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You thought you knew Marcus too…the dark thought slithered through her mind like the snake in the garden of Eden. It gave her pause before she reminded herself she had been young and naïve when she first met Marcus, she hadn’t yet learned what she knew now. Will had shown more kindness to her, and the animals, than Marcus ever had. Being around all these people tonight gave her a new perspective on Will. She’d discovered what a powerhouse he was in the business world. Sure, she knew what was in his bank account, but now, seeing how respected and sought after he was, the partnerships he had created, she struggled to understand what on earth he was still doing here in Citrus Pines.
“Will, darling, aren’t you going to say hello to your mother?”
Rebelle drew back at the interruption and turned, meeting blue eyes as icy as the voice had been. She took in the white blonde curls with not a hair out of place, the perfectly arched brow and smooth features. There was so much behind those blue eyes, so much history that belied the smooth features. A classic red dress with a white fur wrap sitting around her shoulders. She was a formidable woman and Rebelle could feel herselfshrinking to two inches tall next to such an elegant, put together lady.
“Mom, what are you doing here?” Will’s jaw clenched tight and his whole posture became rigid.
“Can’t a mother visit her only son’s charity event? I’m curious what you’ve been doing all these weeks,” his mother replied, her cool stare flicking to Rebelle, giving her a dismissive once over, her mouth slipping into a tight smile. “Or should I say,whoyou’re doing?”
“Stop. Right now,” Will growled, his hands balling into giant fists. The air grew heavy with all the things unsaid between them and now Rebelle needed to leave, her anxiety rocketing by the second.
“It’s fine, Will. I’m a big girl.” She leveled a stare at his mom. “I’ll leave you to speak, clearly someone has something to say.”
She turned, heading towards the bar to get some water and seek out her friends. God she couldn’t believe she hadfriends.
“Excuse me, hi, is it Rebelle?”
Rebelle turned and saw a young woman with flowing chestnut waves and deep hazel eyes standing there. An eager smile graced her lips, and her hand cupped her rounded stomach. A man hovered slightly behind her, tall, dark-eyed, suited and booted and glued to his phone.
“I’m Ava and this is Kyle,” she said, gesturing to the man who lifted his head long enough to give Rebelle a bored smile before returning to the device. Rebelle decided she didn’t care for Kyle.
“Kyle is Will’s stepbrother and I’m Kyle’s fiancée.”
She held out her hand and Rebelle shook it gently. “Pleased to meet you,” Rebelle replied, peering over Ava’s shoulder to see Will and his mom locked in a heated debate.
“I hope you’ll forgive us for crashing your event, but I was eager to hear about the work you’ve been doing?” Rebelleinstantly warmed to Ava’s eagerness. She recognized part of her old self in Ava: she was a people-pleaser.
“What would you like to know?”
“Only everything!”
Rebelle smiled at her exuberance and launched into the spiel she had worked on this evening, explaining the background of the shelter and her plans for it moving forward.
“Sold!” Ava exclaimed.
Rebelle cocked her head to the side in confusion. “Sold?”
“I’ll write a check or transfer some money. I’ve been looking for an investment for my trust fund and this sounds perfect. I want to do something good with my money, something meaningful.”
“Babe, don’t be stupid. Save your money, you won’t get your investment back, be smart about this. Better yet, let me invest it for you, I’ll find you something that will actually return,” Kyle piped up, sealing the spot Rebelle had been prepping for him in theAsshole Hall of Fame.
Ava’s cheeks pinkened and her smile turned a little shaky and Rebelle hated seeing her discomfort and embarrassment at the hands of an arrogant man.
“Itisa worthy cause,” Rebelle growled at Kyle, staring him down. She could see the disdain in his eyes as she stood up to him.
Ava looked between them. “Uh, well maybe I could set up a monthly donation then? I’m a physical therapist so I am earning money too, I’m not just a trust fund baby,” Ava assured her. Rebelle could see she didn’t want to be tarred with the rich woman brush and wanted to do more, and her like for Ava grew.
“I’m sure you’re a lot of things and I’d be very grateful for your support. There’s plenty of time to think about how you’d like to do it. Maybe have a drink and mull it over and we can talk again, just the two of us,” Rebelle said. Ava’s megawatt smile dimmedslightly but she nodded emphatically before Kyle dragged her away. Kyle met Rebelle’s stare as he walked past and the look in his eyes had Rebelle feeling icky.
Alone again, Rebelle glanced around, stuck at an event she hadn’t wanted to come to, surrounded by people she wouldn’t choose to spend her time with, except those she was already connected to.
Everyone was sticking their two cents in on how to run the shelter and she felt like she was drowning. She needed to put her foot down, to exercise control over all these strangers telling her how to run her shelter. It had been an overwhelming evening but suddenly she needed space to breathe and take back control. She headed into Taylor’s office for some peace, away from prying eyes.
She paced the room, practising some breathing exercises and sorting through her emotions and frazzled nerves but none of her techniques were taking the edge off.
She needed something more.
The door opened and Will entered, closing it and leaning against it, his head tilted back, eyes closed.
