her, got in her car, and drove away.
Hailey considered her options. She didn’t want to get in the middle of this mess, and she definitely didn’t want to have to face Joe and explain her mom was a flake. How could her mom not see what she had? It was so obvious Joe loved her. The look in his eyes was so warm and tender. He called her sweetheart. If Hailey had what her mom had…
She swallowed hard and went back inside. Maybe her mom would come to her senses. Or maybe Joe would go after her, except Hailey didn’t know where her mom was going. She shivered. It was bad enough she’d gotten all tangled up with Josh against Joe’s wishes, but if her mom didn’t come back to Joe, the entire Campbell family would turn on her. She covered her mom’s tracks in the only way she could think of—she texted Josh. He always worked Friday and Saturday nights. Well, except when he had to show up a prince on a dance floor.
Hailey:Family emergency. My mom had to fly out to see my aunt Jane. Can you tell your dad? I don’t want him to worry. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear the latest.
Josh:Sure. Everything okay? Are you going too?
Hailey:Just her. I don’t know this aunt very well. She’s in California.
And the lies just keep coming.She hated that her mom had put her in this position. There were three dots like Josh was typing and she waited. The dots disappeared.
She put her phone down, sat at her desk, and dropped her head in her hands. She and Josh were at an impasse, it seemed. Maybe they were too alike. They were two strong-willed strategic warriors circling each other, neither willing to give an inch. But, no, that wasn’t exactly right. She’d given much more than an inch. She’d tried to connect with him in every way she knew how. Why was this so difficult? Why was Josh so difficult?
Agitated, she scooped up Rose from her little bed, where she was napping, and settled back at her desk, stroking Rose gently. A few minutes later, the chime for the front door rang and her heart thumped hard in anticipation. Maybe Josh had decided to forgo texting in favor of seeing her face-to-face. She’d forgive everything if he met her halfway.
She answered the door with Rose in her arms, instantly deflating as Phillip’s smiling face came into view. She opened the door. “Hi, Phillip.” He was dressed formally in a black suit that looked like a custom fit with a red tie. His two guards stood unobtrusively to the side.
“Hello,” he said warmly and gestured behind him.
A line of people approached from the side of Ludbury House, climbing the porch steps to her. A woman gave her a bouquet of roses, three men playing violins followed behind, and a woman with a camera joined them. Was this part of the press Phillip needed to restore his reputation?
“Hailey.”
She glanced down to find Phillip on one knee, holding a huge glittering diamond solitaire ring up to her. Holy crap!
“Would you do me the honor of being my bride?”
She stared at him in shock. The violins played on, the camera clicked away, all eyes on her.
“You would make a divine princess of Villroy,” Phillip said. “And you’d be integral to our new foray into tourism. In so many ways, you’re exactly what Villroy needs. What I need too. Come back with me and fall in love with Villroy Island, with who you can be there. You could be the key to revitalizing our economy, keeping the young workforce there, keeping the country alive. You could do so much not just for me but for an entire country.”
Her knees went weak.Whoa.A princess? Helping an entire kingdom to flourish through her skills as a businesswoman? A dreamy state came over her, imagining castles and ball gowns, flower gardens, parties, weddings, economic summits.
