Harlequin Desire: January 2023 Box Set 2 of 2 by Katie Frey

Author:Katie Frey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2022-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

“Wynter, so glad I was finally able to catch up with you,” LaTanya stated later that evening. Wynter had been working on her blog all afternoon and had just returned to her room. “You’ve been a hard woman to find.”

“I’m sorry, Ms. Gilbert. I’ve been traveling and am now Stateside. Do you have an update for me?”

“I do, but I’m afraid it’s not what you wanted to hear.”

Wynter sighed. Although the answer wasn’t unexpected, she’d been hoping her mother would let the matter go. She supposed that was wishful thinking.

“They’ve asked the judge to have an independent audit of your aunt’s financials completed.”

“Why?”

“My guess is they want to see if there any anomalies or irregularities, such as large outlays of cash to you or anyone else. This is all to support their case that your aunt was not of sound mind and body when she executed the will.”

“That’s ludicrous!”

“Are you sure you don’t want to settle? Or do you want to stay the course?”

Wynter was silent on the other end. Over the past couple of months, she’d given the situation a lot of thought. Every time she thought about giving in, she remembered that her aunt had wanted her to have her home and the means to enjoy whatever lifestyle she wanted, nomadic or otherwise.

“Are you there?” LaTanya asked.

“Stay the course.”

After the call, Wynter looked at the time. It was 6:00 p.m. and getting close to when Riley said he would be at the bar. Wynter’s mind told her to stay in the room, but another voice told her to go downstairs and meet Riley for that drink.

Months ago, she’d justified the one-night stand by telling herself they were just scratching an itch and she would be able to move on afterward. She’d been wrong. She hadn’t been able to so much as look at another man, much less be intimate with anyone, since Riley. He’d left an inedible mark on her. It was as if he’d branded her his. Her self-preservation instinct told Wynter to run, but that was what she always did when life got too difficult. Staying and seeing if the spark she’d still felt in the coffee shop was real or imagined would be a test for her.

She could either leave what they shared that one night as a fulfillment of her teenage crush, or she could take a risk, as Riley had suggested, and face the music on what was going on between them. Wynter was scared. She feared she could fall for Riley, a self-professed serial dater. He wasn’t interested in the long-term, just the right now.

Even if Wynter wasn’t looking for a ring and a white picket fence at the moment, she did want a family someday. If she got too close to Riley, it was quite possible he could penetrate the shell she’d erected around her to protect herself and she’d want more. The only way she’d dealt with not belonging in her family was not letting anyone in, except maybe her girls.

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