Page 19 of Playing Hard to Get

“Not as nice as your place,” I said, testing the waters.

Frankie turned to me with a furrowed brow. “It’s nice, Viv. You can make it your own.” She relaxed her brow and grinned. “Looks a lot like Vinny's.”

“Maybe it’s a twin thing,” I said, grinning back.

My condo was the last of the places Vinny and I looked at, the last before we planned on stopping at my brother’s condo in the same building. I fell in love with it when I walked in the door. The floor-to-ceiling windows, the gorgeous dark oak, hand-scraped hardwoods, the stunning master suite. I loved it. Absolutely loved it. I tried to make an offer right then and there, but Vinny insisted I wait. Insisted I come see his place first.

And I laughed when I walked in. Because his condo was a spitting image of what I wanted mine to be. Same hardwood floors, same grey and black kitchen, same spectacular view. The only difference between them would be our furnishings and what we did with our spare bedrooms. His was filled with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, which were loaded with books and electronic devices, and framed photos of his friends and family. Mine would house overflow for my wardrobe and be a space for me to work on new designs for my line. Sure, both rooms had a bed for those rare instances when we had company. But that wasn’t the point of us having our own places.

The point was to get away from Daddy.

“You want help unpacking?” Frankie asked as she eyed the boxes littered around the room.

Under her winter coat, Frankie wore yoga pants and a hoodie, and I realized she came here with the intent of helping. My cousin was good that way. She went out of her way to help the people she loved. Completely selfless and good hearted. Not a damn thing like me. Because when Corey was in the hospital and Frankie was moving into their new condo, I was nowhere to be found. I hopped a plane to L.A. with the excuse of needing to check out some fabrics before they were sent off for production. There were no fabrics. There was no production. Not until after I got there and threw myself into my work, anyway. I left to get away from the drama. My father. Corey’s injury. My cousin’s pain and determination and will to make everything better.

She was good.

I was not.

“Don’t feel obligated,” I said as I grabbed the vase I’d unpacked and walked with it toward the kitchen. Frankie followed and unwrapped the flowers from the paper as I filled the vase with water from my double-basin farmhouse sink.

“You okay, Viv?” she asked after we arranged the flowers in the vase.

“Yeah. These are beautiful. Thank you.”

Frankie put her hand on mine, stopping me before I turned away from her. “Why now?”

“Why now, what?”

“Why did you choose now to find your own place?”

Shrugging, I pulled away. “Why wouldn’t I? You want anything?” I pulled open the fridge and took in my meager stores. A few bottles of sparkling water and the chicken salad I bought for lunch. I grabbed two bottles and handed one to Frankie.

My cousin eyed me as she sipped from the bottle. When she was done, when that calculating mind of hers had seen what she wanted, she spoke. “You’ve been gone for months. You come home and immediately buy a condo. Did something happen when you were away?”

I sighed and headed into the living room. “The only thing that happened was that I found I enjoyed my freedom. I enjoyed coming and going as I pleased, and not having to answer to anyone when I came home.”

“What’d Marco do?” Because she knew. She knew what he was like. She lived with us, breathed in the life of our home, knew without being there exactly how my father acted toward me, toward Vinny, toward her. Except everything changed. Now, instead of scaring off every boyfriend or girlfriend she’d ever had, Daddy was all about Corey. Now, instead of ignoring everything I did, Daddy kept trying to control me.

“Threw a fit when I walked through the door. Not because I was gone for months, but because I didn’t tell him I was back.”

Frankie nodded and picked up a box cutter. “Vinny moved out shortly after you left.” She cut into the tape on the top of a box of clothes the movers failed to get into the spare room. “He’s gone crazy, hasn’t he? I mean, more so than usual?”

“What was your first clue?” I picked up another vase and tore off the wrap from around the delicate crystal.

“That you disappeared for half a year? That Vinny’s been hard to find lately, too? Top it off with the way Marco won't let us catch a breath any time we’re in town.”

“Not everything’s about you, Frankie.” I regretted it the minute the words came spilling out. It was the bad in me that couldn’t be silenced.

Frankie’s frown pulled hard at the corners of her lips. All that good shined through. She looked at me the way Vinny did, and I didn’t deserve it. Because I’d done wrong by her more times than she knew.

Just last week, with her best friend.

“I’ve missed you, Viv. I’ve been so busy with Corey, the trial, getting the business up and running, planning the wedding. I miss hanging out with you. Even last week when you came over for dinner, I hardly got to speak to you.”

“Yeah, well, I haven’t been around.”

“And it feels like that’s my fault, too.”