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Carter shifted his gaze back and forth between us, the tension palpable.
Carmen cleared her throat, twirling a strand of hair at the same time.
Our cousins were aware of the situation, but the intensity of our discussion was obviously heavy for the lighthearted evening. “Guys, could you give us a minute?”
“Sure thing.” Carter couldn’t wait to get away from the table. He headed to the bar, taking his drink with him. Carmen joined him, the two of them sitting together. They were distant with one another, so it was obvious they weren’t a couple.
Vanessa kept staring at me. “Let’s not talk about this right now.”
“Too late. It’s happening.” I drank my beer then returned the heavy glass to the table. “I know you’re upset, but Father did the right thing. He’s protecting you. I don’t have a son or a daughter yet, but I’ve been preparing for it since the day Sapphire told me she was pregnant. So I understand how he feels. I want the best for my little one. Vanessa, Griffin is not the best.”
“I’m not looking for the best. He’s the man I fell in love with. It’s not like I have a choice of who I love. That’s not how it works. If you ever had a choice, you never would have fallen in love with Sapphire in the first place.”
She had me there. “You will meet someone better, Vanessa.”
“But that doesn’t mean I’ll love him better. I’ve been with plenty of other guys—”
“I don’t want to hear about that.” In my fantasy world, my sister never hooked up with guys. She was a nun who painted.
She rolled her eyes. “Get over it, Conway. I’m a grown woman who can do whatever she wants. Your immaturity is completely sexist. You can sleep with every woman in Italy and nobody gives a damn, but with me, there’s a double standard. It’s bullshit.”
“I’m not sexist. I just don’t want to hear about your personal life. I don’t talk about mine.”
“Yes, you do,” she argued. “You make comments here and there. Your promiscuity has never been subtle, Conway. Mama and Father have never cared, and I’ve never cared. But when it comes to me, everything is different. Sapphire was being hunted by a psychopath that kidnapped and almost killed me, but Mama and Father never even raised an eyebrow at her. She’s been far more dangerous than Griffin has ever been. It’s bullshit—and you know it.”
We’d had this conversation before, and I couldn’t deny the stark differences between our relationships. “Sapphire has never been an enemy to this family. She’s an innocent woman who would never hurt anyone.”
“Griffin would never hurt me or any of you.”
“Except when he wanted to murder us all,” I snapped. “I’ve got a wife and a kid to look after now. It gives me peace of mind knowing I don’t have to worry about Griffin anymore. I understand that you’re angry, but Father made the right decision. It was really hard for him, Vanessa. I’ve never seen him so low. You’re all he thinks about. He thinks you hate him.”
“I told him I didn’t.”
“That’s not enough to convince him. Show it.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and looked away. “Did Father tell you why he changed his mind?”
“No.”
She finished her scotch and turned back to me.
“Are you going to tell me why?”
“It’ll make you uncomfortable.”
“Then don’t tell me.”
We sat in silence for a while, quiet conversations filling the bar. Carmen and Carter kept talking over at the counter.
She spoke again. “Father asked Griffin something he never should have asked. He pried into my intimate relationship when it was none of his business. Griffin gave him an answer he didn’t want to hear, so Father pulled a gun on him. It was unfair. We’d spent the last two months trying to get our parents to see the man I love for who he is now. And then information from the past came up, and it was like the last two months never happened. It was unfair—completely unfair.”
I wasn’t sure what secret she was hiding, but it made me think of the skeletons in my own closet. When I met Muse, I wasn’t good to her. I demanded sex from her, took her virginity, and kept her as a slave. The only reason I started to treat her as a person was when she demanded for me to. I wasn’t a saint by any measure, but I’d never killed anyone or vowed revenge on someone’s family. “You picked the worst possible man to love, Vanessa. Mama and Father have been through a lot, and you chose the one person they can’t tolerate. With all the men out there, you come home with the only man Father can’t stand. You’re putting all the blame on him, but you didn’t give him much to work with. What did you expect him to do? He did his best, Vanessa. He’s always done his best for both of us. You’re being a brat, you know that?”
