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Rachel steered me around the couch. “I stopped in to say goodbye to Laverne and saw you streak by. I almost didn’t recognize you. That’s why we hightailed it up here to find out what happened yesterday.”
“Beckett informed his brothers that I was fine.”
“There’s fine, and then there’sfine.” Rachel laughed. “They’re my cousins, but I’m not blind.”
“Beck is quite dashing on his horse,” Laverne said as she poured me a cup of coffee.
I sat down on the couch and wished I could actually melt into the cushions.
“Two sugars, if I remember right?” Laverne grinned at me.
“Yes.”
“How on Earth do you take it black?”
“I got used to it. My mother didn’t allow dairy in the house unless I smuggled it in.” I hadn’t meant to say that. Obviously, I was hungrier than I thought.
“No dairy?” Laverne’s eyebrows shot up. She held a small plate with the sugary confection and a mug out to me.
“Thank you.” I accepted it and practically drooled at the scent of cinnamon and apples. I set the plate down in front of me before taking a grateful sip of the coffee. This time, I couldn’t resist a groan. “What is this?”
“Rachel’s chocolate coffee blend.”
Rachel’s eyes twinkled. “We’ve added a lot of coffee to the Cocoa Bus II. Still need the chocolate to keep it on brand.”
“I don’t even need sugar. And this is dangerous.” Chocolate was a weakness of mine. I’d learned to enjoy dark chocolate because of the health benefits. Sweets were another thing that were hard to smuggle into my house.
Thankfully, our housekeeper had a similar affliction, and we hid our stash from my eagle-eyed mother. Mine was in the false bottom of my roll-top desk drawer. I didn’t need to hide things now that I had my own wing of the penthouse, but habits were hard to break. A lifetime of my mother’s exacting dietary constraints to keep me a perfect size four were embedded in my brain.
“Good to know.” Rachel took a sip from her mug. “I still need creamer. You are hardcore.”
“Eat up, Helena. That nephew of mine probably didn’t feed you this morning.”
Not food, no.
I hid the worst of my blush behind the lip of the mug—at least I hoped so.
“I’m glad Beckett gave you a safe space. Where did you two end up?”
Laverne acted like her question was innocent, but I wasn’t so sure. “He spoke to you, didn’t he?”
“Beckett doesn’t give a whole lot of details. He just said you were fine.”
“We got creative with Zoe’s old clothes he found at his parents’ house. Then he took me on a picnic.”
Rachel swallowed a gulp of her coffee loud enough for me to hear it. “My cousin Beckett?”
“You have another Beckett?”
“I’m beginning to wonder,” Rachel muttered.
“He was very kind.”
Rachel smirked, but she just sipped her coffee.
I cleared my throat. “I appreciate that you both worried after me. And again, I’m very sorry Reid caused such a scene. He was beyond rude.”
“No need for you to apologize for him.” Laverne waved me off. “He’s just lucky he left with two working arms and only a swollen eye.”
