AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“And then you had a days-long panic attack in his living room—”
“I said fine.”
“You keep saying that, but it’s not fine, Em. You said you’d call me if Dad came back. The Morellis raiding your house with the goddamn FBI is worse. And her brothers showing up is just—” Sin tips his head back and stares at the ceiling. “You said you’d call.”
“I didn’t have a choice about going to Will’s. Your hotel would have been too obvious.”
“I don’t give a fuck whose place you go to.”
“Then what is it, Sin? I’m fucking tired.” I don’t mean to be snappish. Or perhaps I do. Perhaps I do not care on this one single morning after a series of hellish days and nights.
“I know.” He runs his hands through his hair. “I know you’re tired. But that’s not a reason to run into traffic.”
“I didn’t do that.”
“Provoking the Morellis was worse.”
The suggestion is so offensive that my mind slams it into a painting. Garish colors. Ugly.
“You think that’s why I’m with Daphne?”
“I think I fucked up when I came here from LA. Probably before that, if I’m honest. I shouldn’t have sprung it on you that Dad was getting out of prison.”
A faded sunbeam, filtered through clouds, lands on the sink’s faucet. The light moves across the metal like water. It drips from the spout. The realism is impressive. Because, of course, it’s real. There are no brush strokes. My mind only suggests them.
“Em.” Sin looks genuinely pained. “Can you at least recognize—can you at least agree that things have been more intense since I gave you the news?”
No.
Never.
“Yes. But that doesn’t mean you need to move here.”
“Will said—”
“I know what an inconvenience I was for Will. I’ll reimburse him for his time, and he can tell himself this is a habit I don’t have the willpower to break.”
“Will said he was mistaken,” Sin says. “He didn’t realize what was happening with you. And he told me what you said about that night we came over for drinks. The point is—”
Daphne steps into the kitchen. I didn’t hear her coming. The moment she’s in sight, the rest of the room looks less real. More like a canvas. A backdrop. Her sketchbook is folded across her body with one hand, and her other hand is hooked into the collar of her sweatshirt. My sweatshirt.
“I got my sketchbook,” she says softly. Color rises to her cheeks as she looks between me and Sin. Her eyes land on me. “What was it you said?”
Sin clears his throat. “Hi, Daphne. I’m sorry I was brusque at the door.”
Daphne waves him off. “That’s okay.”
“It is fucking not,” I cut in.
“He’s fine,” Daphne says. “The three of you talked about it?”
My brother opens the nearest cupboard and takes out a box of tea. “Emerson explained his reasoning for the showing.”
Her dark eyes dart to me, then back to Sin. “It seemed like a…special moment. To me. But maybe it wasn’t. Maybe he shares art with you all the time.”
Sin looks down at the tea and scans the instructions. “He doesn’t. He’s extremely private about his work. He rarely shows us anything. Not that I’ve been around, but that’s not—” He meets Daphne’s eyes. “He offered to give Will a piece from his collection.”
Daphne’s mouth drops open. “What?”
