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Kris smirked, but a tangle of dread knotted itself in her throat. It was Saturday night. Her flight left for Seattle Monday morning, and classes started Tuesday.
They had a little over twenty-four hours left together.
Thanks to the whole Gemma drama, it had been easy to push thoughts of her and Nate’s imminent goodbye to the side, but there was no denying it: their time together was running out, and Kris, who’d never been the sentimental sort, was devastated.
Her father had reinstated her access to her cards and bank accounts, but she’d kept her job at Alchemy until Nate’s co-worker with the sprained ankle returned to work on Thursday. She had, however, moved back into her family’s house after Roger kicked Gloria to the curb. Nate, Skylar, and even Michael had insisted she was welcome to stay through the end of the summer; while Kris would’ve loved the extra time with Nate, she didn’t want to impose any further, even if she had been paying rent.
Besides, she and Nate spent every night together anyway—she either slept over at his place or he slept over at hers. Usually hers, given she had her own wing of the house and they could make as much noise as they wanted without worrying about someone hearing them.
“That’s not a conversation for tonight,” she said as they stepped back out into the muggy evening. “Later.”
Like in the next century.
Kris didn’t want to say goodbye to Nate. Ever.
His face softened. “Kris—”
“You bitch.”
Kris’s straw froze halfway to her mouth. She narrowed her eyes at the speaker and wiped the surprise from her face when she saw it was Gloria.
What the hell was she doing here?
The ex-Stepmonster flaunted head-to-toe designer, but her red hair was messier than usual and dark circles shadowed her eyes. She stood on the edge of the sidewalk, glaring at Kris and Nate, her hand strangling the strap of her handbag.
It was sort of sad.
“I’m sorry, do I know you?” Kris asked. “You kind of look like someone who tried to weasel her way past a prenup and into my father’s millions but was dumb enough to cheat on him with her personal trainer, of all people. Talk about cliché.” She took a loud, purposeful slurp of her taro bubble tea. “Anyway, you can’t be her, because while she was a total bitch, she had the decency not to wear Louboutins from three seasons ago.”
Gloria’s lips flattened into a thin line. “You think you’re so smart. Once your father finds out what you did—and hewillfind out—he’ll never forgive you.”
“It seems your memory has degraded as much as your fashion sense,” Kris said coolly. “My father already knows about the contract with Nate.”
“I’m not talking about that,” Gloria hissed. “I’m talking about the bogus phone with the texts and pictures. I don’t know how you got your hands on those photos, but your efforts to frame me are pathetic.”
Kris’s brows drew together. Call her crazy, but Gloria sounded like she was telling the truth about the phone. Either that, or she was a world-class actress. Kris wouldn’t put it past the other woman.
“It’s not my fault you weren’t more careful,” she said, watching Gloria’s reaction closely. “Plus, considering the wedding is off and my father wants nothing to do with you, I’d say myalleged‘efforts’ aren’t so pathetic.”
Gloria’s cheeks flushed until their color matched her hair.
Part of Kris was tempted to taunt the ex-Stepmonster further, but honestly, she was over it. The woman was out of her and her father’s lives, and she had little desire to waste more of her precious remaining time in L.A. battling a defeated opponent.
“Since you’re still here in L.A., I assume you’ve either been shacking up with your trainer or staying at a hotel in hopes of getting my father alone and making him change his mind. Friendly tip: he won’t, so stop wasting your money. I also assume, given your appearance here tonight, that you’ve been following him or me. Again, stop wasting your money and time and move on. We have.” Kris smiled. “Have a nice life.”
She tugged Nate down the street, leaving a speechless, sputtering Gloria behind.
“Perhaps we should walk faster in case she snaps and tries to mace us,” Nate whispered.
“Good idea.”
Kris waited until they rounded the corner before she broke into a run and a laugh, with Nate close on her heels.
She’d stewed in resentment and hate for so long she hadn’t realized how much they weighed her down until she was freed of them.
She was still laughing when they reached his car, and she replayed Gloria’s stunned expression in her mind.
There was, however, one thing she wanted to confirm.
