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“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.” I brushed a tear away from her cheek.
“Whatever you want. As long as it’s not going back to him. Stay here with me and find a full-time job. Or go visit Mom, if you want. But please, don’t go back to him. Don’t even talk to him. Block his number and forget about him.”
She sniffled, rubbing her cheek against my leggings, her tears wetting the material.
“I love you, Kenny.”
“I love you too, Titi.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-EIGHT
Taylor
When I called Dominic to let him know I was dealing with a family emergency and that I’d be working from home, he told me to take all the time I needed. I expected nothing less. Not because I was the founding partners’ granddaughter, but because that was the culture of Novak & Novak. Family first. And as long as I got all my work done, he had no problem with me staying home.
Monday, Kennedy and I had a movie musical marathon, which consisted of Rodgers and Hammerstein classics. Dean, of course, checked in multiple times, and while he understood Kennedy and I needed sister time, he also told me he was antsy not being able to help. So, when I gave him the assignment of retrieving Kennedy’s car from the Poconos, he didn’t hesitate. I knew Kennedy would never be able to go there without seeing Jordan, and Dean was convinced I’d end up in jail.
“It’s better this way,” he said when he came to my place for a quick kiss and my sister’s car keys. He told me Hank’s toddler was having a hard time sleeping lately, so they were going for a drive and taking him along. I wasn’t sure if that was the truth or not, but I accepted it and thanked him with the promise of sex whenever he wanted it.
Tuesday, Kennedy seemed to have more pep in her step until Jordan called, and we got into a huge argument over it. I shouldn’t have lost my temper, but I wanted her to delete and block him from her phone and all social media. She said she “just couldn’t do it.” So that night, I stayed up late, listening for any signs of distress after she got off the phone with him. And even then, I tossed and turned from guilt over our fight, so around midnight, I gave up and called Dean to talk me down off the ledge. We stayed up until around two, when we were both too tired to stay on the phone anymore.
Wednesday, I could tell Kennedy was thinking about going to see Jordan, so I called in reinforcements, and Dean showed up midafternoon, bearing takeout and wine. The three of us talked and laughed, and while Dean and I hadn’t made any kind of declarations to anyone, let alone ourselves, we didn’t hide our relationship. We touched and kissed each other throughout the evening, and when it came time for him to leave, I asked him to stay. Kennedy didn’t have a problem with it. In fact, she seemed to really like Dean and offered me a sly smile as she pretended to creep down the hall, a silent promise not to interrupt us. Though she had nothing to interrupt. We did nothing but cuddle and sleep all night long.
I didn’t know why, but I always had a wonderful night’s sleep when we were in the same bed together. It was truly one of the universe’s great mysteries.
Thursday night, Kennedy and I headed back to Walt’s to see the Anchormen play, and as usual, Laney was there, at the table up front.
“Oh my god! Hi!” She jumped up from her seat and hugged me. “How are you?”
“Good. How are you? You’re so tan.”
She grinned, still in post-wedded bliss, I assumed. “Might have been thirty-four degrees up here, but it was a balmy eighty in the Caribbean.” Then she reached out for Kennedy. “So nice to see you again.”
After we all sat, we chatted about the wedding, honeymoon, and the progress on the construction of Laney and Ethan’s house. “Everything is an upcharge,” she complained. “The fixtures, to have the walls painted a color beside beige, it’s ridiculous.”
“What’s ridiculous?” Ethan asked, striding to our table with Dean at his side.
He smiled down at me as his sister explained, “How they’re charging us for every little thing on the house.”
Ethan nodded, his hands open like a book as he said to me, “We got a binder and flipped through, picking out what we wanted outside of their base plan. This one—” he pointed his thumb in Laney’s direction “—chose the most expensive version of everything.”
“Hey, it’s not like it’s a McDonald’s and all the prices are listed next to the items. It was like going to a fancy French restaurant where you order without knowing what it is or how much it costs.”
Dean muffled a laugh, and she shot out her fist in an attempt to punch him, but Ethan caught her hand.
“I told you,” Dean said, “you could’ve had me for free labor if you’d bought an older house.”
“Yeah, but this way, we’re getting exactly what we want and need, and it’s our forever home.”
“Youneedfour bedrooms?” Dean asked.
Ethan smiled adoringly at Laney. “Yeah. For all the babies we’ll be making soon.”
I could see the way Dean was fighting his instinct to roll his eyes since he hated any mention of sex and his sister in the same sentence, but then he turned his gaze on me, and I wondered what his future looked like. If he thought about it at all. If he thought about me in it.
Then he leaned down, brushing his lips over my ear. “Want some whisky?”
I tipped my chin up for a kiss. “A little sip.”
