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“Come home with me.”
I smile sadly. “I can’t, Sebastian.”
“Please.”
“Your daughter is staying with you, for one, and I don’t trust you not to make me scream.” At my words, a wicked light enters his eyes. I ignore it, continuing: “My sister leaves tomorrow for Colorado. I want to spend as much time with her as possible before she goes.”
Sebastian sighs, then kisses me once more. “Tomorrow night, then.”
“Deal.”
“And the night after.”
A smile curls my lips. “Double deal.”
“And the night after that.”
Laughing, I poke his side. “What about my house? My bed is bigger than yours.”
He grunts. “Fine. As long as we’re together, I don’t care where we are.”
With those words echoing in my mind, I lock up the gallery and make my way home. I find my sister asleep on the couch, her makeup still on, hair coming undone, dress wrinkling around her hips. She must have passed out as soon as she sat down.
“Piper.” I shake her shoulder. “Come on. You should wash your face and sleep in your bed.”
She grumbles, rolling slowly to sit up, then rubs her eyes with her hands and smears her eye makeup everywhere. “What time is it?”
“Just after midnight.”
She groans. “Dang it. I have to drive for a bajillion hours tomorrow with the boys, and I know I’m going to be hungover and exhausted.”
“Nope,” I answer.
Piper’s brows lower over her smeared raccoon eyes. “What do you mean, no?”
“I watched you drink your third glass of champagne, and I booked you a flight to Colorado. There’s a rental car waiting at the airport, which I’ve reserved for you for three months.”
She blinks, groggy. “Why three months? What happens then?”
“I come visit for Thanksgiving,” I answer, beaming. “And I’ll drive your car down to you. I’ve also gotten some quotes for movers for your house in Clare, but you’ll probably have to go down there and pack up. But I’m paying for it.”
“Georgia,” she groans. “That’s going to cost a fortune. Three plane tickets, all the extra luggage, the car, the movers…”
“You seem to have forgotten that I’m disgustingly rich, Piper,” I answer, hauling her up to her feet, “and I knew you’d refuse if I proposed this any earlier. But now the nonrefundable business-class flights have been purchased, and you’ll feel too guilty to waste them, so you have to agree.”
“You’re awful.”
“I know. So sneaky. Call it a new-beginning present. This way you’ll have an extra day to get settled in your new place before the chaos starts.”
Piper must have been really stressed about the move and the drive, because her shoulders drop. She lifts her gaze to mine and gives me a soft smile. “You’re a pretty cool sister, you know that? Even if you have terrible taste in men.”
I laugh, then usher her up to bed.
Sayinggoodbye to my sister and nephews is hard, but I know she’ll be okay. Plus, I’ll be visiting for Thanksgiving, and I can check up on her then. As soon as they’re through security at the airport, I make my way back to Heart’s Cove and open up the gallery.
Last night was a roaring success. Sebastian’s sculpture sold, along with four of Christine’s paintings, two of Matt’s, and one of Mac’s gigantic vases. I wasn’t expecting to sell anything, let alone eight pieces.
Maybe it won’t take me two years to break even after all.
