Best Laid Wedding Plans

by Karen Booth

  “I wouldn’t abandon you like that.” Ashiya flipped the lights off in her office.

  “I wouldn’t consider it abandonment. Just remember if you ever decide to go and start making big deals instead of scouring thrift stores for premium goods, I’ll understand and take over the store for you.”

  Ashiya wrapped an arm around Lindsey’s shoulders as they walked toward the front of the store. “Not gonna happen, but if I ever change my mind, I know I’ll be leaving this place in good hands.”

  They did one more check of the front before locking up the store. This wasn’t the first time Lindsey teased her about potentially leaving Piece Together to work for Robidoux Holdings. Lindsey believed Ashiya would take the skills she’d utilized to turn Piece Together and use them for bigger payout working for her family’s larger holding corporation. Ashiya appreciated her friend’s support, but she wasn’t about to deceive herself into thinking she was smart enough to run anything bigger than this store.

  She and Lindsey said their goodbyes as they left the store and got into their cars. As always, Ashiya waited until Lindsey had driven off before exiting the parking lot. She made a left and eased into the late afternoon traffic toward the Jackson Falls Country Club for ladies’ night.

  Honestly, she wasn’t sure how much fun this would be. She didn’t dislike Elaina, who was remarkably more pleasant now that she’d taken over control of Robidoux Holdings and found happiness with herself and in her love life, but that didn’t mean Ashiya immediately thought of Elaina when she wanted to go out and have fun. Thankfully, India, Elaina’s younger sister, was going to be there as well. Ashiya refused to turn down any opportunity to hang out with her favorite cousin. Byron’s new wife, Zoe, would also be there. Ashiya liked Zoe well enough and believed she was the reason Elaina had agreed to the night out in the first place.

  Ashiya was happy for all her cousins. They’d found love and were living their best lives. She, on the other hand, was single again for the first time since the age of twenty-two. She didn’t know what to do about her relationship status. Well, she knew what and who she wanted, but she’d burned that bridge, and there was no turning back.

  She blasted the latest Megan Thee Stallion song on the radio to get her mind right for a night of fun, but her ringing phone interrupted the beat. A number she didn’t recognize popped up on the car’s console. She considered ignoring it, but she’d learned her lesson the hard way about ignoring phone calls. Even from unknown numbers.

  Ashiya pressed the button on her steering wheel to accept the call. “Hello?”

  “Hello, I’m trying to reach Ashiya Waters?” a woman’s cool, professional voice asked.

  Ashiya rolled her eyes. Telemarketer. Hadn’t she put her number on that list that told them to leave her the hell alone or something? “Sorry, I’m not interested.”

  “Ms. Waters, this is Brianna Winters. I was your grandmother Gloria Waters’s personal assistant,” the woman said in a rush before Ashiya could end the call.

  Ashiya frowned at the screen. Her Grandmother Gloria? Why would her grandmother’s assistant call her? Ashiya hadn’t had anything to do with her father’s side of the family since they’d disowned him for marrying her mother. Resentment about her mother pursing her father to gain access to her grandmother’s then-growing beauty company went long and deep. Ashiya vividly remembered being eight or nine and overhearing her Grandmother Gloria telling Ashiya’s mother that she wasn’t going to get a red cent of anything that would have gone to her son.

  Ashiya kind of understood her grandmother cutting ties after learning the truth behind the reasons her mom pursued her dad. That didn’t stop Ashiya from being hurt when her father’s family didn’t want anything to do with her. She loved her father and knew the estrangement hurt him, too, but she also loved her momma. Ashiya couldn’t imagine ever wanting to be close to someone who hated her mom. As she’d grown, and the animosity festering from her parent’s bad marriage and unresolved issues infected Ashiya’s life in ways that still hindered her.

  “Okay,” she said slowly. “Why are you calling me?”

  “Because you grandmother died two days ago.” Brianna spoke in a direct manner with only the barest hint of sympathy.

  Ashiya sucked in a breath. She squeezed the steering wheel. Every single memory she had of her grandmother involved her telling her dad he never should have married that raggedy whore in the first place whenever they visited. Eventually the visits stopped. That didn’t mean Ashiya had wished her dead.

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” she said truthfully.

  “I’m calling you because the reading of the will is this Friday.” When Brianna spoke this time, her voice was warmer. “You’ll need to be there?”

  “Why would I need to be there? I’m pretty sure I’m not listed.”

  Brianna cleared her throat. “Actually, you are.”

  The thought of being in her grandmother’s will was so absurd, Ashiya laughed. Probably not appropriate after receiving news of a deceased relative, but she didn’t believe anything her grandmother left for her required her to attend the reading of the will. “Okay, so she left me a clock, or my dad’s high school clothes. Can’t you just mail them to me? I don’t have to show up for that.”

  There was a pause before Brianna spoke again. “You’re getting a lot more than a clock. Ms. Waters, your grandmother left you her entire estate. You are now the majority shareholder of the Legacy Group. If you’d like to avoid having your cousins contest the will, I’d suggest you be here.”

  Ashiya sat in her car in the Jackson Falls Country Club parking lot. She’d driven there on autopilot while listening to her late grandmother’s personal assistant talk about everything she was expected to inherit. Not only the shares in the company, but a home in Hilton Head, South Carolina, multiple properties throughout the Southeast, all her grandmother’s money and worldly goods, and a vintage Jaguar vehicle.

  The information whirled around in her head like clothes during the spin cycle of a washing machine. She didn’t believe a word of it. She’d said as much while on the phone with Brianna. How could her grandmother’s assistant know what Ashiya was getting if the will hadn’t been read yet?

  “I was with your grandmother when she made the changes with her lawyer, and I served as the notary. Believe me. You’re getting it all.”

  Inheriting her grandmother’s money made absolutely no sense. She hadn’t seen her grandmother in years. Decades. Her grandmother hated when her dad married her mom and wanted to keep her mother from having access to even a penny of the money the company made. Ashiya always assumed her grandmother didn’t want Ashiya to gain access to the company either since Gloria Waters never made any attempt to reach out to her or form any type of relationship with her. Now she was supposed to believe the company, money and property were all hers?

  She had to get to the bottom of this. She couldn’t go inside and celebrate with her cousins. She wouldn’t be able to focus on anything. Yet, she didn’t want to outright snub Elaina.

  Ashiya got out of the car and dialed India’s number. Her cousin answered quickly. “Hey, are you here?”

  “Umm…yeah, but I can’t stay. Can you meet me at the front door? And don’t tell Elaina.”

  “Sure, let me step away so I can hear you better,” India said, not asking for more information. “I’ll be right back,” she said not quite in the phone. Ashiya assumed she spoke to Elaina and Zoe.

  Ashiya arrived at the front of the clubhouse and slid through the door. India came around the corner at the same time. Her cousin slid her phone into the pocket of her pink sundress. Her curly hair was twisted into a cute puff at the top of her head, and worry clouded her brown eyes.

  India immediately came over and placed a hand on Ashiya’s arm. India was two years younger than Ashiya, but they were more like sisters than cousins. “What’s going on?”


  Ashiya let out a humorless laugh. Where would she even start? There were so many unanswered questions she was afraid to even try to begin to unravel.

  “Something came up,” she said. “I really need to go talk to Mom and figure out what’s going on?”

  India frowned. “Is everything okay? Did my dad do something?”

  Ashiya shook her head. “No. For once this doesn’t have anything to do with your dad.”

  Ashiya paced in front of the door. She wished her problem were tied to her Uncle Grant. She’d know what to do if that were the case. Thankfully, because Ashiya was busy with her “little store” Grant Robidoux didn’t pay her any attention. She’d rather deal with her overbearing uncle meddling than inherit a fortune and the responsibility that came with it.

  India reached out and took Ashiya’s elbow in her hand, stopping her from pacing. A small line appeared between her brows. “Hey, what’s going on?”

  Ashiya took a deep breath and met her cousin’s worried expression. “My grandmother died.”

  India blinked. Her head drew back, and she frowned. “Your grandmother?” India’s eyes narrowed as if the idea of Ashiya having a grandmother was unheard of before her head cocked to the side. “You mean your dad’s mom?”

  India’s surprise at the announcement was further proof that what Brianna said on the phone made no sense. Ashiya had no ties or contact with her grandmother. There was no way the woman would leave Ashiya with all of this responsibility.

  Ashiya sighed and shrugged. “The one and only.”

  The confusion left India’s eyes, and sympathy filled them instead. “Oh, no, Ashiya, I’m sorry.” India pulled Ashiya in for a hug.

  Ashiya stepped back after a second in India’s embrace. She didn’t deserve it. Sure, she was saddened to hear the news, but she wasn’t devastated. She hadn’t known the woman. And there came the guilt. A big, heavy weight in her chest. She didn’t deserve sympathy, and she definitely didn’t deserve money.

  “Thank you, but I’m fine. Really, I am. I barely knew her, and according to my mom she is—was—evil.”

  India shook her head. “No one is completely evil. You told me yourself there was bad blood between her and your mom since your parents got married. There are always two sides. I’m sorry you didn’t get the chance to hear her side.”

  Ashiya pressed a hand to her forehead. “You’re right, I guess. But I got a call from her personal assistant. She wants me to come to Hilton Head for the reading of the will. She thinks my grandmother left everything to me.”

  India’s eyes widened. “For real?”

  “That’s what she says, but I don’t believe it. My grandmother hated Momma, and she didn’t like me. Why would she leave everything to me?”

  “Maybe she didn’t hate you and your mom as much as you think,” India said in her very logical, let’s-view-all-sides way.

  “No, the hatred was real.” She remembered the visits to her grandmother when she was young. The cold shoulder. The shouting behind closed doors. The names she’d called Ashiya’s mom. Names like gold digger, whore, two-faced witch. Names Ashiya hadn’t understood the meaning of back then but knew they couldn’t be good.

  She shook her head to rid her brain of the memories. “I can’t believe it. I can’t do it.”

  “Do what? Go to the funeral? I don’t think it’ll hurt just to pay your respects.”

  If only that’s what she meant. She tugged on her ear and glanced around. No one was in the front of the clubhouse with them. “Take the company, the money, the estate,” she said in a thin voice. “I don’t know how to run anything.”

  India had leaned in to hear what Ashiya had to say. After Ashiya spoke, India grunted and leaned back. She gave Ashiya an are-you-kidding-me side-eye. “Ashiya, you run a business now.”

  “A small clothing store here in Jackson Falls. And not even new clothes. They’re consignments. I can’t run a corporation.”

  The thought of being in charge of million-dollar decisions, having to report to a board of directors, fighting for respect from people who’d spent their entire careers in the corporate world made her stomach twist in a dozen glass-encrusted knots. No, she couldn’t do it. Wouldn’t do it. They’d eat her alive in less than thirty seconds.

  India rolled her eyes. “Girl, get out of your damn head. Before you start having a panic attack and telling yourself all the things you can’t do, how about you first find out what exactly you’ve inherited and what, if anything, you have to do about that?”

  Ashiya took a deep breath. Her stomach still twisted. Her palms sweat, but India’s words took the edge off her anxiety. Until she knew for sure what was going on, there was no need to freak out. The freak-out could wait until she was sure Brianna was right.

  Please, God, let Brianna be wrong. She sent up the quick prayer.

  She met India’s you’ve-got-this gaze. “You’re right. I just never thought I’d be in this position. You know I never wanted to be a part of that world.”

  Understanding crossed India’s features. India’s desire to stay out of the running for top billing in the Robidoux family was one of the reasons she and Ashiya had been so close. Ever since they were kids and India gave Ashiya her favorite teddy bear instead of laughing when she’d learned that at eleven, Ashiya was still afraid of the dark she’d mentally adopted India as her little sister.

  “Not wanting to be a part of it and being able to survive it are two different things,” India said in a supportive voice. “Regardless of what happens, I believe you can handle it.”

  Ashiya wished she had a tenth of her cousin’s optimism. “Time will tell. Look, I need to talk to Momma about all this. See what she thinks and then make plans to go to Hilton Head. I guess I just needed to talk to someone first and get my initial freak-out out of the way. You know Momma. She’ll tell me to calm down, act like a Robidoux, and take everything my grandmother left and more.”

  At times Ashiya thought her momma forgot that Ashiya was half Waters. That even though her dad had generated his own wealth, he’d given up the wealth from his family when he’d married her. Elizabeth Robidoux Waters had not known her husband knew he wouldn’t inherit a thing if he married her. She also hadn’t forgiven him once she learned the truth. He’d only wanted to be happy, and despite her parents’ strained marriage, her dad had found his own way without the help of his mom or his wife’s rich family. He was why Ashiya had tried to avoid being as cutthroat as some of her Robidoux cousins.

  India nodded and patted Ashiya on the shoulder. “I’ll tell Elaina that something came up. She’ll be fine.”

  Ashiya reached into her purse and pulled out a card. “Give this to her, okay? I know she didn’t want gifts, but I still thought I’d get her something. Tell her to enjoy it.”

  Ashiya had gotten Elaina a yearlong subscription to a tea-of-the-month club. Since her cousin was cutting back on alcohol, she’d focused on using tea to calm her nerves. Ashiya hoped the gift would be welcome from the prickly Elaina.

  “I will. You go. Talk to your mom and call me before you head out of town. If you need me to go with you—”

  “No, I’ll be fine. I may need drinks when I return.”

  “I’ve got you.” This time when India opened her arms for a hug, Ashiya took it. She’d need all the emotional support she could muster if the inheritance was really hers.

  They pulled apart, and Ashiya watched as India went back toward the dining area. With a determined sigh, she went to the door leading out of the clubhouse. She wasn’t looking forward to this conversation with her mom, but she couldn’t possibly go to the funeral and learn the contents of the will without saying something to her.

  She pushed open the door at the same time someone pulled from the other side. She lost her balance and stumbled forward on her high heels. She barely stopped herself from falling. A warm hand reached out and ste
adied her by the elbow.

  “Excuse me,” she said.

  “Sorry,” a familiar male voice said at the same time.

  Ashiya froze. The blood rushed from her face, and her lungs decided breathing wasn’t necessary at that moment. Her eyes jerked up. Surprise, embarrassment, and regret sent her body into a confusing tailspin. The familiar face seemed just as surprised to see her. Her heart squeezed while the lingering touch of his hand on her elbow turned her limbs into jelly.

  Russell. The guy she should have chosen. Fine as hell Russell. He would be the person she saw when she was already discombobulated.

  Fine as hell was a weak string of words to describe Russell Gilchrist. Tall, broad of shoulders, thick of thighs, and sweet of heart, Russell was the perfect embodiment of good guy with just a hint of bad boy beneath to make a woman fantasize about seeing him lose control. The lights from outside the clubhouse added a silvery glow to his sandy-brown skin and brought out the gold in his hazel eyes. He’d offered her everything she said she’d wanted in a relationship, and in turn she’d broken his heart when her jerk of an ex came back and said all the right words with wrong intentions.

  After recognition entered his gaze, he quickly snatched his hand back. “You good?” His voice didn’t seem as concerned now that he recognized her. Instead it was cold, clipped, as if he couldn’t wait to get away from her.

  “I’m fine. I was in a rush and didn’t—”

  “Then I’ll let you get going.” He stepped to the side so she could walk away.

  Ashiya sucked in a breath. Three years had passed, yet she still couldn’t get used to seeing the cold look in his eye. Three years of seeing him occasionally around town or at parties and trying to accept the way he barely held her gaze or spoke to her in a tone warmer than an Antarctic. She’d seen his other side. She’d seen the adoration shining in his eyes. Heard the way he whispered her name when he was deep inside of her. Knew he could be the most caring person she’d ever met. Knowing that only made this side of him hard as hell to accept.