Champagne Brunch: The Stiletto Sisters Series by Ainsley Claire (easy readers .txt) 📗

and I pull out my phone again now to let Nina and Alana know the same thing. I also tell them they don’t have to worry about me because I’m staying at Mia’s tonight. I wish I were staying a little more directly with Mia, but I can be patient. We have a lot to talk about, and I suppose I’m lucky to be here at all. With a sigh, I strip down to my boxer briefs.

Lying in bed in one of Mia’s guestrooms, I stare at the shadows and keep replaying everything I’ve learned about Mia’s appearance in court today. Could Marci be right that Viviana’s lawyers are planning on using Mia later in the case? I know Mia well enough to know that being a pawn like that would destroy her. In her mind, that would be a betrayal of Nate and his family.

Viviana would probably relish that.

Sometime later, light crosses my face, and I sit up in bed. It must be morning—I smell coffee—but I feel like I just laid down. I reach for my phone and discover it’s after eight thirty. I haven’t slept past six since my sister and her boys arrived. What a luxury.

I wash my face, dress in the jeans and T-shirt I was wearing yesterday, and pad barefoot to the kitchen. Mia’s drinking coffee and watching the boardwalk below.

“You’re awake. I would have thought you’d sleep till noon today.” I kiss her on the top of the head on my way to the coffee machine. I pour myself a cup and stand across the table from her. “How are you feeling today?”

She shrugs. “Okay, I suppose. I woke up to go to the bathroom about four and couldn’t turn my brain off.”

I nod. That scenario is familiar. “What was driving you crazy?”

“A few things. For one, I went through my phone messages and realized you left one while I was in Hawaii that just now decided to show up. I’m sorry for not responding. I wish I’d gotten it sooner—I would have felt much better about things.”

“Please don’t apologize, though I’m glad to know you weren’t just choosing not to respond.” I manage a smile. “I meant what I said. I’m really sorry for the way I reacted. But wait—before we get into that, finish telling me what kept you from going back to sleep.”

She sighs. “What Marci said about me not being questioned.”

“I went to sleep thinking about that, too. I think she’s probably right.”

“Viviana’s pissed that I’ve not been in touch and probably feels like I’ve betrayed her—not that she didn’t do the same to me.”

I reach for her and pull her to her feet to hold her tight. “Nate is smart enough to know you’d never intentionally hurt him.”

She shakes her head. “I don’t know. Viv’s lawyer is good. She will twist everything and ruin my relationship with everyone who’s important to me. Viviana knows I didn’t have a lot of friends growing up, and she’s going to make sure all my friends abandon me now.”

I shake my head. “You and Nate are close. He knows you, and he knows Viviana’s lawyer is going to manipulate things and try to turn you on each other.”

Her cell phone pings. She reads from it and looks up, smiling. “Marci and Walker want to know if we can join them for brunch.”

I take a sip of my coffee. “Do you want to do that? Or would you rather spend some time just you and me? I owe you a conversation.”

She takes a deep breath.

“Or would you prefer to go without me?” I continue. “I don’t want you to feel any pressure from me or your friends.”

She smiles. “Thank you for being so understanding. I do want to talk things through with you. Let’s do that, and then we’ll reward ourselves by having some fun with Marci and Walker. That is, if you still want to go...” She looks away, suddenly nervous.

“I do want to go, but first, I want to tell you directly how sorry I am for my behavior last week. I could blame it on my sister and her kids—and that was part of it—but when that guy approached the table and said those awful things, I was shocked. It really threw me. Does that happen often?”

She shakes her head. “That was a first. Most people don’t recognize me. It’s not like there are trading cards for successful people out there.”

I throw my head back and laugh. “No. Maybe if there were, I would have known who you were. I should look into that…” I joke.

“I’m sorry for just leaving you on the sidewalk. I was embarrassed.”

“I don’t blame you for fleeing—that guy was angry and aggressive. It had to rattle you.” I run my hands through my hair. “After you left, I made a huge mistake. I went to the internet and started reading everything that popped up about you. It was the opposite of what you’d told me and what I thought I knew about you, but I didn’t put it together right away that they were dishonest pieces planted as sabotage. I’m sorry. I’d give anything to change my behavior.”

She cringes and nods. “It’s easy to see how people fall for fake news. In my case, those articles were completely false and planted by Russian trolls to discredit me. Most people don’t take the time to see the whole picture, and it’s easier to attack a woman than it is a man.”

“I’d like to think that’s because women are the stronger sex.”

She smiles at me. “I definitely like the way you think.”

“Do you forgive me?” I ask.

She doesn’t answer right away, and my heart lurches from nervous to confused. I don’t usually apologize to a woman for bad behavior, nor do I worry about whether she’ll forgive