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Harri frowned. “Why? Sapphire Glade has an awesome rep. And it’s not like you two parted on a bad note or that you don’t get along, so there’s no reason he’d avoid hiring you.”
I lifted a brow, returning the bottle of white to the fridge. “Aside from him being Felicity Buchanan’s cousin, you mean?”
Her nose wrinkled. “Damn, I forgot they were related. But it’s not like they’re close, though, is it? I mean, Felicity’s dad … Uh, what’s his name?”
“Josh,” I supplied.
“Yeah. Josh. Although he and Dax’s mom have the same father, for a long time Josh didn’t acknowledge that Kensey is his half-sister. He used to give her some serious grief, from what I hear. Their dad, Maxwell, didn’t acknowledge Kensey either—he basically seduced her mom, got her pregnant, and then walked away. Quite a few members of the Buchanan family were cruel to Kensey and her mother back then.”
Alicia dipped her chin. “Josh and Kensey are civil with each other nowadays, but they don’t attend each other’s family parties or anything. Dax and his brothers seem to get along well enough with Felicity in a superficial way, as if finding it unfair to take out on her what some of her relatives did to his mom and grandmother. But, as Harri said, they’re not close.”
“Felicity is a total namedropper, so she tosses Dax’s around, insinuating she’s under his protection,” said Harri. “She’ll brag on how ‘proud’ she is of all Drey’s achieved, and she’ll jabber on about how talented Caelan is. But the truth is, she seems to barely know them. Or so people say, anyway.”
Alicia slid her gaze to me. “She won’t like it if Dax hires you.”
My smile was a little on the evil side. “I know.”
Alicia barked a quick laugh. “Not gonna lie, sis, I’m still jealous you bonked that guy. He isfine.”
She’d said the exact same thing when she’d first realized I was sleeping with him. Back then, he’d drawn my attention effortlessly. Not merely because he got my feminine parts all stirred up. He was just so decisive, elusive, and savvy. He didn’t seek approval or attention. He went after what he wanted, he put actions behind his words, anddear LordI stood no chance against the extent of his alpha-bad-boy appeal.
Even back at that stage in his life, he’d been dipping his foot in this and that—some things legal, some things not. By the time I’d returned from college, he’d been a force to be reckoned with.
And seriously committed to another woman.
Had I not been deep in grief at the time, it might have stung. But back then, I’d had no room in my head for anyone other than Lake; no emotional space for anything other than pain.
I hadn’t known Dax’s then-girlfriend Gracie well, but I’d come across her enough times to sense she was an absolute sweetheart. Someone I’d felt would be good for him. So I’d been sad for them both when she’d died a mere year into their relationship.
Even though I knew what that kind of loss did to a person, I hadn’t reached out to Dax. He wasn’t a guy who would welcome that sort of thing. Not from someone who wasn’t one of the people in his small circle.
Plus, I’d known he might be of the opinion that I couldn’t truly understand his pain, given that Lake and Gracie died such different deaths.
Cancer had taken Lake—his brain tumor had gone undiagnosed for years. By the time the doctors had discovered it, it had been too late for them to act; he’d died mere months later. He’d had the most wonderful and astonishing attitude throughout those last months of his life; had said that at least, unlike people who died suddenly from accidents etc., he knew when his time would end and so would be able to say his goodbyes.
Gracie’s death, however, had been unexpected. Sure, there were risks for those undergoing surgery, but people generally expected their loved ones to come out of an operation just fine. As such, they didn’t say goodbyes beforehand.
I didn’t believe it made their passing worse or better. Nothing could really make a loved one’s death “easier.” But it did mean that I couldn’t relate to the shock Dax must have felt on hearing she hadn’t made it.
For a few years, he’d—to put it bluntly—buried himself in pussy. He probably now wished he’d never stopped, because his subsequent attempts at serious relationships had ended badly. One bitch had sold her “story” to the papers. A bullshit story that had not only painted Dax as a true bastard but included supposed “secrets” about the whole situation with his infamous step-grandfather, Michael Bale.
Why infamous? Because he’d been a twisted, sadistic serial killer. Michael had married Kensey’s mom, Clear, while he was on death row.
For someone to haveexploitedthe situation by selling their story, for them to have fucked over Dax that way … it was just plain cruel. I was sure it must have hurt his entire family, including Clear—who’d later died only six months after Bale was executed.
Worse, Dax’s only other long-term partner had done the same thing to him after they’d split.
People really sucked sometimes.
Harri nodded, her mouth curved. “I’m more partial to his youngest brother, though.” Her smile kicked up a notch and turned a little dreamy. “Drey isyowza. My stomach goes all aflutter whenever I see him.”
He also played professional football. The “middle” Mercier brother, Caelan, was just as successful in his own way—he owned a very popular tattoo shop that drew even the rich and famous.
Alicia pointed a spatula at Harri. “Drey is too old for you.”
Our baby sister rolled her eyes. “You say that about every guy I call attractive. You’ve been doing it since I hit puberty. I’m now twenty-two, so it’s really time you got past the whole trying to keep me away from boys thing. Also, Drey is like, what, twenty-seven?”
“Something like that,” I replied.
