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That was right; they were going out early for some schmoozing with various political bigwigs and to have their engagement photos done by some famous photographer I’d never heard of.
“Sure.” I waited for her to speak.
“I was hoping it could be in private. You know, some girl talk?”
How odd. I mean, I liked Jill, but under the circumstances I had tried to keep my distance. Not only was I carrying her fiancé’s baby, but I had tried to keep her at arm’s length because I didn’t want to seem disloyal to Kinsley. You know, except for when I slept with the man she loved. I was an awful person.
“Um . . . okay.”
“It won’t be long,” she assured me.
I looked up at Brock. “I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll be here,” he replied.
I reluctantly let go of Brock and followed Jill, who was weaving in and out of people like a woman on a mission. She cut a path to the front of the store and headed out through the exit. I wished I would have known she wanted to go outside. I would have asked Brock for his suit coat. September evenings in the mountains were chilly, and my dress only covered half my body.
Jill didn’t seem to care how cool it was as she marched down the sidewalk. She halted in front of a closed salon two storefronts down. I guessed she was serious about the private thing. What did we have to discuss that required such unusual measures? My hand drifted toward my abdomen. Surely she didn’t know about that. John was adamant that she never find out.
I rubbed my arms when we came to a stop on the empty sidewalk near one of the gaslit lamps.
Jill narrowed her eyes at my cocktail dress. It was the first hint that perhaps this wasn’t going to be a friendly chat. And the first time I could see why she was hailed as a savvy businesswoman. There was no denying the shrewd glare she was giving me.
In my heels I stood much taller than Jill, yet her attitude towered over me.
“I knew I wouldn’t get the chance to talk to you alone once you arrive in DC, but I wanted to get a couple of things straight before my engagement party.”
Her icy tone was colder than the temps and, quite honestly, shocking. She had always been so quiet and sweet.
“And what would that be?” I couldn’t help but be a tad snarky. I didn’t appreciate her condescending tone.
Her lip quivered, but she stood proud. “I’m under no delusions that Brant is in love with me, but I didn’t wait years for him only to be upstaged by you or your sister.”
My heart broke for her even though she looked like she wanted to slap me. “What are you talking about?” Don’t let her be talking about my baby.
“Please don’t take me for a fool. I see the way Brant looks at Kinsley, even you. I know what I bring to the table, and what I lack.”
I’d never thought her to be unattractive until this moment. “Brant isn’t that shallow.”
“I know he’ll be a loyal husband,” she snipped.
“Then why have this little chat with me?”
She looked up to the clear night sky twinkling with millions of stars. Her eyes filled with tears. “I deserve my moment,” she cried. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this. How long I’ve loved Brant.”
I knew they all went to some fancy prep school together back in Washington, DC, well before I’d ever met Brock and Brant. They used to refer to her as their sidekick. Brock had even teased Brant over the years that he was already betrothed to Jill, but Brant had always played it off. He’d never seemed interested in her. Then the last couple of years, she’d started to visit him more, especially this past year.
She lowered her head, and her eyes bore into me. “Every school I went to, every career opportunity I took, was to be in this position. To help Brant reach his goals. And I didn’t do it so I could live in your beautiful shadow.”
Was she for real? “You don’t live in my shadow. I don’t have a shadow.”
She shook her head. “You have to see how the press writes about you. The beautiful humanitarian who saves children and is devoted to her hero husband and selfless causes. They make you sound like a fairy-tale princess. I hardly get a mention, even though my company donates millions to charities across the nation and my father has served under the last four presidents.” Wow, did she sound high and mighty.
I tried not to read a lot of what was said about me online, and I felt uncomfortable watching our interviews. All I could see when I did was the pain. So I had no idea if what she was saying was true. Regardless. “This isn’t a competition.”
