Page 124 of Open To Negotiation

What that meant for the other guys, I hadn’t decided.

“Mind if I join you?” I looked behind me, surprised to find a woman. She was wearing a black skirt with a high slit on the side and a cropped turtleneck sweater. She had dark brown hair with rich caramel highlights contrasting starkly with her light blue eyes.

“Of course.” I waved at the empty chair beside me.

“Sorry to crash your hiding spot, but I needed to get out of there for a bit.” She let out a breath as she looked out over the water.

“Well, I could pretend I’m not hiding but…” She looked over at me.

“You know Theodore Knight?” she asked, and I frowned a little at the use of his full name.

“Theo? Yes.” I sat up straighter, unsure of who this woman was.

“Right. I forgot he doesn’t go by his full name, I think his best friends call him Knight.” She shifted a little uncomfortably. “I saw you come in with all of them.”

“I’m sorry, who are you?”

“Emma Kane,” she said as she met my eyes.

“Kane?” I frowned as she held her chin up high. “Theo has a sister.” It wasn’t a question, more of a realization, her eyes weren’t as grey as his but they were close.

“Half,” she clarified. “You don’t know about me. He didn’t tell his girlfriend.” She bit her lip and pulled the sleeves of her shirt over her hands, trying not to look hurt.

“I’m his ex-girlfriend and to be fair… I think there may have been a lot of things that he didn’t tell me.”

“I just assumed you were together.” She sat back in her seat and rested her head on the chair.

“I’m sorry about your dad,” I said, changing the subject as I sat back too.

She scoffed. “No one will miss him other than his investor buddies. He nor my mom were particularly warm so it isn’t a big loss for me personally.” She looked over at me, a little surprised about what she shared. “I know how that sounds—” I held up a hand.

“You don’t have to explain anything to me.”

“Thanks.” She blinked a few times, a mask falling over her face. “I didn’t even talk to him much, only when I was home from school for the holidays over the last four years. I don’t care. My life won’t change. But I have a feeling when my mom gets her money, I might not hear from her again. I won’t have anyone left.”

“You have a half-brother, that’s something.” I could hear how much I doubted my words, I just hoped she didn’t.

“I haven’t seen him in six years. Not that I blame him, Dad was a dick and my mom wasn’t warm with anyone, but she was particularly cool to Theo. But even before that, we’ve never exchanged more than a few words. His mom passed and he went to live with someone else and then I didn’t see him again until he was an adult.”

“While that may be, it’s not too late to start getting to know him now.” I meant it, Theo may have created his own family, but I knew he cared deeply for the people he let close. I had no doubt he could get there with his sister.

“Enough about my sob story.” I let her get away with changing the subject. “Why are you hiding?”

“I’m trying to figure out how to gracefully leave so I can hide away and try and figure out a way to mend my broken heart in peace,” I answered honestly.

“What happened between you two?”

I rolled my head to look at Emma. “I don’t even know how to answer that question.”

“What the hell are you doing out here, Q?”

We both sat back up to watch as Noah came stomping toward me, pulling his jacket off his shoulders, grumbling something. His accent was a little thicker at the moment which meant he was pissed.

“Hiding, obviously,” I answered and stood up as he came toward me and placed his jacket over my shoulders. I didn’t argue, only pulling it closer for the warmth.

“Hiding won’t be effective if you drop dead of hypothermia.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “Don’t be dramatic, Noah.” I noticed Emma staring but Noah only nodded at her, without really paying her much attention.