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“Thatwon’thappen. We won’t let it.”
“I need to talk to her and set things straight, but it’s late and I can’t leave Zoe alone in the house. The babysitter is already gone.”
“This isn’t a conversation to have while you’re inebriated.”
“Maybe this isexactlywhy I should have it now. I can be brutally honest.”
“Mate, don’t do it. You’ll regret it in the morning.” I sigh. “Don’t go anywhere, I’ll get a taxi over now and we can sort this out together.”
I hang up and let the gravity of the situation filter through me. I know I need to come clean with Gabe about the conversation I had with Monique—I should have told him before this point, but I’m afraid he’ll never forgive me and I’ll lose him and Zoe forever.
I sink down on the bed for a minute and drop my head in my hands. My poor brother—he shouldn’t be going through all this turmoil. Monique will only stay long enough to get Zoe’s hopes up before she takes off again, leaving emotional destruction behind her.
It’s a pattern well-worn by our mother and I don’t want Zoe to know that pain.
So much for a night of sheet-burning sex. I glance at the door and there’s still no sign of Drew, but as I’m about to stand I notice a piece of paper folded on the nightstand. I wouldn’t have given it a second thought if I hadn’t caught sight of a familiar logo—QANTAS Airways.
I usually wouldn’t read someone else’s papers, I swear. But between the anguish over my brother’s plight and the endless wine and champagne top-ups at the rehearsal dinner...my mind is foggy. And my moral centre is a little muddled. I snatch the paper up and feel the air leave my lungs. Drew has a one-way flight to Nadi Airport in Fiji the day after the wedding.
One. Way.
The knowledge is like an iron fist around my heart. I should have known she wasn’t planning to stay—her sister warned me.
She’s a nomad, my sister. Flits from one place to the next, always packing her bags and running away from commitment of any kind.
Hell, Drew herself warned me. Didn’t she say that she never made an attempt to hide who she was? To hide that part of herself? I place the paper back where it was. I don’t have time to think about Drew now because my family is hurting. I need to be there for them. I need to support Gabe and Zoe.
I walk out of the bedroom and grab my coat from the back of a chair. At that moment Drew comes out of the bathroom, looking every bit the unattainable fantasy she is.
“I wanted to surprise you,” she says. Her body is draped in a sheer black dressing gown that shows every beautiful part of her—from her perfect breasts to her slim waist and long legs. Underneath she wears a short corset in black and thigh-high stockings with a suspender belt and no underwear. “Do you like it?”
For a full minute, I am utterly speechless. My mind is a lawn mower failing to start, no matter how hard I yank the cord.
“Flynn?” Her face creases with concern. “Are you okay?”
“I have to go.” I can barely get the words out. Dammit, couldn’t I have reserved a little bit of blood for my brain? I hold up my phone as if that might explain things. “I got a call from Gabe, he needs me.”
“Oh, my God, it’s not Zoe, is it?” Her worry is so genuine it makes me want to roar. Why does she care if she’s planning on leaving?
“She’s okay, but I need to watch her while he deals with something,” I say tightly.
“I’ll come.”
“No!” The word shoots out of me so harshly that she reels, her eyes wide and unblinking.
I need to get some space and think about everything that’s going on—unlike Gabe, Idon’twant to have an important conversation while I’m still feeling the lip-loosening effects of our celebratory drinks. More important, I refuse to let anyone into Zoe’s orbit who isn’t a permanent fixture in my life.
And I know my niece will fall head over heels for Drew the way I have.
The way you have? Head over heels is some serious shit.
I’m in deep and being punished because I broke my own rules. Iwilltalk to Drew about the plane ticket, because I’m an adult and I’m not going to vanish without giving her a chance to explain—but that conversation cannot happen right now. Not when I’m full of frustrating thoughts and worries. Not when I know I’ll speak before my brain has a chance to catch up.
I need a day or two to find my equilibrium before I go there with her.
Drew hugs her arms around herself and looks at me with closed-off eyes. “Okay, well... I hope everything is all right.”
She’s shutting down. Putting up the walls I’d managed to break through. But I can’t worry about that now.
