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"Sure. When is it?"
"Next weekend."
She scrunched her nose. "I can't. Drake and I plan to fly over to Aspen again."
Drake also worked at the hotel, and the two of them were very hands-on with the Aspen location.
I waved her off. "That's okay, I'll go by myself. Or maybe I’ll rope someone else into joining me." I was good at that. "Let me just check what time it is."
I looked at the email, scrolling to the end. They'd attached two lists, one with the details and one with the attendees. Of course, I clicked the wrong list. I went to close it as soon as it popped up on my screen, but then a familiar name made me freeze.
Malcolm Delaware.
It couldn’t be.
I swallowed hard, but the name I below nearly choked me.
Francisca Delaware.
No, no, no.
I took in a deep breath. I thought they'd moved away from Chicago, but the names weren’t coincidental. My ex-fiancé and my former best friend. I swallowed hard. What are they even doing here?
"Reese?" Kimberly asked. "What's wrong?"
I cleared my throat. "I clicked on the wrong list." Was my voice shaky? I hoped not. I didn't want Gran and Kimberly to notice something was off. "It's at seven thirty in the evening."
"I'm sure someone will be able to join you."
I looked up at her, confused for a second, before remembering what we'd been talking about.
"Actually, I changed my mind. There's no need. I'm representing Maxwell Hotels, and I know Travis is leaving next weekend, too, so I'll go there on my own."
The last thing I wanted was for any of my family to run into Malcolm. He'd caused enough headaches for me and my family. He was my problem to deal with.
Kimberly lifted a brow. Damn it. I’d changed my mind far too quickly. She’d figure out I was hiding something.
"Stop by the house before you go, and I'll feed you something good,” Gran said. “At those fancy events, they usually put out some crumbs and call it dinner.”
"I'll do that." I was grateful for the opportunity. I would need to soak in some family love before facing my ex.
Years ago, Malcolm and I were engaged. I bought this apartment right around that time. I had so many dreams about it, and about us. I thought we'd start a family here.
I'd even crossed one of my personal boundaries, because he'd asked me to. I agreed to do a spread in Vogue highlighting the wedding. The Maxwell name was a big deal in Chicago, though we rarely spoke with the press. I was generally a very private person, but I’d wanted to do it for Malcolm and make him happy.
Just before the wedding, I found out that he was sleeping with my best friend, Francesca. I felt an ache in my chest, just remembering the way they both betrayed me.
Shake it off, will you? It's been years. Your family can’t see you like this.
After Gran and Kimberly left, I was restless. Rose fell asleep, so I put her in the mobile crib.
I went to the egg-shaped swing hanging from the ceiling. I liked to curl up in it with my Kindle and read for hours; it made me feel safe, like I was in a cocoon. I threw a fuzzy blanket over myself, even though I wasn't cold, and settled into it.
I couldn’t believe I had to face Malcolm and Francesca. Though maybe it would do me good. As my therapist liked to say, "Sometimes we have to come face-to-face with our demons in order to put them behind us."
But I'd come face-to-face with him several times since we broke up. After every encounter, I was in shambles. He’d come after my family and me repeatedly. Last time, he blackmailed me into giving an in-depth interview to the press. My cousin Declan threatened him and made sure no firm in Chicago hired him. Malcolm moved away after that. Was he back?
I couldn’t believe I’d have them together.
