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“Okay, for real. As long as I don't talk about it, there are no consequences I need to worry about." I clear my throat. "I didn’t want to lose you two. You're basically the annoying sisters I always wanted to have. And even if I was ninety-nine percent sure you wouldn’t react badly, there was still this one percent chance I didn’t want to risk."

"You're an idiot," Lauren accuses me lovingly and runs her fingers through my hair. "I don't give a damn who you're fucking, as long as they're good to you."

"Same here." Nic nods. My throat clogs with emotion and tears sting.

"Now, with that out of the way..." Oh, God. I'm not sure I love the tone of Lauren’s voice. She's up to something, but I'm not sure what. "Tell us more about Brooke."

"Do you like her?" Lauren asks, wriggling her eyebrows. I make a noncommittal grunt.

"Oh, he totally does," Evan declares with a chuckle. Once again, I look over my shoulder and mouth the word traitor at him. His grin widens. The dickhead is having way too much fun with this. "He acts like a damn puppy whenever she's around. All attention starved and wide, pretend-innocent eyed."

"Which reminds me." I hit the black plastic cushion with my flat palm. "She told me about the donation falling through."

"Yeah." Evan lets out a deep sigh. "Total shitshow. Half the town wanted to come together to try to get the funds together during the Christmas market, and then the square burned down."

"How much are we talking about? Do you know?" He tells us the number, and my jaw drops.

"Oh, shit," Nic whispers. The two of them shoot each other a glance.

“What can I say? It’s a huge property.” Evan wipes ink off my leg, and I want to scream. I wonder if he’ll get me an ice cream today, too.

"Don't," I immediately caution Nic and Lauren. "If I thought it was something the three of us could fix, I would have told you."

"Yeah," Evan murmurs, and roughly wipes the spot he just tattooed. "She's stubborn. If you hand her the amount, she would donate it right on to another cause. She's determined to solve this on her own without making others pay for her mistake."

"Huh." Lauren falls back in her chair and puffs up her cheeks. "That's dumb."

"Hey, don't call my sister dumb," Evan says absentmindedly. "Nobody said you can't donate anonymously, though. Or find a new solution for the whole Christmas market debacle."

The three of us exchange knowing glances.

"We will talk about this later. Now, Kieran." Nic breaks into a mischievous grin. "While we have you pinned to a tattoo bed... is there anything else we should know about you?"

"Yeah, Kieran. What else are you hiding? Or who?" Lauren taps her lip as she thinks of more questions.

I take a deep breath.

"I'm an open book. What do you want to know?"

Chapter 26

Brooke

“Hi there." I glance up from the stack of invoices I’m sorting through for bookkeeping, as a soft voice announces their presence after the little bell over my door pings. "Are you Brooke?"

"Yes." I shove the invoices aside and round the reception counter. "You must be Kylie. It's so good to meet you."

"Likewise." She grins, and for a moment we stand in front of each other awkwardly, not sure how to greet each other. Ultimately Kylie decides, and a quick hug it is.

"Sorry.” She takes a step back, nervously twirling a strand of hair around her finger. “I brought my dog. She's in the car. Is it okay if I bring her inside?"

"Yes, of course. As long as she's good with other animals and spayed."

"Oh, yeah, she is. And she’s super chill. Sorry, I didn't know how long we'd be here, so I didn’t want to leave her at home all alone."

"No need to apologize. Go grab her, and we'll introduce her to the others. If they don’t mesh, she can hang out in my apartment upstairs."

Two minutes later, Kylie returns with the most adorable Australian Shepherd.