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“Wh—?” Somewhere between swallowing my tongue and being unable to breathe in anything except for his delicious cologne, I lost the ability to speak. Rhys waved to the server and took a seat next to me, wiggling out of his wool coat and scarf. Noticing his tattoo in my frozen periphery, I thought of that morning in London.
“You had a date?” I uttered, gaping at him.
“I do.” Rhys grinned, an expression that annoyed me in England and made me feel a lot better about Tommy being a no-show now.
“In London?”
“No.” He smiled gently. “Here in New York.” When the server approached, his expression morphed from humiliation for me to gawking at Rhys, eager to tend to us. “I think my date would like another glass. Mia?”
I nodded, perplexed and unable to look away from him. “Rhys,” I whispered through a smile I couldn’t resist, leaning against the edge of the table, “you need to explain what’s going on. Am I so stressed out that I’m actually imagining you here and really making a fool of myself talking to an empty chair?”
His laugh was tender, like the reassuring sound of a hum I could fall asleep to. I couldn’t take my eyes away while he greeted the server, who returned with more wine.
“I had a date earlier this evening,” he began, eyeing me over his wineglass, “but it wasn’t with someone. It was an event at a gallery and they’ve been housing my work for years, so I felt obligated to attend.”
“Here?” I blurted. “In New York?”
“Yes, Mia,” Rhys snickered. “When we had our date last week, I neglected to tell you I’m in New York frequently. Although, there’s much we don’t know about each other because all you talked about is how much you dislike me or my brother, and how much you want to protect Deedee.”
“I owe you an apology,” I confessed, ignoring the nickname for Sadie that I despised. “There’s a lot of baggage between Sadie and me, and your brother slept with someone else after knocking up my sister, and that’s another issue, but—”
“Tell me what happened with your date,” he urged, cutting me off, “and I’ll tell you about the baggage I share with Matthew.”
Eyeing him suspiciously, I couldn’t tell if he was sincere or manipulated me. I twirled the stem of my wineglass, caught in his unflinching stare, and took my chances.
“It was a blind date. One of my mom’s friends.” I shrugged with embarrassment, glancing around and hoping only Rhys heard that confession. “I don’t date. I was with someone for years, and look where that left me.”
“Where’s that?” Rhys’s dark eyes widened beneath his furrowed brow, focused on me.
“Empty and alone? You name it, I’m there.” Intimidated beneath his unflinching stare, I rambled, letting down my guard for the first time with him. “Sadie’s always gotten everything she wants, plus whatever anyone else wants, and it’s been like that her entire life. But even with all of that, she can’t handle the responsibilities that come with it.”
“It’s a bit endearing,” he replied, his tone serious, “but I understand what you’re talking about. Can I tell you something that you might not know about your little sister?”
Not sure I wanted to know, I let his words settle in my thoughts while watching him wait for my reply. Sadie’s immaturity wasn’t endearing, but maybe it seemed that way to everyone because nobody knew the team of people making sure she wouldn’t fail.
“Rather,” Rhys shook his head, “perhaps I should ask your permission if you’d mind me divulging some information about her personal life that I’m uncertain she’s told you. I don’t mean to gossip, but it might give you some perspective to which you’ve not been privy.”
“What could you possibly know about my sister that I don’t? You didn’t even know she was pregnant.”
“Neither did you.” Rhys twisted his lips. He was right, and it helped me realize that I really didn’t know Sadie anymore, only the trouble she needed me to free her from. “I told you that Matthew is a good man, and it’s true that he is, but he and Sadie met when he was dating Eliza. Their relationship was already off to a peculiar start.”
“That makes him a good man? What sort of measurement system do you use?” I scoffed, shaking my head at him.
Rhys smiled, catching my stare while he licked the remnants of wine from his bottom lip. “Behind the impulsive, indulgent, celebrity charade,” he waved his hands in gesture, “he is a good man, and I know he’ll be loyal to their baby. The piece of their story that you’re missing is that Sadie actually cheated on Matthew first.”
“That makes this all okay?”
“No,” he stressed. “I’m on your side, Mia. They’re both foolish, but I’ve had to cut ties with being my little brother’s caretaker years ago, and I urge you to do the same thing with Sadie. We don’t really know who they are on their own, making those ridiculous and reckless decisions, and it can’t be our life’s mission to fix them. Between you and me, we’ve probably got plenty of that to manage for ourselves.”
I couldn’t believe Rhys. Sadie cheating on someone? The same someone she called me in a panic to rescue her from. Letting that fester, anger bubbled into a blossoming pile of magma in my stomach. All I’d done to help her, and she still messed up her own life. It felt hard to admit, considering I barely knew Rhys, but he was right.
Sadie and her preserved polka-dot bedroom, her angelic presence in the eyes of our mother, who so easily forgave her for everything happening, could do no wrong. Except now, in my eyes, I wanted nothing to do with her. One more person I thought I knew, their reality changing me.
Inhaling a shaky breath, I glanced around the restaurant. “I’ve never felt more alone,” I murmured to myself.
The server returned, trying to take an order for food, but I fumbled through and could barely talk. Not even sure what Rhys ordered for us, I tried to smile in appreciation, but it came out as a stupid tear slipping from my left eye and traveling down my cheek.
“You’re never alone in this world, Mia. There’s always someone, whether it’s romantic or platonic.” I felt him move closer to me, the weight of shifting air hitting me as he reached to wipe away my tear. “Don’t you believe in soul mates?”
