She’s right where I expected her to be, hunched over a stack of mounting bills, seated at the desk in the corner. This is where she spends much of her time, going over breeding contracts, making and receiving payments, ordering feed. Not to mention every other administrative job you could imagine that comes with running a breeding operation of this scale. We’re just luckyshe has a keen eye for this side of it all, but I know it wears on her, having to balance it all.
Usually her days are swallowed by managing the farm, and her evenings by taking business classes at the university to finish her degree. It’s left her life practically dedicated to this place. I feel a pang of pity, thinking about her having to retake a course over such a simple mistake.
She deserves to take a break.
“You’re not busy right now,” I announce like it’s a fact, only to get a dry, squinting look from my sister as she leans back in the upholstered rolling chair. The one that’s probably been in this office for several decades now.
“Yeah, positively nothing to do,” she replies dryly while gesturing to the stack of papers before her.
“Great, that’s perfect then. I really need someone to go for a drink with me tonight.”
She quirks a brow. “Why would you ask your least social sibling to go out for a drink with you on a weeknight? Don’t you have a stable of women who you could ask?”
I scoff at my sister. “For starters, there are only four left. And for clarity, I don’t like any of them enough to hang out with unless I’m getting paid for it.”
“Woof.” She rears back slightly with an amused tilt to her mouth. “And people think I’m the coldhearted one.”
I just shrug. No point in defending myself, especially since I meant what I said.
The minute they call “Cut!” and tell me they’ve shot all the B-roll that they need for the week’s episode, I get the fuck off set as fast as I can.
“Why don’t you ask Evan?”
“He’s not the type of company I want for tonight.”
“Okay, so take Riley.”
I release an exasperated sigh and prop my hands on my hips. “Parks, you know she’s got her head in the game with the horses right now. She’s treating her body like a temple and shit. Going to bed early. Working out. Something about micros and macros. You know, prissy athlete stuff that probably doesn’t make a difference.”
Plus, I can’t ask Riley because she’s the one who set the whole thing up and casually dropped all the details while I was helping her turn out horses one morning. And if I ask her to join, she’ll just mock me mercilessly.
I’ve been working my ass off to pretend Julia doesn’t exist, but the minute my sister mentioned her name, my brain fried and something primal flared to life in me. A possessiveness like I’ve never felt before.
“Give her a break. She’s going to be on the Canadian team. She’s going to win. I just know it. Every bit of effort makes a difference, and I refuse to talk any other way—manifestation is real. So do your part.”
“Okay, cool. I’ll work on my manifestation, but only if you come for a drink with me.”
“Oh my god, is this show driving you to drink? I’ve barely recovered from our last meeting in the crawl space. What’s going on?”
“Parker.Please.”
“Fine. But I’m only coming because you’re up to something, and now I want to know what it is.”
“Pfft. You act like wanting to hang out with your closest sibling is a crime.”
She barks out a laugh, spinning the chair before pointing at me. “No, but as your closest sibling, I can tell when you’re bullshitting me.”
We walk into the Cactus Club, and Parker shoots me a disbelieving look. “You expect me to believe that you just wanted to spend some quality time with your sisterhere?”
I stifle a laugh because, yeah, this place is, well… not me.
It’s hypermodern, serving the world’s most generic menu, and lounge beats play throughout the space. Every waitress wears a black blouse, black skirt, and black heels, like they signed a contract promising to show zero personality lest it offend a patron.
My dusty boots and faded ball cap make me stick out like a sore thumb, but I don’t give a fuck. I’m not here to make an impression.
I’m here to spy on Julia Silva and her weird fucking blind date, Dominic.
I tug my Stal Brandt cap down lower to be incognito. Then, I make a beeline for the bar where I can sit with my back to the room but still turn and see what’s going on.
