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She wiped the sweat from her palms on her leggings, rubbing her hands up and down along her thighs. Sinjin set her MacBook down on the table in front of her and sat down next to her, out of view of the camera. “Ready?”
“You’re not going to change your shirt?” Breanna assessed his casual look, patting at the buttons of the cardigan she wore over her understated cami.
“No, why?” He glanced down at his chest. “Is something wrong with this one?”
Yeah, Bree, you loved him in his Henley a minute ago.
“No, it’s just not very lawyerish, is all.”
The sound of deep laughter bellowed from his throat.
With a flip of her hair, she said in all seriousness, “You’re the one who said you’d talk to my mom as my attorney.”
“I’m your man above all else, princess.” He pressed a kiss to her lips and winked. “And trust me, I don’t need the suit to look lawyerish. Come on, now. You’re stalling.”
Breanna nodded and, blowing out a breath, she pulled up the FaceTime app. “Hi, Mom.”
“Bree, honey,” Sarah Benjamin exclaimed, and without stopping to take a breath, kept right on talking. “Your dad already left for work and Ethan’s at school. He’s going to be so bummed he wasn’t here when you called. He misses his big sissy.”
“I miss him, too. Tell him I’ll call back tonight when I can talk to him and Dad.”
“You’re back in class today, too, aren’t you?”
“Uh, yeah.” It wasn’t a lie. As soon as this call was over and done with, she’d log in.
Her mom tipped her head to one side and then the other, inspecting the image on her screen. “Where are you?”
Sinjin squeezed her thigh.
“Dalton House.”
What does it look like right before someone has an apoplectic fit? Because Breanna was sure her mom was about to have one. No doubt frozen in shock, not a muscle in her face twitched, and then she gave her head a little shake as if she hadn’t heard her right.
“Mom, let me explain,” she pleaded.
“Get your grandmother.”
“I can’t.”
“What do you mean, you can’t?” Sarah slammed her hand down like she meant business. “I want to speak to Valerie. Now!”
“You can’t,” Breanna said. She bit her lip, slowly shaking her head. “She’s dead.”
“What?” Her voice dropped to nearly a whisper and judging by the look on her mother’s face, she hadn’t known before now.
“That’s why I’m here.”
Sarah, digesting the news, stared off to the side. Whatever she might be thinking, Breanna couldn’t decipher it.
“I got a letter from her attorney asking me to come here,” she continued. “I thought Valerie wanted to see me and—”
“Which attorney?” Refocused, her head turned back to the camera.
Quickly glancing at Sinjin, Breanna answered, “Derek St. John.”
“Let me guess, Raymond’s son?”
“Yes.”
