He's All That by Juliana Stone

Author:Juliana Stone [Stone, Juliana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Juliana Stone

That was nearly a month ago, and I’d shot down every weekend he’d proposed to come to Louisiana. I had a million excuses. A spa weekend with the girls. Business meetings on the West Coast. A New York Rangers game I couldn’t get out of. Conference in Canada. Pink eye. Okay, that was desperation, but shit, I didn’t have much else.

In the end, I ran out of excuses and told him I’d be at Live Oakes the second weekend in February. It was up to him whether he came or not. I wasn’t his travel agent. He could make his own damn arrangements.

Which he did.

And here I was.

I’d arrived the day before and, for the first time in weeks, slept like a baby, in spite of the knots in my stomach and the stress headache that had dogged me for days. I suppose there was something about this place that calmed me and made things better.

At least until Boyd showed up and ruined everything, which would be in a couple of hours.

I sighed and let the front door slam shut behind me. It was cool for this time of year, a balmy fifty-five degrees as I looked down the wide driveway lined on either side by the live oaks the plantation was named after. Mist hung low to the ground, lazy snakes that slithered along the grass, and I shivered, pulling my dark gray Prada cardigan tighter.

Marta stepped out onto the wide veranda, wiping her hands down the front of her apron. It was covered in giant watermelons, and she’d had it since I was a little kid. I smiled at her, more than a little concerned to see how much she’d aged in the last year or so since I’d been here. Her hair was tied back as usual, but the blonde strands were now silver. There were more lines etched onto her face, and her cheeks were hollowed, though that might have been because she’d lost some weight. She’d always been so soft and round and ready with a hug. When I was little, I used to pretend she was my mother.

“Morning, Sunshine.”

I smiled at the nickname she’d given me ages ago. As a kid, I’d been pretty much the opposite of sunshine. In fact, most of the time, I’d been sullen, spoiled, and plain nasty. But Marta always managed to get a smile out of me, and her warm hugs were reward enough.

“You’re up early,” she said, coming to stand beside me.

“I slept like the dead.”

“That’s the fresh air, I’m guessing.”

“Could be the Xanax,” I quipped.

“Don’t be cheeky,” she murmured, giving me a quick hug. “Is there anything in particular you want for dinner? I’ll be sending Mr. Bill to town for some things in a few hours.”

Mr. Bill was the caretaker of the property. Again, he’d been around for as long as I could remember. And we’d always called him Mr. Bill. Honestly? I had no clue what his last name was.

“No,” I replied quickly. “I’m good.

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