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“Can we talk for a minute?” Claire asks. “In the kitchen.”
“Sure.”
I head toward the kitchen, while Claire follows me. “I’ll bring back breakfast,” she calls to Ethan over her shoulder.
“Ethan have a thing for servants, now, eh?” I ask with a huge smile and a curtsy.
“Oh, shut up,” she hisses, “a man gets hungry in the morning.”
I chuckle. “What did you want to talk to me about?”
She looks up at me with pity as she smears cream cheese on a bagel half. “Your dad called me last night.”
“What? Really?”
“I think he is in some kind of trouble.”
I feel the air rush from my body. “I’m sure.”
“Yeah, I think he needs money.”
“He always needs money, Claire. He’s a chronic gambler. Do not give him any. It is just feeding his addiction.”
“I didn’t know what to say to him. I was put on the spot. I just said I would call him back.”
I lean against the island and rub my forehead to ease my developing headache. “I’m sorry he reached out to you. You don’t need to deal with my family drama.”
“Angie, I consider you my family.”
“Same. But you know what I mean.”
“I mean it.” She looks me directly in the eyes. “You’re more to me than my best friend.”
My throat constricts. “I feel the same way.”
“If there’s something you want me to do, just let me know,” she says while fixing another bagel half and placing it on the plate. “I got your back.”
“You always do.” I move toward her and wrap my arms around her petite frame. “I appreciate it too.”
After several seconds, I let go and grab an orange from the bowl to peel.
“Things seemed pretty uneventful this week for you,” Claire says, changing the subject.
“Yeah, for once, I didn’t have much going on. Ironically, no dates either.”
“Not even from Graham?”
I know she does not particularly like him, but she is starting to strengthen her tolerance level of him since the hospital scene—or so it seems.
“Have not heard from him actually.” I munch on a segment of orange. “It’s not unheard of for a guy to suddenly lose interest in me.”
“Maybe my threat to dump liquid nitrogen on his balls sank in. I actually figured he would need a few more warnings before he really understood my willingness to protect you.”
I choke on the piece that I was trying to swallow. “Uh, what?”
“I just made it clear that if he hurt you in any way, he would feel the power of my wrath.”
I lean my butt against the island, crossing my arms at my chest. “The price being genital torture?”
