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“She’s my best friend. We met at Juilliard. I probably talk about her a lot because she’s the kind of friend who quickly becomes family.”
“She sounds nice.” He shifts his weight then straightens.
“She is. She plays the violin. While I was off in Russia, she performed several concerts with a company here. Now she teaches music at the school I work at.”
“That’s impressive.”
“Yeah. Eden’s great.” And so not like me. Eden followed her path and stuck to her plans. She did exactly what she set out to do and continues to do so with her teaching career. She still plays concerts from time to time. Whereas me… I’m stuck in the in-between.
“Do you still keep in touch with friends from high school?” He looks genuinely interested to know. He’s going to be surprised by my answer.
“No.”
“Really?” He looks as surprised as I knew he would.
I was very close to my two friends, Cindy and Vivian, but I haven’t heard from them in years.
“Yeah. The last time I spoke to them was probably freshman year of college. But I heard Cindy got married, and Vivian has two children.” That’s as far as I know. I sent cards and flowers to both of them. They did the same for me when they heard I got the job with the Bolshoi Ballet. That was actually the last time I heard from them.
“Wow, I’m surprised you lost track.”
“Me, too. What about you? Apart from Luc, are you still friends with the guys from high school?” There were three others who used to hang out with Jericho and Knight.
“Unfortunately, I am.” He smirks. “We still see each other pretty much every week, but I’m still closer to Luc than anyone else. Then, of course, there’s Knight.”
“That’s good.”
It’s strange talking about these people when most of them never knew we were together. My friends didn’t know. Luc was perhaps the only person who knew, and I’m not even sure when he became aware. I figured that Jericho told him but not Knight because of the feud between our fathers. His father was the worst back then, so I’m sure it wouldn’t have gone down well if he’d found out we were dating, especially with the strained relationship they have.
“How is your family?” I add, hoping things might have gotten better through the passage of time.
He smiles, but there’s no humor to it. “If you mean my mom, grandparents, and brother—as in Knight—then they’re great. I have no other family outside of them.”
And that says it all about his father and Bastian, his stepbrother.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. There’s nothing to be sorry for.” He nods with conviction, but I wonder what it must be like to feel be so disconnected from your father.
The years when Dad was married to Brielle were truly awful. The aftermath was even worse, and I’ve had my run-ins with him. Mainly because his mistakes were all down to his streak of greed and obsession with outdoing Tobias Grayson—something that would never happen.
Dad also supported Sasha, which made me stay in an abusive relationship for longer than I should have, but all things aside, there was never a time when he treated me badly. Or made me feel unwanted. Not like Jericho’s father did with him.
“How is your family?” Jericho lifts his chin, and concern fills his eyes. It makes me wonder again about how much he knows about what’s going on with me.
I sense he’s aware Gina is sick, so I decide to tell him about her, but I won’t tell him much about my father. It might not be the best subject since Dad and Jericho had no end of run-ins.
“My father is doing okay, but Gina had a stroke. That’s why I’m staying with her.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Thank you. The worst seems to be over, so I’m hoping she’ll be okay soon.” Although I say that, I’m still worried as hell about the chest pains she suffered the other night. She’s been alright since, but it doesn’t stop me from worrying about her.
“I wish her a speedy recovery. I’m sure it must be difficult on both of you.”
“It is. We’re just taking one day at a time.”
“That’s all you can do.”
