Her mother listened without a word of comment, although she soothed herself with a second peppermint. Which implied things were getting serious, because she usually limited herself to one piece of candy a day.
When Victoria was done, her chest tightened out of fear she’d said too much. She couldn’t stand it if her mother regarded her with the same contempt her father had shown her. “Mom? I…I hope you don’t think any less of me.”
Her mother’s voice was weary. “Oh honey, as if I would ever think less of you? I’m so sorry.”
Victoria blinked back tears. Now that the story was out in the open, the memories weren’t as painful. She had Rafael to thank for that.
“Does this mean you never wanted to marry Ben?” her mother asked. “You only accepted his proposal because Brian asked it of you?”
“Not at first. I thought Ben was a good match, and I tried to convince myself I was in love with him. But I wouldn’t have gone back to him after he cheated if Dad hadn’t pressured me into it. And then, when Ben dumped me for Missy, Dad said I still owed him. That’s why I agreed to coordinate Ben’s wedding. Dad said if I pulled it off, he’d erase my debt. Somehow, I don’t think that’s going to happen. Especially since I quit yesterday.”
“What?” Her mother turned to face her, eyes widening in horror. “Victoria, what did you do? The wedding’s tomorrow.”
Once again, Victoria found herself the focus of attention as she explained the entire situation. She glanced over at Connor, guilty that she’d derailed his story, but he encouraged her to keep speaking. At some point, her mother went from shocked to enraged.
“This situation is dreadful,” she said. “I had no idea all this was going on.”
Because you never listen. But Victoria didn’t say it. Her mother was listening now.
“Will you go with us to Dad’s office when we confront him?” Connor asked. “If you’re there, he might not throw us out.”
They were doing thisnow? A full-on confrontation? With the wedding rehearsal less than two hours away? Victoria’s pulse ramped up, but she refused to succumb to panic.
She could handle this. She had to.
It was the only way to make things right.
Chapter 31
Once they reached the estate, Victoria directed Connor to park in her spot. They walked through the entrance of Blackwood Manor, past the tasting room, which was decked out in holiday finery and packed with customers. As they mounted the stairs to the second floor, Victoria’s heart began pounding wildly. But Connor took her hand and squeezed it, giving her the physical reassurance she needed. If she was going to face a firing squad, she could think of no better person to accompany her than her brother.
Rather than knock, Ginny Blackwood barged into her husband’s office, with Victoria and Connor following close behind.
Brian Blackwood peered up from his paperwork. “Ginny. You’re back already.” He placed his hand on his office phone. “Connor, you need to leave. You, too, Victoria. I’ll give you five minutes before I call security.”
Victoria took a step back, but her mother refused to retreat. “You’ll do no such thing. Victoria works here, and Connor is your son.”
“Victoria quit, so she’s no longer welcome. And Connor’s a traitor.” He waved them away. “Ginny, why don’t you head home? I’m sure you’re tired from the flight. We can talk about this tonight.”
She pursed her lips. “We’ll talk about it now. This is unacceptable. How dare you treat our children this way?”
Victoria stared at her in awe, unable to believe she was finally taking a stand.
Her father blew out an angry breath. “I don’t have time for your hysterics. Thanks to your daughter, I’m still trying to salvage Ben Macalister’s wedding.”
Victoria glared at him. “There’s nothing to salvage. Missy and Ben are using Tres Hermanos. I’m back on the job with June assisting me. The wedding will go on as planned.”
“Are you saying you want your old job back?” he said. “Because that’s not going to happen.”
Typical. Even though he was getting exactly what he wanted, her father wouldn’t be satisfied unless he could call the shots.
“I don’t want it back,” she said. “But I made a commitment, and I’ll see it through. If you dismiss me, then you’ll lose Rafael, and you’ll be hosting a two-hundred-person sit-down dinner catered by whichever fast-food establishment can whip up enough burgers. Got it?”
Behind her, Connor chuckled but was quickly silenced by a scathing glare from their father.
“Fine. You can come back for the wedding,” her father said. “But you’ll still owe me. Trust me, I’ll make you pay it off—every last cent.”
That was the hill he was willing to die on? So be it.
