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“Coming right up, Frankie,” the bartender replied as she grabbed a glass and filled it with ice.
Frankie turned in her stool slightly, but I could still hear her when she asked the woman next to her, “Have you talked to Paris recently?”
“No. Austin has been trying to reach her, but she refuses to take his calls.” She sighed. “Honestly, he’s worried about her. She was doing so well with her new job, but whoever started spreading rumors that she was sleeping with the grooms ruined all that.”
I refilled my glass because there was no way I was going home yet.
“I know, I couldn’t believe it. I was going to recommend a client to her, but her business number isn’t in service anymore.” Frankie took a sip of her drink. “I know there’s history with her and a lot of people here, but I thought everyone had moved on. I saw how much Paris liked wedding planning and that she actually looked happy. There was something different about her for that short time. I just don’t believe she’d risk losing that to sleep with engaged clients.”
“I know. Austin’s so pissed. He understands that his sister has a certain reputation, but he said the same thing. She was finally happy, and now she just sits in her apartment with five cats all day doing medical coding because she’s too ashamed to show her face in public.”
What the fuck?
Frankie leaned her elbow on the bar and rested her head in her hand. “I want to help her, but I don’t feel like it’s my place.”
“Austin’s going to pay her a visit soon if she doesn’t call him back.”
“Good, I’m glad he’s not giving up.”
“She’s his sister. He’ll never give up on her, no matter how much she tries to push him away.”
Yeah, and I wasn’t going to either.
I slid off the stool and left my full beer on the bar top, then went home and opened my computer. I’d avoided digging into Paris until now. After what happened between us and her apprehension, I wanted whatever came next to be natural. I fully understood how important privacy was, and I didn’t cross that line unless it was my only choice.
It was clear I needed to find a way to break through to her, but my options were limited. I could have talked to Bristol, but I didn’t want to put her in the middle of anything. Plus, I was a grown-ass man, so I was on my own. Paris wouldn’t ever let her guard down with me unless I had the right ammunition to blast it wide open, so I’d find just enough to get me through the door, and then I’d let her show me the skeletons in her closet when she was ready.
I was so focused on my goal that my cell vibrating on the table startled me. I glanced at the name on the screen and waited for it to ring two more times before I reluctantly pressed accept, and then the button for speakerphone. I didn’t want him to take away from what I was in the process of doing. “What do you want, Craig?”
“I’m your father. Calling me by my name is disrespectful.”
“My bad, Craig. What do you want?”
An irritated noise came through the speaker. “Since you answered like that, there’s no point in me attempting small talk, so I’ll get to the point.” He paused, and if he was waiting for me to disagree, we’d be on the phone all night. “Your brother wants you to visit him.”
“If that’s all you called for, then you’re wasting both of our time.”
“He’s in prison, Scotty. The least you could do is spare an hour or two out of your schedule every month to pay your brother a visit.”
I didn’t want to do this, not again. Once was enough, twice, but this was the third. “I’ll only say this one more time, and if you ask me again, I’ll block your number.” I don’t know why I didn’t. I think because if I did, that would mean he got to me, and I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.
“Would you just—”
“No. I won’t just do anything for either one of you because neither of you ever did shit for me.”
“I brought you into this world.”
I laughed. “Yeah. You did. And then you taught me how fucking cruel it was.”
“I’ve changed and—”
“You haven’t, but even if you did, I don’t care. You and Shane made my life a living hell. In case you forgot the specifics, I can give you all the details because I remember each and every one. They used to keep me up at night and—”
“I can’t change the past, and I’ve already apologized to you.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose and leaned back on the couch. “You half-assed said what Sal made you say. It didn’t mean shit then, and nothing you can say now will, either.” If he honestly thought he was a changed man, I should probably have a welfare check done on him. “We’re done. Shane and I are done. Now, did you want something else other than to try to convince me to visit my piece of shit brother?”
“You’re the one who put him in there,” he accused.
