17
Harrison
No matterhow I tried to get away from her, Joey was at my side most of the following morning after her arrival as Collette stood in her shadow, begging for attention. I was more than ready to get away from Frankie’s sister, but I never wanted to be directly rude to her and risk upsetting Frankie even more.
Since the fight yesterday, we’d hardly spoken. Fight didn’t feel like the right word for what happened. She very gently fired me from my volunteer position for being an extra burden. I almost wished it was more confrontational. I wishIhad put up a fight. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye. Especially not now. Frankie hadn’t specifically asked me to stay while her sister was visiting.
But she hadn’t asked me to leave either.
She carried a tension I’d not seen in her with the arrival of her sister. Shoulders hunched, jumping at the slightest sound, she acted like an animal in fight-or-flight. It made me feel sick. It made me want to do what I could, even if that only was distract with a good time.
Collette gave up on trying to get her mother’s attention where she was taking a selfie and came to sit on my lap. Joey was trying to “accidentally” catch me in the background, but I made it very clear that my team would sue if a picture of me “accidentally” leaked to the press. She stopped trying after that.
“When are you leaving?” Collette asked, accidentally elbowing me in the stomach as she got situated.
“Oomph.” I repositioned her away from fragile areas. “As soon as Frankie is ready.”
Collette sighed loudly.
“What’s wrong, Princess Leia?”
“I’m Uma now. She’s a pirate. Argh,” she said but halfheartedly.
“Hey. What’s with the lip?” I flicked my finger up and down on her pouting mouth, producing a funny sound that got her to smile.
“I just wish I could go with you guys to the carnival,” she said it quietly, but I glanced up to see if Joey heard. She was too absorbed in the angle of her face to notice her daughter’s wishes.
“It’s a wine festival. Not a carnival. No rides or anything fun like that. And it’s very dull. A bunch of grownups discussing wine.”
Collette scrunched up her face. “Old people make no sense.” She shook her head in pity.
“Profoundly astute,” I said. “Plus, you and your mom are going to have a great time together today.”
Collette shot a skeptical look in her mother’s direction.
“All right. Let’s get this over with,” Frankie said, stepping into the room.
My head snapped to the left at the sound of her arrival. My mouth went dry as I took her in. She was beautiful in a brown gingham sun dress with hair down and wavy under a straw hat. Her smooth skin was more exposed than I’d seen her to date. The clinging fabric tugged in tight at her waist, emphasizing the swell of her hips. As well as her breasts. Very full. Very lovely breasts. She even looked to be wearing makeup. Not that she wasn’t always lovely, but she tended to the side of joggers and worn tees since she worked from home.
It reminded me more than ever how important it felt to get her out of the house. That had been my original intent when I asked her about the Watermelon Wine Fest yesterday, before the almost-not-quite-a-fight. I wanted her to relax, but instead, she opted to go work in a different location. Frankie deserved some time off. And maybe to get smashed, if I could assist.
“What?” she asked with a single-shouldered shrug. “It’s just an old dress. Figured it’s supposed to be nice today.”
I closed my mouth and stopped staring at her … oh, Christ, where had I been staring?
Collette gasped and hopped off my lap. “Frankie, you look beautiful!”
“Aw, thanks, Uma.”
She scratched her elbow. “You guys act like you’ve never seen me in a dress before.” She scoffed. She turned to fill her tote with a few things.
Collette and I looked at each other. She matched my features, raising her eyebrows and frowning with a slow headshake.
Frankie chuckled, catching the shared look. “Whatever. I’ll have you know I used to get dressed up all the time. It just seems … pointless now.”
Another reason to get her out and about.
“You look great,” I said, finally managing to speak. I had been about to ask what she meant about it being pointless when Joey finally looked up from her phone.
