The Billionaire Princess

  ***

  Dark blue suit, check. Lilac dress, check. Sara went down the list crossing each item off as she added it to her suitcase. Since the year she first left for boarding school, she always made a list of the items she wanted to pack regardless of whether she was going away for two nights or for two months. Some might consider the habit ridiculous especially since she could buy what she forgot, but she couldn't shake the habit.

  Once she reached the bottom of her list, Sara closed the suitcase and slipped it off the bed. Then she turned her attention to her monthly calendar. The day before she had spent over an hour rearranging meetings so she could make this impromptu trip to California. While she thought she'd managed to reschedule everything, she figured one last pass over things wouldn't hurt.

  Halfway through the first week, a popular heavy metal song her brother liked came from her phone. Jake. For a few heartbeats, Sara sat frozen, her hand poised above the phone. She still hadn't talked to him since Hawaii. Rarely did she go this long without at least a quick phone call to say hi and she found she missed talking to him. Before she could change her mind, Sara picked up the phone. “Hello.”

  "Are you in DC this week?" Jake asked after greeting her. "Or was this the week of the fundraiser in Providence?"

  "The fundraiser was last week." Sara drew rows of connecting triangles along the edge of a piece of paper.

  "Good. Why don't you come spend the weekend? Charlie has the weekend off and Mom and Dad are coming for dinner on Saturday."

  Sara's ears perked up at the mention of her parents. She knew her brother still hadn't told them about his marriage. If he had, their mom would've called her by now. "Need reinforcements big brother?" She couldn't stop herself from teasing him. He did the same thing every chance he got.

  "If I did, I'd call Dylan. If anyone can unruffled Mom's feathers it’s him," Jake answered with amusement. "I just thought I'd get you out of your little office on the Hill before you turn into a workaholic like our brother."

  Turning the paper she began another group of triangles. "I'd love to see the fireworks when you drop the news, but I'm leaving for California tomorrow. The senator asked us to do some ads supporting his new education initiative." Only after she spoke the words did she realize that she'd used us rather than me.

  "Us? Who's us?" Jake asked, genuine curiosity in his voice.

  Damn Jake for being so attentive. While working with Christopher was no big deal, she hated the idea of bringing him up with her brother. It only reminded her further of the friendship she'd put at risk. "David got Christopher on board. He thought an ad featuring the two of us would boost support with the public more than an ad featuring only him."

  "Doesn't surprise me that he signed on. When you see him tell him my number hasn't changed. I've called him a few times and he hasn't called back."

  Sara leaned her head back against her chair, her eyes closed. "I'll tell him."

  "I can think of someone else who would support this legislation if you asked her," Jake said, his voice taking a serious tone.

  She knew without him continuing whom he had in mind. As an elementary school teacher Callie had a passion for education. And it wasn't that she hadn't considered it already.

  "Callie would be a great person to have on board with her background, and you know how much the American public loves her."

  Everything Jake said was true and the very reason she'd already considered her half-sister. Still Sara held back from calling her. While their relationship was more cordial now than when they first met they were far from best buds. She'd created the situation herself and she'd undo it if she could. Just thinking about the way she treated Callie made her cringe.

  Images of the conversation she had when Callie first entered their lives, played across her mind like a bad movie. Hoping to get rid of the images, Sara opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling. "I'll consider it, Jake. You know it's complicated."

  On the other end of the line Jake remained silent and she guessed her brother was formulating his rebuttal.

  "Only you can fix that."

  Perhaps her brother was correct, but that didn't mean she wanted to reopen any old wounds. Right now she and Callie were able to be in the same room together and be civil to each other. If Sara reminded Callie of her previous behavior, who knew what might happen?

  "Like I said Jake, I'll think about it." For now it was all she could say.

  "Whatever. Call me when you get back to DC."

  She knew her brother well enough to know it was taking most of his self-control to keep himself from pressing the issue further. "I will. Good luck with Mom and Dad."

  Sara hit end on the phone after saying goodbye, her entire body a jumble of emotions. Although she hadn't lied to Jake, hiding what had happened with Christopher felt like a betrayal. To top that off, her shame regarding Callie had her stomach in knots. If Callie had only showed up a year earlier or any time before she met Phillip for that matter, maybe their relationship would've been different. Before Phillip entered her life, she'd been more trusting and more open to starting new relationships. Her time with Phillip managed to kill all that. Now she approached all new relationships, regardless of the person, with apprehension and suspicion. In fact, since Phillip she hadn't developed any new friendship or let anyone get close to her—at least not until her brother's wedding. Something about Christopher allowed her to drop her guard. While she attributed some of it to the cosmos she'd consumed, that didn't completely account for that night. The suspicion that usually shadowed all her new acquaintances never appeared that night. The only emotions she felt that evening were attraction and curiosity.

  Now that she'd let him get close, he often popped into her thoughts. He didn't belong there, she knew that. Yet he kept making an appearance and now she had a whole week ahead of her with him around. Somehow she needed to push thoughts of their night together aside and focus on the task at hand. Exactly how though she hadn't figured out yet.

  “But I will,” she muttered as she turned her attention back to her calendar.