“That’s conven—” I’m cut off by the other women walking back into the room. Taking a breath, I’m relieved that a potential argument was avoided, but her words are still ringing through my mind.
“This place is adorable,” Jo says. Vivi is smiling, holding a bunch of sheets in her hands. “Will you decorate for me when I find my own place?”
Vivi laughs, loving the compliments. Jo is good at that, but she never says anything she doesn’t mean. “Sure thing.”
She walks to the small laundry area near the kitchen and gets the load started. Lexi’s quietly typing on her phone but her brows are furrowed. More from frustration than confusion, I think.
“Do you need anything else?” Calypso asks.
Jo shakes her head. “No, I’ll be okay. Especially for the night.”
Calypso bobs her head once. Despite her mood, she’s been in big sister mode since Jo first called me. “Liam will send you my number, and we can meet at Max’s tomorrow.”
My sister nods, clearly ready to be alone for the night but not wanting to be rude. “Sounds good.”
Calypso doesn’t say anything else, so I step forward and pull Jo into a hug. “Love you, Josie.”
“Love you too,” she murmurs into my chest. “See you tomorrow.”
There’s such a deep sense of relief in her voice at the statement. I knew it was hard for her when I left, but I didn’t realize quite how much.
Jo’s exactly where she needs to be for the time being.
Holding the front door open, I wave Calypso in before me. Something catches my eye, so I stop to pick it up before walking inside.
The door shuts with a loud thud as Calypso walks straight to the kitchen. I expect her to grab wine or whiskey orsomethingbut she doesn’t. She goes straight for Rosie’s bowl and kibble.
“Hey, honey,” I call out and follow behind her.
She looks over her shoulder and her eyes widen a little at the scrap of fabric in my hands.
“What’s this?” I ask.
Before Calypso can answer, Rosie runs over and jumps at my legs. I crouch down to pet her and she starts growling when she sees the fabric.
She’s not being aggressive toward me, just triggered by the scrap. Rosie barks at the mailman and doorbells, normal things a dog would.Thisis unlike her.
Standing, I walk to the island and look at the woman I’m quickly falling for despite every warning not to.
“Tell me what’s going on,” I say. More quietly, I add, “Please.”
She inhales and holds it for a few seconds before exhaling heavily. “Stefan stopped by this morning.”
Immediately, possessive anger plummets through me. It races through my veins and reaches every inch of my body within seconds.
And yeah, I’m a little mad at Calypso right now for not telling me sooner. I swear, every step forward with her comes with three bigger steps back. I’m on this path without any intention of turning back, and she’ll need to accept that eventually.
Mostly, I’m fucking fuming at the thought of Stefan showing up at Calypso’s house, uninvited. God, I wish I had been here—that she didn’t have to handle it alone.
“What happened?” I ask, trying to keep my voice calm and even.
Calypso sees right through it, down to the core of my soul that is ripping apart.
I failed her.
This whole agreement was meant to keep her safe and Stefan off her back. Yeah, I got Pippa’s business out of it, but that truthfully moved to the bottom of my priority list as soon as Calypso admitted Stefan has been bothering her foryears. She asked me for help.
And I wasn’t there.
