My mum shakes her head in disgust. “You hurt her deeply, and now you’re making it seem like you don’t even care. Do you know how upset she’s been? And poor Dane. You should have seen the look on his face when he heard what you said about him. He really thought you liked him.”
Urgh. This just keeps getting worse. “You told him?”
“Of course not,” she snaps. “But I was there when Amber did.”
My entire body flushes with shame. “I wish he hadn’t found out. I didn’t even mean it. He’s a nice person, and I know he loves her. It’s just that I don’t want to see her waste her potential.” Blinking back tears, I say, “Remember how much she used to love running a lemonade stand when she was little? She used to carry around dad’s old briefcase and tell everyone she wanted to be a CEO someday. Even as a teenager, she had that drive to succeed. Then she started dating Dane, and it’s like she just dropped all thoughts of having any ambition or her own life.”
“Her whole life, all she really wanted was to be a mum. She only said she wanted to be a CEO to get your approval.”
“That’s not true,” I scoff. “She wanted to get her business degree. And sheshould. She could be anything she wants.”
“What she wants is to be a wife and a mother. To make a home for her family and look after them. And there’s nothing wrong with that,” my mum says, and I know the way she’s defending it, she’s no longer talking about Amber. She’s talking about herself. “It’s an important calling.”
“I know that, but why can’t she be both a good mum and a successful businesswoman?”
“I don’t want to see both of my daughters working like dogs, trying to be it all and do it all.”
“I’m making a good life for myself. Is that really so awful?”
“It’s hard. And it’s hard to watch your child struggle the way you do.”
“I’m fine. And it’s only temporary. Things are going to get much easier for me, and it’ll all be worth it, because I’ll get to spend my life doing work I’m passionate about. I want that for her.”
“She can’t work has hard as you, Bree. She’s too delicate!”
“Do you seriously believe she’sstill fragilebecause she was born a few weeks early?” I ask, throwing my hands in the air.
“Of course she is. Preemies never catch up.”
“That is not true, Mum. She’s fine.”
“You havealwaysresented her for being a preemie. For some reason, you have buckets of sympathy for everyone else you meet, but not even one ounce for your little sister.”
“Oh my God, Mother, stop. All I’ve done my entire life is look after her.”
“Except for that time at Long Beach,” my mum says in a clipped tone.
“Oh, Christ. Are you seriously going to bring up something that happened when I was ten years old?” I tilt my head back and peer up at the inky sky.
“You scarred her for life. To this day, she can’t swim at night.” She purses her lips to make her point.
“What a tragedy,” I say, anger building in every muscle. “Someday they’ll make a made-for-TV movie about her. The Amber Hammer Story: The Epic Tale of the Preemie Who’s Afraid to Go for a Night Swim.”
My mother glares at me for a long moment before she speaks again, this time in an icy tone. “Your father told me not to come down here, and he was right because you are an absolutely impossible, headstrong girl.”
“That’s right, I am. And proud of it.”
Leo appears in the distance behind my mother. When I glance up at him, e’s gesturing with his head toward the lobby where Libby Banks, one of the owners of the resort, is standing talking to a guest. I give him a quick nod, then turn back to my mum and lower my voice. “That’s my boss. I need to get back to work, so if there’s nothing else, I really must go.”
“You’re wrong about your sister. You don’t know her the way I do. She is fragile. In fact, the last few weeks, she’s been very unwell.”
“Really? What’s wrong with her?” I ask, concern crowding out my anger.
“Her tattoo got infected, and now she’s got a horrible scar on her back, which isdefinitelygoing to show at the wedding. In fact, all the girls are infected. Kandi actually had to go the hospital every twelve hours for an IV. Amber’s an absolute wreck over it.”
Okay, please do not judge me, but deep down, there is a very petty part of me that is laughing her arse off. “Well, I’m sorry that happened, but how was I supposed to know?”
“You would know if you bothered to keep in touch with your family.”
