Page 5 of Winning Her Over

Mr. Evans doesn’t waste any time. “Mrs. Dennis was caught trying to walk out with over two thousand dollars’ worth of merchandise.”

An indignant sniff sounds from my right.

Please shut up, mother, I mentally plead.

But even saying it out loud would have done no good. She never listens to anyone. Not me, not my father, and not even my father’s lawyers.

“I tried a few things on and then realized I was late for an appointment,” Caroline Dennis snaps.

One look at her beautiful face and cold blue eyes and I know nothing about this afternoon is going to go smoothly.

Swiftly, I reach into my bag and pull out my wallet, extracting my credit card. “I’m sorry for all the inconvenience this caused,” I say, holding out the shiny gold card.

Mr. Evans makes no move to take it and my stomach drops further.

Planting his solid hands upon the desk, he casts mother a glare before his gaze switches over to me and softens slightly. “We refrained from calling the police because of Mr. Dennis’s extensive goodwill that he has extended to this city.”

AKA, my dad is a big important shit and Mr. Evans doesn’t want to piss him off.

And I don’t blame him.

My dad is a pussycat when it comes to me and a pushover when it comes to his ex-wife. Anyone else? He’s lucifer incarnated to them.

“Thank you for that, Mr. Evans. I appreciate that, and I’m certain my dad will as well.”

Some of the starch goes out of Mr. Evans and he takes the credit card that is beginning to shake in my outstretched hand. “Ms. Dennis, should we put this card number on file? In case your mother has any other important appointments she must rush out to in the future.”

This basically gives mother carte blanche at this boutique on my dime.

My smile hurts my stiff face, but I smile anyhow.

I maintain that smile as I walk my mother out to my car, dutifully holding the car door open as she stands and waits. It’s tempting to be spiteful and let her stand there.

It’s even more tempting just to take off and leave her.

But that would do nothing.

It wouldn’t even upset her as she would simply stroll over to another store and no doubt repeat her little fun bit of shoplifting. Which would necessitate me coming back here or, even worse, going down to the police station and explaining later to my dad what happened.

He doesn’t need that headache any more than I do, and out of love for him, I’ll avoid involving him any way I can.

So I open the door for her and open it again when we reach her condo over on the east side of the city. Mother hasn’t said a word to me the entire drive, ignoring me like she would anyone chauffeuring her around.

Only when she sweeps past me does she bother to speak. “That’s a nice bag. I want one in orange.”

And just like that Caroline Dennis, real estate tycoon Max Dennis’s ex-wife, rumored third cousin of the Kennedy’s, and my mother, dismisses me as if I didn’t just save her a ride in a police car and a short stint in a holding cell.

Because of course, I’m her only child, and that’s what’s expected of an unhappy accident, to make myself useful.

CHAPTER THREE

LELAND

Blaire hasn’t been herself this past week, and I wonder if it has anything to do with Savannah’s new relationship. The bloom of happiness is all over Savannah’s face, while Blaire’s lovely one is drawn.

Instantly, I dismiss that. Blaire isn’t the jealous type.

Or at least from what I know of her, she isn’t.

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