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“Fuck off.”
“You know I’m right.”
“And you’ll never let me live it down.”
“Ever.” I grin. “See you tomorrow.”
“See you then.”
I was reluctant to take Hayes’s call, and now I’m reluctant to let him go. It’s been too long since we connected.
From the corner of my desk, I pick up a photo Echo framed shortly after their wedding. Decked out in my tuxedo, I’m standing to the left of Echo and Hayes, standard since I was his best man. The rest of the old gang—Graham, Kella, and Maryam—are around us, looking surprisingly put together. Gramma Liddy and Echo’s two sisters, Ella and Eryn, round out the whole “family” photo.
Good times…
With a sigh, I rise and pad across the bamboo floors. In my bedroom, Corinne sits on the edge of the bed. She’s wearing her pajamas again, the ones that, unfortunately, cover most everything. She stares at her phone.
Tears stream down her cheeks.
My chest tightens even as the sight ignites my rage. “What’s the matter?”
She swallows and sets her phone aside. “Nothing.”
“Bullshit. Are people online being assholes?” If they are, I’ll be hard-pressed not to snarl and crack their skulls.
She shrugs. “No more than usual.”
My mood darkens. “Is your brother being an asshole?”
“Did you expect anything different?”
After what he did to me, I have zero expectations of him doing anything but utterly fucking my life and trampling my future. Corinne, however, still had hope. I’m pissed that he crushed it.
I take her hands. “Princess, whatever he said…he’s just angry. I’ve blocked him everywhere I could. Since he can’t come after me, he’s taking his shit out on you.”
“I know. I just didn’t expect it to hurt this much.”
Underneath her anger, she still loves him. She clearly wishes they could see eye to eye. She yearns for his approval. And he’s being a complete motherfucking son of a bitch. No surprise.
I don’t know the first thing about handling a crying woman. I haven’t really tried since my mother. But I can’t not wrap my arms around Corinne and draw her against my chest. “He deserves your anger. He doesn’t deserve your tears.”
“Why does he have to be this way?” she sobs against me. “He was always the favorite with my grandparents. He could do no wrong, probably because he’s so much like my grandfather.”
“A judgmental prick?”
“Grandpa wasn’t, but when he felt as if someone in his life was making the wrong decisions, he would try to steer them in a different direction. Parker took that ten steps further. Plus, he knows how much it’s bothered me that, as far as my grandparents were concerned, I never quite measured up. For years, I scrambled to catch up to my brother—”
“Wait. You’re twenty times the person Parker is, and your grandparents were blind or warped if they didn’t see how amazing you are.”
“You didn’t know me as a kid.”
“I knew you as a teenager.” A little, anyway. “You were quiet and thoughtful, considerate even then.”
“Translation: I was a doormat. Apparently, I still am.”
Is that what she thinks? “No, you’re standing up to Parker and fighting, taking back what’s yours—even though you shouldn’t have to. He’s being a real rat bastard.”
“But I have those moments where I wonder if he’s right. Maybe I’ve picked something stupid to do with my life.”
I scowl. “Do you enjoy it?”
“Every day. I look forward to creating something unique for the people who order from me. And they get so excited when they receive their bands. Some even write me these lovely notes, which always make me smile…” Her face lights up so brightly when she talks about her job, she almost glows.
“Then it’s not stupid. Don’t let your brother in your head.”
She grimaces. “I’m trying to keep him out, but he’s questioning my judgment—and my sanity.”
“He’s hitting hard because he’s furious you’re ‘engaged’ to me.”
Corinne nods. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard him this angry. It’s ugly.”
More than she thought possible, it seems. “That’s not on you.”
“Isn’t it? I sought you out, knowing there literally isn’t another person on the planet who would trigger him more.”
“It’s not your job to worry about his emotions. They’re his problem. You have enough on your plate, keeping your business afloat.”
“But he’s my brother.”
“And you’re his sister. Is he trying at all not to upset you? No, he’s carrying on like he’s right, as always, and doesn’t give a fuck about your feelings.”
She nibbles on her lip. “I know. Maybe I’m just tired and not thinking straight. Sorry. I don’t mean to dump my feelings in your lap.”
“It’s not a problem. I’m here.” Even if her tears made me feel something like panic at first, the truth is, she’s the most real woman I’ve ever been involved with. Well, we’re not actually involved, just pretending—can’t forget that. But she’s nothing like the women I usually fuck. She seems nothing like Hadley, always looking out for number one.
