The Davis Years (Indigo) Read Online Free PDF Page A

of action.
    But it wasn’t worth dwelling on anymore. That was the past. And she’d moved on from the shell of a person she’d been and that person’s desires. She had to because being the new Jemma was important. Old Jemma was weak and sad. New Jemma made things happen.
    She was brought back to their conversation by Emily Rose’s cry of disbelief. Em Rose pushed a flower catalog into Ms. F’s hands. Jemma glanced at Michael. He stared at his phone as if begging it to ring. His brown hair fell around his face so that she couldn’t see his expression. She then turned back to watch the latest pre-wedding battle between Emily Rose and Ms. F.
    “Oh, my goodness. No. We can’t have blue. That is the ugliest shade of blue I’ve ever seen anyway,” Emily Rose said, running her hands through her blonde hair. “You really cancelled my flower order?”
    “Emily, dear, we are not having those god-awful carnations you picked out, so you may as well get over that. If that is the only reason you do not want these lovely gardenias, then I’m sorry. It is not a good enough reason for me,” Ms. Fletcher said. “We do not have to have them dyed, there’s still time to stop them before the dyeing takes place, but you should seriously consider the gardenias. There’s really no time for a change at this stage anyway.”
    They both turned to Michael. Jemma felt sorry for him, but very glad it was him in the hot seat and not her. He slid his phone into the holder on his belt clip and shifted in his seat.
    He rubbed his jaw. “Uh, I think both are great. What do you think, Jemma?” He looked at her as if hoping to be tossed a life line.
    Great. Way to punt, Michael , Jemma thought, turning to the two seething women in front of her.
    “Oh yes. They’re both beautiful. But it’s not my day, Michael. This is a decision for you and Em Rose,” she said. And apparently for Ms. F, too.
    Michael gave her a look that let her know he really didn’t appreciate being drawn back into the battle, and she pretended not to notice.

Chapter 5
    Mary dropped Jemma off at the Bradens’ house because she needed the car that night for work. When she got there, she found that Carolina had arrived. Carolina had rented a car, insisting Emily Rose wasn’t going to take time out of her tight wedding prep schedule to pick her up.
    Carolina was the antithesis of Jemma. Her personality was so big that it filled up the room and went all the way out to the sun porch. She could see why Emily Rose—or anyone for that matter—would be drawn to such a person. Jemma couldn’t help but think of Carolina as her replacement. And if she was, whose fault was it but Jemma’s that she’d been replaced? She’d disappeared for six years and hadn’t given Emily Rose any way to get in touch with her. Still, feelings weren’t always rational.
    “Where’s Michael?” Jemma asked after dropping her purse onto the black ottoman near a micro-fiber armchair.
    Carolina laughed. “You don’t think he’d stick around here for this, do you?” She had rich brown eyes and a strong Brooklyn-Puerto Rican accent. Her endless legs were clad in black tights. Carolina was a dancer and she had the long, lean body of one.
    “He’s at the hotel having dinner with his mother.” Emily Rose tore a lavender paper lantern, swore softly, and then tossed it into a plastic bag half full of trash that was near her feet.
    Jemma sat on the floor near them, realizing from the look on Emily Rose’s face that she’d asked the wrong question. She tried to do damage control by changing the subject. “What are we making?”
    “Centerpieces. They’re supposed to look like this.” Carolina held up a tea light holder shaped like a lotus flower. The glass upper part of the holder was tinted green. The base had a label around it which announced the names of the bride and groom along with the wedding date.
    “Yeah, be careful with those labels ’cause the label maker just broke. We won’t