25 Cora #2
“Cora!” Bianca called behind her. Cora spun around to see her sister rushing toward her. “What happened?”
Tears stung Cora’s eyes, which only made her angrier. She was not going to cry over this. Jax didn’t deserve her tears.
With a frustrated huff, she blinked them back. She refused to even dignify them by swiping them away.
“It was all a ploy. Just some sort of deal he made to get the job he wanted.” Cora motioned to the door that muffled Jax’s
voice.
Bianca stopped next to her, looking confused. “What?”
“Jax. SoulMatch. Whatever this was.” She waved her arm around as if trying to encircle the entire summer so far. “Turns out
he was only doing it so he could get the job he wanted.”
“I mean, maybe at first,” Bianca said.
Cora froze. Her eyes narrowed on her sister. “What?”
“That might have been how it started, but it’s not the case anymore. He—”
“Wait, did you know about this?”
Bianca looked like a deer caught in the headlights. “Um...”
And a new truth dawned on her.
Jax wasn’t the only one with a bet. Bianca was, too.
Suddenly, everything was becoming clear. All of Bianca’s questions. The way she kept showing up at every date. Her seemingly
friendly relationship with Jax.
Cora had never felt so stupid in her entire life.
Bianca launched into a flurry of excuses. “It was all really innocent at first. I happened to overhear him make the deal with
his uncle. And it seemed like a good idea at the time, because I was so mad at Savannah. You were both looking to connect
with someone and...” She let her words trail off, which Cora kind of expected. After all, where does one go with that kind
of statement? And we thought it would be a good idea to deceive my sister?
“And you knew he would stick around, making you the winner of the bet,” Cora finished.
Bianca stared at her feet and shrugged. “I was trying to beat Savannah at her own game. I just wanted to even the playing
field because you—”
“Drive people away?”
Bianca looked into her eyes. “I had no idea you’d actually fall for him. No one thought he’d fall for anyone. I thought it
would be harmless, and everyone would get what they wanted.”
“And you’d get to marry Lord Farquaad while sticking it to me and Savannah.”
Bianca looked confused. “Who?” Then enlightenment slowly dawned on her. “Ohhhh. Yeah.” She looked at the closed doors, a different
expression taking over. “Except you did fall for Jax. I mean, why wouldn’t you? You’re perfect together. I should’ve seen
it then.”
“I can’t believe you.” Cora seethed.
“Me?” Bianca took a step back. “Yeah, I was wrong. But in case you’ve forgotten, your reasons for dating him weren’t exactly
innocent.”
“But I never tried to get him to fall in love with me. In fact, I was trying to do the opposite. I made my intentions known
from the beginning. If he wanted out, I gave him an open invitation to get out.” She held out her hand. “Give me the keys.”
Bianca seemed confused by the sudden conversation switch. “What?”
“My car keys. You drove my car here, and I had Savannah drop me off. But I’m not staying. You can find your own ride home.”
Bianca glanced around like she was searching for the right answer. “I, um, valeted.”
Cora’s hand was still outstretched when the doors to the ballroom opened and Jax rushed out, a concerned look on his face.
“Is everything okay?” There was genuine compassion in his voice.
Cora dropped her hand and focused on Jax, the anger burning inside her. “Congratulations on your promotion. I hope it was
worth it.” There was venom in her words, and she turned for the exit.
She had to manually tell herself not to run because she didn’t want to look like some wounded animal. She was dignified and
confident. She was bruised but not broken, and stronger than any of this nonsense.
At least that’s what she told herself. It’s what she wanted them to believe.
She would not let them see how much they hurt her. She held her head high, kept her posture perfectly straight, and strode
out the door.
She didn’t stop at the valet station. She had no idea how she would find her car in the parking garage, or get the keys, for
that matter, but she didn’t care. She certainly wasn’t going to wait on the sidewalk like a sitting duck while someone pulled
her car around.
She’d rather walk all the way home than be a captive audience while her sister and her so-called boyfriend tried to justify
their actions. She didn’t want one more reminder of how she’d been so stupid. Frankly, she’d rather walk all the way back
to Texas than to ever have to see Jax again.
Except not in these shoes.
She paused as she entered the garage just long enough to rip the four-inch sparkling stiletto sandals off her feet and swipe
at the tears streaming down her face. It didn’t matter how nasty the floor of the parking garage was. She didn’t care about
a lot of things at the moment. She dangled the sandals from her fingers, gathered her skirt in one hand, and kept on marching
up the steep incline of the parking garage ramp.
And that’s when she saw it. Her car. Four spots ahead of her.
She also saw a horrified teenage boy wearing a valet uniform on the opposite side of the aisle from her.
She probably was a sight to see, with her bare feet, skirt gathered up, and mascara streaks running down her face. Later she would send him some sort of gift basket full of things teenage boys like as retribution, but right now she needed his help.
“That’s my car. I don’t have the tag so you’ll have to trust me. But I need you to get it and bring it to me. I’m headed that
way.” She pointed in the direction away from the property. “Just keep driving until you see me.”
The wide-eyed teenage boy just stared at her, not quite sure what to make of the task.
“If anyone asks, tell them it’s for Jax Verona.”
“Right.” The name caused the kid to spring into action, and Cora changed her trajectory.
She had just reached the corner of the property and was about to turn on the main road when her car pulled up beside her.
The passenger side window rolled down. “Mr. Verona asked me to tell you he’s sorry and please call him.”
Cora walked around the car to the driver side. “Tell Mr. Verona that’s not happening.” She switched places with the valet,
and before he could even make it all the way back to the sidewalk, she was fastening her seat belt and driving away.
She wasn’t sure where she was going. She might’ve headed straight for Houston, except her camera equipment was at the beach
house, which was the one thing she wasn’t willing to leave behind.
Although she didn’t want to go back to the house right now. Even if Bianca wasn’t there, she didn’t want to talk to Savannah
about this. The last thing she needed was a lecture from Savannah.
Which left...
Well, she wasn’t sure, so she just drove.
Her phone rang over the car speaker. Her first instinct was to send it to voicemail, because as she told the valet, she had
no intention of talking to Jax. Ever.
But as her thumb hovered over the End button, the name on caller ID made her pause.
Chris Glasner .
Savannah’s husband?
She pressed Accept and mustered up the most normal-ish voice she could. “Hey, Chris.”
“Cora, I’m so glad you answered,” he breathed out as soon as she picked up. There was undeniable panic in his voice. “There’s
been an accident. They’ve taken Savannah to the hospital. Can you—”
He didn’t even get the words out before Cora pulled a U-turn in the middle of the street, tires screeching, dust flying up
from where she went off the shoulder. When the car was facing the correct direction, she pressed on the accelerator until
the engine revved, and her car shot forward like she was on the Daytona International Speedway.
“I’m on my way. Tell me what happened.”