Blind Date with the Spare Heir

by Yahrah St. John

  “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 steadied 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.

  “Russell, I…”

  “I’ll see you around.” He walked pass her and entered the clubhouse without another glance her way.

  Heat spread through her cheeks. She looked to the sky and groaned. No matter what she said or did, she couldn’t break through the silent treatment. Not that she could blame him. She’d toyed with him. Used him to make her ex jealous, and by the time she realized she was falling for Russell, it was too late.

  She wanted to rush back into the clubhouse and demand that he talk to her. That he let her explain. That he give her, them, another chance. Instead, she sighed and walked to her car. Getting Russell back was still on her bucket list, but she couldn’t focus on that particular goal at the moment. Right now, she had to figure out how to get rid of a million-dollar inheritance.

  Don’t miss what happens next in…

  Foolish Hearts

  by Synithia Williams

  Available September 2021 wherever

  HQN books and ebooks are sold.

  www.HQNBooks.com

  Copyright © 2021 by Synithia R. Williams

  Keep reading for an excerpt from The Fake Engagement Favor by Charlene Sands.

  The Fake Engagement Favor

  by Charlene Sands

  One

  “Are we really going to do this?” Gianna asked handsome, cocky Gage Tremaine. She sat on a patio chair facing the gorgeously groomed Tremaine estate, hardly believing she’d agreed to being Gage’s newfound love. His pretend fiancée, for heaven’s sake, until the country music superstar got his life back on track.

  “Do you have a boyfriend or someone who’d object to this?”

  “Just…uh, no. Not at the moment,” she said quietly.

  “Then I think we’re doing it,” he drawled in the Texas twang that his fans adored. “I hate to admit this, but you’re the perfect choice. You’re out of the public eye and have a very honorable profession. You’re smart and upstanding and a good family friend. It makes sense, Gianna.”

  She was all those things, yet hearing Gage say it made it all seem so…uninspiring.

  “But I’m hardly your type.” She wasn’t. Not by a long shot. She wasn’t stylish or trendy. She wore her hair in a messy bun at the top of her head most times and could barely see a thing without her eyeglasses.

  “Are you suggesting you’re too darn intelligent for me, Professor Marino?”

  Good God. He would go there. At tim
es, she wasn’t even sure she liked Gage all that much. He was always teasing her, about her brains, about her looks. She’d grown up around the Tremaines, and she wasn’t gonna lie, Gage had been like a thorn in her side. But then he’d smile and tell her he didn’t mean it, and she’d forgive him.

  “You know I am.”

  He grinned. “True.”

  His incredible blue eyes darkened and then a serious expression stole over his face. “I know this is a lot to ask. But I’m in a bind and Regan Fitzgerald, my manager, came up with this little scheme to make nice with the press. I don’t like it, either, but I have to restore my image. I’ve been at this a long time, and I’m no saint, but I’m also not as bad as people make me out to be. My record sales are down some.”

  “And you need to land that film role in Sunday in Montana.”

  “Bad boys don’t get the lead in a family movie.”

  “I get it. But—but there must be dozens of girls out there who’d like to play house with you, even if it is pretend.”

  “I wouldn’t trust anyone but you,” he said, his eyes clear, revealing the truth. “If word got out, this could ruin me.”

  “Really?” He had that much faith in her? Well, he should. She would never betray a Tremaine. They were her second family, going back decades. Her mother and Rose Tremaine, Gage’s mom, had been like sisters. Rose had been a godsend when her mama got sick. She’d helped pay the medical bills a young local Fairmont University professor couldn’t afford.

  Rose had held her hand when her mama passed on, their quiet sobs binding them ever closer.

  “Yeah, according to Regan, if it slipped that I hired someone to be my fake fiancée, after all the other scandals I’ve had this past year, I’d stand to lose my reputation for good.”

  “You have had quite a few,” she said tactfully. Three scandals, to be exact, and each time, Gage had a valid excuse or reason for what transpired. He made headlines, and often the media printed lies about the eligible bachelor with the deep, sexy voice that drove women wild. Even she had to admit that Gage had immense talent. And she wasn’t even a fan of country music. “You almost lost your life over the last one.”