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Then again, I did, too. The difference was that I couldn’t afford them anymore.
Before we got out to the car, the front door had opened, and Austin stood on the porch. Scotty held my hand as we walked up the steps. “Hi.” I avoided my brother’s eyes as we got to the top. “I like your house.”
“Me, too. Thanks for coming.” Scotty dropped my hand to shake Austin’s. Austin took a step forward and pulled me into his arms. I stiffened, but his hug only got tighter. “Relax,” he whispered. “Stop being stubborn and let me in, nerd.”
At my nickname, I finally loosened up. “Shut up, goober.” I gave him a squeeze back, and he let me go, then stepped aside to greet Sal and Maggie.
“Please, come in.” He motioned for us to enter, and Scotty took my hand and led the way.
The floors were a beautiful high gloss marble, and the tan walls complemented the pattern in the tile. “Wow, this is gorgeous,” Maggie complimented.
“Thank you. I can’t take credit, though. My wife designed everything. Please, follow me.” Always so proper, my brother.
We walked down a long hallway, and on the right side was a bathroom. A few feet down the wall opened to a sunken-in living room connected to a dining room and the open-concept kitchen.
Piper was at the stove and just closed the oven. “Hi, y’all.” She set the oven mitts on the counter and made her way over. “I’m so happy you could join us.”
“This is my wife, Piper. Sweetheart, these are Scotty’s parents, Maggie and Sal.”
Maggie went in for the hug, and Piper reciprocated. She then moved to me and gave me a hug like we were best friends. “Hey, girl.”
“Yeah… hey.” I tried to reply casually, but even I could hear the hesitation in my voice.
“Scotty. Thanks for coming. Aubrey just got back from basketball so she’s getting ready. She’ll be down in a bit,” she said as she backed away and stood next to Austin. “She’s excited to meet everyone, but she’s a teenage girl, so she probably won’t be down for another hour.”
Maggie and I laughed a bit, and the tension eased. Scotty’s fingers clenched my hip, and I wrapped my arm around his waist and leaned into him, hoping to convey how grateful I was that he was by my side.
“Gentlemen, shall we head to the bar so we can get the ladies a cocktail?”
He walked toward the bar that was off the kitchen, and Sal was on his heels, talking about brands of whiskey. Scotty was a few feet behind. He looked back at me before he got too far, and it wasn’t until I nodded that I was good that he disappeared around the corner.
* * *
We’d finished eating a delicious dinner, and thanks to Aubrey and Maggie, the conversation was never stilted. I enjoyed myself a lot, and Sal and Scotty seemed to be having a good time as well.
After the dishes were cleared, Austin asked me to come to the garage because he had a box of stuff he wanted me to look at. I followed him through the kitchen and mudroom, then into the garage, where the lights came on automatically.
“Why am I not surprised your garage looks like a showroom?” I teased as I took in the shiny floors, painted walls, and a kitchenette along the back wall complete with a wine fridge and minibar. There was an SUV in the middle of the garage, and I could barely see a car behind it.
“Because you know I like nice things?” he answered with a grin. “So can we just move on from here and let bygones be bygones, or do we have to dredge up the past?”
I pulled my head back. “Why would you want to move on?”
“Because you’re my sister, and I love you.”
“But I—”
“I guess we’re dredging shit up,” he mumbled. “If you haven’t clued in yet, which I seriously doubt since you’re highly intelligent, I was there, too, Paris. We grew up in the same house and worked at the same company. I saw what he did to you, and I was powerless to stop it.”
I winced at the reminder of the first time Austin walked in on Dad prepping me for a deal…
“Howard is a tits man, undo another button.” Dad snapped his fingers at me.
Like I was a dog, I obeyed, rearranging my breasts to show more cleavage. “Better?”
He looked up from his computer screen and closed in on me. His fingers wrapped around the handle of the chair I was sitting in, and he leaned so close I could count his nose hairs. “We need to close this today. Howard’s been screwing around with me for weeks, and I’m done playing his games. It’s my turn now,” he snarled. “I don’t care what he wants, Paris. You do it. Shove your tits in his face, suck his cock, bend over the table for him. I don’t give a shit as long as—”
“What did you just say to her?” Austin’s voice came from behind me, and I jerked around to see him closing the door.
