Read Taking The Reins (The Rosewoods Book 1) for Free Online

something, but Mrs. Somerville interrupted. “Why are we major benefactors of this school, if we can’t be assured our daughter has a private room?”
    “Mother...”
    “I’ll call the dean,” Mrs. Somerville said digging into her purse. I couldn’t believe she was planning to call the dean now .
    “ Mother. I’m exhausted,” Emmeline snapped.
    “Fine, I’ll do it in the morning.”
    Emmeline turned to her father. “Thank you for bringing my things up.”
    He nodded and leaned over to kiss her cheek. “We’ll get this straightened out in the morning.”
    Emmeline nodded. “Fine. Thank you both for bringing me and for the summer in Europe. See you at Christmas.”
    Her mother shook her head. “No, honey, we’ll be on the world cruise. But we can Skype.”
    “Right,” Emmeline said, looking not the least bit disappointed. “I forgot. I’ll speak to you soon.”
    Pulling her into a stiff hug, Mrs. Somerville looked at me over her shoulder when she said, “Yes. And we’ll get you out of this room as soon as we can.”
    Which told me pretty much everything I needed to know about Emmeline Somerville. Without another word, I pulled the covers over my head and rolled toward the wall.
    ~♥~
    M y alarm buzzed at 6:45 and as I reached for it to turn it off, I realized my groan was joined by another from across the room.
    It almost scared the bejeepers out of me, until I remembered the night before. And Emmeline.
    I peeked across the room and blinked as I realized she was staring back at me.
    “Hi,” she said, sounding even more tired than she looked, which was quite the accomplishment.
    “Hi,” I said back, cautious.
    “Sorry. It was really late last night and now I forget your name.”
    I wasn’t sure why it mattered since one of us was leaving, but I answered her anyway. “Brooklyn Prescott.”
    “I’m Emmeline.”
    Manners dictated I acknowledge her with a ‘nice to meet you’ , but I was having some trouble getting the words out. I simply nodded and pushed the covers off me. “I guess I’ll see about getting my trunk brought up.”
    She didn’t get up, but moved her head, cocking it so she could look up at me now that I was standing. “Why?”
    “Because one of us is leaving, and I’m guessing it will be me.” Unless you’re moving to some sort of palace suite , I didn’t say. I turned away from her, heading to the bathroom, the one where I’d been so careful not to take up too much space with my things. All for nothing.
    “Wait!” she said, her tone sharp.
    I crossed my arms over my chest.
    She sat up, the comforter falling, exposing her tank top and pooling in her lap. I was shocked to realize she’d made her bed—I would have just flopped down on the bare mattress if I’d come in so late after a whole day of travel.
    Maybe even more surprising was that I’d been able to sleep through it all.
    She scrubbed her hands over her face; she looked a lot more plain without all the diamonds and her hair down and in tangles, although she hadn’t bothered to take off her makeup, making her look like an angry raccoon. “Sorry. I’m so tired and jet-lagged. Don’t go. My parents were horrible to you and I think I was too, and I’m sorry for that. They are terrible snots at the best of times, let alone at one a.m. or whatever time it was that we barged in here last night.”
    “It was after two,” I corrected.
    She exhaled and looked up at me. “Two. I’m sorry. They were on my last nerve and I’m sure I came across like a horrible witch. I assure you, I’m not one, though I can’t say the same for my mother. Can we please start again?” she gave me a weak smile. “I’m Emmeline. Emmie to my friends, and I’d really like it if we were roommates. Please, please disregard my parents’ rudeness.”
    “But you could have a private room,” I said, suddenly wondering if I hadn’t dreamed some of last night’s conversation.
    “Yes, but I don’t want one. I want to be a normal