In Her Sights (The Thousand Words Series Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

did what he did, it was too late. Now she had to deal with it.
    “Go away, Preston,” Paige said.
    “ Excuse me? ”
    “I’m sorry I upset you and Jondelle. And I’m sorry you’re having trouble having a baby. I really do wish you the best and I was sincere in my empathy for Jondelle.
    “Just to be clear: what you are proposing is that I should have given up my life, my dream, so I could have this baby. Then give her to you, and be left with nothing but the embarrassment of a renounced title. If I gave up my crown to have this baby, I wouldn’t have given her to you. I would have kept her, you asshole. Why should I give up everything and be left with nothing?
    “Of course now, thanks to you – you selfish, self-centered, egotistical prick – I will lose my shot at Miss North America, possibly lose my Miss Great Lakes title, embarrass the family, and still destroy Mom. And not even get a baby to cuddle at the end of it all. Thanks.
    “Now go away. Let me figure out what I might be able to salvage from this,” Paige said evenly, never letting her eyes waver from her brother’s.
    Preston stared at her silently for a moment. “I’m not letting you turn this around on me. For Mom’s sake, I’ll let you do what you need to.”
    Preston turned to go but another unpleasant though crossed Paige’s mind.
    “Wait!”
    Preston stopped, but didn’t face her.
    “Who else knows?” Paige asked.
    “What?” Her brother looked back over his shoulder.
    “Who else did you rant to?” Paige asked softly, looking around. There were people milling with drinks in their hands, but none close enough to hear yet.
    Preston shook his head and shrugged.
    “Does Alastair know?” she asked, holding her breath. Her ex was Preston’s best friend and the son of the man who, in theory, might buy out their mother’s company.
    “Oh,” Preston looked away and Paige closed her eyes against the tears that threatened to spring free. “That explains his interest,” Preston said.
    “I should probably avoid him for a while,” Paige agreed. “Take it into account if the merger comes up.”
    “Yeah. Thanks for that, sis.”
    “Learn to keep your mouth shut,” Paige shot back.
    She ignored Preston as he walked away and focused instead on her dilemma. She could count Miss North America out. She had a better than even chance before, but not now. Paige assumed they would simply eliminate her in the early rounds. No explanation, no statement, nothing political or topical was desirable in a Miss North America candidate. Abortion was legal, it was just very, very controversial. It could be a hot topic later that the powers that be would naturally want to avoid. Paige understood it, she just didn’t like it.
    Now, where did that leave her? Would she keep Miss Great Lakes? Paige had no way of knowing and she’d spend the rest of her time in the role waiting for the other shoe to drop. Fantastic. She needed a backup plan.
    A commotion on the dock drew her attention. It couldn’t be Preston again, could it? He wouldn’t.
    Paige rose unsteadily to her feet and kept one hand on the wall beside her as she made her way toward the midsection of the yacht. A few people passed her and by the time the gangplank came into view, or would have had it not been blocked by photographers and looky-loos, Paige was walking with confidence again. She straightened her clingy blue dress and held back. She was Miss Great Lakes, and even before the title, people came to her .
    A tall blond man followed closely by an equally tall dark-haired one caught Paige’s eye through a gap in the group crowding the passage. She recognized Jess Baxter and Dev Giles of A Thousand Words instantly by the small glimpses she got of them. Two more brunettes followed, who could only be Kenny Wright and Bryan Trino, although she couldn’t see their faces in the crowd.
    Paige paused to consider the unexpected change of events. She was engaged for the charity cruise at the last