Sutton and the CEO Forever (Bedding the Billionaire #5) - S. Cinders Page 0,2

worth millions, falls in love with the prince (aka Mark), and lives happily ever after. Only our ‘happily ever after’ has been fraught with one death after another.

To make matters worse, we still weren’t sure who the murderer was. There was only one thing consistent with the cases: they were all somehow connected to me. If that stress wasn’t bad enough, I felt like I had been pregnant for at least ten years. The last trimester was killing me.

“Hey there!” Martha came in with a large bag in her grasp. “Here are the shirts.”

She shoved the bag in my direction. Luckily Mark caught it before it fell to the ground. Did I mention that Martha was now a businesswoman? After Gabe’s death, we found that his mother, Ruth Ann, had left Abberly’s to me. His mama was a good woman who took me under her wing when Mama died. I didn’t need the old place, so I was thrilled to turn it over to Martha and Earl for all of the years they’d sacrificed for me. It turned out Martha really enjoyed running the place. She had converted it into more of a diner instead of just a rundown bar. And she even planned on hosting an event at Otterville Falls Town Days.

“What can I do?” I asked.

Martha blew a strand of hair out of her face and consulted with her clipboard. “Can you and Mark pass out the Abberly’s t-shirts to those working the booth? I want us to look professional.”

“Sure,” I said automatically.

Martha sighed in relief. “Thank you, I feel like a chicken with its head cut off.”

Mark opened the bag. His gasp was worth a thousand words.

“Before you say anything,” she added defensively, “I got a good discount on the color.”

I stared at the murky green color, then at Mark, who clearly was not impressed. I tried to paste a smile on my face. “They’re great.”

Martha’s face soured. “You are a terrible liar.”

Laughing, I took the bag from Mark, and we proceeded to pass them out to Brian, Candice, Joe, and a few others. Excitement began to build inside of me.

Mark tugged on his t-shirt, trying to read the tag. “What are these made out of? Sandpaper?”

I laughed. “You sound like a snob.”

He grumbled something underneath his breath but then swooped in and twirled me around. I was amazed that, at nearly nine months pregnant with twins, he could still lift me.

I giggled and threatened to puke on his head until he put me down.

“I still don’t see why we are helping out,” Mark whispered to me. “Can’t we just pay someone?”

I mock gasped and shook my head. “Where is the love in that?”

“I didn’t know that all of my actions had to have love behind them. That might make hostile takeovers a little uncomfortable.”

I knew he was teasing me, so I merely swatted his ass and turned to visit with Candice. It was true that few things in life can compare to Otterville Falls Town Days. I can try and describe it, but honestly, unless you are there to smell the popcorn and cotton candy in the air or feel the fine sheen of sweat coat your skin, you truly don’t know what it’s like until you’ve experienced it firsthand.

When Mama got sick and stopped taking me, I would tag along with Ruth Ann and Gabe. Abberly’s had been a part of Town Days even back then, and alcohol sales during Town Days made up for a good part of Ruth’s Ann’s budget for the summer months. Gabe never wanted anything to do with me, but Ruth Ann would take me on the Ferris wheel. She loved it and would rock the basket back and forth while we were high in the air, and I would laugh even though I was sure my belly was going to slither down my body and come out of my toes.

There were times when Mad Max would slip me a dollar, and I would buy the biggest, pinkest cone of cotton candy that Ruth Ann would give me.

I remember the rodeo riders and the clowns who chased the angry bulls while the cowboy got away. There was a pie-eating contest we’d watch Reena win every year, and Alice’s preserves won the blue ribbon more times than I can count.

Town Days were as much a part of me as the faint southern accent I stumbled into from time to time.

The day at the fair started with a steady stream of customers.