I tell her about going to see Elliot, about him slamming the door in my face, and then saving me when I was stupid enough to sign up for the same auction she once did.
“Oh, Kayleigh. Please tell me you didn’t.”
“Just like you, I got lucky,” I tell her, hoping that’ll brighten her distraught expression. It doesn’t. “I also fell in love with the man who saved me.”
“We Kingstons don’t need saving,” Alida says firmly.
“No, not normally. But this one time, I really did. If Elliot hadn’t shown up?—”
“Why was he even there?”
I tell her about Max, and her hardened expression seems to soften the slightest. She’s a sucker for a good love story, just like I am.
“You’re in love then?” Alida asks, her tone cautious. “With your ex-boyfriend’s dad?”
“It sounds pretty scandalous when you put it like that.”
“How else would you like me to put it?” Her tone is flat, and I can’t tell if she’s lecturing me or teasing me.
“He’s pretty grumpy on the outside, but inside…” I sigh, taking another sip of cappuccino. “You should see the way he is with his animals. The way he is with Meatloaf.”
“Wait, Meatloaf likes him?”
“Didn’t I tell you that part?”
“No.”
“That traitor warmed up to Elliot immediately.”
“So, this is happening then?” Alida asks, as though processing.
“Well, Ithoughtit was.” I show her my screen with my tuition paid in full, and she returns a raised eyebrow.
“What am I missing?”
“I didn’t pay this.”
“We didn’t pay it either. I don’t have that kind of access.” She and Fox both declined the login information when I offered it to them. They trusted me with the money. They trusted I would be responsible enough and not let some conman figure out my ATM pin.
That doesn’t explain how Elliot managed to access my account, but I suspect he didn’t need a pin to do it.
“Then it had to be Elliot,” I say.
“That bothers you?”
I can’t decide if I’m bothered or touched. On one hand, he might be trying to make up for what Adam did. He might still feel bad about slamming the door in my face which forced me to sign up for the Naughty List Christmas Auction. But on the other hand, he might consider me a possession now. He might be using the money to control me.
“I’ll tell you what,” Alida says before I answer her. “Since you don’t have a real internship right now, why don’t you stay a few days longer? It’ll give you some time away to think clearly. Then you can decide what to do about this whole ex-boyfriend’s dad thing.”
“Ugh. Can you please just call him Elliot?” I complain.
Alida flashes me a mischievous smile. “Not a chance.”
CHAPTER 14
ELLIOT
“The medicine’s working great,”Max tells me about Misty. But the tone of his voice, mixed with that inquisitive expression, implies he’s told me this more than once since I showed up at the main stable.
