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“Why not?”
“I told you it was obvious early on that you were into each other.” Rory sighed and brushed a strand of hair away from Aria’s forehead. “Honestly, I’m on your side about Mariposa because you’re my sister, but other than that, I don’t have a dog in this race. So I never thought Armstrong was a bad guy. And you’ve been all lit up and glowing for days, which I was pretty sure had something to do with him. In that past few weeks, you’ve been more like yourself than you have in a while. Like you’re finally letting go of whatever bad shit happened to you when you left Bliss Cove.”
Aria’s heart squeezed into a ball so tight she almost couldn’t breathe. “How did you know?”
“I knowyou.” Rory settled her hand on the back of Aria’s neck, tugging her closer. “Remember, I’ve been through a lot of shit with scumbag men in the tech world. I’ve learned a thing or two. My instincts about Armstrong aside, I didn’twantto find out a guy who’s obviously good for you is involved in dirty dealings.”
A strange relief nudged through Aria’s growing despair. Had it been the same with Callie and her mother? Had they seen it on her, sensed it in her? Had they known she’d distanced herself from them, avoided their texts and calls, because she hadn’t wanted them to know how weak she’d been? Had they been giving her the space to find herself again?
She rested her forehead against Rory’s side. “What about the envelope you gave me after you did the search on Hunter?”
“Open it. But what’s that old saying…two wrongs don’t make a right or something about good deeds not going unpunished? I have no idea how much he’s involved in this Venture project thing. There are probably countless deleted emails about it.”
“I feel sick.” Aria wrapped her arms around her stomach. “I’d wondered why a company as big as Imperial Properties was interested in Mariposa Street. It didn’t seem like a very important project compared to the stuff they’ve built in Tokyo and Manhattan. But they were using it as a foothold into Bliss Cove so they could construct whatever theVenture projectis. God.”
She hated the anguish rising to the surface, threatening to overwhelm her. She couldn’t believe Hunter would spearhead a project that Imperial was keeping a secret from Bliss Cove residents. A “massive moneymaker” involving attempted bribery.
But Mariposa Street was Hunter’s deal to make. He was slated to direct Oceanview. He’d be president of Imperial Properties holdings on the West Coast. Bliss Cove was in his domain. And when he became CEO…
She shook the thought out of her head. She’d have to worry about Hunter later. The immediate issue was that she’d been right in her suspicions.
“I have to tell the other Mariposa owners.” Pulling back, she looked up at her sister. “They’ll never vote to sell their properties and make way for Oceanview if they know what else Imperial is planning. I’ll just tell them about this Venture project…hell, I’ll tell the town council, Mayor Bowers, and anyone else who’ll listen. No one will be in favor of Oceanview after hearing about this.”
“But we don’t even know whatthisis,” Rory pointed out.
Aria groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. She couldn’t just give the Mariposa owners some vague accusations against Imperial and expect them to rally around her cause. She needed concrete evidence of their actual plan.
“Thanks, Rory.” Picking up her bag, she pushed to her feet and headed to the door. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you sooner.”
“Wait.” Concern laced Rory’s voice. “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know yet.”
She hurried back to her car before her razor-sharp sister realized she was lying. Because Aria knew exactly what she was going to do.
