She Killed Me at Christmas. I Came Back. Chapter 06

She Killed Me at Christmas. I Came Back. Chapter 06

“It’s my pleasure to help Grant,” Brynn murmured into his sweater, eyes locked on mine, glittering with

triumph.

I stood in that kitchen and did the math of my own stupidity. In my last life, I’d loved this man for three years.

I’d died for it.

Patty, meanwhile, had undergone a miraculous recovery. The moment she heard the word “Patek,” her tears/

dried and her eyes began crawling over me, wrist to earlobes, appraising me like livestock.

Then came the fishing.

“Sloane, honey,” she sighed, “can one girl even wear all that? I’ve never owned real jewelry in my life, you know. Just last week, Donna Pruett next door was flashing this big gold bracelet her daughter-in-law bought her. Practically blinded me with it at church.” Another sigh, heavier. “Of course I told her my future daughter-in-law was getting me a whole matching set. I’d hate to be made a liar.”

I saw the play instantly. The old me-the lovesick idiot from my last life-had handed Patty a diamond pendant that Christmas just to see her smile. She’d pawned it by Easter.

I played dumb. “I do have quite a bit! I like rotating pieces. Keeps every day feeling fresh.”

Silence. Patty stared, waiting for me to take the hint.

I examined my manicure.

Her expression curdled. “Sloane,” she said, voice sharpening, “my son was being considerate, telling you not to bother with hostess gifts on account of the long drive. But honestly-who shows up empty-handed to meet her in-laws for the first time? I’m not one to fuss. Just pass along a couple of pieces you’re bored of. The

bracelets, say. And maybe the earrings.”

I had to physically clamp my jaw to keep it from falling open.

I had brought her a twelve-hundred-dollar down coat. It was on her body. At that moment. She was wearing my gift while explaining I’d arrived empty-handed.

Before I could speak, Dale hollered from the living room: “GRANT! We growin’ old out here!”

Grant flinched, then shoved my arm. “Sloane, go. Get the jewelry-all of it, the watch too. The more the better.”

Then he turned to his mother, lowering his voice like I wasn’t standing two feet away.

“Mom, if you want gold, have Sloane buy you new pieces after the holidays. Something heavy-that’s what impresses people around here. Her stuff is all designer, thin little bands, you pay for the name. Folks here only

respect weight.”

Patty nodded along, thoughtful. “True, true. Hers are too dainty for me anyway. After New Year’s I want something solid. Something that’ll blind Donna Pruett clean through her bifocals. Show everyone what my

son’s worth.”

They stood there, three feet from me, drafting a shopping list of my money. Neither one so much as glanced in my direction. Brynn watched from the counter, arms folded, smirking like the architect she was.

Grant noticed I hadn’t moved. Irritation flashed across his face.

“Sloane. What are you standing there for? I said go get your things. People are waiting. Stop wasting time

I looked at this man-this broke, indebted, freshly humiliated man, barking orders at the only solvent person

in the room-and felt the last microscopic ember of two lifetimes of love go out. Painlessly. Like flicking off a

light in an empty room.

I checked my phone. The car I’d quietly ordered an hour ago was twelve minutes away.

Perfect.

I smiled at him, slow and sweet.

“Grant. Walk me through the logic. Why exactly would I hand over a quarter million in jewelry so you can cosplay a rich man for people who’d sell you for a truck?” I tilted my head. “And let’s be honest-if my Patek goes into that living room, I’m never seeing it again, am I? It’ll be on your mother’s wrist at church by Sunday and pawned in town by Easter.”

The kitchen went so quiet I could hear the wood stove ticking.

Grant’s face turned to stone. “Sloane. You’re my fiancée. What’s yours is mine. We’re getting married in six

months. Why are you being so-”

He took a step toward me, hand outstretched, reaching for my wrist. For the watch.

I swung first.