Not So Snow White Read Free Page A

tournament, a tune-up for Wimbledon. Why she bothered to pretend otherwise, especially with Bobby, she didn't know. Habit at this point, she supposed. A good part of last year had been spent solely focused on trying to heal enough to get back to the game, and it had been emotionally difficult keeping track of the tour results, knowing her ranking was sliding into oblivion as each week passed her by and everyone was accumulating points but her.
    But when she'd realized last fall that her withdrawal from the tour was permanent … she'd gallivanted around the globe as if she hadn't a care in the world, as if she barely had time in her oh-so-busy life to keep track of something as mundane as tennis stats. That was so last year, after all.
    But privately, she'd watched. And kept track. Still did. And it was like a dagger in her heart even now, every we ek when the rankings came out… and her name wasn't on the list. And wouldn't be ever again.
    The outside world believed her life was a whirlwind of excitement, with offers simply pouring in. She'd read rumors of advertising campaigns, book deals in New York, Hollywood calling, begging her to consider a movie role she'd be perfect for. And she did her damnedest to let everyone think it was the truth, too.
    If only. The sad thing was, that scenario was exactly what she'd expected her retired life to be all about. She'd honestly had visions of sitting back and sifting through the mountain of offers that would surely come cascading in, having the luxury of picking and choosing the best project for her. She'd be booked at least six months in advance, of course, right down to every lunch and every dinner.
    Instead, she was sweating bullets day and night, praying for a solution to her money problems before the truth came out … and ruined any chance she had to eve r get he r life back on track.
    "Actually, that's why I'm calling you," Bobby said.
    Tess heard uncertainty in his tone, and immediately tensed. "W hat happened? You're not hurt ar e you? Does Wade or Dad know?"
    He laughed again. "Jeez, you're worse than Mom was, you know that? Who'd have thought? If the world knew that beneath that tough bully exterior you were really just a big mushy marshmallow—"
    Maybe she'd still have an income, she thought morosely. "They wouldn't believe it," she told him flatly. "And I bitch because I care, Besides, you know I promised Mom I'd look after you on tour."
    "Yeah, I made her the same promise about you."
    "Oh?" Tess said, honestly surprised. "First I've heard of that little deal." Their mother, Cissy McNamara, a young phenom herself, had briefly been a top-ten player back in the day. She'd retired from the tour only a few years after joining it, shortly after marrying Senator Frank Hamilton and getting pregnant with Wade. With a few trophies of her own already lining the mantel, she'd happily spent her remaining years raising her three kids, watching with enormous pride as her only daughter took up where she'd left off. She'd succumbed to ovarian cancer six years ago, right as Bobby was entering college, forgoing the pro tour until after he got his degree.
    Every member of her family, in their own way, still suffered from the loss. Cissy had been the center cog from which all Hamilton family members operated; the determined, grounding force that held her strong and too-independent-to-her-way-of-thinking clan together. She'd been right, as it turned out. With her gone, they'd been cast adrift, and were pretty much making it up as they went along.
    If she knew the mess Tess had made of her life … well, she wouldn't be exactly shocked. She was the only one, save for Bobby, who'd really understood Tess and accepted her faults and all. Had Cissy not married and left the tour early on, chances were she'd have been the Tess of her generation. Still, Tess hated feeling like she'd let any of her family down, especially her mom.
    "So," she asked, forcing a bright note into her voice, "Mom asked