The Heir and the Spare Read Free Page A

hand slid under the pillow, searching for my new letter. A knock on my door brought me up short.
    When I opened it, Suzy rushed me, nearly bowling me over with a hug.
    “Oh my God, Evie, that was brilliant. You have no idea how many times I’ve wanted to tell her off, and you just went and did it.” She grasped my shoulders and looked heavenward, beaming. “That was perfection.”
    I laughed. “Um . . . glad you enjoyed it, I guess.”
They don’t hate me?
    One by one the rest of the group filed into my room. Perhaps I hadn’t screwed anything up after all. My shoulders relaxed as I sat on my bed.
    “You should’ve seen her.” Caroline mimicked Chloe’s disdainful look. “See, typical American.”
    “Did you see her face when we all got up and left?” Marissa asked, eliciting laughter from Caroline and Suzy.
    Edmund came and sat next to me, which secretly thrilled me. I’d met the guy a minute ago, and here I was, completely crushing on him. This was so not like me.
    “So, who are all the pictures of?” Edmund asked as he leaned back on my pillow to get a better view. Mom’s letter crunched and crumpled beneath him.
    “Um, that’s my dad and my best friend, Abby.” I pointed to a few pictures of us at graduation. “These are my girlfriends back home and that’s Grant.”
    Edmund studied Grant’s picture. “I’m guessing he’s not your brother.”
    “No, he’s my boyfriend back home.” I shook my head. “Sorry, ex-boyfriend. We broke up just before I left. We’re still friends, though.”
    Marissa leaned in to get a better look. “That’s one good-looking guy. Why’d you break up?”
    “I didn’t want to do the long-distance thing. If he’s the one, he’ll still be the one after I graduate.”
    “Oh, he
is
rather dashing, isn’t he?” Caroline leaned between us to check out the photo. “For your sake I hope he’s the one.”
    I smiled. “We’ll see what happens. Three years is a long time.”
    A phone rang and Edmund leaned back, sliding his cell from his pocket. “It’s Jax. I’ll be right back."
    “Who’s Jax?” I asked once he was out the door.
    “His social-climbing wannabe girlfriend, Lady Jacqueline,” Suzy said.
    Marissa groaned. “Is she still sniffing around? I thought she’d finally backed off.”
    “Nope, still hoping to snag him,” Suzy said. No one looked happy at the news. “You know how badly their families want them together.”
    “Why don’t you guys like her?” Sighs and eye rolls met my question.
    Caroline tucked her feet up underneath her on the couch. “It’s not that we don't like her per se—”
    “She's mean, bitchy, stuck-up, and treats everyone like shit, even Edmund.” Preston spat the words out. “Caroline might be too nice to admit it, but I’m not. He’s my best mate and I hate that he’ll probably end up married to her. She’s a really horrible, vile person.”
    Married to her?
    “Hmm, maybe if I’m really lucky, I’ll get to meet her,” I said wryly.
    Caroline studied her manicured nails. “I wouldn't count on it. She’s not up here much. She has Edmund go into London.”
    “Is she a student?” I asked.
    “She graduated from London College of Fashion a year ago. She’s been working for some hoity-toity fashion label—can’t remember which one. She thinks she’s the cat’s meow. It’s revolting, actually.” Suzy scowled.
    Edmund returned to my side on the bed. Everyone stared at him, waiting.
    Caroline finally spoke. “So, Jax, was it? We thought she’d gotten a clue. What happened?”
    He ran a hand over his face, looking worn out. “It’s a long, boring story, but she’s still very much around. She’ll actually be up here next Monday with a friend and wants to get dinner with us.”
    “Us? She can’t stand us.” Preston scrutinized him.
    “She wants to set up one of her single friends with Preston—”
    “Oh, hell, no!” Preston stood, his mouth in a tight line.
    Edmund gestured toward him.