[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

conversation.
 Yeah, I ll have to call you later. I ve still got a lot of unpacking
to do. I wasn t exactly productive yesterday.
 All righty then. Touch base soon.
 Definitely. Bye, Rachel.
 Bye, Licia.
Alicia tossed her cellular device on her bed. She d just spoken
with her best friend, but it was Carrington s face she saw the duration
of their time spent on the phone. She was home, but there was
something about the medium-sized bedroom decorated with red and
white roses that gave her an overwhelming feeling of nostalgia.
There was a knock on the door, which was already ajar. A woman
with long dark hair and a face resembling Alicia s walked in. She
could have been her sister, but for all of her years Alicia had known
her as her mother. They weren t the best of friends, especially after
Alicia s father mysteriously died, but still, they loved one another and
were all each other had.
Ben Foxworth left the house for Alicia in his will, stating that she
could live there as soon as she was old enough to take care of herself.
Alicia begged her mother to stay in the house with her, but Rebecca
110 Ashley Brooke
refused. She said it was different not having her husband around and
everything in it reminded her of him, so Alicia lived alone, but
regardless of their relationship status, Rebecca did visit her daughter
often.
 Hey, Rebecca said softly.  I made dinner. It s almost ready. Are
you hungry?
 No. Alicia snorted.  Not in the least.
 You barely ate your dinner yesterday. Are you sick? She walked
over to Alicia and felt her head with the back of her hand.
Sure if you consider nostalgia an illness.  No, I m fine.
 You sure?
When Alicia simply nodded, she didn t push the issue.  You dyed
your hair again.
 Yeah. Alicia tossed a hot pink T-shirt on the floor.
 And it s grown. You look more like yourself again.
 Well I should, after all I am a natural brunette.
Rebecca said nothing for a moment. She took the time to look
around her daughter s bedroom. She noticed the drapes and the rose
petals, the white carpet and maroon walls. It hadn t changed a bit.  So
how s everything with Jake? You did tell him, didn t you?
Alicia sighed.  Yes.
 So he s forgiven you?
 Oh yeah, totally. Alicia walked to the other side of her bedroom
and began to unpack her large suitcase.
 So who s the guy? Rebecca folded her arms.
Alicia looked up, distracted from her work, and then it hit her.
 Oh, him.
 Yeah, him. The one who made you betray your fiancé.
 He didn t make me betray Jake. I made that conscious decision
on my own.
 Even worse. Rebecca leaned against Alicia s white chest of
drawers.  What did Jake say?
Submission 111
 He s giving me one more chance. Alicia continued to take
clothes out of her suitcase.
 Good. He s a wonderful man. You don t realize how lucky you
are, Si-Si.
 Yeah, shame on me.
Rebecca s eyes scolded her daughter, and she stormed over to her,
yanking her wrist and grasping it.  This is not a game. That man
saved you from a multitude of punishments and spared your life after
you murdered Antonio. He covered your tracks and made a bargain
with Jordan. You owe it to him to remain faithful.
Alicia snatched away from her mother.  He made a bargain with
you. Jordan just went along with it. And anyway, how can he expect
me to be faithful when he s never around? Just two months ago he
finally decided to go through with the wedding. She tossed a royal
blue wrinkled T-shirt to the side.  We ve been engaged for two years
now.
 You ll learn. I had to with your father, you ll learn with him. It s
a part of the family business. You ll learn to deal with it.
Learn to deal with two wicked men at once? You could barely
handle one decent man.  You never learned with Daddy. That s why
we re in this predicament now.
 Don t try to put the blame on me. This is all of your doing. You,
all by yourself, Mrs. Crane.
 I am not a Crane.
 Yet, Rebecca scolded.
Never.  It is not my fault! I didn t know what I was doing that
night
 It doesn t matter, you still killed Antonio and you got engaged to
Jake Crane. You think you know all there is to know about pain and
misery, but you know nothing at all.
 And you do?
 I ve been married in this family for a long time.
112 Ashley Brooke
Chapter 15
Carrington ran until his heart s content that night. Lying on his
bed, wearing nothing but the red briefs Alicia loved, he stared at the
ceiling wondering if he should call her. His strong bronze body was
exasperated and his smooth manly skin glistened in the dimness of the
light. He gnawed on his bottom lip as he remembered the way his
dear beloved smelled when he held her close to him and the way her
flesh felt beneath his as he loved her passionately until the night s [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]