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“How much time do I have?”
“A month.”
“That’s more than enough time, Mr. Ward.”
“No expense spared,” I say. She nods curtly, spine stiff with purpose. “And were you able to get the contact details I asked you for?” I murmur distractedly, running a finger over Jasper’s tormented smile.
“It’s waiting in your inbox.”
“Thank you.”
“I hope he knows how lucky he is to have you,” she says.
Jasper
I’D JUST UNLOADEDthe last box from the truck, and dumped it in the corner of the banquet hall when Sofia cornered me.
“Are you expecting Daniel to show up and help?” she asked, pushing her untamed, curly bangs out of her eyes and glancing at the door I’d apparently done a shitty job at covertly monitoring. “Manual labor doesn’t seem like his kind of thing.” As far as compliments went, that was the nicest thing she’d ever said about Daniel. Not that she had a tendency of trashing him, it was more in what she didn’t say, or what her expressions or body language conveyed.
“No, I’m not, and he isn’t,” I said, dusting my hands off on the thighs of my jeans. I’d stopped by to help with the initial setup for the fundraiser she was holding next week.
“Oh?” She made it a question, prying me apart with her brown eyes. They were the biggest thing on her petite frame, and quite terrifying when holding you under their scrutiny. “Then why have you been staring at the door like a skittish kitten since you got here?”
I considered lying, but I’d been doing enough of that to her, to myself, and to Daniel, too.Most of all Daniel.Maybe it was time to let someone else in on my secrets, some of them at least.
“My, ah, brother’s in town,” I said, circling her to count the boxes that didn’t need counting. “He’s moved here, actually.” I readied to weather her reaction.
My whereabouts for the day were unknown to Cole. In fact, I hadn’t spoken to him in days. Not since finishing a bottle of gin with him, then waking up the following morning with my nose lodged at his throat, and then sneaking out as his fingers twitched in his sleep from the loss of me.
It wasn’t beyond his means to find me, though. The prospect agitated me, ensuring I constantly peered over my shoulders for his sudden appearance. Some of my agitation came from wanting to feel important enough to be hunted down.
“You have abrother?” she exclaimed, hands going to her hips. “No running in here, mijo!” she shouted to her eldest son who’d taken up position as ringleader of all the other teens who’d shown up to assist. The distraction earned me a two-second reprieve from her knife-like undivided attention. “How did I not know you had a brother? And you say I’m your best friend,” she said derisively.
“You are my best friend, ’Fia.” I squatted to open the flaps on one of the dozens of boxes lining the wall. Anything to avoid the look of hurt on her face.
“Feels really one-sided, Jasper.”
I hung my head at her tone, then pushed to my feet, determined to give her the respect she deserved by meeting her stare. “He’s my stepbrother, to be exact. My old stepbrother.”
“He’s old?” she asked, perplexed.
“No, I mean we used to be stepbrothers. Before my mother died. We’re nothing now.”
“So…” She dragged the word out, her mind working to make sense of the sudden stranger who stood in front of her. That was how I felt. To myself at the very least. “So that means you had a stepfather at some point.”
Sofia was one of the first people I’d met when I moved to New York in search of anonymity. I had happened upon a small protest she was heading in front of City Hall, and after fifteen minutes of listening to her impassioned speech on gun violence, I found myself behind her picket line in full support. The rest was history.
She’d become an older sister to me. A mentor and a friend. She knew I’d lost my parents, but it ended there. I’d left Franklin and Cole out completely, and she never pushed for more than what I’d given her about my past. To discover I’d kept something this vital from her had to sting, especially after she’d shared so much of her life and herself with me. “It’s complicated, ’Fia. Cole and I have been out of touch for years. He’s the part of my life I wish I could forget.”
“Uh-huh,” she said, unconvinced.
Across the room, Cole’s broad frame filled the double doorway, and I smiled faintly, forgetting Sofia watched me. She craned her head around. “Is that the so-called ‘old brother but means nothing to me now’ guy?” she drawled with sass.
“Ah, yeah.”
She considered me with pursed lips. “You know, I’ve never once seen you smile when Daniel entered a room. Yeah,” she said to my stupefied expression, “you’ve got a lot of explaining—and groveling to do. But later.” She patted my cheek before strolling off.
Cole soaked in the chaos around him, narrowly avoiding being trampled by kids as he meandered over to me dressed like he’d teleported in from the boardroom. I should’ve been pissed. I should’ve felt violated, stalked even. I couldn’t find it in me to be, though. I sighed internally at the lowering of my guards.
