Give Me More--A Sexy Billionaire Romance A.C. Arthur (the giving tree read aloud .TXT) 📖

the one with all those big shoes ahead of her to fill. The one who’d failed at filling those big shoes so many times before. Sure, she’d only been eight when her teacher had made a comment about Grace not reading at the same level as Trinity had when she’d been in that class. And she’d only been fifteen with short arms and legs when she’d been cut from the high school majorette squad that each of her sisters had been on. But by the time she’d entered college and decided on a career in journalism—only to have her mother scoff as if that were nothing compared to being a scholar or any of the occupations her sisters had chosen—the seeds of doubt had been firmly planted in her mind. She’d decided then that she’d prove herself to them by succeeding in her career no matter what.

Not that any of that made a difference now. Grace didn’t have any more answers today than she had ten years ago. And because that was a hard truth to face, she did what she always did—pushed it aside.

An hour later, when she was dressed in blue shorts, a white T-shirt and white sandals, Grace walked into the café where she, Nina and Desta had planned to meet. She’d styled her hair in a simple ponytail and packed a notepad, pens and her tablet into her bag. As she was the first to arrive, she grabbed a table near the window and ordered a cup of coffee and another one of those great doughnuts RJ had brought her yesterday. She checked her phone while she waited, reading text messages from her sisters’ group chat. Hope wanted to know what they thought about a fall wedding and Charity announced that Skye, her oldest daughter, had lost one of her front teeth. The picture of her niece missing that one tooth made Grace smile. She hadn’t been home since her mother’s birthday celebration in March, and she missed seeing her family. The immediate longing to be with them now had to be spurred by what had happened between her and RJ last night and all the thoughts it brought to mind this morning. Thoughts of what might’ve been if she hadn’t turned down RJ’s proposal.

“Hey, what’re you in such deep thought about?” Nina asked when she appeared. She pulled out the chair across from Grace and took a seat.

Nina was absolutely lovely, with her cinnamon-hued complexion and alluring curves in the hot pink romper she wore.

“Oh, hey, nothing. Just checking text messages,” Grace said, and closed the screen on her phone, pushing it to the side.

Nina frowned. “You sure?”

Graced nodded. “Positive. Where’s Desta?”

“Oh, she’s coming. She and Riley wanted daiquiris so they stopped at the bar by the pool.” Nina signaled the server and when the young lady appeared, she ordered water and a fruit bowl.

“Taking the healthy route, I see,” Grace noted. Nina had also opted for bottled water over alcoholic beverages last night at the pool.

“Trying,” Nina replied with a shrug.

“Did you say Riley was coming?”

“Yes. We just figured we’d help save you time with the interviews and that way you could spend more time doing...other things.”

Before Grace could ask about the “other things,” Desta and Riley joined them. Desta wore black Bermuda shorts and a yellow tank top, her dark hair styled in two braids that hung down her back. Riley wore her hair in a ponytail, her entrancing hazel eyes highlighted with a nude eyeshadow that matched the color of her shorts and the stripes in her halter top.

“Mornin’!” Desta said cheerfully while taking a seat next to Nina.

Riley pulled out the chair beside Grace and sat. “Hey. How’re you feeling this morning? You and RJ were taking those vodka drinks down last night.”

Yeah, they had been drinking but not enough that either of them was drunk, which she thought could’ve been an excuse for what they’d done after the pool party. But Grace definitely didn’t want to think about that right now.

“Oh, that was nothing. I’m fine. Shall we get started?” They were scheduled to play volleyball at eleven thirty and since she was now interviewing three people, Grace wanted to make sure she had enough time to get everything in.

“Sure,” Riley said. “But first, if you don’t mind, I wanted to ask you something.”

Grace had been digging her notepad and pen out of her bag and looked up to see that all three women were staring at her.

“Ah, no, ask away,” Grace said, trying to hide the fact that she was more than a little leery about what Riley wanted to know.

It didn’t escape her that she was sitting next to RJ’s younger sister, a woman whom she’d been close to a long time ago and who undoubtedly wanted answers to the same questions her brother probably had.

“I know you don’t know Desta and Nina as well as you used to know me, but since we’re all related by marriage, and outside of that we’re all women, I figure it’s okay to speak candidly.” Riley didn’t wait for Grace to agree or disagree. “What happened between you and RJ? I thought you two were the perfect couple. I mean, coming from me, who at the time wasn’t even considering being in a relationship, I thought next to my parents, you and RJ were exactly what love was supposed to look like. And then you were just gone.”

Riley sipped from her straw when she was finished. Her expression was one of innocent curiosity, while Grace grappled with whether to speak just as candidly around this group of women.

The server returned with Grace’s coffee and doughnut and Nina’s water and fruit. Grace reached for the cream and poured it into her coffee, then added sugar, all while knowing they waited for her response.

“Nothing happened,” she replied, figuring if she expected these women to be honest with her, she owed them the same courtesy. “I needed something different in my life at the