Page 28 of Beautiful Revenge

Shit. I’m not sure how I forgot about that little family reunion Bella and Mum arranged. “That’s right.”

“Lovely. You forgot. Please tell me we have rooms reserved. If not, your suite is going to be tight.”

I make a mental note to double check with Felicity. I vaguely remember forwarding her an email months ago. Because there’s no room in my suite for the American Princessandmy family.

“You’ll be taken care of,” I assure her.

“I can’t wait,” Bella says. “It’s been too long since the Donnellys have had a proper family reunion. It’s going to be fabulous.”

Fabulous.

It’s going to be a lot of things, but unless my new suitematechanges her mind about staying in Winslet, fabulous is not how I would describe it.

Speaking of...

It’s time to find out what the fuck is going on with Harlow Madison.

CHAPTER EIGHT

ROOMIE

Harlow

“Atable by the window just in time for the sunset.” I take a seat as the host pulls my chair out.

I smile at the young man and wonder if he’s of legal drinking age. “This is perfect.”

He swipes the tented napkin and drapes it over my lap before presenting me with a menu and the wine list. “Your server will be with you shortly.”

I smile and take in his name tag. “Thank you, Blake. Are you from Winslet?”

He looks around before lowering his voice. “Does it show? I took a maître d class online.”

My hand flies to my chest. “No. You were perfect. I didn’t mean anything bad, I swear. I’m so sorry.”

“Good.” Blake exhales a sigh of relief. He leans in closer and admits, “Before this, I worked at the deli shop on Main. I had to wing it at the interview. YouTube’ll teach you how to anything, including become a fancy maître d. Then I practiced with my grandma.”

“You’re a natural. Congratulations on your new career. I thought you had years under your belt.”

When he shrugs, his smile is innocent with a boyish charm, and he looks even younger than before. “Thanks.Grandma is a tough customer. She made sure I was ready for the interview.”

I offer him my hand. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Harlow.”

His eyes widen as he shakes my hand. “Oh, I know who you are.Everyoneknows who you are.”

Great. “I’ll be here for a while, so I’ll see you around.”

“Yes, ma’am. Hey, the special tonight is mushroom risotto. I didn’t even know I liked mushrooms before I worked here. It’s something about the truffles.” He lowers his voice again. “I don’t know what those are, but it’s the bomb.”

“Well, I love mushrooms, and I just decided I’m entering my carb era. I’ll give it a go.”

Blake beams. “Cool. I’ve got to get back to work. And, hey, sorry about your wedding. Everyone’s talking about it.”

Well then. I can’t even be mad about knowing everyone is talking about me. It was my doing after all. “I suppose they are. But I’m good. There’s no reason to be sorry.”

Blake purses his lips together like he’s doing everything he can to keep the words from spilling out. I can tell it’s hard. He’s a talkative guy.

He looks sheepish and guilt falls over his features. “I shouldn’t have gossiped.”