“I don’t care how long it took to set up. I want it all gone before I get there,” he said. “I don’t know what to do with all the food. Maybe we can donate it or something.”
Aaron could only imagine how many heads had exploded when they heard the news over at the winery, where the reception was planned. They had to break down a party for five hundred guests after spending all day setting it up.
“Are you here to tell me Mitchell’s ready to apologize?” Lauren asked when she noticed Aaron was in the room. She wiped her wet face with the back of her hand. “I bet he’s trying to figure out what to say to me after you talked some sense into him.”
He was surprised she still had hope Mitch would come around. Leave it to Lauren to refuse to believe she’d been dumped. “Mitch is gone. He’s leaving town for a while to give you some space.”
“What do you mean he’s leaving town?” their mom shrieked. “He needs to fix this. He needs to get in here on his hands and knees and beg her to take him back.”
“So I can tell him to jump in a lake. I wouldn’t take him back if his parents paid me.”
“Of course you wouldn’t, sweetheart, but he deserves to have his heart ripped out when you reject him.” Elizabeth Cole did have a flair for vengeance. This was exactly why Aaron suggested that Mitch take off.
Their dad hung up the phone and said, “I’m going to go out there and tell everyone to go home. Once I get rid of them, we’ll take Lauren home.”
“Make sure there’s no one waiting outside,” their mom said. “People were lining up earlier.”
He rubbed the back of his neck, the stress evident on his face. “I’ll take care of it,” he said as he slipped out the door.
Aaron got down on the floor and climbed over the poofy skirt to get to his sister. He wrapped an arm around her. “I’m sorry he did that to you. You didn’t deserve to be treated that way. He’s a fool. But you knew that when you agreed to marry him.”
“You can’t be friends with him anymore,” she said, resting her head on his shoulder. “You have to hate him with me.”
“Let’s talk about another friend. Bonnie is out there and wants to talk to you.”
Lauren straightened. “You can tell that backstabbing cheater that she is no friend of mine.”
“This was all Mitch, Lauren. Bonnie had no idea he felt that way about her.”
There was a fire in her eyes that Aaron had never seen before. “I don’t believe that for a second. You can’t be friends with her anymore, either. No one can. Bonnie Windsor is dead to me.”
CHAPTER TWO
Two weeks later
“GOOD AFTERNOON, THIS is Bonnie.”
“Um, hi, Bonnie. This is Carly Spaulding.”
“Carly, how are you?”
There was a bit of a pause. “I’m fine. Listen, I’m calling because my husband and I were talking last night and we’ve decided to take the house off the market.”
“Oh, I know it’s been a quiet month, but I have a feeling that things are going to pick up here real soon. A lot of people want to buy before school starts in the fall, making July a busy house-hunting month.”
“I understand that. It’s just...we aren’t planning to give up trying to sell it. We...ah...think it might be better to try another Realtor.”
Bonnie sat back in her chair. She’d had an open house planned at the Spauldings’ and had spent the last hour creating an updated advertising brochure. Time now wasted. “I’m sorry to hear that I haven’t met your expectations. I will take the house off the market and send someone over to get the sign within twenty-four hours.”
“Thanks, Bonnie.”
It wasn’t unusual for clients to become impatient when a house didn’t sell after some time. Although five weeks wasn’t a very long time for a house to be on the market. It was a bit concerning that there hadn’t been any showings in the last couple weeks. The Spauldings weren’t the first clients to part ways with Bonnie this month after only being on the market for a short while. The Carters fired her last week. The Mayers, who were looking for a house, had called, claiming they no longer needed her help.
She clicked and dragged the open house brochure into her computer’s trash. She dreaded what she had to do next—call her office and let them know another client was backing out. She worked for Blue Springs Realty, where there were three other broker agents working under Gordon Harrison, the broker manager. Gordon had been friends with Bonnie’s parents since she was a baby. He’d happily agreed to be her mentor when she decided this was the career for her. He wouldn’t be angry with her, but disappointed in losing more business.
“Hey, Gordon. It’s Bonnie.”
“Tell me something good, Bon Bon,” he said. She could picture him sitting at his desk, leaning back in his chair with his legs stretched out in front of him crossed at the ankles.
“I wish. I just got a call from Carly Spaulding. They want to pull their house on Elm. I’m sorry, Gordon. I don’t know what’s going on.”
“I think I might. Can you come to the office? We need to have a chat.” He didn’t ask her to come in unless he needed to talk serious business.
“Sure. I can be there in a couple minutes.”
A sense of dread tightened her shoulders. Grabbing her purse and car keys, she went out the front door. As she walked to her car, she noticed Becca Valentine, her neighbor, standing on her front porch.
“Hi, Becca.” Bonnie
