Page 53 of Clued in to Love
Heat boiled in her stomach.
It had been a long time since she felt this furious.
Dare she say, it almost felt good to be on fire—to feel this burn of rage.
She was at a loss as to what to do next. She didn’t want to go home.
So instead, she turned the key in the ignition, readjusted her sweaty palms on the steering wheel, and headed for her happy place—the library.
She would spend the remainder of the ruined morning perusing the new release section and finding a cozy chair in front of the large windows to read and watch the snowfall outside.
Samesh had been careless with her heart, but she was strong and resilient. Grief had shown her that. She wasn’t twenty any longer. She was a completely realized version of her younger self and she had no intention of playing Samesh’s games. Those days were long since behind her.
At least she had figured out the truth now. Thank goodness she’d had a conversation with Hilary. She thought that she’d been offering Hilary a listening ear and maybe some perspective from someone who had lived a few more years, but it turned out that Hilary had done her a major favor.
THIRTY-ONE
HILARY
Hilary’s phone buzzed.
Ben?
A surge of hope made her head spin. It could have also been from downing three mimosas in quick succession.
The dizziness remained, but the feeling of hope evaporated when she realized the text was from Bella.
MOM, WHAT IS HAPPENING?
The all caps were a dead giveaway that Ben had talked to their daughter.
Instead of getting into a lengthy text exchange, Hilary decided the best course of action was to call Bella. She scooted over to the far side of the room, away from Santa and Mrs. Claus, and leaned against the wall.
“Mom.” Bella answered before the phone had even rung. Getting either of the twins to answer a call was a small miracle in itself. “What’s going on?”
“I’m at the Santa breakfast.” Hilary’s gaze darted around the festive room. Toddlers hopped up on peppermint pancakesbounced in line to take pictures, creating their own mini mosh pit. “How’s studying for finals going?”
“Mom, stop. Don’t do that.”
“Do what?” Hilary tried to pretend she had no idea what Bella was talking about.
“Deflect. I learned all about it in psych class.”
Hilary stifled a chuckle—thanks a lot, Psych 101. “What am I deflecting?”
“You and Dad. He called. He wanted to give Jack and me a heads-up about Christmas.”
“Oh really?” Hilary motioned to Samesh, who caught her eye from across the room. He lifted a platter of cookies, clearly wanting a minute of her time or maybe to offer her a cookie. She held up a finger, signaling that she needed a minute.
“Dad’s staying at a hotel? What happened?” Bella asked.
“Honey, it’s a long story. I’m in the middle of work, but I don’t want you or Jack to worry. Your dad and I are going to figure this out. You concentrate on finals. You don’t need any additional stress right now. Study, take your tests, and we’ll see you at the airport next weekend, okay?”
“Mom, no, wait.” Bella’s voice was filled with desperation. “Dad sounded wrecked on the phone. I won’t be able to concentrate on finals if you two are breaking up.”
Damn, Ben.
Hilary couldn’t believe he’d involved the twins in their problems. That wasn’t like him.
