Page 14 of Worth the Risk

“Identical, but people can always tell us apart because Heather dyes her hair funky colors while I just keep mine brown. Right now, she’s got streaks of pink.”

“Are you talking about Heather?” Jess, the maid of honor asked as she turned around in her seat in front of us. She was sitting with her husband Cody, but he had headphones on, so he didn’t join our conversation. “Did she decide which university she’ll be attending in January?”

Angela shook her head. “Not yet. She’s been accepted to three different colleges, and they are all in different states, so it’s a big decision to make.”

“Your sister’s going to college?” I asked curiously.

“She’s already an engineer, but she’s going back for her doctorate.”

“Impressive.”

“Yeah, those colleges think so too. Unfortunately, none of them are in Chicago.”

Angela’s tone was light, but there was a flash of sadness in her eyes. I couldn’t imagine how she felt at the idea of her twin sister moving away. My brothers had always been in my life, and I had a pretty good relationship with them, especially Ryan. As the oldest child, he looked out for me as much as he could when we were growing up, even though he was only five years older than me.

He really didn’t have much of a choice since our mom abandoned us when I was just a toddler and our dad never found it within himself to prioritize his children over his job, no matter how much we needed him.

As the plane touched down, I firmly shoved all of my own heartbreak and drama to the back of my mind. Ryan deserved to have a great week, and if he noticed I was unhappy, it would get in the way of that.

So, I was going to put a smile on my face and enjoy myself, one way or another.

At least, I didn’t have to worry about my room being next to Ford’s, as we originally planned. Angela was right about my dad paying for everything this week. It was his way of pretending that he cared about his kids. He’d throw money at us, as if that was more important than showing up.

But this time, it worked in my favor because I called my father a couple of days after Ford dumped me and asked if he would mind upgrading my accommodations for the week. He agreed without question, in a hurry to end the call because he was at work and couldn’t be bothered with my problems.

That was how I ended up with a beachfront bungalow instead of a regular room at the resort where the wedding party and family members were staying. I’d just gotten my key from the front desk clerk when I heard my name being called across the lobby.

“Zoey!”

Turning, I found Ryan striding toward me, his dark hair windswept and a bright smile on his face. I hadn’t seen him in a couple of weeks, so I wasn’t surprised when he hurried forward and wrapped me up in a hug, even lifting me off my feet for a few seconds.

He set me down and glanced around the lobby, where everyone that flew in with us was milling around. “It looks like everyone made it.”

Neither of us mentioned our dad. Despite the fact that aunts and uncles and cousins from our family were here to spend the week with us leading up to the wedding, he wasn’t coming until Saturday for the wedding ceremony. He was even going to miss the rehearsal dinner the night before, telling Ryan that business doesn’t stop just because someone is getting married.

Nevermind that it was his own child getting married, and he had more than enough executives to run the company for a few days if he really wanted to be here. Ryan and I had accepted a long time ago that our dad wasn’t capable of being the kind of father we wanted him to be. He cared about making money more than he cared about us, even though he was already an obscenely wealthy man.

Jake still struggled to accept that at times. No matter how much our dad let us down, I knew there was a part of Jake that clung to the hope that someday, he would show us that we did matter.

It made me sad for him.

“Why does your key look different from everyone else’s?” Ryan asked.

I grinned and shrugged. “I upgraded to a bungalow. I figured it was okay to treat myself since I haven’t been on a vacation in years.”

And I didn’t want to even breathe the same air as Ford. When we planned to have rooms next to each other, the idea was that it would be easy to sneak into each other’s beds without anyone else having a clue.

That obviously wasn’t going to happen, and I was better off alone in my bungalow.

“Leanne and I are treating ourselves to one of the overwater villas, but not until Saturday night. We want the wedding night to be special.”

I wrinkled my nose and held up my hand to stop him from speaking. “Enough about that. I don’t need to think about how my brother is planning to celebrate his marriage in his fancy villa.”

Ryan laughed. Another groomsman, Damien, approached Ryan, and I slipped out of the resort while they chatted. I wanted to get to my bungalow and rest a little before the bonfire tonight.

But I’d only made it a few steps outside of the resort when another voice called out my name. This one was much less welcome.

“Zoey, wait,” Ford said, and the rush of pain I felt just hearing my name on his lips locked up my muscles and stole my breath. He came from behind me, apparently having followed me from the lobby, even though I didn’t see him there.