Faced by life-altering choices...
Bryde Watkins, former playgirl and heiress to a billion-dollar empire, prefers a simpler life, living under the radar...until her family's business is threatened by one powerful man--Bryant Osgoode. When Bryde finds...
A tap on the shoulder woke me, and for a second, I thought it was Gran. My heart constricted when I saw that there wasn't any change on her. I looked up to the person who'd woken me. "Christopher, do you have a death wish?" I rubbed sleep off my eyes and stretched my arms.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
My brother's smiles could light up the darkest room. "Didn't mean to. The nurses said visiting time's almost over. God, Bryde, you look like shit." He leaned forward, sniffed me and grimaced. "And you smell worse. Aren't there showers in Bolivia?"
"As a matter of fact, no, smart ass." I fisted a hand and slammed it on his abs. Not hard but Toby squirmed away. "Wuss. And I was in El Salvador. It wasn't exactly Shangri-la. We just got running water in the town two months ago."
He continued to rub his belly. "Well it's good to see you're still in one piece. Has mom seen you? She'd love the whole new waif look." He circled his hand over me.
"No, Dad was here earlier."
"Yeah, I know. Where are you staying?"
I stood to check on Gran but she hadn't moved. "I was hoping I could convince the nurses to let me stay. What good is having the Watkins Wing if a Watkins couldn't stay overnight?"
"Ugh. Don't you hate hospitals?"
"Yeah, but I'm not here for me." I rubbed a hand over Gran's forehead.
Toby leaned in with me. "I hope you know where her lipstick is. We'll have hell to pay when she wakes and her lips are in that condition."
For the first time, laughter bubbled out of me. "She would hate that. I'll ask Dad when he comes back."
"He's not going to come back. Mom's on some weird diet thing and requires injections on her butt."
I turned to my brother and hoped to find him joking, but he was serious. "What is it this time?"
"Not really sure. Did you hear about her last surgery?" Toby pointed to his ears. "Apparently they were sticking out too much."
We both rolled our eyes. Mom was never satisfied with her appearance. Something she loved to impart on her children since the time we could say "scalpel" and "Botox". It was hell growing up with her, but Toby and I escaped. I couldn't say much about our sister, Geena.
My brother reached for something in his bag and held out keys to me. "Seriously, sister, you need to shower. My place is two blocks away. There are fresh towels in the linen closet."
I shook my head. "What if she wakes up and I'm not here?"
"I'll be here. I've already spoken to her doctor. We are allowed to stay as long as we want. I heard they want a new 3D scanner."
