“Personally, I think her career choice was unfortunate,” my mother answered loftily. “She’s obviously a smart woman. There were so many other career paths she could have followed.”
Just like me.
“Maybe she likes what she does,” I argued, although I knew it was fruitless to even bother.
My mother was never going to understand that some people followed their own hearts and their own dreams.
For her, there was only upward social mobility, something I’d never cared about. At all. Ever.
“Like your father always said, there’s room for diversion after success,” she answered in a snobby voice I’d always hated. “Look at your brothers. They’ve all used their connections to become more successful over the last year. Hostesses everywhere are just dying to have them attend one of their events. Granted, they didn’t start out making good decisions, but they’re fully focused on their business now.”
I shuddered. God, I hated it when she parroted my deceased father.
And yes, all of my three older brothers were billionaires. But it had nothing to do with their social connections. They hated social functions as much as I did. Maybe even more. And their achievements had come at a high emotional cost.
“I’ll be there,” I confirmed, wanting more than anything to get off the telephone with my mother. I’d learned to tolerate her criticism, but all of her little barbed comments still made me feel small.
“What gown are you wearing?” she questioned. “Surely you aren’t coming in your usual . . . attire.”
Since my normal clothing included sturdy jeans and a few power suits for when I had to appear in court or at meetings, she knew damn well I wasn’t wearing either one of those to a social affair.
“I’ll let you know when I decide,” I mumbled, knowing I’d have to purchase something new, since I hadn’t attended an affair with the San Diego elite in some time.
Once, I’d tried to be the only daughter my mother wanted, but I’d given up on that when I’d broken an engagement that my mother had found highly suitable.
“If you’re looking for something new, you aren’t going to find it there,” my mother sniffed.
One more of my failures, in her mind.
I’d left San Diego for good once my engagement had ended. Then I’d taken up residence in Citrus Beach. I’d found more peace and contentment here than I’d ever known. Yeah, maybe I didn’t have a home in Carmel Valley, Del Mar, or Coronado Island, but I’d never needed that to be happy. In fact, I knew I’d be absolutely miserable if I did.
“I do have a car,” I answered. “I can travel anywhere I want to go, Mom.”
“Please don’t call me by that ridiculous nickname, Margaret,” she said icily.
“I forgot,” I muttered. The only title matriarch Carol Montgomery would tolerate was Mother.
“Wear something nice to this affair, Margaret,” my mother suggested harshly. “There will be some very eligible men there. Since you foolishly threw away an excellent choice, it would be nice if you could attract another one. You’re not getting any younger, you know.”
I had no plans of trying to attract any man. “I’ll try to find something appropriate,” I snapped back.
I ended up rushing her off the phone, just like I always did. Even though I’d set out to find my independence, my mother could still make me feel like a disobedient child. As of yet, I hadn’t been able to completely shake off those uncomfortable feelings every time I spoke to her.
After draining my mug of tea, I went back to work, reminding myself that I was a more useful member of society than most of the women who were in my mother’s circle. Even if I didn’t always feel like one.
CHAPTER 3
SETH
Dear Mr. Sinclair:
First, I’m going to completely disregard your vulgar comment about my derriere. I will admit that I started it by throwing out a highly unnecessary, derogatory suggestion.
Second, I never intended to involve your sister in this fight. The last thing I want to do is cause strife within your family. But did you really think she wouldn’t learn about it? She is a crusader for all things involving wildlife conservation.
Third, the least terns will come back to nest on that property next spring. And I’ll do everything possible to make sure they have a place to return to so they can reproduce.
Also, I really don’t think we need to meet in person. We can communicate just fine through court documents or email.
Really, it’s a shame you don’t get time to read. When I was younger, it was my only escape.
Sincerely,
Riley Montgomery
Law Office of Riley Montgomery
I grinned as I took a slug of my coffee and looked at the response I’d gotten from Riley Montgomery.
Was she getting just a little bit . . . nicer?
Yep! I was pretty sure that was the case.
Not once had she called me an asshole or asked me to kiss her ass. So that was a definite improvement.
In fact, there wasn’t a single personal insult in the entire email.
To be fair, her early correspondence had been civil. Only recently, after I’d been a total dick about her birds, had she started throwing out obscenities.
Now it looked like she was back to being professional again.
Except for the comment she’d made at the end. It left me curious. Why had she needed to use reading as an escape?
I lifted my head and continued to drain my coffee. The coffee shop was almost empty, which was the only reason I’d grabbed a table and pulled out my laptop.
The Coffee Shack had been a permanent fixture in Citrus Beach for as long as I could remember. Admittedly, the selection had gotten larger, but otherwise, the place hadn’t changed all that much.
I leaned back in my chair, surveying the small city from the big picture window next to me. Since the summer crowds had thinned out, it wasn’t as busy downtown. But unlike some beach communities, we had plenty of permanent residents, so there were a lot of people running around on the sidewalks, hurrying to complete their day so they could go home.
Strangely, I’d picked the exact same table where I’d met Riley Montgomery for the first and only time.
She doesn’t want to meet me in person again.
That particular fact had been made pretty clear in her email.
What I really wanted to know was . . . why?
Maybe because I’ve been a complete asshole about her birds?
I frowned at the idea that she didn’t really like me, but it wasn’t like I didn’t already know that. It just . . . bugged the hell out of me that she considered me her enemy.
I watched a couple of construction workers come into the establishment. Followed by several other customers.
Hell, I should be heading back to the office. The late-afternoon crowd is starting to come in.
It wasn’t that I didn’t like swimming with the sharks in the corporate world, but I wasn’t used to a sedentary lifestyle cooped up in an office all day.
I glanced at the grubby men in orange vests who were ordering their coffee, knowing I had more in common with them than I did with all the other suits I saw on a daily basis.
But I wasn’t one of them anymore, the guys who busted their asses physically every single day to make a living.