“Then why are you here?” she whispered.
“Here to tell you that if you’re here ‘cause of the money, then you are way off base thinking I have any feelings for you left. I don’t.”
As he spoke, her face grew confused.
“You said something about money the other night, but I still have no idea what you’re talking about.”
He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs. He clasped his hands together, dropping them between his legs.
“You know my grandfather died eight months ago?”
A strange look crossed her face. “Yes.”
At least she was that honest.
“Sorry for your loss,” she muttered.
He nodded. “I inherited everything from him.”
She stared at him for a moment then her eyes widened. “And you. . .you really think that I’m here because I want that money?”
“Can’t think of any other reason you would be.”
“You really think that little of me?”
“Don’t have reason to think any better of you.”
The pain that filled her face nearly had him softening. But he couldn’t do that. He needed to make this clear.
What if you’re wrong? What if her being here is just a coincidence?
Didn’t matter. He still didn’t want her here.
“I did not come here for you,” she told him in a low voice. “I’m here for me. A fresh start. I certainly am not here for any money. I wouldn’t take a cent of that man’s money even if I was starving and living on the streets!”
She glared down at him. She felt ill over the idea that he thought she could be here for that old bastard’s money. Never. It hurt that he could think that badly of her, but she guessed she couldn’t blame him. He didn’t know the truth of what had happened.
Not that it seemed he was interested in learning.
Her phone started ringing and she picked it up, looked at the screen.
“Leave it,” he grumbled.
She ignored him and answered the call. A hint of dread filled her stomach, tightening it into knots. Sylvie never called unless she wanted something. And Daisy’s well was starting to run dry. “Sylvie, sweetie? Everything okay?”
A sob greeted her on the other end.
“Sylvie? What’s wrong? What’s going on?”
“All men are bastards.”
The knot in her stomach unraveled. So it was a problem with Jack, Sylvie’s boyfriend. Personally, she didn’t like him but she’d always been careful not to say anything to Sylvie. Her sister had a fiery temper to match her red hair and Daisy knew that a surefire way to get on her sister’s bad side was to say something about her jerk boyfriend.
Unfortunately, that meant Sylvie often got hurt, since she seemed to have a knack for choosing the worst men.
“Oh sweetheart, what happened?” She didn’t say anything about the fact that she hadn’t heard from Sylvie in days, since she’d left Kansas City to drive here. That she hadn’t answered Daisy’s multiple texts and had let her calls go to voicemail.
Nope. She didn’t say anything about that right now. Sylvie was hurting. She didn’t need her sister getting on her case.