My Favorite Mistake by Georgina Bloomberg, Catherine Hapka Read Free Book Online

“When are you heading down?”
    â€œThursday, I guess.” Zara frowned, realizing that her father was leaving for Amsterdam on Wednesday. Along with his driver, Mickey, who usually drove her to the barn and to shows. Was this country cousin of hers supposed to be her chauffeur as well as her babysitter? Or what? “If I find a ride, that is,” she muttered, a little of her bad mood creeping back.
    â€œYou don’t have a ride?” Tommi said. “You can bum one with me if you want. I’m spending a couple of days in the Hamptons, so I won’t be leaving the city until Thursday morning myself.”
    â€œReally? Cool,” Zara said. “Guess that could work out.”
    â€œOkay, I’ll call you Wednesday and let you know what time to be ready.” Tommi started to turn away, then paused. “By the way, hope you don’t mind. Grant asked for your number, so I gave it to him.”
    â€œGrant?” For a second Zara drew a blank. Then she remembered—that was Tommi’s preppy friend’s name. She had a vague memory of him feeling her up in the hotel pool. He wasn’t a bad kisser. “Oh, right. Yeah, it’s cool—thanks.”
    She was smiling again as she and Tommi parted ways. Yeah, this day wasn’t turning out all bad after all.

    â€œSo how’s that horse of ours doing?”
    Tommi glanced up as she slid into her seat at the dining room table. She’d arrived home from the barn half an hour earlier, which had just given her time to shower and start packing for the Hamptons trip before the housekeeper had called her to dinner.
    â€œHe’s fine,” she told her father. “I’ll be taking him in the jumpers again this weekend.”
    â€œOh, so you’re going to a horse show this week?” her stepmother said, reaching for the dish of roasted asparagus that Mrs. Grigoryan had just set on the table. “I thought you were taking a week off to go to the Hamptons.”
    â€œNot the whole week. I’m meeting the barn at the show on Thursday, remember?”
    â€œGood,” her father said. “Any nibbles yet?”
    Tommi wanted to roll her eyes, but stopped herself. “Not yet,” she said. “But he’s only been to one show so far since we’ve owned him.”
    â€œHmmph.” Her father seemed to lose interest as he speared a crab cake with his fork and slapped it on his plate. He turned and started talking to his wife about some art gallery opening they were going to soon, and Tommi slumped in her chair, off the hot seat—at least for now.
    She toyed with her food, feeling uneasy as she realized her father wasn’t going to let up on her until Legs was sold. Hewasn’t exactly known for his patience, either on Wall Street or around home. Whatever. It was the price she had to pay. But it made her wonder yet again if it had been a mistake to cut her show week short because of that Hamptons trip. Tommi wasn’t used to second-guessing herself—usually once she made a decision, she just went with it. Full steam ahead, no regrets.
    But this felt different somehow. Way more serious and grown-up. And suddenly it just seemed way too stressful to worry about, especially when she had more interesting things on her mind.
    Like what she was going to wear for that long, cozy car ride with Alex tomorrow, for instance.
    She smiled, mentally skimming through her closet. Her new flirty print sundress, maybe? Or the cute denim capris and a sexy tank? Now that was the kind of decision she had no trouble making.

    Kate was surprised to see her father’s car parked in front of the house when she got home that night. Usually he worked the night shift on Sundays.
    Then she remembered him grumbling at dinner last week—something about how the new lieutenant was messing with people’s schedules and otherwise shaking things up. Thinking about that made Kate’s stomach twist