“I’m going to give you a couple days to come to your senses. You are better than this, Bonnie. You don’t want to be hateful for the sake of being hateful like Lauren was.”
“Is,” she corrected him. “Your sister continues to be hateful. You’re either too blind to see it or are choosing to ignore it.”
He shook his head and left with nothing else to say. There wasn’t anything else he could say. The damage had been done. Bonnie sat on the couch and held her head in her hands as the tears threatened to fall. Mitch sat beside her and gently rubbed her back.
“I’m sorry that got so ugly,” he said softly and in such a contrast to the tone he had been using a moment ago.
“I thought he loved me.”
“Aaron isn’t a bad guy. You know that. I mean, he does some questionable things sometimes, but he’s not bad.”
She lifted her head. “What do you mean, questionable things?”
“I shouldn’t say. That’s gossiping, and I don’t want to make you any more upset than you already are.”
Now he had to tell her. “Spill it,” she demanded.
“Last night, I met Aaron and Sasha out at that new gastropub downtown. Have you heard about it? Their appetizers are really good.”
“I’ve been banned from all the local restaurants because of Lauren, so I wouldn’t know.”
“I’m sorry. I should be quiet. I’m not making things any better.”
“Tell me.” Her irritability level was at an all-time high. She didn’t mean to snap, but that was the way it came out.
“We were hanging out, and Aaron started telling us about this date he has next week.”
Their date. Had he planned to take her out as early as next week? Not getting their first date was another reason to be angry with Lauren. The list grew longer and longer with each passing minute.
“I guess he’s going to the library gala with Hilde Rutherford. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but now that I know he’s been trying to get something started with you, it seems a little sketchy.”
Hilde Rutherford? Bonnie didn’t know who that was. She’d heard of the Rutherford family, but Hilde wasn’t familiar. Aaron had never mentioned her before. Of course, he’d been distant lately. Maybe that was the reason. Maybe he was spending time with Hilde.
“I’m sure it’s nothing. It’s not like the gala is very fun. Boring music, boring food, even more boring speakers. I mean, come on, have you ever had fun at that thing?”
Bonnie had never been to the library gala. She couldn’t afford a ticket, and there was no way the Coles would have welcomed her this year. It was no wonder that Aaron had had to find a more suitable date. And if she wasn’t good enough to take to the gala, how would she ever be good enough for something more? Aaron would never choose her over his family. Today made that evident.
“I’ve never been to one.”
Mitch back straightened. “What? How have you been best friends with Lauren this many years and haven’t gone to the Cole library gala?”
She shrugged. Who cared about a stupid gala? She hoped Aaron had a great time with Hilde and that the Coles welcomed her into their cult with open arms.
“You got a nice dress at home?” he asked, pulling her out of her head. Thoughts were getting dark in there—she needed to go home and get a real nap.
“I have plenty of nice dresses, why?”
“We’re going,” Mitch said with a quirked brow.
She was too tired to follow this conversation. “We’re going where?”
“To the gala.”
She barked out a laugh. “Do you have a death wish? Mr. Cole would flip his lid if you and I walked into the gala together.”
Rubbing his hands together, he smirked like the Cheshire cat. “He absolutely would. And imagine how enraged Lauren would be.”
She would be completely beside herself. There was no telling how Aaron would react. But he’d have Hilde to keep him distracted. “What time will you pick me up?”
IT HAD BEEN almost a week since Aaron had spoken to Bonnie. She didn’t answer his calls or texts. Her dad had shared the news that Lauren’s cell phone records cleared her from being a suspect. The only person whose cell phone pinged near the house was Mary, but she seemed the least likely of Lauren’s friends to have vandalized the house unprompted. She didn’t have a solid alibi, though, so the police were taking a closer look at her.
Bonnie couldn’t care less that the evidence didn’t line up and point a finger at Lauren. She was bound and determined to prove that it was Lauren, regardless of what the facts truly were. It was worse than trying to convince Lauren that Bonnie didn’t cheat with Mitch. The two of them were more alike than either of them would admit.
“It frustrates me that whoever did this didn’t stick to spray painting the walls. Why did they have to get it on the floors and the counters?” Sasha asked as he finished sanding down the painted floorboards.
“Because if they only sprayed the walls, it wouldn’t be a pain in our butts to fix. I’m fairly sure their purpose was to make us miserable.”
“Mission accomplished,” David said from the kitchen. He’d decided they should sand down the cabinet doors that weren’t broken and repaint them.
The alarm on Aaron’s phone went off. He had to go home and clean up. He was due to pick Hilde up in two hours for the gala. His plan was to make an appearance, shake a few hands, chat up a couple major donors and get out of there. If Hilde wanted to stay longer, she could leave with her parents.
“I have to go,” he said, putting his tools away. Looking at all the work that still had to be done was depressing. They had been so close to being done, and now it felt like they were basically starting over.
