Page 154

that was all it took for Beth to break down in sobs. Arabella struggled to

hold back her tears and lost.

Oh well. Maybe it was best to get them out of the way before June

showed up. Tears weren’t going to change June’s mind, erase the pain

coming for her, or help in any way. They might make her believe Arabella

was sorry, but if she apologized sincerely, June would likely believe her

with or without tears. She was just that way. So nice. So kind. So ready to

look for even an ounce of good in someone, even if she should believe that

they were all bad. So ready to give anyone a chance.

She gave me a chance and now I have to find the right words to break up

with her. Or figure out how to get dumped gracefully.

Chapter 21

June

What would Summer say when she found out she’d been right all along?

Strangely enough, it was only a passing thought for June. She didn’t want to

dwell on that. Right about everything. Right that Arabella wasn’t who she

said she was. Right that she’d do something totally underhanded to affect

the company. Right that she shouldn’t have gotten too close.

She’d thought about that all through her meetings, barely paying

attention while she drowned in self-pity. Halfway through the last one, she

made a decision. She wasn’t going to feel that way. She didn’t know the

whole story. She did know bits and pieces and parts that no one else knew.

Arabella’s dad. The hospital bills Arabella didn’t want to talk about. The

health insurance she was trying to get for her parents, but probably didn’t

come cheap.

It made sense why Arabella would have done something desperate,

especially if she’d retooled her designs and thought she could cover her

tracks without getting found out. Just because June knew she had to deal

with what Arabella had done, didn’t mean that she had to take it personally.

She already knew that it wasn’t. She’d thought it out, reasoned with