What if he was Pam's real father, too?
“Sarah could be related to us,” Macy said softly, as if reading my horrifying thoughts.
Which would make marrying her kind of unethical, wouldn't it?
Not only that, I'd slept with her. Damn it!
I pounded my fist on the table. Macy jumped a bit, knocking over her cup and sending donut crumbs scattering onto the floor.
“How could they hide something like this from me? If they'd just been honest in the first place, things never would have gotten this far. Instead, dad does everything in his power to manipulate me.”
“They're ashamed of it, that's why. It's the Carrington's dirty little secret, and they want nobody to know. Do you blame them?”
“What I want is the truth.”
“You're not going to get it from them, and what does it even matter? Dad offered you a crap ton of money with that new contract deal. You don't even have to get married for it.”
She didn't understand. Not having to continue with this charade of a wedding would be a relief, but to sign this contract would be like throwing in the towel. I hated to give up more than almost anything else.
No, it wasn't only that. He'd take Sarah's store from her. I'd basically be letting him have it in exchange for money.
How could I do that to her? She'd hate me for it. I'd lose her, no doubt about it.
I didn't know what the hell I wanted out of life, but I sure didn't want to lose her.
“I'm not letting him have Slicker Image. And he's not getting his greedy hands on Curiosities either.”
A wicked smile spread slowly across her face. “Oh, now I get why you're against this so much. You're in love with Sarah.”
I protested quickly. “No I'm not. We're just, uh...”
“Friends? Right.” She scoffed. “You're only denying it 'cause you're scared of committing. Know what I think? Maybe it's time to stop being such a whore and settle down with a nice woman for once.”
I knew she was right. Committing was my biggest fear – but then again, meaningless sex with drunk, brain-dead club girls had lost its appeal for me lately.
“Even if I wanted to, it couldn't be with Sarah. Not until I'm given the truth.”
“Sure. And where do you suppose you'll get it? No one's going to hand it over to you. You need to do the digging on your own.”
The shop door opened, letting icy wind come into the cozy room for just a few seconds too long. Macy averted her gaze and looked at the person who'd entered with a scowl.
“I swear, Cole, everywhere I go, there you are. You really are tailing me around the city, like a lost dog.”
Cole frowned and strode past our table without a word. At the counter, he began placing an order for a few dozen donuts and various pastries.
“That was really rude, sis,” I scolded her. “Cole's not a bad guy, just a bit... different.”
She looked him over, rolling her eyes at his Star Trek jacket.
“I know we've had our issues in the past, but try and at least be cordial with him, hmm? For me.”
“But being cordial sucks.”
Cole paced around the room while waiting for the clerk to fill his order. I caught his gaze and waved him over with a smile. Hazel was his grandma, and if anyone knew the gritty details about the Masters family history, it could be him.
He appeared reluctant at first, as though he thought I was trying to trick him. Having Macy here sure wasn't helping matters.
“Hey there, Cole. That's an awful lot of donuts you're buying.”
“Probably to feed his neck-beard Magic the Gathering friends,” Macy mumbled.
He shuffled his feet. “They're for my grandma's church group. She sings in the choir and leads a Bible study.”
“Is that so? I didn't take you as the churchgoing type.”
“Nah, I'm not religious in the least, but she's old and has trouble driving. Somehow, I'm the one who got stuck giving her a ride every Sunday.”
The clerk announced his order would take an extra five minutes to prep. I invited him to sit down; he eventually did.
“Your grandma, Hazel, she's a nice lady.”
“Yeah. She's the only grandparent Sarah and I have. My grandpa, Randall, died when we were babies.”
“I'm sorry. Macy and I never even met either of ours.”
She and I exchanged glances. How on earth was I supposed to segue this into what we really wanted to ask?
“So, you really plan on still going through with this wedding,” he grunted.
“Of course.”
His cheeks turned red. “If you had any decency, you'd call it off. I know why you're really doing this.”
Macy nearly choked on her beverage. Okay, this was not how I'd imagined our discussion going.
“I'm doing it because I love her, obviously.”
“Bullcrap! This is obviously about the mall. I've seen the signs for it all over Grant City. I've also seen your father milling about when I come to visit Sarah, talking about his plans for building the thing.”
Rare was the occasion I found myself at a loss for words. Normally, I was a fine liar if I had to be – but continuing to lie to Cole felt wrong. Sarah would be angry at me, though, if I admitted our plan.
“I don't see what that has to do with this wedding. That's an awfully large conclusion to jump to.”
“I'm not stupid, though it seems the two of you think I am. For the mall to be built, Heath will need to tear up your store, as well as my sister's. That's the thread that connects you. By planning to
